Geoffrey Babion (?) — 12th century, late; Germany

Title

Geoffrey Babion (?) — 12th century, late; Germany

Shelfmark

MS. Lyell 66

Place of origin

Germany

Date

12th century, late

late 12th or early 13th century

Language

Latin

Contents

Form

codex

Support

parchment

Physical extent

129 leaves

Decoration

No rubrication: decorated red initials on fol. 2, 4.

Binding

12th-cent. (?) binding of smooth white leather on thick wooden boards, the edges flush with the pages; flat spine; original sewing; two metal clasps on leather straps fastened to pins in the fore-edge; chain mark at top of lower cover. Contemporary title: 'Expositio super Math.' written across the top of the spine. There is an offset on the front board, possibly from a 13th-cent. or earlier liturgical MS.

Acquisition

Chosen as one of the hundred manuscripts bequeathed to the Bodleian by Lyell in 1948.

Provenance

Formerly in the library of the Premonstratensian monastery of Steinfeld in the Eifel, in the diocese of Cologne; contemporary note on fol. 1: ‘Liber ecclesię sancte Marię sanctique Potentini in Steinvelt siquis abstulerit anathema sit amen.' Also: '1471. Expositio super Matheum'. On the front cover is written '15. 55:-3'. on the spine 'MS. N. 2', and on fol. 1 'Loc: 255: N: 8' (18th cent.). For the Steinfeld MSS. see P. Bloch, 'Das Steinfeld Messale', Aachener Kunstblätter 22 (1961), 37-60. He knew of this MS. (p. 47, no. 10), but only from the Rosenthal catalogue.

Later acquired by Leander van Ess of Darmstadt; no. 53 in his sale catalogue of 1823.

Bought in 1824 by Sir Thomas Phillipps: no. 438 in his library and lot 311 in the Phillipps sale, Sotheby's, 6-9 June 1910.

James P. R. Lyell, 1871–1948: bought by Lyell in February 1942 from Rosenthal; see J. Rosenthal, Bibl. Med. Aev. MSS. I (Kat. 83), 1925, no. 7 and Taf. IV (fol. 2).