St John's College MS 80

Student notebook: logic, ethics, law, mathematics

Language(s): Latin

Fols. 2v–3v, 32rv, 37, 58v–62, 78, 133–41v, 144v–55, 158v–62, 172–7v:

At least in part, originally blank leaves, now supplied, in non-alphabetical order, with an alphabetical index of canon law topics, arranged by letter. Fols. 1–2 have miscellaneous added materials, including on fol. 2 ‘Ista sunt Regna de branranda natione anglie in vniuersitate parrhiscensi’ with a list.

2. Fols. 4–9v:

Rubric: In periarcum scienciarum prefacio

Incipit: Cvn temporibus nostris Auctores multiplicibus variisque dictionum significancijs invigilent et nouas in dies

Explicit: figuras contemplari et eas contemplando conclusiones et propositiones deducere

Final rubric: finis Centum conclusionum

3. Fols. 10–28v:

Incipit: ⟨H⟩abitus intellectualis est qualitas intellectus acquisita difficile separabilis ipsum perficiens aut imperficiens

Explicit: in scientiarum inicijs inquiri solent promptius periarchum reperietur feliciter absoluimvs Finis

An unidentified tract on logic.

Preceded (fol. 9v) by a table of subjects and followed (fols. 29–31v) by further logic diagrams (in the text ink).

4. Fols. 33–9:

Incipit: ⟨Q⟩voniam teste philosophorum principe 3^o. methaphisices actio ipsorum qui scientiam

Explicit: est neccesaria vt vtilis ad request⟨..⟩ logicam ⟨...⟩

Another tract on logic,

apparently continuous, in spite of fol. 37 having been left blank and subsequently being used for item 1’s entries for a.

5. Fols. 39–52v:

Rubric: Circa prologum librj Predicalium Porphirij

Incipit: Quot sunt predicalia Responsio sunt quinque predicalia id est

Explicit: festinan⟨.⟩es perquirenda vt rectius intelligenda ⟨.⟩liquimus Finis’.

The incipit resembles that of MARSILIUS OF INGHEN, Abbreviationes veterae et novae logicae, described Lohr, Traditio 27 (1971), 324–5.

6. Fols. 53–8:

Rubric: In Librum Predicamentorum aristotelis Annotationes

Incipit: Quemadmodum tres sunt operationes intellectus ⟨..⟩ simplicium

Explicit: quomodo ibi capitur Ad septimum

Commentary on Aristotle, Praedicamenta

7. Fols. 62v–75v:

Rubric: In primum librum pen hermenias Aristotelis annotationes

Incipit: Sicut sunt tres operationes crationis scilicet simplicium apprehensio qua regnosimus

Explicit: affirmacione vt numero non quod habet copula in illas domos

Commentary on Aristotle, De interpretatione

Divided into two books. A diagram in the text ink fol. 63v, charts; the text is followed by further charts and diagrams (fols. 75v–7v).

8. Fols. 78v–99:

Incipit: Si petitor Iurauerit fi Ab isto capitulo vsque ad lectionem si duo patroni

Explicit: notalis ibi per eur. et doc. post glossam

An unidentified legal text.

9. Fols. 99v–133:

Rubric: De libe pen eie. Co libro vj^o. Lectio prima

Incipit: Sequitur enim de liber pie no’ exh⟨.⟩ sine rubrum

Explicit: dicit se sepe seru’ et se practicasse

Followed, after another instalment of item 1 (fols. 133–41v), by diagrams (fols. 142–4v). One of these (fol. 142) is headed ‘Sequitur quedam notata super ?introduccionem arithmeticam speculatiuam Anno natiuitatis domini 1507. die maij 27^o’.

10. Fols. 156–8v:

Rubric: Questio logica

Incipit: Vtrum logica sciencia specialis et speculatiua cuius genus subiectum est argumentacio

Explicit: soli indefinite opponitur

Final rubric: conclusio Responsiua

Explicit: Sunt eque incomplexa finis

Followed, after another instalment of item 1, by diagrams on the virtues with a table outlining the views of felicity held by various philosophical schools (fols. 162v–71).

11. Fols. 171v–2:

Incipit: Questionem moralem Arduam et per consequens diffidilem michi trutinandam proponere dignatus est

Explicit: tantum ministrant et Ex hiis dilucinda euadit hec questio Finis

12. Fols. 178–9v:

Rubric: Prologus magistri REGINALDI LENYUS Regentis nostri

Incipit: Quoniam teste strabone dulcis quidem est nouitas et id quod paucis est cognitum

Explicit: Vestrum igitur erit benignissimi auditores nostro proposito fauere Finis anno domini 1507

Lenyus is also known from a commentary on Aristotle’s ‘Phiosophia naturalis’, dated 1507/8 and extant in Bordeaux, Bibliothèque de la ville MS 428. This lecture, on the basis of references to other named mathematicians ‘hac in domo’ would place him at the Sorbonne. Followed by multiplication tables (fols. 179v, 181v–2) and other mathematical materials (fols. 180–1, 182v–5). That following the explicit on fol. 179v has calculations of days, hours, and minutes in 1506 years.

Physical Description

Secundo Folio: logicales (fol. 5)

Form: codex

Support: Paper; the quires, excluding losses, are composed of regular groups of four sheets folded in folio. On a single stock, of type Pot, very close to Briquet, no. 12510 (Senlis, 1504); the example here has not simply a loop on top of the pot, but a circle within the loop to form a full flower. Cf. also no. 12511 (Paris, etc., 1509 x 1514).

Extent: Fols. 185.

Dimensions (leaf): 278 × 200 mm.

Dimensions (written): 180–5 × 143 mm.

Collation

1–2⁸ 3⁸ (–5, a stub) 4–9⁸ 10⁸(–8, a stub) 11⁸ (–1, –2, both stubs) 12–15⁸ 16⁸ (–6, a stub) 17–21⁸ 22⁸ (–1) 23⁸ (–1) 24⁸. Neither catchwords nor signatures.

Layout

Varying page formats but always in long lines, 29–51 lines to the page. Prickings only in the corners of leaves for the bounding lines; these are in reddish or brown ink (and ignored in many portions), no rules.

Hand(s)

Written in various styles, from English secretary to continental cursivas, some with marked influence of humanistica, all arguably in the hand of the donor. Punctuation by point and virgula.

Decoration

Generally speaking, an undecorated student notebook. Item 2 is introduced by large swag capitals with birds, animals, and monsters in the text ink.

In the table for item 3, red ink text capitals and red paraphs.

But generally spaces for capitals at heads of texts and chapters are unfilled.

In addition to items noted above, item 2 has several logic diagrams in red and text ink, and a figure of the academic disciplines in the same (fol. 24v).

Binding

Brown leather over millboards, s. xvi¹, with stamps (Oldham’s no. 1038 and another resembling his no. 1059, on books of 1518 and 1514 respectively [58, 43]) and an unidentified roll (a wave pattern with fleurs-de-lis) on both boards. Sewn on four thongs. Holes on both boards for ties to close the book. Gold ‘80’ at the head of the spine; in ink on the leading edges. Pastedowns modern marbled paper, a College bookplate on the front one, with notes, including ‘Rebacked by Bodleian Bindery – 1980 Cod. MS. 80’. No flyleaves.

History

Origin: s. xv/xvi / c. 1507 ; Paris?

Provenance and Acquisition

An old shelfmark ‘D.i8’ (fol. 1v).

‘G[iven?] By Mr. thomas paynell’ (on the top edges, s. xvi); as well as a librarian’s note (s. xix) on the College bookplate, referring to an entry in the Benefactors’ Book: ‘De dono Tho. Paynell (A.D. 1563?)’. But the very long entry there (cols. iii–vii, dated 1555) includes only a single MS donation (vi), ‘Notae quae\dam/ in Leges MS 4^or. votum’, which are our MSS 159–62, also Paynell’s autograph (160 and 162 with the same ownership inscription on the edges). For Paynell, who began his career as an Augustinian canon of Merton (Surrey) and was subsequently an Anglican rector and royal chaplain, as well as a prodigious translator, most importantly of Erasmus, see BRUO 1423. He does not appear in Sharpe.

Record Sources

Ralph Hanna, A descriptive catalogue of the western medieval manuscripts of St. John's College, Oxford (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002) (with a correction to the citation of BRUO)

Availability

For enquiries relating to this manuscript please contact St John's College Library.

Bibliography

Briquet, C-M, ed. Allan Stevenson, Les filigranes: Dictionnaire historique des marques du papier des leur apparition vers 1292 jusqu'en 1600: A Facsimile of the 1907 edition with supplementary material contributed by a number of scholars, 4 vols. (Amsterdam, 1968)

Emden, A. B., A Biographical Register of the University of Oxford to A.D. 1500, 3 vols. (Oxford. 1957-9).

Lohr, Charles H., 'Medieval Latin Aristotle Commentaries. Authors: Johannes De Kanthi—Myngodus', Traditio 27 (1971), 251-351.

Oldham, J. Basil, English Blind-Stamped Bindings (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1952).

Sharpe, Richard, A Handlist of the Latin Writers of Great Britain and Ireland before 1540. Publications of the Journal of Medieval Latin 1 (Turnhout, 1997).

Funding of Cataloguing

Conversion of the printed catalogue to TEI funded by the Thompson Family Charitable Trust

Abbreviations

View list of abbreviations and editorial conventions.

Last Substantive Revision

2023-06: First online publication

A catalogue of Western manuscripts at the Bodleian Libraries and selected Oxford colleges