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

OR BROWSE BY

MANUSCRIPTS
WORKS
PEOPLE
PLACES

MS. Rawl. B. 205

Summary Catalogue no.: 15506

Contents

Chronicle of England (Brut Chronicle) to 1419 (ending imperfectly in 1397; Lister M. Matheson, The Prose Brut (1998), pp. 124–5)
Incipit: Here men may hiren
Incipit: In the noble lande of Sirrie ther was a noble Kyng and myghti
Explicit: sir John Cheyny knyght weren brouʒt||
Language(s): Middle English

Physical Description

Form: codex
Support: parchment
i (paper, conjugate with pastedown) + 68 + i (paper) leaves.
Dimensions (binding): 410 × 295 × 31 mm.
Dimensions (leaf): 375–397 × 275 mm.

Layout

Two columns of 50 lines, ruled in leadpoint. 271–274 × 85 mm. 271–274 × 195 mm.

Hand(s)

One hand (littera hybrida), with occasional later marginal notes.

Decoration

Flourished initials in red and blue.

Later sketches of man in hat found on fol. 19v.

History

Origin: 15th century ; English

Provenance and Acquisition

John Baxter (fols. 14r, 68v, 68v)

Thomas Hearne: 'Suum cuique; Tho. Hearne. Feb. 20th. 1724. Given me by my friend Mr. Burman, B. A. of Xt. Church'; 'It was given me by Mr. William Burman of ChristChurch, who took great pains in preserving these sheets, and endeavour’d, tho’ in vain, to retrieve the rest.'

Richard Rawlinson, 1690–1755

Bequeathed to the Bodleian in 1755

Record Sources

Description adapted from the Quarto Catalogue (W. D. Macray, Catalogi codicum manuscriptorum Bibliothecæ Bodleianæ...viri munificentissimi Ricardi Rawlinson, J.C.D., codicum...complectens, Quarto Catalogues V, 5 fascicles, 1862–1900), with additional reference to published literature as cited.
Summary Catalogue, Vol. 3, p. 434
Quarto Catalogue, Col. 530

2025-05-16: Additional data collected by Paul Cooley and Hans Fredrik Ebne as part of the 'Big Data' and Medieval Manuscripts workshop held at the Bodleian Libraries, Oxford on 15th May 2025. Data encoded in TEI-XML by Sebastian Dows-Miller on 16th May 2025.

Abbreviations

View list of abbreviations and editorial conventions.

Last Substantive Revision

2025-05-16: Additional data collected by Paul Cooley and Hans Fredrik Ebne as part of the 'Big Data' and Medieval Manuscripts workshop held at the Bodleian Libraries, Oxford on 15th May 2025. Data encoded in TEI-XML by Sebastian Dows-Miller on 16th May 2025.