Vulgate Bible

Title

Vulgate Bible

Shelfmark

St John's College MS 29

Place of origin

England

Date

s. xiii ex.

Language

Latin

Contents

Form

codex

Support

Vellum (FSOS/FHHF).

Physical extent

Fols. ii + 478+ iii (numbered fols. iii–v); equipped with vellum tabs to find the individual books.

Hands

Written in gothic textura quadrata . Punctuation by medial point and punctus elevatus .

Decoration

Headings in red.

At book initia, large, variably sized red and blue lombards on flourishing of the same.

Alternate red and blue 1-line lombards at chapter divisions; chapter numbers in the margin in alternate red and blue roman numerals prefaced with alternating red and blue paraphs.

Small capitals in text ink at the heads of verses.

Running titles with alternate red and blue lombards to indicate books.

Liturgical readings indicated in red in the margins.

In text 2, 8-line red and blue lombards on flourishing of the same at the heads of the alphabetical sections, 1-line alternating red and blue lombards at the heads of individual entries.

Two illuminations:

Fol. 1ra: an initial with vine and leaf pattern and a dragon in blue, violet, and green on gold leaf with a full-column marginal bar in gold and blue, an angel near the page foot and a floral design in a gold square at the head of the initial.

Fol. 4ra: a full-column initial I in gold with blue border, vine and leaf designs, dragons, in a central lozenge God holding the book.

See AT no. 219 (23–4), dating s. xiii3/4, and plate xii (fol. 4).

Binding

A modern replacement. Sewn on eleven thongs. At the front, a marbled paper leaf and a modern paper flyleaf; at the rear, two modern paper fly-leaves and another marbled paper one (iii–v).

Acquisition

‘Liber Collegij Divi Ioannis Baptistae Oxon’ ex dono Roberti DowMercatoris-scissoris Iunij 11 o. Anno salutis 1600’ ( fol. 1, upper margin).