William of Ockham, Dialogues

Title

William of Ockham, Dialogues

Shelfmark

St John's College MS 69

Associated place

Italian

(?Oxford)

Place of origin

Italy

Date

s. xv2/4

s. xiv med.

Language

Latin

Contents

Form

codex

Support

Paper (with tiny pasted vellum strips at quire centres): the quires are regular groups, in the main of six sheets, folded in folio. On two paper stocks, both of type Roue: A: resembles Briquet, nos. 13245–7 (1431 × 1448); B: resembles Briquet, nos. 13265–8(in the main 1425 × 1438, with other examples 1410 and 1444); this second stock appears only as the sole stock in quires 2 and 3 and on the central sheet in quire 5 (thirteen sheets total).

Physical extent

Fols. ii + 304(numbered fols. 1–303, iii) + i (numbered fols. iv and v).

Hands

Written in continental (Italian) cursiva formata . Punctuation by occasional point.

Decoration

At chapter openings 3- and 4-line unflourished lombards in red.

Chapter titles and names of speakers in the dialogues in text ink underlined in red; red paraphs to break up sentences.

Binding

Brown reversed calf over millboards, s. xvi. Sewn on four thongs. Cloth ties intact on both boards to close the book. The mark of a chain staple in Watson’s position 6(one nail has left an impression in the leaves up to about fol. 20). Inked ‘69’ on a paper lozenge at the head of the spine; and inked on the leading edges, with ‘Occhami dialogi MS’ (leading and bottom edges red- stained). A tag on the middle leading edge of the lower board with an old shelfmark ‘4 70’. Manuscript pastedowns, that in the rear now raised (fol. iv), with a piece still mostly glued (fol. v). At the front, two modern paper flyleaves; at the rear, only the raised pastedown.

Acquisition

‘Liber Collegij Sancti Johannis Baptistae Oxon ex dono Reuerendi in Cristo Patris Johannis Roffensis olim huius Collegij Socij et Praesidis’ (fol. 2, upper margin), i.e. John Buckridge. This volume and MS 71 are companion donations, both of Italianderivation and sharing the same (?Oxford)binding with pastedowns from the same Burley MS.

Provenance

‘Emptus fuit liber iste per Reuerendissimum in cristo patrem et dominum dominum Ludouicum tituli sancte Susanne sancte Romane ecclesie presbiterem Cardinalem de Varambone vulgariter nuncupatum Ab Helya In die Solennis die Veneris x emensis Ianuarii Anno ab Natiuitate domini M oiiiiCxliiijto. (beneath the colophon, fol. 273 in a different hand).