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

MS. Bodl. 464

Summary Catalogue no.: 2458

Contents

Language(s): Latin

Astrological and astronomical treatises and tables, including the following; for a full inventory see Barker-Benfield.

1. (fol. 1)
Profatius Iudaeus, Tabulae almanac
Rubric: Canones super Almanach Prophacij Iudei
2. (fol. 58)
Astronomical calendar
Rubric: (table of contents) Kalendarium fratris Rogeri bacun ad ueram coniunccionem habendam
Incipit: Kalendarium sequens extractum est a tabulis tholetanis. Anno dimini 1292. factum ad meridiem Ciuitatis Tholeti
3. (fol. 72v)
Petrus de Dacia, Tabula de medio motu lunae
Rubric: Tabula magistri Petri de Dacia ad sciendum in quo signo sit luna
4. (fol. 80v)
Petrus Peregrinus, Epistola de magnete
Rubric: Epistola Petri Peregrini ad [sic for de] Maharicurth ad Sigerum de Feucecort de magnete
5. (fol. 85)
Campanus of Novara, De quadrante
Rubric: Composicio instrumenti solarii(?) magistri Campani
6. (fols. 92v, 95, 96v, 147v)
Thebit ben Corat, works
7. (fol. 98)
Alcabitius, Liber introductorius (tr. John of Seville)
Rubric: Alkabizii […] liber introductorius iudiciorum astrorum […] interpretatus a Johanne Hy⟨s⟩panico
(fol. 120)
Herman of Carinthia, Liber imbrium
Rubric: Liber de permutacione temporum et pluuiarum
Incipit: Cum multa & uaria
eTK 0319E
(fol. 122v)
Robert Grosseteste, De impressionibus aeris siue de prognosticatione
Rubric: Liber de pronosticacione aeris
Incipit: Ad prenosticandam diuersam
(fol. 126)
John of Seville, Tractatus pluuiarum
Rubric: Capitulum de natura aeris
Incipit: Volens scire naturam
(fol. 127v)
Albumasar, Flores super Saturno
Rubric: Liber de cognicione rerum temporalium caristie
Incipit: Hunc librum intellexerunt Romani
(fol. 134)
Messahala, Astrolabium siue practica astrolabii
Rubric: Practica astrolabii
Incipit: Nomina instrumentorum sunt
(fol. 162v)
Ps.-Arnold of Villanova, Introductio ad iudicia astrologiae quantum pertinet ad medicinam
Rubric: Breuis tractatus introduccionis ad iudicia astronomie quantum pertinet ad medicum introducendum
Incipit: Circa signa uniuersalia distributiua
(fol. 200)
Japhar, Liber imbrium

Physical Description

Form: codex
Support: parchment
Extent: iii + 206 fols.
Dimensions (leaf): 275 × 190 mm.

Layout

1 col., 36 lines, written space 210 × 140–5 mm. Tables vary in size.

Fols. 1–4: 2 cols., 42 lines, column space 200 × 67–70 mm.

Hand(s)

Fols. 1–57av: professional scribe, English or French (see Barker-Benfield).

Fols. 58r-205: written by Michael of Northgate (see Barker-Benfield).

Decoration

Coloured initials, rubrics, parts of text in red; penwork flourishing. Tables, diagrams.

Binding

Bound for Michael of Northgate (see Barker-Benfield): red whittawed leather over boards, traces of chemise in white whittawed leather; rebacked.

History

Origin: 1301 × 1318 (?) ; English, Canterbury (?)

Provenance and Acquisition

Written after 1301 (the date when item 1 was composed) and probably before 1318 (annotation on fol. 62 (‘annus arabum 717 anno domini 1318’); likely to have been written at least in part at St Augustine's, Canterbury (Knorr, ‘Two Medieval Monks’), although some or all of the volume may have been assembled by Michael of Northgate before his entry to St Augustine's, and possibly in France rather than England. On fol. 171v the line separating the tables for 1291–1309 from those for 1310–28 perhaps suggests that the former cycle was past when the table was copied (Watson). Fols. 170–99 are tables prepared to the latitude of Canterbury.

Given by Michael of Northgate to Canterbury, St Augustine's: ex libris (pastedown), 14th century.

Canterbury, St Augustine's: BA 1.1156 in the 15th century library catalogue.

John Twyne (d. 1581).

His son, Thomas Twyne (d. 1613): ‘Thomas Twyni, ex dono Joannis Twyni patris sui’ (fol. 1).

Presented by Thomas Twyne in 1612.

Record Sources

Description adapted (Jan. 2019) from the following sources, updated with reference to published scholarship as cited in the description.
A. G. Watson, Catalogue of Dated and Datable Manuscripts c.435–1600 in Oxford Libraries (Oxford, 1984), no. 90 [physical description, provenance]
Summary Catalogue (1922) [contents, acquisition]

Digital Images

Digital Bodleian (9 images from 35mm slides)

Bibliography

    Printed descriptions:

    B. C. Barker-Benfield, St Augustine's Abbey, Canterbury, Corpus of British Medieval Library Catalogues 13 (2008), BA 1.1156 (II, pp. 1173–80)
    S. J. P. van Dijk, Latin Liturgical Manuscripts in the Bodleian Library, Oxford, vol. 3: Rituals and Directories (typescript, 1957), p. 112

    Online resources:

Last Substantive Revision

2019-01-29: Description revised with reference to SC and Watson.