Pierre Bersuire, Ovidius moralizatus

Title

Pierre Bersuire, Ovidius moralizatus

Shelfmark

St John's College MS 137

Place of origin

England

Date

s. xv in.

Language

Latin

Contents

Form

codex

Support

Vellum (FSOS/FHHF).

Physical extent

Fols. iv + 84+ ii (numbered fols. v–vi).

Hands

Written in anglicana, by three scribes:

scribe 1 = fols. 1–38v (anglicana formata );

scribe 2 = fols. 39–49 , although parts (e.g. fol. 45 ) could be by the next;

scribe 3 = fols. 50–84 .

Scribes 2 and 3 both use secretary a.

Scribe 1 punctuates by occasional medial point ; scribe 2 by occasional double virgula (perhaps a signal for a painted paraph) and medial point; scribe 3 by occasional medial point and infrequent virgula.

Decoration

Headings in red.

At the head, a 6-line blue lombard on red flourishing and a demivinet formed from a red and blue bar, further red leafy flourishing at the corners.

Chapters headed by 2-line blue lombards with red flourishing.

The text broken with alternate red and blue paraphs.

Binding

A modern rebinding. Sewn on four thongs. At the front, four medieval vellum flyleaves (a four-leaf quire); at the rear, two medieval vellum flyleaves, apparently single ( v–vi).

Acquisition

‘Liber Collegij Divi Ioannis Baptistae Oxon’ Ex dono Magistri Ioannis StonorGenerosi de Northstoke in comitatu Oxon 1609’ (fol. iii).

Provenance

‘Non in personis accepcio iuris habetur | verum deferri si quis virtute meretur’ ( Walther, Sprichwörter, no. 17895b ); by the bracket which joins the verses: ‘de sent’ et r’c cum eterni v’ stateram per cord’; below it, ‘Si qua sede sedes accedere tam vilissima | tanto spiritualiores fuit’ (cf. Walther, Sprichwörter, no. 28882–3) (fol. ii).

‘Liber quondam Magistri Thome Eyburhale datus Magistro Roberto ElyotAnno domini 1471 Ad terminum vite sic quod non vendatur sed post eius mortem detur alteri volenti predicare Orate igitur pro anima eius’ (fol. iv). For Eborall, the master of Whittington College, London, 1444–64 and a leading opponent of Reginald Pecock, see BRUO, 622–3 (our MS not noted among his books). For Elyot, vice-provost of Eton College 1482–98, see BRUO, 638(the MS again unnoted).

The old shelfmark ‘Abac: ij. N. 91’ cancelled for the current shelfmark (fol. i).