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

MS. Douce 240

Summary Catalogue no.: 21814

Contents

Language(s): Middle English with Latin

1. (fols. 1r–182r)
New Testament in the Later Version of the Wycliffite Bible

Imperfect at the beginning, starting at 2:1.

Incipit: ||in þe daies of kyng eroude

Leaves at the beginning of the four gospels, Romans, 2 Corinthians, Acts and the Apocalypse, that probably contained illuminated initials and borders, are excised, and initials are excised at the beginning of several other books. The following text is missing: prologue to Matthew; Matthew 28:13–end; prologue to Mark; Mark 1:1–21; prologue to Luke after ‘…gospels weren writen by’; Luke 1:1–41; John 1:1–48, 12:44–14:1, 21:15–end; prologue to Romans; Romans 1:1–31; 1 Corinthians 15:41–end; prologue to 2 Corinthians; 2 Corinthians 1:1–3, 5:8–7:10; Hebrews 12:25– end; prologue to Acts; Acts 1:1–2; prologue to the Apocalypse after ‘… wherfore þis book is seid’; Apocalypse 1:1–4. Usual rubrics at the beginnings of prologues and books (where they survive), e.g., ‘here endiþ þe gospel of marke & bygynneþ þe prologe on luyk’ (fol. 39v); ‘Ierom in his prologe on mark. seiþ þis’ (fol. 43r). Running titles with red paraphs on the versos and with blue paraphs on the rectos, consisting of abbreviated titles of biblical books. Chapter numbers as red Roman numerals or sometimes written out as words. The beginnings of lections are marked by indexing letters in the margins and highlighted with yellow wash within the text; the ends of lections are marked with double strokes in the margins. Corrections in the margins in the original and contemporary hands. No marginal glosses, added material within the text is not underlined.

2. (fols. 182r–193r)
Table of lections of Type I

With the usual rubric in red, similar to the rubric in MS. Fairfax 11, but partly unreadable because of water (?) damage. The entries consist of the name of the liturgical occasion in red, abbreviated reference to a book and chapter of the Bible, an indexing letter in red, the opening words of a reading, ‘ende’ in red and the closing words of a reading. No running titles. Includes the temporal, followed by commemorations and the sanctoral.

Fols. 193v–195v, originally blank, contain added sketches and a coat of arms (see Decoration and Provenance). Fols. 196–205 are paper flyleaves.

Physical Description

Form: codex
Support: parchment, paper flyleaves; trimmed in rebinding
Extent: 214 leaves, c.
Dimensions (leaf): 163 × 109 mm.
Foliation: modern in pencil: i–viii + 1–109 + 110a + 110b + 111–205

Collation

(fols. i–viii) paper flyleaves | (fols. 1–7) I (8–1) missing 1 | (fols. 8–23) II–III (8) | (fols. 24–30) IV (8–1) missing 2 | (fols. 31–38) V (8) | (fols. 39–45) VI (8–1) missing 2 | (fols. 46–61) VII–VIII (8) | (fols. 62–68) IX (8–1) missing 5 | (fols. 69–76) X (8) | (fols. 77–82) XI (8–1) missing 1 and 8 | (fols. 83–98) XII–XIII (8) | (fols. 99–104) XIV (8–2) missing 3 and 6 | (fols. 105–127) XV–XVII (8) | (fols. 128–134) XVIII (8–1) missing 6 | (fols. 135–166) XIX–XXII (8) | (fols. 167–173) XXIII (8–1) missing 5 | (fols. 174–189) XXIV–XXV (8) | (fols. 190–195) XXVI (6). Catchwords survive.
Secundo Folio: ‘to him & he say’ (fol. 2r)

Layout

ruled for two columns with single vertical and horizontal bounding lines extending the full height and width of page; 36 lines per page; written space: c. 123 × 81 mm.

Hand(s)

textura

Decoration

The four gospels, Romans, 2 Corinthians, Acts and the Apocalypse probably originally started with illuminated initials and borders, now excised (a border at the beginning of St John’s gospel left an offset on fol. 65v). Other books start with 4- to 5-line gold initials on blue and pink background, decorated with penwork sprays, gold disks and leaves (e.g., fols. 106r, 111v, 114r, 116v); some initials are excised.

3-line blue initials with red penwork at the beginnings of prologues and chapters.

Added sketches, second half of the 15th century:

  • (fol. 193v) buildings (?), one with a standard on a pole (bottom of the page); cross; standard with a cross (top of the page), all faded;
  • (fol. 194v) crucifix on a mound with two scrolls, one with ‘Thomas Peuere’, another with a faded inscription; chalice collecting blood from wounds, bones and skull and three nails at the bottom;
  • (fol. 195r) shield with a coat of arms and a scroll with ‘ARMA THOME PE’.

Rubrics in red ink.

Binding

Brown leather over pasteboard. Double blind fillet lines round the outer edge of both covers. Blind fillet and roll rectangular decoration with floral corner-pieces on both covers. Four raised bands on spine framed by gilt decoration. Red paper label with faded lettering and white paper label with ‘240’ on spine. Edges of textblock speckled red.

History

Origin: England ; 15th century, first half

Dialect survey:

  • ony(10), ech(10), fier(10), ȝouun(9)/ȝouen(1), lyf(9)/lijf(1), lyk(10), myche(2)/ mych(8), siȝ(9) (sg.), saien(1)/siȝen(5)/sayen(1) (pl.), silf(10), such(1)/suche(5)/ sich(1)/siche(3), þouȝ(8), þorouȝ(1)/þorowȝ(1)/þoruȝ(8)
  • -iþ(7)/-eþ(3) (pres.ind.3sg.), -en(10) (pres.ind.pl.), -ynge(9)/-inge(1) (pres. part.), sche(10) (3sg.fem.pronoun, nom.), þei(10) (3pl.pronoun, nom.), hem(10) (3pl.pronoun, oblique), her(10) (3pl.pronoun, possessive)

Provenance and Acquisition

Belonged to Thomas Peuere in the second half of the 15th century: arms, lections on scrolls, sketches on fols. 193v–195r (see Decoration).

Lucas Campion, 16th century (fol. 195v).

Mr Bennett, 18th century (fol. 195v).

Armorial bookplate of Frederick Ekins, rector of Morpeth, Northumberland (d. 1842), see Foster, J., Alumni Oxonienses: the members of the University of Oxford, 1715–1886, 4 vols (London: Joseph Foster; Oxford: Parker and Co., 1887–88), p. 416; ‘Revᵈ Fred. Ekins’ (upper pastedown).

Francis Douce (1757–1834); see Oxford Dictionary of National Biography: bookplate on the upper pastedown.

Bodleian Library: received in 1834 with bequest of Douce.

Record Sources

Elizabeth Solopova, Manuscripts of the Wycliffite Bible in the Bodleian and Oxford College Libraries, Exeter Medieval Texts and Studies (Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 2016), no. 13. Previously described:

Bibliography

    Forshall, J. and Madden, F. (eds), The Holy Bible … in the earliest English versions made from the Latin Vulgate by John Wycliffe and his followers, 4 vols (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1850), vol. 1, p. l.
    Madan, F., Summary catalogue of western manuscripts in the Bodleian Library at Oxford, vol. 4 (collections received during the first half of the 19th century) nos. 16670–24330 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1897), no. 21814.
    Pächt, O. and Alexander, J. J. G., Illuminated manuscripts in the Bodleian Library, Oxford, 3 vols (Oxford, 1966–73), vol. 3 (1973), no. 969.
    Hudson, A., ‘Lollard book production’, in Griffiths, J. and Pearsall, D. A. (eds), Book production and publishing in Britain 1375–1475 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989), pp. 125–42, p. 140 n. 29.
    Kerby-Fulton, K. and Despres, D. L., Iconography and the professional reader: the politics of book production in the Douce Piers Plowman (Minneapolis and London: University of Minnesota Press, 1999), pp. 124, 239 n. 13.
    Scott, K. L. (gen. ed.), An index of images in English manuscripts from the time of Chaucer to Henry VIII, c.1380–c.1509: the Bodleian Library, Oxford, 3 vols (Turnhout: Harvey Miller Publishers, 2000–02), vol. 2, p. 37, no. 474.
    Dove, M., The first English Bible: the text and context of the Wycliffite versions (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007), p. 299.

Last Substantive Revision

2023-03-24: Add Solopova description.