GALEN, CONSTANTINE THE AFRICAN &tc.; S. XIII

Title

GALEN, CONSTANTINE THE AFRICAN &tc.; S. XIII

Shelfmark

Merton College MS. 219

Place of origin

France

Date

S. XIII

Language

Latin

Contents

Form

codex

Support

Parchment

Physical extent

254 leaves (iv + 250) The edges retrimmed affecting marginalia and spattered with red.

Hands

Several similar proficient small French early gothic bookhands, except for art. 1, in an anglicana hand, s. xiv in.

Decoration

Red and blue flourished initials; a very few red or blue initials flourished in the other colour; plain red or blue initials and paraphs; running heads in capitals of both colours; red highlighting.

Binding

Standard Merton s. xvii, sewn on five bands; formerly chained from the usual position. Fols. i and 250 are paper binding leaves. fol. i was formerly a pastedown.

Provenance

French, but in England early on. At the head of fol. ii is ‘xxii s. viij d.’, in an English hand, s. xiv.

At the head of fol. iiv is an erased cautio of ‘Noreys’ dated 1341.

Below is ‘Caucio cum 3bus supplementis xxxiii s. iiij d.’, canc. Other thoroughly-erased inscriptions occur lower down.

In the lower margin of fol. 1 is an erased inscription, s. xiv: ‘Memorand’ quod iste liber ?iacet pro Norys et M. Bryand Norys x s. Bryand x s. ’. Of the many Oxford men named Nor(r)eys, the only one whose dates fit is Richard Norreys of Exeter diocese (BRUO 1366), who studied in Oxford at intervals between 1317 and 1345. ‘Bryand’ would then be Reginald de Bryan (BRUO 290–1), BCL by 1349, bp. of Worcester 1352–61.

Also in the lower margin of fol. 1 is ‘Liber domus scolarium de Merton in Oxon’ ex dono magistri Thome Donecan quondam socii eiusdem domus in electione philosophie ibidem annis singulis a regentibus artium eligendus.’ Duncan (BRUO 605) was fellow in 1404, still in 1420, physician to the Earl of March, Edward IV’s father, d. by Apr. 1461.

At the head of fol. 1 is the James no. ‘76’, s. xvii in.

‘2’ is inked on the foredge. Inside the front board is a sheet of paper with a table of contents, s. xvii, and ‘P. 2. 2. Art:’, canc. and replaced with ‘No. CCXIX’ and ‘N. 3. 2’ in red; the College bookplate.