Priscian — 1260; French, South (?)

Title

Priscian — 1260; French, South (?)

Shelfmark

MS. Add. C. 142

Associated place

Carbonne

Pamiers

Verdun

Place of origin

French, South (?)

Date

1260

Language

Latin

Contents

Form

codex

Support

parchment

Physical extent

154 fols.

Decoration

Coloured initials.

Rubrics.

Acquisition

Bought from Thorpe for £10 10s. in 1836.

Provenance

'Notum sit omnibus quod die sabbati intitulata viiijº Idus Nouembris hora completorij Anno domini Millesimo Trecentesimo secundo fuit ex parte et ad opus Venerabilis Iacobi carrocij emptus iste liber uocatus Priscianus per Magistrum Guillelmum Figuera et uenditus a Petro Barranj scolari de Carbona [Carbonne, south-west of Toulouse] precio Viginti et octo solidorum turonensium Presentibus testibus Magistris Guillermo de trona clerico de Serancobi discipulo suo et Bernj de uerdunio [Verdun, north-west of Toulouse] de Ciuitate Appamiarum [Pamiers]. Quod precium solutum et traditum fuit... jn presentia et testimonio Venerabilium Jacobi carrocij. Jordani de palacio. magistri P Martini et et Bernj' (fol. 154v). A Jordanus de Palatio was consiliarius of the University of Toulouse in 1328.

'P. Miralli Galaesii Vullaconiani', 15th cent. (?), fol. 152v.

'Du Cabinet de Mr. le Cte. Wlgrin Taillefer', c. 1800, fols. 2r, 152: (?) Henry François Athanase Wlgrin de Taillefer (1761–1833).

Richard Heber (1773–1833), probably no. 1717 in his sale, bought by Thorpe for £5 7s. 6d.

Thorpe, 1836 catalogue, no. 1064.

Title

Priscian, Institutiones grammaticae I-XVI

Shelfmark

MS. Add. C. 142

Summary

'Feliciter incipit Ars Prisciani viri eloquentissimi gramatici Cesariensis. Feliciter scripsi ego Theodorus Dionisii viri disertissimi memoralis sacri scrinii epistolarum et adiutor viri magnifici questoris in urbe Romana Constantinopoli die kalendarum Octobris indictione V Olibrio viro claro const. [A.D. 526].'

Then follows Priscian's preface, with the distich beginning 'Pectore qui memori', and the Commentarii in sixteen books, with colophons.

At the end of the last colophon is 'Anno Domini millesimo duccentesimo sexagesimo, vio [pro xvio] Kalendas Madii, uidelicet sexto decimo die Aprilis.'

There are some glosses in the early part, and one long passage (perhaps representing a leaf of the original), omitted on fol. 144v, is supplied by the scribe on fol. 153.

The fly-leaves (fols. 1, 154) bear some grammatical and other notes, a few in Spanish.

Summary Catalogue notes: Carbona is Carbonne, some 21 miles S.W. of Toulouse. 'Turonensium' suggests France. Verdun on the Garonne is some 22 miles N.W. of Toulouse, and Pamiers some 33 S. of Toulouse. 'Scolari' and 'discipulo' suggest an University, and 26 years afterwards one of the consiliarii of the university of Toulouse was Jordanus de Palatio. The recorder of sale (a notary ?) did not know the vendor, whose name he misspells the second time. Whether the MS. was written at Toulouse is more doubtful. It is quite unlike the few S. French MSS. known to me in the Bodleian. In the title, blue majuscules blotched with yellow alternate with red ones--oblong C, ligatures, and enclosed letters abounding. In the text, red blotch ornamentation and thick red C without a while line are continual. Greek words are smeared with yellow, catch-words are written downwards inside vertical oblongs, and the style of the largest initials is strange to me. I should have guessed at the French-Swiss-Italian frontier.--E.W.B.N.

Date

written in A.D. 1260, perhaps in southern France

Language

Latin

Spanish

Physical facet

On parchment, with some illuminated capitals, etc.

Physical extent

157 Leaves

Custodial history

On a fly-leaf is: -- 'Notum sit omnibus quod die sabbati intitulata viiio Idus Nouemhris hora completorij anno Domini millesimo trecentesimo secundo fuit ex parte & ad opus venerabilis Jacobi Carrocij emptus iste liber uocatus Priscianns per magistrum Guillelmum Figuera et venditus a Petro Barranj scolari de Carbona pretio viginti et octo solidorum Turonensium, presentibus testibus magistris Guillerno de Trona clerico de Serancobj discipulo suo et Bernj de Verduno [?] de ciuitate Appamiarum [Pamiers]. Quod precium solutum et traditum fuit die Veneris proxime subsequta nomine uoluntate et expresso consensu & mandato ipsius Pi. Darranj dicto magistro Go. jn presentia et testimonio venerabilium Jacobi Carrocij, Jordani de Palacio, magistri Pi. Martini et ...' [erasure, followed by et Bernj.--E.W.B.N.].

On fol. 152v is 'P. Mirallii Galaesii VVllaconiani' (15th cent.?), and on fols. 2r, 152v a stamped sentence 'du Cabinet de Mr. le Cte Wlgrin Taillefer' (about A.D. 1800).

This MS. is no. 1064 in Thorpe's 1836 catalogue.

Acquisition

Heber sale lot no. 1717?: bought by Thorpe for £5 7s. 6d.: the Bodleian bought it from Thorpe for £10 10s.