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

MS. Bodl. 79

Summary Catalogue no.: 2267

Contents

1. (fol. 1)
Favus Mellis
Rubric: Incipit libellus qui intitulatur Fauus Mellis, quia sicut uariis e floribus fauus mellis elicitur, sic & libellus iste diuersis Sanctorum laudibus illustris habetur

A rhythmical poem in praise of the Trinity, Saints, etc., in the form of metrical Orationes

Incipit: (prol.) Mellis fauus ministris apibus
Incipit: Pater sancte qui rerum omnium [oratio auctoris]
Incipit: (text) Oratio ad Patrem. Pater sancte quem in celis semper esse credimus

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')

Language(s): Latin
2. (fols 53v-56)
Abelard, Planctus 6
Incipit: Dolorum solatium

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)

Language(s): Latin
3. (fol. 56)
Lament in verse
Incipit: Frigescente karitatis

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)

Language(s): Latin
4. (fol. 57)
Religious poems and hymns

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)

Language(s): Latin

Physical Description

Form: codex
Support: parchment
Extent: ii + 130 leaves
Dimensions (binding): 7.125 × 5.125 in.
Musical Notation:

Notation on staves, fol. 56.

Decoration

Pächt and Alexander iii. 362

Good borders

Good initials

Binding

Stamped black leather on boards, English work of the 2nd half of the 16th century

History

Origin: 13th century, first quarter ; England

Provenance and Acquisition

This volume apparently came into the Library in 1603 or 1604

MS. Bodl. 79, flyleaves

Contents

Accounts

Two fragments from a book of moneys received or paid by a religious house in Sussex (?) in respect of loans

Language(s): Latin

History

Origin: 15th century (1413 (?)) ; England

Additional Information

Record Sources

Description adapted (May 2023) by Stewart J. Brookes from the Summary Catalogue (1922), with additional reference to published literature as cited. Decoration, localization and date follow Pächt and Alexander (1973)

Last Substantive Revision

2023-05-04: Description revised to incorporate all the information in the Summary Catalogue (1922)