NICHOLAS GORRAN; S. XIV

Title

NICHOLAS GORRAN; S. XIV

Shelfmark

Merton College MS. 169

Place of origin

England, Oxford

Date

S. XIV

Language

Latin

Contents

Form

codex

Support

Parchment

Physical extent

401 leaves (ii + 399)

Hands

The neat anglicana hand of William of Nottingham (for whom see MS 168). On fol. 152v is a note by Thomas Gascoigne (Ball, Gascoigne, p. 137).

Decoration

Red and blue flourished initials with 1-sided bar borders; blue initials flourished in red; red or blue paraphs; red and blue running heads and marginal chapter-numbers. At the foot of fol. 366v is pencilled a calculation of the number of coloured initials in the book.

Binding

Standard Merton s. xvii; sewn on six bands; formerly chained from the usual position. Fols. i-ii and 398–9 are paper binding leaves, the outermost from the same printed book as in MS 11. A faint mark near the foot of fol. 397v is probably from the large iron chain-staple. Another near the foredge of fol. 25, towards the foot, is probably from a post-medieval iron chain-staple.

Provenance

Given to the College as two separate volumes by William Reed in 1374: UO49. 92–3, part of a set of ten volumes of which eight survive: the others are MSS 166, 168, 170–2. For Reed, see MS 8. I originally contained the commentaries on the Song of Songs and Ecclesiastes as well. The secundo folio does not match the entry in Reed’s list (materialis), and yet the record of its rebinding in 1436–7 (Appendix B, no. 95) suggests that the commentary on Proverbs was, at least by then the first major item in the book.

Inside the front board is a sheet of paper with ‘F. 4, 5’ (canc.) and a table of contents, s. xvii, and ‘O. 6. 9. Art:’, canc. and replaced with ‘M. 1. 9 (CLXIX)’ in red; the College bookplate.