Hugo de S. Caro, In libros sapientiae et Ecclesiastici; Oxford, England, c. 1466?

Title

Hugo de S. Caro, In libros sapientiae et Ecclesiastici; Oxford, England, c. 1466?

Shelfmark

Exeter College MS. 56

Place of origin

Oxford, England

Date

c. 1466?

Language

Latin

Contents

Form

codex

Support

parchment FHHF

Physical extent

171 leaves preceded by one 18th-century paper flyleaf and one medieval flyleaf, and followed by one 18th-century flyleaf.

Hands

Fols. 1–82v/19 written by Scribe 2; see MS 53, Script.

Fols. 82v/19–172v written by Scribe 3 (William Osborne?); see MS 51, Script. The proposed date of writing, c. 1466, is suggested by the same two scribes having written MS 65 in the previous year.

Decoration

Of the same type as MS 51 and by the same artist, Artist B, for a characterization of whose work see Watson, Exeter, pp. 85–87. There are borders on fols. 1r, 48r, and 49r.

Binding

Stamped leather bindings over square-edged wooden boards, (presumably) rebound; stamp used was employed in Oxford between 1535 and 1621, here in the second phase state, probably c. 1605–10. Two straps held by nails. Refurbished in the 19th century (1839?): that volumes were resewn is indicated by the very tight binding, which makes collation difficult, and by the provision of new endbands; edges were stained red; book was reinforced by pasting long strips of canvas round the spine and attached to the boards, and the old spines were replaced. Sewn on seven bands. The remains of only one of the two straps survive. For other details see Watson, Exeter, p. 87.

Provenance

Keys’s arms are in the borders on fos. 1r and 48r. On fol. iiv is ‘Hunc librum Hugonem de Vienna super sapienc. et ecclesiastic. 2º fo enim cogitacionem M. Rogerus Keys …’ etc., as MS 53.

On fol. iir, a pen-trial, ‘Henry by the Grace of god Kynge of E(?)’, s. xviin.

Exeter library identifications are, on the front pastedown, bookplate 3, on which are ‘173–F–6’ deleted and replaced by ‘213.E.7’, and ‘Coxe Lvi’ (pencil).