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

MS. Rawl. B. 505

Summary Catalogue no.: 11852

Physical Description

Composite: fols. 1–210 || fols. 211–220

Decoration

Historiated initial.

fol. 191v

  • Type initial I
  • Subject Gold initial with half-figure of St Berachus, with crosier, before an altar with chalice, in architectural frame (Life of St Berachus).

  • Blue initial on red and gold background, decorated with coiled tendrils with flowers and leaves extending into margins on fol. 184.

  • Red and blue initials, usually on contrasting blue or red background, decorated with geometric, floral, zoomorphic and anthropomorphic penwork designs. Black penwork initials. Initials with human figures, heads of men and women, and animal heads are on fols. 2v, 4v, 12v, 25r, 44r, 49v, 67r, 70r, 83r and 124v.
  • Catchwords, decorated with geometric and floral designs, grotesques, human and animal heads.
  • Initials, formed by bodies of beasts and grotesques, or decorated with interlace and animal heads on fols. 211–220.

History

Provenance and Acquisition

Richard Rawlinson, 1690–1755

Bequeathed to the Bodleian in 1755

MS. Rawl. B. 505 – Part 1

Contents

2.
Lives of Irish saints (text copied from MS. Rawl B. 485)
Language(s): Latin

Physical Description

Form: codex
Support: parchment

Decoration

Historiated and other initials. (Pächt and Alexander iii. 1280)

History

Origin: 15th century, beginning ; Irish, Abbeyderg (?)

MS. Rawl. B. 505 – Part 2

Contents

1.
Félire Óengusso Céli Dé (martyrology with commentary for the year from January to December)
Language(s): Irish and Latin

Physical Description

Form: codex
Support: parchment

Decoration

Good initials. (Pächt and Alexander iii. 1284)

History

Origin: 15th century ; Irish, Abbeyderg (?)

Additional Information

Record Sources

Summary description abbreviated 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). Decoration, localization and date follow Pächt and Alexander (1973).

Bibliography

    Brian Ó Cuiv, Catalogue of Irish Language Manuscripts in the Bodleian Library at Oxford and Oxford College Libraries, 2 vols (Dublin, 2001–3), I.208–15

Last Substantive Revision

2019-10-31: Toby Burrows/Mapping Manuscript MigrationsProvenance and acquisition information added using https://github.com/mapping-manuscript-migrations/oxford-tei-updates/blob/master/update_oxford_prov.rb in collaboration with the Mapping Manuscript Migrations project.