Hugo de S. Caro, In psalmos 69–148; Oxford, England, 1458?

Title

Hugo de S. Caro, In psalmos 69–148; Oxford, England, 1458?

Shelfmark

Exeter College MS. 54

Place of origin

Oxford, England

Date

1458?

Language

Latin

Contents

Form

codex

Support

parchment FHHF

Physical extent

293 leaves, some damp-stained, preceded and followed by one 18th-century paper flyleaf.

Hands

Written by Scribe 2: The script is gothic hybrida formata with cadell-like ascenders in top lines and plain long descenders in bottom lines. Punctuation is by low point and punctus elevatus.

Decoration

Of the same type as in MS 51 but by Artist A (on whom see Watson, Exeter, pp. 85–87; q.v. also for a characterization of his work). Ten-line illuminated initials with elaborate blue, pink, and green sprays in outer and central margins remain intact at the beginning of all psalms except before Ps. 69 (excised) and on fols. 26v (mostly lost through damp), 39v, 79v (both partly lost through damp), 83v, 86v, 90v (all damaged by damp). Very fine decoration remains on fols 69r and 134v, before ferial divisions at Psalms 80 (Exultate Deo) and 97 (Cantate Domino) respectively. There are red and blue paraphs, red underlining of lemmata, and a red-and-blue linefiller. Dr Dennison regards this volume as the latest by Artist A in the series comprising MSS 51–68, remarking that the illumination shares characteristics of hands of artists A and B: the ornamental motifs are those of A while the slightly ‘hotter’ palette suggests acquaintance with the pigments used by Artist B. It thus bears the typical hallmarks of a transitional manuscript, perhaps suggesting some working contact between the artists.

Binding

Rebound in the 19th century. Stamped leather bindings over square-edged wooden board, the stamp used is a 19th-century imitation of the binding that survives on the other manuscripts of the group of MSS 51–68–in style although not in the details of the tool. Sewn on seven bands, and otherwise as MS 51 except that the rolls used are a 19th-century imitation of the roll used on that and the other volumes. See Watson, Exeter, p. 87.

Provenance

For Keys’s ex dono inscription, once probably found in this volume, see MS 53, History. For 1458 as the suggested date of writing see Watson, Exeter, pp. 85–87.

Exeter library identifications are: on the front pastedown, bookplate 3, and on it ‘173–F–4’, deleted and replaced by ‘213.E.5’; and ‘Coxe Liv’ (pencil).