Bernard, sermons on the Canticle

Title

Bernard, sermons on the Canticle

Shelfmark

St John's College MS 62

Place of origin

England

Date

s. xii/xiii or s. xiii in.

Language

Latin

Contents

Form

codex

Support

Vellum (HSOS/HFFH).

Physical extent

Fols. iv + 137 + iii(v–vii); an accurate early modern foliation in the top centre of each leaf.

Hands

Written in very late protogothic bookhand, square and regular, above top line; fols. 1–2are by a different contemporary hand. Punctuation by point, punctus elevatus, and punctus interrogativus.

Decoration

Headings in red.

The only other decoration is 3-line red, blue, and green arabesque capitals at the heads of the sermons, with infill in a contrasting colour.

In item 1, headings in red, alternate 1-line red and green arabesque capitals to divide the verses.

Binding

A modern replacement. Sewn on five thongs. At the front, three modern paper flyleaves and one of medieval vellum, perhaps earlier a pastedown; at the rear, three modern paper flyleaves (v–vii).

Provenance

‘Hic liber est ecclesie sancte Marje de suwicha quem ab ea alienari non licet Quod qui facere presumpserit siue titulum istum dolose deleuerit uel fraudem aliam fecerit quo minus eius sit nisi eidem condigne satisfecerit sit anathema Maranatha Amen’ ( fols. 136v–7, the lower margin). The inscription also appears on fol. 2, (from ‘dolose’ only, the remainder on the lost preceding leaf), and fols. 78v–9; in the other examples, ‘hac fiat’ precedes ‘Amen’. Registrum R.34.21 (173, 262), Ker, MLGB 181.

‘Homiliae Diui Bernardi in Cantica Canticorum’ ( fol. 1, upper margin; s. xvii in., a St John’s hand).