John Arderne, Works

Title

John Arderne, Works

Shelfmark

St John's College MS 86

Place of origin

England

Date

s. xiv/xv

Language

Middle English (1100-1500)

Latin

Contents

Form

codex

Support

Vellum (FSOS/FHHF).

Physical extent

Fols. iii + 54+ iii (numbered fols. iv–vi). Fols. 9–12 are misbound and should precede fol. 23, in the order fols. 12, 11, 9, 10.

Hands

Written in anglicana. Punctuation by sporadic double virgula and virgula.

Decoration

Marginal headings for recipes in text ink, with half-box in red.

Important recipes are introduced by a 2-line red lombard.

Some red underlining in recipes and red paraphs to break up longer items.

Frequent illustrations, mainly marginal (on this tendency in medical MSS, see Scott, 1:41 and 72 nn. 22–3): medical implements, plants, diseased bodies, modes of surgery; a full wind diagram on fol. 1; a table of moon signs on fol. 9v; a zodiac man on fol. 10; surgical instruments on fol. 12; several diagrams of operations for ‘fistula’ fol. 12v; cf. the illustration reproduced in Jones, 77 (from BL, MS Additional 29301 ).

A blazon in the margin as a signe de renvoion fol. 39(cf. the explicit to item 3), above a device which resembles a flaming rod and a blank scroll beneath it.

See AT, no. 370 (37).

Binding

A modern replacement. Sewn on five thongs. At the front, a marbled paper leaf and two modern paper flyleaves; at the rear, two modern paper flyleaves and another marbled paper leaf (iv–vi).

Acquisition

‘Liber Collegii Divi Johannis Baptistae Oxon’ ex dono Domini Gulielmi PaddeiMilitis et ejusdem Collegii olim Convictori s 1634’ (fol. 1, upper margin).

Provenance

‘Barnyx ?bequyxe’, ‘Mr Backter gave this Book vnto Willm William Stowes Chirurgico Anno ?domini 1571 (fol. 1, lower margin).