MS. Canon. Misc. 518

Binding

15th century, Italian: wood boards with broad squares; traces on the bare boards of former full leather (lost), tooled with double lines into a St Andrew’s cross; traces of four clasps with brown leather straps, and possibly of bosses and corner-pieces including a large diamond-shaped metal centrepiece on each cover, all lost; endleaves are waste from an unfinished manuscript of Justinian, Institutes, 14th century, Italian. Leather replaced with quarter-leather, ?18th century, which was in turn replaced, 20th century, Bodleian. 356–360 × 253–254 × c. 72–76 mm. (book closed).

The manuscript itself is probably 13th century (pace Coxe), Italian?, and preserves marks on its first and last leaves (fols. 1, 236) of an earlier binding with 3+[3]+3 bosses on each cover.