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

MS. Rawl. D. 913

Summary Catalogue no.: 13679

Guardbook of fragments

Contents

Fragments: collection of fragments

Language(s): Middle English, Anglo-Norman, Old French, and Dutch

Physical Description

Form: codex
Support: paper, parchment

Decoration

Good border, initial, fols. 2–3. (Pächt and Alexander iii. 1083, pl. C)

Good diagrams, initial, fols. 22–42. (Pächt and Alexander iii. 866)

Good initials, fols. 94–97. (Pächt and Alexander i. 600)

History

Origin: 14th century - 16th century ; English, French, Netherlandish

Provenance and Acquisition

Richard Rawlinson, 1690–1755

Bequeathed to the Bodleian in 1755

Contents

Language(s): Middle English with some French

(fol. 1r-1v)
"The Rawlinson Lyrics"

Selection of short anonymous verses. See Wilson (1952), Dronke (1961), Hirsh (2014), and especially Burrow (1984) for discussion and edition.

Contents include DIMEV record numbers: 4162, 5301, 2171, 3684, 1647, 3328, 6222, 351, 327, and 6834.

Physical Description

Support: Parchment
Extent: 1 leaf
Dimensions (leaf): 272 × 97 mm.

Condition

Leaf no longer attached to guardbook; loose in box. Recto side badly stained. Parchment heavily creased. One small hole.

Layout

Single column of text, 41 lines on recto, 8 lines on verso. Individual texts arranged in paragraphs, without breaks between lines of verse. Written area 222 × 80 mm.

Hand(s)

Anglicana. Carefully written, regular letter forms.

History

Origin: England ; 14th Century, early (For discussion, see Burrow 1984)

Provenance

Original format of leaf unclear; may have been roll or separate leaf.

MS Rawl D. 913 fols. 2-3

Contents

Language(s): Middle English

(fols. 2r-3v)
John Lydgate, Troy Book

Text from Book 1 of Lydgate's Troy Book (DIMEV 3995), Fol. 1r-v ll.623-702. Fol. 2r-v ll.460-567 as printed in H. Bergen Lydgate's Troy Book : A.D. 1412-20 (1906)

Physical Description

Form: codex
Support: Paper Watermark visible on fol.3: bull’s head topped with six-point star. Situated between two vertical chainlines spaced 39mm apart. Orientated upside-down. Similar to various watermarks recorded in online databases (e.g. Briquet 15049; Piccard 76253 and 75193) but too many recorded instances of bull's head motif to identify with confidence.
Extent: 2 leaves
Dimensions (leaf): 272-282 × 174-183 mm.
Foliation: Foliated as leaves 15 and 13 in parent codex, for which see under Provenance

Layout

One column per side, 38-40 lines. Written space 222 × 80 mm.

Hand(s)

Secretary Hand

Decoration

Seven line tall initial 'T' in gold on folio 2r.

Simple strapwork initials highlighted in red at beginning of each other page

Decorated descenders in final lines of each page

History

Origin: England, London ; 15th Century, middle (For discussion, see Scott 1968)

Provenance

Formerly part of a codex. Leaves foliated 3-12 bound in Rawlinson Poet 223. Folios 17 onwards preserved in Cologny, Fondation Martin Bodmer, Cod. Bodmer 110. For notes on foliation, see Mooney (2001).

MS Rawl D. 913 fol. 4

Contents

Language(s): Middle English

(fols.4r-4v)
Robert Mannyng, Robert Mannyng of Brunne's Chronicle

Text from Part One of Robert Mannyng's Chronicle (DIMEV 3253), also called 'The Story of England'. Fol. 4r: ll.12550-12613. Fol. 4v: ll.12614-12699 as printed in I. Sullens, "The Chronicle of Robert Mannyng of Brunne" (1996)

Physical Description

Form: codex
Support: Parchment
Extent: 1 leaf
Dimensions (leaf): 300 × 200 mm.

Condition

Dark stains around edges of recto side indicate it has been used as a pastedown. Text on recto side is badly faded, with large parts of the right column now illegible. Faint bleedthrough on both sides. Several small holes and rips, the largest being in the lower outside corner, measuring 15x8mm.

Layout

Two columns per side, columns 46 lines of text on recto side, 45 on verso. On both sides, the word 'Arthurus' is written in red in the upper margin. Written space: 260 × 170 mm.

Hand(s)

Anglicana

Decoration

Each section is introduced with a two-line tall initial in blue ink decorated with red pen flourishing.

Sections divided with rubricated Latin headings

Additions:

Marginalia in English, upper margin of verso side. "O man what arte thow that de[spu]test | wyth god Romaynes ye nynth", followed by "delyuered to thomas woulse ix platt[ers?] | ix dishes iiij sawseres upon new3eres day".

Marginalia written vertically in left, central and right margin of verso side. Three variations on the same phrase: "St Ambros in his ixth chapter of his worke intituled de his qui misteris initianter [sic initiantur]".

Both sets of marginalia presumably from when leaf was pasted down in another codex.

History

Origin: England ; 14th Century, late ; or 15th Century, early

Provenance and Acquisition

Formertly part of a complete codex of the Chronicle similar to the 'P' Text in Inner Temple Library Petyt MS 511, Vol. 7. (See Sullens 1996)

Fragment of same codex survives, also as a pastedown ; see Merton College MS 23.b.6 and Davies (1969) pp.51-2. Text in the Merton Fragment is from Part 2 of the Chronicle (Recto: ll.3779-3810. Verso: ll.3737-3768). Host codex bound in Oxford.

MS Rawl D. 913 fol. 5

Contents

Language(s): Middle English

(fol.5r)
Stanzas dedicating a book to the Earl of Surrey
Incipit: 'O thow pore boke vnworthy and…'

Single leaf containing verses dedicating a book to an unnamed Earl of Surrey. Text not present in DIMEV or Folger First Line Index. Partial transcription provided in Quarto Catalogue. Catalogue tenatively identifies Henry Howard (1516/17–1547) as the Earl in question, although reasoning for this unclear. On verso side: 'du[m] sumus in mu[n]do vivamus corde iocu[n]do'. Proverb of unclear origin.

Physical Description

Form: codex
Support: Parchment
Extent: 1 leaf
Dimensions (leaf): 195 × 155 mm.

Condition

Badly stained and hard to read on recto. Three lines of text above the verses perhaps containing titles or dedication, now illegible. Three or four lines below them in similar condition. Small vertical tear along left vertical ruling, messily sewn up. Lower outside corner torn with section approx. 35x23mm missing.

Layout

Single column with at least 22 lines of text, not all of them legible. Arranged in 2 stanzas [7, 10] with additional lines above and below.

Hand(s)

Letter forms mostly Secretary.

History

Origin: England ; 1450-1550

Provenance and Acquisition

Ruling similar to fol. 6. Both leaves have similar stains and circular warping. May have some shared origin.

MS Rawl D. 913 fol. 6

Contents

Language(s): Middle English

(fol.6r)
Incipit: 'O painefull harte in peiyns syȝht'
Explicit: '[and] yet me lade dotthe me exchu'

'O painful heart in pains sight' (DIMEV 4022). 2 stanzas, 4 lines each. See Frankis (1955)

(fol.6r-v)
Incipit: 'lett lowe to lowe go kynly and sowfte'
Explicit: 'w[ith] the grett god of lowffe in th[e] etarnall Iohe'

'Let love to love go kindly and soft' (DIMEV 3057). 7 stanzas, 4 lines each. See Frankis (1955)

Physical Description

Form: codex
Support: Parchment
Extent: 1 leaf
Dimensions (leaf): 260 × 203 mm.

Condition

Ink of first text faded to pale brown; hard to read. Staining around outer edge. Diagonal tear across top of leaf, now backed with paper.

Layout

Single column of text. Both texts arranged in stanzas of 4 lines, 7 on recto [2, 5] and 3 on verso.

Hand(s)

First hand has a reaonably careful appearance with many long, looped ascenders and descenders. Aspect of second hand is bold but rather scribbled. Mixed Secretary and Anglicana features in both.

History

Origin: England ; Fifteenth century, possibly late.

Provenance

Ruling similar to fol. 5. Both leaves have similar stains and circular warping. May have some shared origin.

MS Rawl D. 913 fols. 7-8

Contents

Language(s): Macaronic Middle English and Latin.

(fols. 7r-8v)
Metrical paraphrase of the Creed
Incipit: 'I by leve that cryst was borne of mari the virgen'
Explicit: 'to my blysse enfles et ad vitam eternam amen'
Final rubric: 'finis the credo'

Metrical paraphrase of the Creed in Middle English with Latin phrases interspersed (DIMEV 2139). Latin text partly taken from wording of the Creed and partly from scripture.

Physical Description

Form: codex
Support: Paper
Extent: 2 leaves
Dimensions (leaf): 203 × 140-145 mm.

Condition

Leaves are in good condition with no tears or holes. Text clear and legible throughout. Outer sides of leaves (f.7r and f.8v) darker than inner sides.

Layout

Text in single column, with 23-24 lines per side. Fol. 8v contains only 17 lines before the text finishes. Average written space approx. 151 × 90 mm.

Hand(s)

Mix of Anglicana and Secretary forms.

History

Origin: England ; Fifteenth century, possibly early sixteenth.

Provenance

MS. Rawl. D. 913 – fols 83–84

Contents

Language(s): Anglo-Norman

Wace, Roman de Brut
Filiation: Probably the oldest extant manuscript of the Roman de Brut, as dated by Hans-Erich Keller on palaeographical and orthographical grounds.

Lines 7029–7148 and 7391–7510

Printed in Hans-Erich Keller, ‘Les fragments oxoniens du Roman de Brut de Wace’, in Mélanges de langues et de littératures romanes offerts à Carl Theodor Gossen, ed. by Germán Colón and Robert Kopp (Bern, 1976), pp. 453–67.
Discussed in Maria Careri, Christine Ruby and Ian Short, Livres et écritures en français et en occitan au XIIe siècle: Catalogue illustré (Rome, 2011), item 65.I, pp. 146–47.
Cf. Wace, Roman de Brut, ed. by Ivor Arnold (Paris, 1938).

Physical Description

Form: codex
Support: parchment
Extent: 1 bifolium
Dimensions (leaf): 209–215 × 150–160 mm.

Collation

1 bifolium missing between the two leaves.

Layout

166 × 127 mm. 2 cols, 30 lines, with very faint leadpoint ruling, written above topline.

Hand(s)

Protogothic.

Decoration

2-line red initials and rubricated running heads.

Additions:

Various later annotations, mainly illegible, of the 15th or 16th centuries.

History

Origin: England ; 12th century, last quarter, or 13th century, first quarter.

Provenance

On fol. 83r a very faded annotation in the upper margin seems to read ‘De astrolabio’. The dimensions of the bifolium match those of the leaves of Geoffrey Chaucer's Treatise on the Astrolabe on fols 23–42, for which it could have served as a wrapper.

MS. Rawl. D. 913 – fol. 85

Contents

Language(s): Anglo-Norman

1. (fol. 85ra)
Verses on infernal punishment
Explicit: Ardra salme ⁊ ses cors ia merci ||

The last 32 lines of an otherwise unknown Anglo-Norman poem on infernal punishment in alexandrine couplets (Dean no. 600).

Printed in La Cancun de saint Alexis und einige kleinere altfranzösische Gedichte des 11. und 12. Jahrhunderts, nebst vollständigem Wortverzeichniss zu E. Koschwitz’s: Les plus anciens monuments de la langue française und zu beifolgenden Texten, ed. by E. Stengel (Marburg, 1882), p. 173 n. 1.
See Ruth J. Dean, with Maureen B. M. Bolton, Anglo-Norman Literature: A Guide to Texts and Manuscripts (London, 1999), item 600, pp. 331–32.
2. (fol. 85rb–85vb)
Benedeit, Le Voyage de saint Brendan
Incipit: De Mahalt la reine. par qui ualdra lei diuine.
Filiation: A manuscript belonging to a separate group from all other extant manuscripts of the Voyage de saint Brendan, and the only one to ascribe its commissioning to Matilda of Scotland (1080–1118) rather than Adeliza of Louvain (1103–1151).

Lines 1–311

Edited (MS C) in The Anglo-Norman Voyage of St. Brendan by Benedeit, ed. by E. R. G. Waters (Oxford, 1928).
Discussed in Maria Careri, Christine Ruby and Ian Short, Livres et écritures en français et en occitan au XIIe siècle: Catalogue illustré (Rome, 2011), item 65.II, pp. 148–49.

Physical Description

Form: codex
Support: parchment
Extent: 1 leaf
Dimensions (leaf): 295 × 195 mm.

Condition

Former pastedown leaf, as shown by dark stains in the upper margin of fol. 85r. There is extensive damage to the text on fol. 85r.

Layout

245 × 156 mm. 2 cols, 51–52 lines, with very faint leadpoint ruling, written above topine.

Hand(s)

Protogothic. 3 different hands, with one hand responsible for the end of the poem on infernal punishment on fol. 85ra, a second hand beginning the Voyage de saint Brendan on fol. 85rb–va, and a third, smaller hand continuing on fol. 85va–vb. The Voyage de saint Brendan is lineated as one couplet per line, with a punctus elevatus marking the end of a verse and a punctus marking the end of a couplet.

Decoration

2-line red initial to mark the beginning of the Voyage de saint Brendan.

History

Origin: England ; 12th century, last quarter, or 13th century, first quarter.

Provenance

Former pastedown leaf.

MS. Rawl. D. 913 – fols 86–89

Contents

Language(s): Anglo-Norman

Gui de Warewic

Lines 8486–8518, 8526–8558, 8567–8605, 8614–8651 (fol. 86); 8892–8940, 8948–8978, 8987–9020, 9027–9060 (fol. 87); 11084–11119, 11209–11252 (fol. 88); 11265–11299, 11389–11421 (fol. 89)

Partly printed in Oskar Winneberger, ‘Eine Textprobe aus der altfranzösischen Überlieferung des Guy de Warwick’, in Frankfurter Neuphilologische Beiträge (Frankfurt, 1887), pp. 86–107.
Cf. Gui de Warewic: Roman du XIIIe siècle, ed. by Alfred Ewert (Paris, 1932–33).

Physical Description

Form: codex
Support: parchment
Extent: fragments of 2 bifolia
Dimensions (fragment): 160–165 × 87–150 mm.

Condition

Former pastedown leaves, heavily trimmed on fols 88–89.

Layout

2 cols, at least 34 lines, with faint leadpoint ruling.

Hand(s)

Gothic textualis rotunda. Every verse line is marked with a punctus.

Decoration

2- and 3-line red and blue initials.

History

Origin: England ; 13th century, last quarter, or 14th century, first quarter.

Provenance

Canterbury, Kent, Franciscan convent: ‘Hoc volumen conceditur ad vsum fratrum minorum de observantia cantuarie’, 15th century (second half), fol. 87v. An inscription of the same form is also found in London, Lambeth Palace Library, 1483.5, a printed book. (MLGB3)

Formerly MS. Rawl. poet. 137, fols 42–45. It is argued in MLGB3 that the bifolia were used as pastedown leaves in the binding of MS. Rawl. poet. 137 itself, although this assertion is doubtful. (MLGB3)

MS. Rawl. D. 913 – fol. 90

Contents

Language(s): Anglo-Norman

Hugh of Rhuddlan, Protheselaus

Lines 323–476

Edited (MS C) in Hue de Rotelande, Protheselaus, ed. by Anthony J. Holden (London, 1991–93).

Physical Description

Form: codex
Support: parchment
Extent: 1 leaf
Dimensions (leaf): 256 × 174 mm.
Foliation: The original recto and verso have been reversed in the binding of the fragment.

Condition

There is extensive damage to the text on fol. 90r.

Layout

224 × 153 mm. 2 cols, 40 lines, with very faint leadpoint ruling, written below topline.

Hand(s)

Gothic textualis rotunda.

Decoration

Spaces left empty for 1- and 3-line initials.

History

Origin: England ; 13th century, last quarter.

Provenance

Probably once part of the same manuscript as fol. 91, and subsequently used as a pastedown in the same binding.

MS. Rawl. D. 913 – fol. 91

Contents

Language(s): Anglo-Norman

Hugh of Rhuddlan, Ipomedon

Lines 10173–10332

Edited (MS C) in Hue de Rotelande, Ipomedon, ed. by Anthony J. Holden (Paris, 1979).

Physical Description

Form: codex
Support: parchment
Extent: 1 leaf
Dimensions (leaf): 252 × 174 mm.

Condition

Former pastedown leaf. There is significant damage to the text.

Layout

224 × 151 mm. 2 cols, 40 lines, with very faint leadpoint ruling, written below topline.

Hand(s)

Gothic textualis rotunda.

Decoration

Spaces left empty for 3-, 4- and 8-line initials.

History

Origin: England ; 13th century, last quarter.

Provenance

‘William’, ‘William Redman’, ‘Hardress’, in the outer margin of fol. 91r: probably William Redman, d. 1602, Rector of Upper Hardres, Kent, from 1578 to 1594 and later Bishop of Norwich. (ODNB)

A later hand adds a largely illegible inscription ending on ‘Leadsham his book’ in the upper margin.

MS. Rawl. D. 913 – fol. 92

Contents

Language(s): Old French

Wace, Roman de Brut

Lines 4346–4364, 4453–4471

Filiation: The gap between lines on the same leaf suggests a substantial lacuna in the exemplar.
Printed in Hans-Erich Keller, ‘Les fragments oxoniens du Roman de Brut de Wace’, in Mélanges de langues et de littératures romanes offerts à Carl Theodor Gossen, ed. by Germán Colón and Robert Kopp (Bern, 1976), pp. 453–67.
Cf. Wace, Roman de Brut, ed. by Ivor Arnold (Paris, 1938).

Physical Description

Form: codex
Support: parchment
Extent: fragment of 1 leaf
Dimensions (fragment): 149 × 73–77 mm.

Layout

Upper inner quarter of the leaf: 1 col., 19 lines, with leadpoint ruling.

Hand(s)

Gothic textualis quadrata.

Decoration

Rubricated letters at the beginning of almost every verse line.

Additions:

A largely illegible annotation is added in the margin of fol. 92v.

History

Origin: France, Picardy (as shown by Keller on linguistic grounds) ; 14th century.

Provenance

‘Fragmentum in quo mentio de Cassibellano’, fol. 92v: added by Thomas Hearne, 1678–1735, according to the Quarto Catalogue.

MS. Rawl. D. 913 – fol. 93

Contents

Language(s): Old French

Jean de Meun, Roman de la Rose

Lines 11721–11890

Cf. Guillaume de Lorris and Jean de Meun, Le Roman de la Rose, ed. by Félix Lecoy (Paris, 1965–70).

Physical Description

Form: codex
Support: parchment
Extent: fragment of 1 leaf
Dimensions (fragment): 263 × 117 mm.
Foliation: The original recto and verso have been reversed in the binding of the fragment.

Collation

The last leaf of a quire.

Condition

Formerly used in a binding, probably as a spine lining, as indicated by the vertical crease. There are large tears along the crease, and there is significant damage to the text on fol. 93ra and fol. 93vb.

Layout

Originally 3 cols (as suggested by the gap of 43 lines between the last legible line and the catchword), 2 cols extant, 42–43 lines, with leadpoint ruling.

Hand(s)

Gothic textualis rotunda, but with frequent single-compartment a.

Decoration

2-line red and blue initials.

Rubricated letters at the beginning of every line, and a rubricated verse line serving as a catchword in the lower margin of fol. 93r.

History

Origin: France ; 14th century.

Provenance

Taken from MS. Rawl. poet. 162.

MS. Rawl. D. 913 – fols 94–97

Contents

Language(s): Old French

Guillaume de Lorris; Jean de Meun, Roman de la rose

Lines 646–682, 753–792 (fol. 94a); 696–722, 725–751 (fol. 94b); 1587–1613, 1692–1720 (fol. 95a); 1629–1653, 1668–1690 (fol. 95b), 3922–3951, 4029–4057 (fol. 96a); 3952–3991, 3992–4028 (fol. 96b); 12036–12075, 12140–12177 (fol. 97a); 12093–12113, 12121–12139 (fol. 97b)

Cf. Guillaume de Lorris and Jean de Meun, Le Roman de la Rose, ed. by Félix Lecoy (Paris, 1965–70).

Physical Description

Form: codex
Support: parchment
Extent: 8 fragments of individual columns taken from 4 leaves
Dimensions (fragment): 109–212 × 77–87 mm.

Layout

Originally 2 cols (now separated into fragments of 1 col.), 40 lines, with ink ruling.

Hand(s)

Gothic textualis rotunda.

Decoration

Decorated 2- and 4-line gold initials, accompanied by rubrics. (Pächt and Alexander i. 600)

Additions:

An anglicana hand of the 15th century adds line 792 at the bottom of fol. 94av.

History

Origin: France (?) ; or England (?) ; 14th century.

Provenance

Provenance prior to Rawlinson unknown.

MS. Rawl. D. 913 – fol. 98

Contents

Language(s): Middle Dutch

Jacob van Maerlant, Spiegel historiael

Part III, book I, chapter xxxiii, line 94–chapter xxxiv, line 95 (Malchus and Jerome)

Cf. Jacob van Maerlant, Spiegel historiael, ed. by M. de Vries and E. Verwijs (Leiden, 1863).

Physical Description

Form: codex
Support: parchment
Extent: 1 leaf
Dimensions (leaf): 250 × 161 mm.
Foliation: The original recto and verso have been reversed in the binding of the fragment.

Layout

215 × 137 mm. 2 cols, 39 lines, with leadpoint ruling.

Hand(s)

Gothic textualis rotunda.

Decoration

2-line red initial, following the rubric announcing the chapter on Jerome.

Additions: The number ‘xvi’ has been added in the upper margin of fol. 98v.

History

Origin: Flanders (?) ; or Netherlands (?) ; 14th century.

Provenance

Former endleaf.

‘Knyvett’, along with the motto ‘Manet alta mente repostum’, fol. 98r: in the hand of Sir Thomas Knyvett of Ashwellthorpe, c.1539–1618.

MS. Rawl. D. 913 – fol. 99

Contents

Lost from the volume.

Language(s): Old French

Theological treatise in prose

Edmund Stengel noted the existence of this item in 1882 and transcribed the rubric ‘Chy s’ensieult che que on doibt dire quant aucune creature gist en son lit mortel et en son derrain extremtei’; its loss was already noted by the Quarto Catalogue in 1898.

See E. Stengel, ‘Hs. Rawlinson Miscellanea 1370 alt 1262’, Zeitschrift für romanische Philologie 6 (1882), 390–96 (p. 392).

Physical Description

Form: codex
Support: parchment
Extent: 1 fragment of a leaf

Layout

2 cols.

History

Origin: 14th century, as dated by Stengel.

MS. Rawl. D. 913 – fol. 100

Contents

Language(s): Old French

Treatise on wisdom and repentance

Fragment of an otherwise unknown prose treatise on the degrees of wisdom and on repentance. A section begins 'La .vj. degre. ⟨L⟩i siesime de gre de proesce e⟨st⟩ apelee magnificence

Physical Description

Form: codex
Support: parchment
Extent: 1 fragment of a leaf
Dimensions (fragment): 255 × 107 mm.

Layout

At least 1 col., at least 31 lines, with very faint leadpoint ruling.

Hand(s)

Gothic textualis semiquadrata.

Decoration

Spaces left empty for 2-line initials.

Rubric reading ‘La .vi. degre.’ on fol. 100r, as well as rubricated letters at the beginning of sentences.

Additions:

An 18th-century hand notes ‘Vertue and Xtian magnificence’ in the margin of fol. 100v.

History

Origin: France (?) ; or England (?) ; 14th century.

Provenance

Provenance prior to Rawlinson unknown.

MS. Rawl. D. 913 – fol. 101

Contents

Language(s): Anglo-Norman

Britton

Book I, chapter 24 (De Apels de Homicides)

Cf. Britton, ed. by F. M. Nichols (Oxford, 1865), pp. 109–14.

Physical Description

Form: codex
Support: parchment
Extent: 1 fragment of a leaf
Dimensions (fragment): 204 × 148 mm.

Condition

The verso is heavily worn, and a marked horizontal crease indicates use in a binding.

Layout

1 col., at least 35 lines, with faint leadpoint ruling.

Hand(s)

Anglicana.

Decoration

Flourished 3-line red initial on fol. 101r.

Additions:

Marginal annotations in the scribal hand. A later hand adds what appears to be ‘goflid’ in the inner margin of fol. 101r.

History

Origin: England ; 14th century, first quarter.

Provenance

Formerly used in a binding.

MS. Rawl. D. 913 – fol. 102

Contents

Language(s): Anglo-Norman

Year Book

Fragment of an unidentified (perhaps otherwise unknown) year book, connected by the Quarto Catalogue to the year book fragments on fols 106–11 but not obviously part of the same volume. One case relates to 'lay de marche' and in another 'Edward Charles' is a party.

Physical Description

Form: codex
Support: parchment
Extent: 1 fragment of a leaf
Dimensions (fragment): 200 × 160 mm.

Condition

Dark stains and a vertical crease indicate previous use in a binding.

Layout

1 col., at least 31 lines, unruled.

Hand(s)

Anglicana.

History

Origin: England ; 14th century, first quarter

Provenance

Formerly used in a binding.

MS. Rawl. D. 913 – fols 103–105

Contents

Language(s): Old French

Alexandre en prose
Filiation: fragment of the Second Redaction
Cf. Der altfranzösische Prosa-Alexanderroman nach der Berliner Bilderhandschrift: nebst dem lateinischen Original der Historia de preliis (Rezension J2), ed. by Alfons Hilka (Halle, 1920), pp. 76–97.

Physical Description

Form: codex
Support: parchment
Extent: half of 1 leaf and 2 full leaves
Dimensions (fragment): 263–285 × 91–190 mm.

Collation

Fol. 105 has been misbound and should precede fols 103–104.

Condition

Fol. 103 has been trimmed down to half a leaf. Dark stains indicate previous use as pastedowns.

Layout

199 × 125 mm. 1 col., 28 lines, with leadpoint ruling.

Hand(s)

Anglicana.

Decoration

Spaces left empty for illustrations and 2-line initials.

Rubrics: ‘Conment alixandres renuoie a d’ (fol. 103r); ‘alixandres li roys trouua sa mere ’ (fol. 103v); ‘Conment chiaus qui estoient ou lieu de dayres li manderent le respons des lettres conment alixandres auoit destruite sa prouince’ (fol. 105r).

Additions:

Various later scribbles and annotations in the margins and between sections of the text, partly upside-down and frequently illegible. On fol. 103, the annotations predate the trimming of the leaf.

History

Origin: England ; 14th century, second or third quarter.

Provenance

Formerly used as pastedowns in a schoolbook at Magdalen College School.

‘Thomas Grey’, ‘Ricardus Grey’, ‘Jhon Grey’, ‘Antony Grey’, fol. 104r: probably Thomas Grey, 1477–1530, 2nd Marquess of Dorset, who from 1495 was educated at Magdalen College School together with his brothers. (ODNB)

On fol. 105v is scribbled a letter from the schoolboy ‘Robert Yall’ to his master, beginning: ‘Master Mullysworth I wold pray and beseytt yow that yow wold be my good master’. Dated between c.1504 and 1509 and transcribed in Nicholas Orme, Education in Early Tudor England: Magdalen College Oxford and Its School, 1480–1540 (Oxford, 1998), p. 76.

‘2196, Disp. 46’, fol. 104v: added by Thomas Hearne, 1678–1735, according to the Quarto Catalogue, in reference to his early printed copy of the Historia preliis, now Auct. 2Q 4.7(1), although it is not clear that this is the volume in which these leaves served as pastedowns.

MS. Rawl. D. 913 – fols 106–111

Contents

Language(s): Anglo-Norman and Latin

Year Books

Fragments of year books for Edward I and Edward II, dated to regnal year 29 (probably Edw I, 1301) on fol. 108r and regnal year 4 (probably Edw II, 1311) on fol. 111v.

See J. H. Baker, English Legal Manuscripts, Vol. II (Zug, 1978), p. 183.

Physical Description

Form: codex
Support: parchment
Extent: 6 leaves
Dimensions (leaf): 280 × 190 mm.
Foliation: Fols 106–110 were previously foliated as fols 59, 60, 57, 58, 61.

Collation

The leaves have been bound in the wrong order. The correct order, following the earlier foliation, is fol. 108, fol. 109, fol. 106, fol. 107, fol. 110, fol. 111.

Condition

Heavily worn.

Layout

1 col., 25–56 lines, largely unruled.

Hand(s)

Anglicana. 2 distinct hands: the first is responsible for fol. 106r and fols 108–109, the second for fols 106v–107 and fols 110–111.

Additions:

Marginal annotations in the scribal hand. A later hand adds what appears to be ‘29 E. 1 Bastard 27’ in the outer margin of fol. 111r.

History

Origin: England ; 14th century, first quarter.

MS. Rawl. D. 913 – fols 112–129

Contents

Language(s): Middle French

1. (fols 112–121)
Ci nous dit

Exempla on St Hilary, Abbot Helies, St Anthony and others not otherwise attested in the tradition of the Ci nous dit.

Cf. Ci nous dit, ed. by Gérard Blangez (Paris, 1979).
2. (fols 122–129)
Theological manual

Unidentified manual covering the Ten Commandments, the five senses, the seven deadly sins, the seven sacraments, the celebration of Mass and priesthood. Fol. 122r, 'Des cinc sens natureulx', begins 'Dieu ta donne le sens et les membres et tout le corps pour garder le cuer', fol. 122v, 'Des .vij. pechiez mortielx', begins 'Saint Iohan dit en son apocalice que il vit issir'.

Physical Description

Form: codex
Support: parchment
Extent: 18 leaves: 1 quire of eight (fols 112–119), 1 bifolium (fols 120–121), 1 quire of eight (fols 122–129).
Dimensions (leaf): 255 × 170 mm.
Foliation: Contemporary foliation as fols 194–201 (fols 112–119), fols 205–206 (fols 120–121), fols 210–217 (fols 122–129).

Collation

The gap in the medieval foliation corresponds to the missing leaves of the second quire, of which only the central bifolium remains.

Layout

155 × 115 mm. 1 col., 30 lines, with very faint leadpoint ruling.

Hand(s)

Gothic textualis semiquadrata.

Musical Notation:

Added notation: see below, Additions.

Decoration

Flourished 2-line red and blue initials.

Additions:

Latin marginal annotations in the same 15th-century hand as the contemporary foliation.

Various scribbles, doodles and annotations of the 16th century, including a note beginning ‘Right wourshippefull and my Synguler good Maister’ on fol. 117v. Several attempts at adding musical notation: an empty 4-line staff on fol. 113, two 4-line staves with square notation on fol. 117v, an empty 7-line staff on fol. 127r, several notes on fol. 127v, one 4-line and one 5-line staff with square notation on fol. 128r.

History

Origin: England (?) ; 15th century.

Additional Information

Record Sources

Fols. 1-8 described by Ruth Allen, Nov. 2023. Fols. 83-129 described by Michael Angerer, Sept. 2023. Otherwise 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), with decoration, localization and date following Pächt and Alexander (1973).

Availability

Fols. 22-42 (Chaucer's Astrolabe) will be on display in the exhibition "Chaucer Here and Now", Bodleian Libraries, Weston Library, 8 December 2023 – 28 April 2024, and will not be orderable between those dates or for a short period before or afterwards.

Digital Images

Digital Bodleian (10 images from 35mm slides)

Bibliography

Last Substantive Revision

2023-11: Ruth Allen: new descriptions of fols. 1-8