PETER OF CORNWALL, PART I; S. XIII1

Title

PETER OF CORNWALL, PART I; S. XIII1

Shelfmark

Merton College MS. 191

Place of origin

script of English appearance.

Date

S. XIII1

Language

Latin

Contents

Form

codex

Support

Parchment

Physical extent

293 leaves (iv + 289)The edges retrimmed, affecting marginalia, and spattered with red.

Hands

A single small English early gothic bookhand.

Decoration

Large red and blue flourished initials; red or blue initials flourished in the other colour; running heads in red capitals.

Binding

Standard Merton s. xvii, repaired, rebacked and resewn on four bands; formerly chained from the usual position. Fols. i-ii, 288–9 are modern paper binding leaves. Fols. 286–7 are leaves from the binding of s. xvii, cut down from the same printed book as in MS 19. fol. iii, once a pastedown in an earlier binding, has the mark of a single foredge strap.

Provenance

Given to the College in July 1486 (UO56. 2) by John Gygur, warden 1471–83, d. 1504, for whom see MS 98. The first volume of a set of three, MS 192 being the second. Nine leaves are all that remain of vol. III (part IV), now mounted in Merton College E. 3. 5. The book was evidently cut up and used in College bindings in the late sixteenth century. It is already absent from the 1556 List (UO65).

At the head of fol. 1 is the James no. ‘136’, s. xvii in. Inside the front board is a sheet of paper with a title and ‘G. 2, 5’ and ‘O. 8. 6. Art:’, s. xvii, both canc. and replaced by ‘M. 1. 6. (CXCI)’ in red; the College bookplate. ‘6’ is inked on the foredge.