COMMENTARIES ON ARISTOTLE; S. XIII ex.

Title

COMMENTARIES ON ARISTOTLE; S. XIII ex.

Shelfmark

Merton College MS. 280

Place of origin

England, Oxford.

Date

s. xiii ex.

Language

Latin

Contents

Form

codex

Support

Parchment

Physical extent

149 leaves (iv + 145) Savagely retrimmed affecting marginalia and running heads, the edges spattered with red.

Binding

Standard Merton s. xvii; sewn on five bands; formerly chained from the usual position; fols. i-ii, 144–5 are paper binding leaves, the outermost from the same printed book as in MS 118. f. iii was formerly a pastedown in an earlier binding. f. iv has a mark probably of an iron chain-staple at the foredge near the foot. This mark does not appear on f. iii because most of its foot is torn away.

Provenance

Probably made at Oxford.

At the College by 1372, when it was in circulation: UO48. 128.

On f. iii is an erased cautio: ‘Cautio sabati proxima post festum sancti domini M bury de ’.

On f. iiiv: ‘Liber domus scolarium de Merton’ in Oxon’ ex assignacione Magistri Willelmi Ingge archidiaconi Surr’ quondam socii dicte domus ita quod a dicta domo non alienetur uel distrahatur quouis modo [erased]’, s. xiv.

‘Liber domus scolarium de Merton’ in Oxon’, twice, in different hands of s. xv; ‘de sorte Hereward’’; ‘De sorte [erased]’; ‘5us De sorte Swyndon’’. Inge (BRUO 1001) was apparently fellow c. 1324; d. 1347. John Swyndon (BRUO 1835) was fellow in 1390–1, still in 1400. John Hereward (BRUO 915–16) was fellow in 1381, still in 1391.

Near the head of f. ii is ‘13 Eye’. On f. ivv are several more erased inscriptions, incl. ‘14’.

At the foot of f. 145v are: ‘Iste liber constat Willelmo de Hordle scolari Oxonie scolatisanti anno Domini millesimo CCCmo XV eodem anno domino magistro Henrico de Harklee cancellario ibidem existente’, and ‘Liber scholarium domus de Mertone in Oxonia’, s. xiv ex. These inscriptions presumably refer to part II. Hordle is not in BRUO.

The book is apparently mentioned by Bale: Thomson, Merton, Appendix C, no. 43 (the first two arts only, ascr. by him to Grosseteste).

Near the head of f. iii is the James no. ‘102’ (recte 92), s. xvii in.

Inside the front board is a sheet of paper with a table of contents, s. xvii, ‘E. 4. 8.’, s. xvii, canc., ‘Q. 1. 12. Art:’, s. xvii, canc. and replaced with ‘O. 1. 12 (CCLXXX)’ in red; the College bookplate. ‘12’ is inked on the foredge.