John of Sacro Bosco, Works

Title

John of Sacro Bosco, Works

Shelfmark

St John's College MS 205

Place of origin

English

Date

s. xv

Language

Latin

Contents

Form

codex

Support

Vellum (FSOS/FHHF)

Physical extent

ii + 124 + iii (numbered 125, iii–iv)

Hands

Written in gothic textura semiquadrata the first hand perhaps not English; a new scribe appears at fol. 109, at the head of the leaf. Punctuation by point (both scribes).

Decoration

Unfilled spaces for 6-and 4-line capitals on fols. 1, 25, 64v, as well as blank lines left for rubricated incipits.

Some 2-line blue lombards at chapter openings.

Texts divided by alternate red and blue paraphs.

Headings in red, most unfilled, as are many spaces for capitals and some areas reserved for diagrams.

A number of diagrams: of the planetary spheres fol. 26, of the orbit of the sun fol. 59v, of lunar and solar eclipses fols. 62 and 63 (an unfinished diagram fol. 64), of the zodiac fol. 74v, others fols. 81, 88, and 96v.

Binding

A modern replacement. Sewn on six thongs. At the front, a marbled paper leaf and a vellum flyleaf (a former pastedown); at the rear two vellum flyleaves (a bifolium, the second also a former pastedown) and another marbled leaf (125, iii–iv).

Flyleaf text: fol. 125: an added note on embolisms, s. xv; fol. 125v is blank but has offset from a diagram.

Acquisition

‘Liber Guillielmi LaudArchiepiscopi Cant amp. Cancellarij Vniuersitatis Oxon’ 1638’ (fol. 1, lower margin).

Provenance

A note on money or sums of degrees? (fol. iii, s. xv).

Pen-trials (fol. iiv, upside down; s. xv/xvi).