MS. Bodl. 79
Summary Catalogue no.: 2267
Contents
A rhythmical poem in praise of the Trinity, Saints, etc., in the form of metrical Orationes
The poem on Thomas of Canterbury on fol. 33 (beginning 'Gloriose celi presul [?]') is half erased
Only the first eight lines of the poem on fol. 53 are given (beginning 'Prodest multum & ad cultum')
A paraphrase of 2 Samuel 1.19-27. Like the other verse laments in Abelard's Planctus set, this is in the voice of a character from the Hebrew Bible, in this case David who laments the deaths of Saul and Jonathan. Carol J. Williams notes that this poem, written in the first person, is 'virtuosic in language and almost shockingly intense in emotional range' ('The Emotional Landscape of Abelard’s 'Planctus David super Saul et Ionatha', in The Intellectual Dynamism of the High Middle Ages, ed. by Clare Monagle [Amsterdam University Press, 2021], p. 109)
(Slightly later than the rest of the volume, inserted along with the piece below)
Has a 4-line stave with a C clef which renders the square musical notes easily legible
(Slightly later than the rest of the volume, inserted along with the piece above)
Sacred poems and hymns, chiefly rhythmical, many of which are Marian hymns and Marian sequences, some here attributed to Hildebert, Bishop of Le Mans (Orationes de sancte Maria, beginning 'Alma serena pia', fol. 62; Oratio de sancta Trinitate (Carmina minora, ed. Scott, no. 55), beginning 'Alpha es et O', fol. 88); one by 'Gerebertus', Pope Sylvester II (beginning 'Juste iudex Ihesu Christe', fol. 91v); 'Misteria sancte Crucis', in two parts (beginning 'Seruos Crucis gloria', fol. 96, cf. fol. 108, fol. 109)
The 17 Laudes Mariae at fol. 65 are attributed to Anselm; 'Dulcis Ihesu memoria' at fol. 90 is perhaps Bernard; while the 'Multis a confratribus' is printed as by Walter Map (fol. 92v)
Physical Description
Notation on staves, fol. 56.
Binding
Stamped black leather on boards, English work of the 2nd half of the 16th century
History
Provenance and Acquisition
This volume apparently came into the Library in 1603 or 1604
MS. Bodl. 79, flyleaves
Contents
Two fragments from a book of moneys received or paid by a religious house in Sussex (?) in respect of loans
History
Additional Information
Record Sources
Abbreviations
View list of abbreviations and editorial conventions.
Last Substantive Revision
2023-05-04: Description revised to incorporate all the information in the Summary Catalogue (1922)