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

MS. Lyell 20

Contents

1. (fols. 1r-205v)
Petrus de Herenthals, Collectarius on the Psalter
Incipit: (fol. 1) Patri Reverendo domino meo carissimo Iohanni domino de Arkel ... Pater carissimus cum rem quamlibet
Explicit: (fol. 205vb) humiliter obedire ad laudem et gloriam tuam qui est benedictus in secula seculorum. Amen.
Stegmüller, Rep. Bibl., no. 6616.

There are a number of marginal glosses, most of which appear to have been written by the scribe.

The leaf missing between fol. 119 and 120 contained the end of the section on Ps. lxxix and the beginning of Ps. lxxx.

(with index)
Language(s): Latin
2. (fols. 206r-215r)
Richard Ullerston, Expositio canticorum Scripturae

Exposition of the six Old and New Testament Canticles.

Rubric: (fol. 206) Incipit quedam brevis exposicio super cantica que psalterio davitico sunt coniuncta
Incipit: Finita utcumque exposicione psalterii davitici superest per dei gratiam aggredi exposicionem brevem eorum que dicuntur cantica que nostro psalterio usuali sunt annexa. Quod quidem opus eo difficilius est assumere quo pauci hec cantica ad sensum litteralem exposuerunt ad quem sensum intendimus ea exponere modo quo psalterium exposuimus. Et quia compositor Nicholaus quem doctorem de Lira appellamus hec omnia ad litteram exponit iuxta sensum, a domino sibi attributum. Hinc est quod sue exposicioni intendo ut plurimum inniti in hoc opere. Primum autem horum canticorum vocatur canticum Ysaie ... sic exordiens ut sequitur. Confitebor tibi domine videlicet confessione laudis
Explicit: (fol. 215ra) eleganter exposuit ista cantica.
Final rubric: Explicit exposicio canticorum scripture facta per Ricardum Ullerston magistrum in theologia de cathedra Oxon. Anno domini mºccccmºxvº.

The rest of the leaf was originally blank.

See Emden, B.R.U.O., p. 1929, who cites our MS.
Stegmüller, Rep. Bibl., no. 7353. Stegmüller's no. 7352 refers to our MS. He was misled by the description in the Mostyn catalogue into thinking that it contained a commentary of Richard on the Psalter.

The first part of the preface is not found in the other two known MSS., Magdalen College Lat. 115 and Merton College 193, but the Magdalen MS. has additional passages in the exposition which are not in our MS.; see M. M. Harvey, ‘English views of the reforms to be undertaken in the General Councils (1400-1418)', MS. Bodl. D. Phil. d. 3111, 1964, pp. 59–61, nn. 211-12, and pp. 292-5.

Language(s): Latin
3. (fols. 216r-225r)

An alphabetical index to item 1

Incipit: Abiectio commendabilis. 83. 11
Explicit: (fol. 225гa) Ysopus est humilis penitentia. 50. 8.
Language(s): Latin

Followed by

A note on the use of the index

Incipit: Nota quod in tabula predicta
Explicit: exponuntur ut patet
Language(s): Latin

A note on Credere

Incipit: Crede deo credasque deum . . . vel eum. Quia credere deo est credere verum esse quod dicit
Explicit: Hec Petrus de Salinis de pe d. 2ª in c caritas le ij in verbo credere.

For the verses at the beginning see Walther, Initia, no. 3406.

Fol. 225v-226v are blank.

Language(s): Latin

Physical Description

Secundo Folio: malos
Form: codex
Support: parchment
i + 227 leaves (fol. i and 227 are flyleaves)
Dimensions (leaf): 330 × 227 mm.
Dimensions (written): 228-36 × 139-48 mm.
Edges slightly cropped

Collation

1(12)-9(12), 10(12) (12 missing), 11(12)-13(12), 14(12) (two bifolia are misplaced: bifolium 5+8 (fol. 160 and 163) should precede 4+9 (fol. 159 and 164), as is noted in a nearly contemporary hand), 15(12)–18(12), 19(12) (12 canc.), catchwords in decorative frames, quire signatures

Layout

Frame ruling in crayon, 2 cols., 52-58 lines

Hand(s)

Written in a formal set secretary hand in England, probably at Oxford, in the early 15th cent. The scribe uses a double-compartment 'a' on fol. 1-4, then changes to a single compartment 'a' on fol. 4v

Decoration

Fol. 1, on gold ground, initial in blue filled with sprouting interlacing foliage in blue, red, and orange, all decorated in white, joined to a bar border on three sides with clusters and sprays of foliage in the same colours. There are some touches of pale green. Similar initials and border on fols. 3r, 34v, 53v, 74v, 99r, 142r, 159v.

Borders: see above.

Other initals in blue, skilfully flourished in red.

(Pächt and Alexander iii. 864)

Binding

19th-cent. binding in white parchment with foliage ornament imprinted in black and blue (as MS. Lyell 6), over old boards, with same ticket of E. Parry, Bookseller and Stationer, Bridge Street Row, Chester.

History

Origin: 15th century, early (after 1415) ; English, Oxford (?)

Provenance and Acquisition

On fol. 215 is the erased note (15th cent): 'Iste liber constat magistro Roberto Colby'. A notary called Robert Colby executed a document in Balliol College, Oxford, in 1419; see Emden, B.R.U.O., p. 459.

Later in the Mostyn Library: on the front pastedown is the Gloddaeth Library ticket (no. 63) and 'MS. No. 70': the number of the MS. in Hist. MSS. Comm., 4th report, 1874, App. p. 349. Lot 123 in Mostyn sale, Sotheby's 13 July 1920.

James P. R. Lyell, 1871–1948: bought by Lyell in July 1942 from Quaritch; see their Catalogue of Illuminated and other MSS., 1931, no. 79.

Chosen as one of the hundred manuscripts bequeathed to the Bodleian by Lyell in 1948.

Record Sources

A. C. de la Mare, Catalogue of the Medieval Manuscripts Bequeathed to the Bodleian Library Oxford by James P. R. Lyell (1971)

Last Substantive Revision

2025-09: Add all information from printed catalogue.

Data

The TEI-XML file for this record can be viewed in a GitHub repository.

Tabular data derived from the TEI-XML files is available in a GitHub repository.