HENRY OF GHENT ; S. XIV in., med.

Title

HENRY OF GHENT ; S. XIV in., med.

Shelfmark

Merton College MS. 108

Place of origin

England, Oxford and France (?)

Date

S. XIV in., med.

Language

Latin

Contents

Form

codex

Support

Parchment

Physical extent

339 leaves (v + 334) (fols. 1–36) The edges heavily retrimmed, affecting running heads and marginalia, and spattered with red. The first three quires seem to be a slightly later addition, and may originally have been part of another book altogether.

Hands

English gothic rotunda bookhands of university type; the hand of quires 1–3, however, may be Continental. Much annotation in early anglicana hands, using both pencil and ink.

Decoration

On fol. 1 is a 5-line blue initial with red and blue flourishing and 2-sided border; red initials flourished in blue, blue initials flourished in violet quires 1–3, in red thereafter; red or blue paraphs; running heads in red and blue capitals. From quire 4 on profile faces appear as nota-marks.

Binding

As for MS 107, doubtless replacing a standard College binding of s. xvii; sewn on seven bands; fols. i and 334 are blank paper binding leaves. fol. ii was the front pastedown in an earlier binding. At the foot of fol. 333 is the mark of the large iron chain-staple.

Provenance

Probably made at Oxford, except for the first three quires, which may be French.

On fol. iii, s. xiv, ‘Liber domus scolarium de Merton’ Oxon’ de empcione p’ xx s.’ UO47. 154.

Inside the front board is a sheet of paper with ‘D. 7, 4’, s. xvii, canc.; two tables of contents, s. xvii; ‘O. 1. 2. Art:’, s. xvii, canc. and replaced with ‘L. 2. 2 (CVIII)’, in red; the College bookplate.