MS. Wood empt. 23
Summary Catalogue no.: 8611
Contents
The statutes of pope Benedict XII for the reformation of monasteries
Physical Description
Decoration
Pächt and Alexander iii. 731
Good border on fol. 1r; animal head has a sprig of daisies protruding from its mouth
Good historiated initial (fol. 1r): Pope (probably Benedict XII) in tiara, amice, chasuble with red jewels, and alb with apparel, seated with cross staff, handing a document to a kneeling cleric in black habit (probably Benedictine) who is outside of the initial (The Bodleian Library, Oxford. III: MSS e Musaeo - Wood [Harvey Miller 2002], No. 1051). Kathleen L. Scott suggests that the image is by the same illustrator as MS. Bodley 316 (Later Gothic Manuscripts 1390-1490 [Harvey Miller, 1996], II, p. 35)
Coloured initials, e.g. fols 106r, 117r, 135r and 160r
Binding
Inboard binding, allum-tawed skin over wooden boards, with contemporary chemise of allum-tawed skin (originally pink). Single left-to-right long strap and side pin. Kept in a pre-1937 box, with catch, covered with brown book cloth (6.9" x 5.3")
History
Provenance and Acquisition
Fol. 56: 'Iste liber pertinet ad Robartus Tirroldus [sic], si quis inueniet et ego perdeo, adferet ad me et habet duos denarios a me. Johannes Derkes scripsit et si quis queratur pro me habebit me in Abindoni' (c. 1500)
Bought by the library in 1690
Record Sources
Surrogates
The online 'Thinking Inside the Box' exhibition has a 3D rendering of the chemise binding, plus images of fols 88v and 89r
Abbreviations
View list of abbreviations and editorial conventions.
Last Substantive Revision
2025-03-10: Description revised to incorporate all the information in the Summary Catalogue (1937)