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

MS. Hamilton 54

Summary Catalogue no.: 24484

Johannes Hagen de Indagine; mostly Germany (Erfurt OCarth and Frankfurt a.d. Oder OCarth), c. 1458–1469

Physical Description

Form: codex
Support: paper
Extent: 478 + i leaves
Dimensions (leaf): 215 × 155 mm.
Foliation: Modern foliation, 1–476 (two unfoliated leaves after fol. 452).

Layout

1 column of c. 28–40 lines, ruled space c. 180 × 110–15 mm.

Hand(s)

Gothic hybrida, written by Iohannes de Indagine apart from fols. 322r–347v (which he annotates).

Decoration

Occasional rubricated headings or red underlining.

Binding

Contemporary, bound in leather over wooden boards, ruled with blind-stamped floral and fleur-de-lis designs. MS. Hamilton 57 has an identical binding, to which MS. Hamilton 54 is a companion volume. The binding of MS. Hamilton 49 uses similar design elements. Paper labels on upper board, ⟨Varii t⟩ractatuli spirituales et pro fide and H·61· (matching the Salvatorberg register, ed. P. Lehmann, Mittelalterliche Bibliothekskataloge. Deutschland und die Schweiz, vol. 2, p. 400). One clasp, now lacking. Leather rose-coloured tabs attached to the opening of each work in the volume.

History

Provenance and Acquisition

Erfurt, Charterhouse of Salvatorberg: ‘H·61·’ (label on the upper board) in its medieval catalogue; ‘Hic liber est fratrum Carthusiensium prope Erffordiam.’ (inside upper board). While the book was assembled here, colophons indicate that some parts were originally written in other locations. The compiler of the register is closely familiar with the volume’s contents, recounting its contents more expansively than the rubrics.

Friedrich Gottlieb Julius von Bülow, 1760–?1831, possibly no. 300 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 54, fols. 1–60

Contents

History

Origin: ca. 1458–1469 ; German, Erfurt, Charterhouse of Salvatorberg: ‘ad Carthusien’ prope erffordiam’ (fol. 1r, in Iohannes de Indagine's hand).

MS. Hamilton 54, fols. 147–170

Contents

Language(s): Latin

History

Origin: 1468 ; German, Erfurt, Charterhouse of Salvatorberg: ‘Explicit … erffordie anno 1468.’ (fol. 170v).

MS. Hamilton 54, fols. 171–183

Contents

Language(s): Latin

History

Origin: 1469 ; German, Erfurt, Charterhouse of Salvatorberg: ‘Explicit prope erffordiam 1469’ (fol. 207v).

MS. Hamilton 54, fols. 184–207

Contents

History

Origin: 1463 ; German, Frankfurt an der Oder, Charterhouse: ‘Explicit in carthusia prope frunchenfurd in chathedre[sic] petri anno 1.4.6.3.’ (fol. 207v).

Provenance

‘Arnoldus Buschz’ (15th century, fol. 184r).

MS. Hamilton 54, fols. 208–237

Contents

History

Origin: 1468 ; German, Erfurt, Charterhouse of Salvatorberg: ‘Explicit erffordie in carthusia anno 1468.’ (fol. 237r); ‘explicit erffordie in carthusia’ (fol. 239r); explicit erffordie in carthusia anno 1468). (fol. 243v).

MS. Hamilton 54, fols. 244–255

Contents

History

Origin: 1459 ; German, Erfurt, Charterhouse of Salvatorberg: ‘explicit erffordie in carthusia anno 1459.’ (fol. 255v).

MS. Hamilton 54, fols. 256–267

Contents

Language(s): Latin

History

Origin: 1459 ; German, Erfurt, Charterhouse of Salvatorberg: ‘Explicit anno domini .1.4.5.9. Erffurdie in Carthusia circa festum omnium sanctorum.’ (fol. 267v).

MS. Hamilton 54, fols. 268–279

Contents

Language(s): Latin

Physical Description

Form: codex
Extent: Leaves slightly smaller than others in the volume,
Dimensions (leaf): 213 × 150 mm.

History

Origin: 1458 ; German, Erfurt, Charterhouse of Salvatorberg: ‘erffordie in carthusia altera die francisci 1458.’ (fol. 279v).

MS. Hamilton 54, fols. 280–303

Contents

History

Origin: 1459 ; German, Erfurt, Charterhouse of Salvatorberg: ‘explicit anno 1459 erffordia in carthusia.’ (fol 303v).

MS. Hamilton 54, fols. 304–315

Contents

Language(s): Latin

History

Origin: 1458 ; German, Erfurt, Charterhouse of Salvatorberg: ‘Explicit in carthusia erffordie anno 1458.’ (fol. 315v).

MS. Hamilton 54, fols. 316–321

Contents

History

Origin: ca. 1458–1469 ; German

MS. Hamilton 54, fols. 322–347

Contents

Physical Description

Hand(s)

Gothic cursiva.

Heavily annotated by Iohannes de Indagine.

History

Origin: 1440s × 1460s ; German

MS. Hamilton 54, fols. 372–433

Contents

History

Origin: 1462 ; Poland, Stettin (Szczecin), Grabow, Charterhouse of Gratia Dei: Explicit … in carthusia prope scettin anno 1.4.6.2. (fol. 433v).

MS. Hamilton 54, fols. 434–452

Contents

Language(s): Latin

(fols. 434r–435v)
Decretum concilii Basiliensis factum in cessione xxxª. In qua decreuitur et declaratur quod fidelibus laici siue clerici communicantes et non confitentes non astringuntur et precepto domini quidam sub utraque specie
(fols. 452b–c)

Blank

History

Origin: ca. 1458–1469 ; German

MS. Hamilton 54, fols. 453–464

Contents

History

Origin: c. 1467–1468 ; German, Erfurt, Charterhouse of Salvatorberg: includes transcripts of letters dated 1465–7.

MS. Hamilton 54, fols. 465–476

Contents

Language(s): Latin

History

Origin: 1458 ; German, Erfurt, Charterhouse of Salvatorberg: ‘Explicit … erffordie in carthusie anno 1458 ualentini martyris.’ (fol. 476v).

MS. Hamilton 54 (parchment strip attached to upper board)

Contents

Language(s): Latin

Unidentified commentary

Physical Description

Hand(s)

Gothic textura.

Decoration

Red underlining for commented passages.

History

Origin: 15th century, first half ; German

MS. Hamilton 54 (parchment strip attached to lower board)

Contents

Language(s): German

Fragment of a charter

"und allis vergten das .... dar an haben. Vnde"

Physical Description

Hand(s)

Gothic semihybrida.

History

Origin: 15th century, first half ; German

Additional Information

Record Sources

Description by Andrew Dunning (January 2021). Previously described in P. Lehmann, Mittelalterliche Bibliothekskataloge. Deutschland und die Schweiz (Munich, 1928), vol. 2, pp. 400–1; Andrew Watson, Dated and Datable Manuscripts in Oxford Libraries (Oxford, 1984), no. 512; Summary Catalogue:

Digital Images

Digital Bodleian (full digital facsimile)

Bibliography

Last Substantive Revision

2021-01-14: Andrew Dunning Revised with consultation of original.