NICHOLAS GORRAN; S. XIV in.

Title

NICHOLAS GORRAN; S. XIV in.

Shelfmark

Merton College MS. 170

Place of origin

script of English appearance.

England, Oxford

Date

S. XIV in.

Language

Latin

Contents

Form

codex

Support

Parchment

Physical extent

Originally two separate volumes, brought together for the present binding; 176 leaves (iv + 172) The edges heavily retrimmed with loss of marginalia and spattered with red.

Decoration

On fols. 1 and 51 are large and handsome red and blue flourished initials with partial bar borders. According to G. Pollard, in the unpaginated Addenda and Corrigenda of 1940 to S. Gibson, Statuta Antiqua (Oxford, 1931), the initial on fol. 1 is by the same hand as that in the University’s Registrum A, fol. 8, which he dates to 1311–13. This will apply to the initial on fol. 51 as well, and perhaps to others in the set. Blue initials flourished in red; red and blue paraphs and running heads. At the ends of quires are pencilled the number of the coloured initials and paraphs.

Binding

Standard Merton s. xvii, resewn on four bands and rebacked in modern times; formerly chained from the usual position. At the foredge of fol. iv, formerly the pastedown in an earlier binding, are the marks of two straps. Fols. i-iii, 170–2 are paper binding leaves, the innermost modern, the others s. xvii, the two outermost from the same printed book as in MS 11. Previously rebound in 1436–7.

Provenance

Given to the College as two separate volumes by William Reed in 1374: UO49. 94, 96. Part of a set of ten, of which eight survive: the others are MSS 166, 168–9, 171–2. On fol. ivv: ‘In hoc uolumine continentur postille [Nicholai Gorhamover line] super Euangelium Mathei’; in the hand of William Reed, ‘Liber M. Willelmi Reed episcopi Cicestrensis quem emit a [uenerabili patreover line] domino Thoma Tryllek’ episcopo Roffensi. Oretis igitur pro utroque’; in the hand of Walterus Roberti, ‘Liber domus scolarium de Merton’ in Oxon’ in communi libraria eiusdem et ad usum communem sociorum ibidem studencium cathenandus. Ex dono uenerabilis patris domini Willelmi tercii episcopi Cicestrie. Oretis igitur pro eodem et benefactoribus eiusdem ac fidelium animabus a purgatorio liberandis’; an erased single-line inscription. For Reed, see MS 8.

Inside the front board is a sheet of paper with a table of contents, s. xvii, ‘F. 3, 6’, s. xvii (canc.), ‘O. 6. 10. Art.’, s. xvii, canc. and replaced with ‘O. 2. 6’ in red ink and ‘CLXX)’ in pencil; the College bookplate.