GREGORY ON THE GOSPELS; S. XII 2/4

Title

GREGORY ON THE GOSPELS; S. XII 2/4

Shelfmark

Merton College MS. 83

Place of origin

England

Date

S. XII 2/4

Language

Latin

Contents

Form

codex

Support

Parchment

Physical extent

116 leavesMutilated by the excision of many outer margins.

Hands

A single, highly proficient English protogothic bookhand.

Decoration

Plain red or green initials.

Binding

s. xv, heavily restored and resewn in modern times. Bare oak boards, roughly chamfered, with slightly projecting foredges, cannibalized from another binding, sewn on five bands, rebacked with modern vellum. The front board, of unusually rough wood, has pins for two straps and was evidently originally at the back; the back board, of better prepared wood, was originally reversed and at the front. The binding of which it was part was sewn on four bands plus endbands, and had two thin straps, later replaced by a broad central one. Used in its present position it was stapled from the foredge, near the head. The remains of brass nails in the centre are puzzling.

Provenance

Made in England at a monastic house, probably coming to the College after the Reformation but before 1600.

At the head of fol. 107v is ‘Domine Deus noster quod ?Bedwrde’, c. 1500.

At the head of fol. 1 is the James no. ‘247’, s. xvii in. Inside the front board is a sheet of paper with contents, s. xvii, ‘N. 7. 3. Art.’, s. xvii but pencilled and not in the usual hand, canc. and replaced with ‘B. 1. 13 (LXXXIII)’ in red; the College bookplate. ‘3’ is inked on the foredge.