AVERROES; S. XIII 3/4

Title

AVERROES; S. XIII 3/4

Shelfmark

Merton College MS. 269

Place of origin

script of English appearance

England, Oxford (?)

Date

s. xiii

S. XIII 3/4

Language

Latin

Contents

Form

codex

Support

Parchment

Physical extent

291 leaves (i + 290) The edges heavily retrimmed and spattered with red.

Hands

Written by a single expert scribe, probably French, in two sizes of gothic quadrata bookhand.

Decoration

Exceptionally handsome historiated initials in colours and gold with decorative extensions, in Oxford style, with preliminary marginal sketches in pencil, open each book: those on fols. 1 and 28 excised; f. 55 11-line U enclosing ‘scientia’ as seated queen, sheltering in her cloak other disciplines also shown as queens; f. 90 I full length of the page, with standing doctor pointing upward; f. 132 12-line M enclosing two philosophers disputing; f. 140v 12-line E enclosing seated philosopher holding a representation of ‘ens’; f. 185v 10-line O enclosing two men raking up stubble, threatened by a man with a knotty club; f. 200 11-line D enclosing two seated philosophers disputing; f. 222v 12-line D, ditto; f. 248 10-line C, two seated philosophers disputing, between them a hierarchy of angels topped by a bust of the Deity.

Blue initials flourished in red; large blue paraphs, sometimes flourished in red, in the text; small plain red initials in the gloss; running heads in both colours, between ruled lines; red highlighting.

Marginal drawings in pencil or ink of text on fols. 43, 49, 51, 158.

A red line-filler formed of an arrow chasing a spotted hound on f. 131v.

Binding

Standard Merton s. xvii; sewn on four bands; formerly chained from the usual position.

Provenance

Perhaps made in Oxford.

At the College by 1372, when it was in circulation (UO48. 56), again in 1375 (UO50. 103).

On the verso of the stub of the leaf before f. i is the end of an erased cautio, s. xiv, with part of a name ‘do de Clehangr’. This will be Richard de Cleanger (BRUO 430–1), fellow of Merton in 1331, still in 1346, recorded by Anthony Wood as a donor of books to the College. The place is Clehonger (Herefs.).

On f. i are several more thoroughly-erased cautiones.

At the foot of f. 286v is a partly-erased cautio: ‘Cautio de Welpyngton exposita in cista d’ in festo sancti Iohannis ante portam latinam anno Domini M. CCC.LXXXVIII et habet duo supplementa unum Commentatorem super libros phisicorum secundo fo. linie et Albertum super librum de Causis secundo fo. in omnia’. Richard Whelpyngton (BRUO 2032) was fellow 1386–7, still in 1401–2. Below is another inscription, very faint.

There are marks of the large iron chain-staple near the foot of f. 286 and preceding leaves, but not on fols. 287–90.

At the head of fols. i and 1 is the James no. ‘90’, s. xvii. Inside the front cover is a sheet of paper with the contents and ‘Q. 1. 1 Art.’, s. xvii, ‘CCLXIX’ in modern pencil, and the College bookplate. ‘1’ is inked on the foredge.