MS. Selden Supra 55

Summary Catalogue no.: 3443

Life of St. Edward the Confessor

Incipit: Quid faciat uirtus, que spes speciosa beatis

Written in the reign of Henry VI

Rubric: Vita beati Edwardi regis & confessoris

This metrical Life is based on Aelred's Latin prose Life, and contains no original matter

Language(s): Latin

Physical Description

Form: codex

Support: parchment

Extent: 26 leaves

Dimensions (binding): 8.75 × 5.625 in.

Decoration

Pächt and Alexander iii. 941

Good border

Good historiated initial in antiquated style

History

Origin: 15th century, second quarter ; England

Provenance and Acquisition

Fol. 9r has 'Roberti Hare 1552'

John Selden, 1584–1654

Acquired by the Bodleian in 1659

Record Sources

Description adapted (November 2023) by Stewart J. Brookes from the Summary Catalogue (1922). Decoration, localization and date follow Pächt and Alexander (1973)

Summary Catalogue, Vol. 2 Part 1, p. 636

Bibliography

Published descriptions:

Edited in Henry Richards Luard, Lives of Edward the Confessor (Rolls Series, 1858), with a colour facsimile of fol 9 of the manuscript containing a miniature of the king and an illuminated border

Abbreviations

View list of abbreviations and editorial conventions.

Last Substantive Revision

2023-11-29: Description revised to incorporate all the information in the Summary Catalogue (1922)

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