PETER OF POITIERS, SIMON OF TOURNAI; S. XII ex.

Title

PETER OF POITIERS, SIMON OF TOURNAI; S. XII ex.

Shelfmark

Merton College MS. 132

Place of origin

France

Date

S. XII ex.

Language

Latin

Contents

Form

codex

Support

Parchment

Physical extent

166 leaves (ii + 164) Probably retrimmed at the head. Foliated in arabic numerals, s. xiv, as far as 56, repeating 3 and omitting 19.

Hands

Small neat French early gothic bookhands.

Decoration

On fol. 1 two large initials I in colours and gold, in ‘Channel style’ with beasts and a bearded man’s head; on fol. 105 a red and blue flourished initial; red or blue initials flourished in the other colour; marginal rubrication, especially in art. 2.

Binding

Late medieval, repaired s. xix: chamfered oak boards with slightly projecting foredges, rebacked with brown pigskin; resewn on four bands; two straps from recesses in the front board to clasps at the back, all gone. Formerly chained from the foredge of the front board near the foot. Fols. i and 164 are paper blanks, s. xix.

Provenance

Made in France.

Later at the Oxford Dominican convent: at the foot of fols. 109v, 110 and 113v are pencilled drafts of letters, written, between 1239 and 1241/2, from W. de Theford ‘fratrum predicatorum Oxonie’ (see above). The sender was William de Thetford OP (BRUO 1859), prior of the Oxford convent c. 1236, still in 1239.

On fol. iv‘liber collegii ex dono magistri Thome Bloxham’ and ‘B. lier8us’, in the usual hands (see above, MSS 60, 69). For Bloxham, see MS 41.

At the head of fol. 163v is ‘3usliber’, showing that it was in an electio.

On fol. iv is ‘O. 3. 4. Art:’, s. xvii, canc. and replaced with ‘L. 1. 4’ in red.