AUGUSTINE ; S. XIII ex.

Title

AUGUSTINE ; S. XIII ex.

Shelfmark

Merton College MS. 55

Place of origin

France (?) and England

Date

S. XIII ex.

Language

Latin

Contents

Form

codex

Support

Parchment

Physical extent

269 leaves (iv + 265) (art. 2) The edges retrimmed with loss of early marginalia and stained yellow, now only surviving at the foot.

Hands

Art. 1 is in an excellent French gothic rotunda bookhand; the rest in a more formal English gothic rotunda bookhand.

Decoration

Art. 1 opens with a red and blue flourished initial; art. 1 blue initials flourished in red, and red or blue paraphs; arts 3–8 have blue or red initials flourished in the other colour. Art. 2 has red or blue paraphs. Throughout are running heads in red or red and blue capitals. Marginal chapter-numbers to art. 1 are in red, in arts 3–8 in red and blue, throughout associated with red paraphs.

Binding

Modern, replacing one of s. xix: scarlet goatskin; fols. i-ii and 264–5 are modern blank parchment binding leaves; resewn on five bands. In the middle of the foot of fol. iii is the mark probably of an iron chain-staple.

Provenance

Probably belonged to the Oxford Franciscans in the first instance.

At the College by c.1350: UO47. 164, with the present secundo folio, stating that the book was bought from College funds.

On fol. iii is an erased cautio; all that can be read using ultra-violet light is ‘Supplementum ’ and, immediately below, ‘Supplementum cautioni M. C. ?Chyng (or Alyng) exposita in cista xxvi die mensis Octobris anno domini m cccc xliiij et iacet pro [blank]. Further down again is ‘Caucio S Saynt’.

At the head of fol. 1vis an erased inscription, s. xiv, apparently ‘Liber domus Merton Oxonie.’ Further down, s. xvi in., ‘li 13’’, showing that the book was part of an electio.

On fol. 261v ‘precium xxx s.’; in pencil, ‘Memoriale fratris Thome de Barneby pro quatuor decem solidis’. Barneby (BRUO 111) was fellow probably at foundation (1274), certainly in 1276, later a Franciscan. (3) ‘Caucio magistrorum Willelmi Lynam et I. Woode et Nicholai Wreygth exposita in cista Exon’ anno Domini MCCCCL xxiiii die Marcii et habet supplementum scilicet peciam stantem cum coopertura et aquila in supremum et pondus xxv. unciarum et dimid. et iacet pro c. solidos’, renewed five times, the latest 4 Dec. 1455 for £4. 10; William Lyneham (BRUO 1193–4) became a fellow in 1426 or 1427, until his death in 1473; John Wode (BRUO 2069) was fellow c. 1445–50, d. by Nov. 1475; Nicholas Wryght (BRUO 2097) was fellow 1457–62, d. 1499.

On fol. 263 is a partly-erased cautio, ‘Caucio M. P. ?beco exposita in cista decimo septimo die mensis Decembri anno domini M CCCC LXIX et iacet pro ’, and the valuation of the stationer John Godsond (1438–56), ‘XL s.’

On fol. 1v is ‘N. 4. 16. Art:’, s. xvii, canc. and replaced with ‘B. 3. 7’ in red. The College bookplate. ‘16’ is inked on the foredge.