Scientific and poetic anthology — late 14th century; Oxford

Title

Scientific and poetic anthology — late 14th century; Oxford

Shelfmark

MS. Digby 166

Place of origin

Oxford

Date

late 14th century

15th century

14th century, late

Language

Latin

Contents

Form

codex

Support

parchment

Physical extent

110 leaves

Hands

Parts I and II were written by A, a semi-cursive hand of the mid-fourteenth century. This scribe writes above the top line of the frame.

An Anglicana business hand B was, at various times, responsible for several parts of the manuscript: B1 wrote Part III fols. 21ra–26vb (No. 5, Sacrobosco De sphera); B2 wrote Part IV fols. 36ra–44rb to near the end of No. 10 (Odoric of Pordenone); in Part V B3 wrote the first two items (Nos. 11–12, fols. 46ra–48va) and B4 wrote the next two (Nos. 13–14, fols. 48vb–50va); in Part VI B5 wrote No. 44 (fols. 68rb–71va), followed by B6 who wrote Nos. 45–47 on fols. 71va–74rb. These varieties of B’s script differ only in size and thickness of ink and are, Rigg believes, by one scribe, writing probably in the later part of the fourteenth century (certainly after 1330, the date of No. 10).

Another Anglicana hand, C1, augmented Part III and wrote Nos. 6–9 on fols. 27ra–30rb; No. 9 was completed by a similar but distinct hand, C2, on fols. 30va–35ra.

In Part IV, where B2 had left the text of No. 10 incomplete on fol. 44rb, a fifteenth-century hand D completed it and finished on fol. 45rb.

The original poems of Part VI (the collection related to Bodley 603) were written by two hands, also late fourteenth-century: E1 (fols. 51ra–58ra, Nos. 15–23) writes a Textura, with ‘biting’ and a habit of drawing doodles and small faces from the ascenders on the top line; E1 (fols. 58rb–68ra, Nos. 23–43) is similar to E but without the doodles.

One hand, F, wrote the fifteenth-century Parts VII–VIII.

Titles (where supplied) are usually by the scribe who wrote the text (as in Part I), but that on fol. 13r is by a somewhat later hand. The title of No. 13 (fol. 48vb) is perhaps by the fifteenth-century hand F.

At the foot of fol. 51r (perhaps referring to No. 16) is written ‘amonicio quedam ut caueamus male age’ (? agere, agendo); at the foot of fol. 53vb (referring to No. 18) is written ‘incipiunt sermones golie’: these notes may be by the hand which wrote the prices (below).

On fol. 61ra an extra line has been added (see No. 30).

In blank space on fol. 74rb is written: ‘In isto libro continentur: Algorismus prosaicus’; this incipient contents list, written in the fourteenth century, perhaps shows that Part II was once the first booklet in what was by now perceived as a single book.

On fol. 74v is a diagram of the winds and a short extract from Isidore (No. 48).

Binding

Standard binding of the Digby collection, between 1632 and 1634: light brown leather, stamped on each cover in gilt with the large armorial stamp of Sir Kenelm Digby, with his arms in a laurel leaf within a pointed oval frame which carries the legend ‘INSIGNIA KENELMI DIGBY EQVITIS AURATI’; two clasps.

Acquisition

Donated to the Bodleian, 1634.

Provenance

At some stage Part III was augmented by the addition of an extra quire and the ‘Trojan’ entries by hands C1 and C2. The fact that two scribes were involved suggests that this was done while the booklets were still with the bookseller; on the other hand, the removal of the last leaf from quire iii shows that that booklet was once regarded as complete as it stood. Clearly, the addition was an afterthought: the parchment of quire iv is thicker and coarser than that in the rest of Parts I–VI.

In the fifteenth century someone supplied the missing end of the text of Odoric (No. 10) and added an extra bifolium. The quire signatures a–b–c–d–a on quires x–xiv show that Parts VII–VIII were originally quite separate from Parts I–VI, and also that the final quire (Part VIII C) was once the first booklet in a compilation. On the other hand, the union of Parts I–VI with VII–VIII must have taken place in the fifteenth century, especially if the title on fol. 48vb is by hand F. The whole codex was supplied with quire signatures a–o. By error, fol. 45r was signed T: this is the first leaf of the bifolium attached to quire v to take the missing text of No. 10, but must have been counted with quire vi, which consists of only five leaves.

Throughout the manuscript are various notes and scribbles, such as a student’s notes on fols. 1r and 2r, and the scribe’s notes in No. 5.

Monogram ‘G.I.’ and other scribbles on fols. 50v and 90v.

Thomas Allen (1542–1632): his inventory number, A.174, appears on fol. 1r; MS. 4º 37 in his catalogue.

Kenelm Digby, 1603–1665

Title

Expositio in tractatum; 'Generalis introduccio in practicam geometrie'; 'Canones in triangulum Pictagoricum de mensuris practice geometrie', and others

Shelfmark

MS. Digby 166

Summary

Art. 15 is really from st. Jerome's liber adversus Jovinianum [In 8. '[Nowers?]' should be struck out. E. W. B. N.]

Date

13th century, end

Language

Latin

Physical extent

110 Leaves

Custodial history

Manuscript 1394 acquired by the Bodleian Library (10). Belonged in whole or in part to Thomas Allen of Gloucester Hall.