NICHOLAS GORRAN, JOHN RUSSELL, HUGH OF ST CHER; S. XIV in.

Title

NICHOLAS GORRAN, JOHN RUSSELL, HUGH OF ST CHER; S. XIV in.

Shelfmark

Merton College MS. 172

Place of origin

script of English appearance.

Date

S. XIV in.

Language

Latin

Contents

Form

codex

Support

Parchment

Physical extent

175 leaves (iii + 172)The edges heavily retrimmed and spattered with red.

Hands

English gothic rotunda bookhands: arts 1 and 4: art. 2 (probably hand 1 of MS 170); art. 3 William of Nottingham (see MS 168), who annotates throughout in anglicana.

Decoration

Red and blue initials with 1-sided bar borders; blue initials flourished in red; red or blue paraphs; red and blue chapter-numbers and running heads. At the end of quires the decorator has totalled the number of initials in pencil.

Binding

Standard Merton s. xvii, rebacked; sewn on five bands; formerly chained from the usual position; fols. i-iii, 170–2 are paper binding leaves, the outermost modern, the next from the same printed book as in MS 11. Near the foot of the early leaves is a rust-mark from a chain-staple. On f. 169, formerly the rear pastedown, are marks from two catches, and from the large iron chain-staple.

Provenance

Given to the College by William Reed in 1374: UO49. 99. The description there shows that art. 4 was then the first in the book, and the secundo folio given there is now at fol. 146. Reed’s usual inscriptions were doubtless on the front flyleaves, now lost. Part of a set of ten volumes, of which eight survive: the others are MSS 166, 168–71. For Reed, see MS 8.

Inside the front board is a sheet of paper with ‘F. 8, 8’ (canc.) and contents, s. xvii, and ‘O. 6. 12. Art:’, canc. and replaced with ‘M. 3. 9 (CLXXII)’ in red; the College bookplate.