THOMAS AQUINAS, RICHARD OF MIDDLETON; S. XIV in.

Title

THOMAS AQUINAS, RICHARD OF MIDDLETON; S. XIV in.

Shelfmark

Merton College MS. 98

Place of origin

England, Oxford

Date

S. XIV in

Language

Latin

Contents

Form

codex

Support

Parchment

Physical extent

209 leaves (iii + 206)The edges heavily retrimmed, affecting the running heads, and stained yellow.

Hands

An English gothic rotunda bookhand of university type. At the foot of fol. 205v, in a tiny hand, is a record of expenses in making the book: ‘v s. vi d. in per .17’. in scrip(tura) iii s. et vi d. et pro ex. 3.’

Decoration

Art. 1: On fol. 1 a 7-line red and blue O, flourished and with a 3-sided border in both colours; blue initials flourished in red; red or blue paraphs; running heads in capitals of the colours.

Art. 2: unfilled spaces for coloured initials and rubrics; red running heads, paraphs, underlining and highlighting.

Binding

Standard Merton s. xvii, rebacked; sewn on seven bands. Formerly chained from the front board, near the foot of the foredge. fol. 206, of thick, stiff parchment, was a pastedown in an earlier binding. f. iiiv was also once pasted down, earlier than s. xvii. fols. i-ii were once flyleaves at the end of a book that was chained from an iron staple at the foot. On fol. 1, near the top of the foredge, is a rust mark, either from the uppermost of two straps, or from a chain-staple.

Provenance

Made commercially in Oxford.

On fol. 206v are two lines of faint early writing, of which ‘Iste quaternus accommodatur fratri Gileberto de soc’ Mertune ’ can be read. This was presumably Gilbert de Pecham OFM (BRUO 1452; BRUC 446), fellow of Merton in 1324, still in 1331, lector of the Cambridge conventc. 1339, still alive in 1355.

Formerly at the Franciscan house, Oxford: at the head of fol. 206, s. xv, ‘Pro isto libro accomodatur fratri minori Greene de domo fratrum minorum Oxonie vi s. viii d.’

On fol. iii is a table of contents and ‘Ex dono magistri Iohannis Gygur nuper custodis istius Collegii de Mertone Oretis pro eo’, both in the same rough secretary hand. Part of this is repeated on the verso, s. xvii. Gygur (BRUO 840–1) was fellow 1438–54, warden 1471–83, d. 1504. He gave this book in July 1486 (Registrum, p. 79).

Inside the front board are two sheets of paper. On one are ‘D. 4, 8’ (canc.) and contents, s. xvii, on the other ‘N. 8. 3. Art:’, s. xvii, canc. and replaced with ‘I. 3. 3. (XCVIII)’ in red; the College bookplate.