MS. Laud Misc. 226

Summary Catalogue no.: 1290

Language(s): Latin

1. (fols. 1r-98r)

The order is 1-2, 2bis ('Edictum quod dat pontifex episcopo cui benedicit'), 4-37, 40, 38-39, 41-60, 62, 61, 63, 65-67, 64 ('LXVII'), 68-83, 85, 84, 86-103, 'CIIII' (= Prologus in Decretum, fols. 40r-44v), 104-122, 124-125, 123, 126-131, 133, 132, 135, 134, 136-187, 189, 188, 190-193, 195, 194, 196-200, 202, 201, 203-209 ('CCX'), 212, 211, 282 ('CXIII'), 213-215, 219, 210 ('CCXVIII'), 216-218, 220-226, 284, 227, 283 ('CCXXXI'), 228-235 ('CCXXXIX'), 187 (repeated), 236-262, 264-265, 215 (repeated; 'CCLXX'), 266-271

Final rubric: Expliciunt epistolȩ Ivonis Carnotensis episopi

Numbered from 1 to 276: 'Capitulum primum', 'cap. ii' ... 'cap. vi', then simply 'vii' ... 'cclxxvi'.

PL 162.11-288

2. (fol. 98r-99r)

Ivo of Chartres, Sermo 6

Rubric: Cur filius Dei factus sit homo

Incipit: Corruptum peccatis originalibus et actualibus mundum mundi conditor

Explicit: uel humana cogitatio comprehendere

Addition in a roughly contemporary or slightly later hand.

3. (fols. 99r-100r)

Ivo of Chartres, Sermo 8

Incipit: In diuine miserationis magnitudinem libet aciem mentis

Explicit: militemus in uia, ut donatiuum recipiamus in patria

Addition in another roughly contemporary or slightly later hand.

4. (fols. 100r-v)

Ivo of Chartres, Sermo 15

Incipit: Gaudeamus in domino dilectissimi, et licet non quantas debemus

Explicit: [PL 162.585B] per auditum uirgo uerbum ||

Addition by the preceding hand (item 3). Imperfect due to loss of one or more leaves at end.

Physical Description

Secundo Folio: ⟨iocun⟩dissima huius

Form: codex

Support: parchment

ii (medieval parchment) + 100 + i (medieval parchment)

Dimensions (leaf): c. 260 × c. 170 mm.

Foliation: i-ii, 1-101 in modern (19th- and 20th-century) pencil

Collation

Not determined: too tightly bound.

Condition

Significant damage to the edges of leaves; repaired, 19th (?) century.

Layout

Ruled with fine leadpoint for one column of 40 lines, with single vertical and double horizontal bounding lines; written space c. 195-200 × c. 120 mm. Prickings survive; fols. 82-89 pricked twice.

Hand(s)

Protogothic; apparently one main hand with items 2-4 added by two contemporary hands.

Decoration

7-line arabesque initial, fol. 1r

3-line coloured initials at the beginning of each letter: typically alternating blue and red, but on fols. 81r-90r the colours are blue, red and and a light brown, not in regular sequence.

Additions:

Several layers of marginalia, in leadpoint and ink.

The most frequent annotator (s. xiii/xiv) adds marginal headings in early Anglicana script ('De tolerancia', fol. 2r, in ink; 'De paciencia', fol. 8v, in leadpoint; etc.) and uses a distinctive 'j' shaped nota sign.

Binding

Late medieval binding (dated early 15th century in the revised Quarto catalogue). In-board binding of uncoloured alum-tawed sheepskin over wooden oak boards with a 'Gothic' structure, boards slightly larger than bookblock, cover turned in on all edges with tongued mitres. Sewn on four double raised alum-tawed supports. Separate endleaves of stiff parchment: front, bifolium (fols. i-ii), both now free but fol. i a lifted pastedown; back, one leaf (fol. 101) with faint drawings in leadpoint, a former pastedown. Fastenings: clasp (lost; bar catchplate survives) closing from left to right. Unexplained layer of alum-tawed skin between spine and head endband, possibly originally covered with secondary endband sewing. Compound endbands sewn in green and brown.

Rebacked, Bodleian, 1957.

History

Origin: 12th century, third quarter ; English

Provenance and Acquisition

Medieval provenance not known. Strips from one or more medieval documents were used to reinforce leaves, especially at the beginning of the manuscript, but provide no evidence of provenance.

William Laud, 1634 (ex libris, fol. 1r).

Part of his first donation to the Bodleian, 1635.

Record Sources

Description by Matthew Holford, June 2025. Previously described:

Otto Pächt and J. J. G. Alexander, Illuminated Manuscripts in the Bodleian Library, Oxford, III (1973), no. 193

H. O. Coxe, Laudian Manuscripts, Quarto Catalogues II, repr. with corrections, 1969, from the original ed. of 1858–1885)

Quarto Catalogue, col. 194

Quarto Catalogue, p. 553

Summary Catalogue, vol. 2, part 1, p. 55

Abbreviations

View list of abbreviations and editorial conventions.

Last Substantive Revision

2025-06: Description revised.

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