MS. Hamilton 31
Summary Catalogue no.: 24461
A John of Wales, Postilla in Apocalypsim; Germany, 15th century, second quarter or middle B Agostino Trionfo on Hebrews and James; Germany, c. 1430–1440
Contents
On the upper pastedown in fifteenth-century hands (1) a theological quaestio; (2) a note of the volume's contents, not mentioning item 3, and attributing item 1 to 'quodam fratre ordinis minorum'; (3) ex libris (see provenance). On the lower pastedown are another fifteenth-century ex libris, pen trials, and a subject-index (partly alphabetical) to art. 1 in four columns.
Physical Description
Binding
Ruled and stamped binding with cut-leather decoration (the Virgin and Child) on the upper board: attributed by Hermann Herbst to Tider Woltmann and subsequently by Ilse Schunke to the workshop of the Braunschweig cathedral binder, active c. 1433–1440; see F. A. Schmidt-Künsemüller, Corpus Der Gotischen Lederschitteinbände Aus Dem Deutschen Sprachgebiet (1980) no. 416, with references. The stamps are Schwenke-Schunke Rosette 49, but also a rosette not listed in Schwenke-Schunke, but associated in EBDB with Woltmann (s014638). Clasps lost; cornerpieces and centrepiece lost. Contemporary labels on the upper board with contents and pressmark. Tabs.
Accompanying Material
Fragments of a twelfth-century liturgical manuscript in the binding and used as quire-strengtheners.
History
Provenance and Acquisition
Erfurt, Carthusian abbey: ex libris, fifteenth-century, on both pastedowns; another, fol. 118r; ex libris, 17th century (?), fol. 1; pressmark C 91 on label on the upper cover; listed under that pressmark in the late-fifteenth-century library catalogue (Mittelalterliche Bibliothekskataloge Deutschlands und der Schweiz, II: Erfurt, ed. P. Lehmann (1928), p. 292).
Friedrich Gottlieb Julius von Bülow, 1760-?1831: identifiable as 177 in the catalogue of part 3 of his sale, 10 Oct. 1836.
Sir William Hamilton, 1788–1856
Presented to the Bodleian Library by his sons and received in 1857.
MS. Hamilton 31 – Part A (fols. 1–179)
Contents
Rest of fol. 179rb blank; fol. 179v blank.
Stegmüller, Bibl. 2961, this ms. listed; cf. also 2962, 2963, 4518; J. Swanson, John of Wales, A study of the works and ideas of a thirteenth-century friar, Cambridge 1989, 230 no. 17. Mostly anonymous in the manuscripts, sometimes also attributed to William Melton; less commonly to Nicholas Lyra or Nicholas Gorran, William Alnwick, or Vitalis de Furno (Stegmüller, Bibl. 8312,2).Physical Description
Collation
Layout
2 cols., c. 36–39 lines. Frame-ruled; ruled space 225 × 145 mm. , 15 mm. between columns.
Hand(s)
Hybrida by one hand.
Decoration
Four-line coloured red initial, fol. 1ra.
Occasional three-line initials flourished in the ink of the text, e.g. fols. 87r, 160v.
Elsewhere spaces for two- to three-line initials, unfilled. No rubrication, although running-heads and marginal comments are occasionally in red ink.
History
MS. Hamilton 31 – Part B (fols. 180–235)
Contents
Language(s): Latin
Rest of fol. 231va blank; fol. 231vb blank.
Stegmüller, Bibl. 1527, this ms. listed.Breaks off imperfect.
Stegmüller, Bibl. 1528Fols. 234r-235v blank. Fol. 236r-v (parchment endleaf) blank.
Physical Description
Collation
Layout
2 cols., c. 53–57 lines. Frame-ruled, ruled space c. 225 × 140 mm.
Hand(s)
Cursive, one hand.
Decoration
Spaces for initials unfilled.
History
Additional Information
Record Sources
Digital Images
Digital Bodleian (full digital facsimile)
Bibliography
Online resources:
Abbreviations
View list of abbreviations and editorial conventions.
Last Substantive Revision
2020-11-13: Description finalized for Polonsky German.