ROBERT HOLCOT ON WISDOM; S. XIV ex.

Title

ROBERT HOLCOT ON WISDOM; S. XIV ex.

Shelfmark

Merton College MS. 161

Place of origin

England

Date

S. XIV ex.

Language

Latin

Contents

Form

codex

Support

Parchment

Physical extent

314 leaves (iv + 308, incl. 113A, 118A)The edges retrimmed with loss of marginalia, and spattered with red.

Hands

Three scribes, all probably Continental but working in England, the first two writing cursive influenced by anglicana, the third a low-grade bookhand: fols. 1–14v; 15–62v; 64–305v.

Decoration

On fol. 15 a 7-line red and blue D, flourished in red and a little violet, and with 3-sided border in red and blue; blue initials flourished in red; red or blue paraphs; red underlining.

Binding

Standard Merton s. xvii; sewn on six bands; formerly chained from the usual position. fols. i and 308 were pastedowns in an earlier binding.

Provenance

Pencilled scribbles of s. xv include ‘Quod Willerus Coke jentylman’ and ‘Petyr of Mylferton’ at the head of fol. 199, ‘Willelmus Coke jentylman’ on fol. 247. The place is Milverton in Somerset.

At the head of fol. 306, partly erased, is ‘Liber Magistri Thome Balsall emptus prec’ xlvi s. viii d.’

Near the foot of fol. 305v is ‘liber Holcote super sapientiam precii [erased vj marcarum]’.

On fol. 307 ‘Liber collegii de Mertone ex dono magistri Thome Balsall quondam socii ibidem.’

On fol. ivv ‘In hoc libro continetur lectura Holcot super librum Sapiencie ex dono magistri [doctoris inserted] Thome Balsall nuper socii istius Collegii de Mertone. Oretis pro eo’, in the hand of the Fitzjames inscriptions &c. Balsall (BRUO 100), fellow c. 1448–58, d. by Mar. 1492.

At the head of fol. 1 is the James no. ‘122’, s. xvii in. Inside the front board is a sheet of paper with contents, s. xvii, and ‘ O. 6. 1: art:’, canc. and replaced with ‘G. 1. 5 (CLXI)’ in red; the College bookplate.