Miscellany in French, Latin and English; England (Worcestershire), c. 1271–83

Title

Miscellany in French, Latin and English; England (Worcestershire), c. 1271–83

Shelfmark

MS. Digby 86

Date

13th century, end (c. 1272–82)

Language

Anglo-Norman

Middle English (1100-1500)

Latin

Old French (842-ca. 1400)

Contents

Form

codex

Support

Parchment of varying thickness and quality. Some of the folios have been patched. The first and last paper endleaves are modern. The parchment endleaves (ii-iii, 208–9) are seventeenth century.

Hands

Scribe 1: Anglicana script improving with experience. Responsible for most of the copying. Characteristics: Pronounced leftward slope. Double compartment a; short r, z with cross bar; headstroke of final s turns upwards at the end; formation of ascenders of b, h, k, and l by upward loop converting to a long curved, downward approach stroke to the tops of the stems, and second stroke of the 'fork' traced lower down; long curved, oblique hairline stroke above the letter i.

Scribe 2: Anglicana. Responsible for quires xi and xii, ff. 81–96. Characteristics: upright hand; two compartment a; double headed forms of f and s, headless a; y formed with a loop; '2'-shaped r in medial position; long tailed r; no cross-bar on z; short s in medial position; final s with headstroke turned downwards at end.

Scribe 3: A late fourteenth-century hand copied a text on the recto of f. 16, an inserted leaf.

Other early fourteenth-century hands filled in the Kalendar and were responsible for pen trials (Tscahnn and Parkes 1996, pp. xxxviii-liii).

Decoration

Marginal sketches. List of English kings to Edward I with addition over erasure giving the date 1282. (Pächt and Alexander iii. 470)

Marginal red sketches - heads, birds etc. with Latin tags. F. 4v sketches with captions 'presbiter', 'calix', and 'altare' appear with a group of texts of religious instructions (Items 1–2). F. 8v - head with caption 'ipocras' (reference to author of text); f. 34v - man with goblet at his lips with caption 'bibo' and coffin with caption 'toumba'; f. 35r pattern of wiggly lines with caption 'celum' (cf. f. 48r); f. 36v ?churches with flags; f. 37r, drawing of a tree with caption 'arbor'; f. 41r drawing of a crescent moon with caption 'luna'; f. 46v sphere with caption 'sol', 'aqua'; f. 47r picture of a bird with caption'gallus'; f. 48r pattern of wiggly lines with caption 'mare'; f. 79v head of woman with caption 'rosa', pointing hand with caption 'manus', head of man with caption 'homo' and ?tool in front of face (cf. f. 80r); f. 80r head of woman facing a spindle and bobbin with caption 'femina', pointing hand, cross; f. 82v finger pointing to head of a woman; f. 83v ?box with swaddled body next to it and caption 'mortuus', swaddled body in a tomb with caption 'tomba'; f. 84r hand pointing to head of woman; f. 84v two heads with hands pointing to them (later additions?); f. 102v heads of a man and a woman; f. 150r head wearing a mitre; f. 103r man's head; f. 205v sketch of owner 'scripsi librum'. Armorial - f. 47r (bottom) two armorial shields drawn in red; f. 68r (bottom) three armorial shields outlined and shaded in red thought to be the arms of three families who held land in the Worcester diocese - de Vesci, Beaumont, and Fitzjohn - probably copied from the original exemplar (Tschann and Parkes 1996, p. lix).

Hands, e.g, f. 164v.

Three, four, and five-line coloured Lombardic capitals. For each new line of verse the initial is emphasised in size and colour. Large coloured, decorated initial are used at the beginning of texts. Large initials are decorated with a variety of patterns, i.e. zig-zag, bands of colour running down the middle.

Binding

Not contemporary. Rebound between 1632 and 1634. Coverered in light-brown calf mitred and pasted onto board. Fillet border in gold at the edges of the board with a Vesica figure in gold containing Sir Kenelm Digby's arms and inscription. Resewn on four bands. Earlier sewing probably late sixteenth century. Four raised bands on the spine. Remains of two clasps on exterior fore edge and two catches on the back cover.

The first three quires have had their corners folded inwards creating a 'v' shaped fold (See Tschann and Parkes 1996, p. lv, fig. 2). On the fore edge of the first three leaves of these quires there is piercing and a rust spot, possibly evidence of the device used for holding the quires together. The remainder of the quires do not show this folding of the corners. Vertical folds in the leaves suggest that the quires were kept unbound and just lightly folded in a wallet or wrapper prior to their late sixteenth century binding.

Acquisition

Donated by him to the Bodleian, 1634.

Provenance

The book was produced by the scribe for his own use who, from evidence in the Kalendar, was possibly Richard de Grimhill (c. 1263 - c. 1308). The major scribe, 1, has entered the obit of 'Alexander de Grimehull' (18 July).

The manuscript seems to have passed after the death of Richard Grimhill, via his daughter Amice, to the Underhill family (Tschann and Parkes, p. lviii). A further two obits have been entered in the first half, or middle, of the fourteenth century. These are 'Obitus Amiscie vxoris Symonis Vnderhull' (11 July), Amice Underhull and 'Obitus symonis vnerhul' (23 July), Simon Underhull.

Pen-trials in the hand probably of William Underhill (Tschann and Parkes, p. lvii): f. 34v: 'Simon dehud' (probably an abandoned entry for Simon de hunderhulle). Ff. 39v-40r: part of a will is written in typical formulaic style supposedly by Robert de Penedok. The will begins with the usual references to the soul and earthly remains, in this case to be interred at 'ridmarleye' but ends at the bequest of a colt 'pullum' to William de Underhulle. However, given that the pen trial is in the hands of William it is thought that this 'will' is the result of 'youthful high spirits rather than a copy of or a draft for a genuine document' (Tschann and Parkes, 1996, pp. lvii-lviii). Ff. 40r and 141v: 'Willelmus de underhulle'. F. 89v: 'Galfridus Willelmus Robertus de Penedok scripsit'. Ff. 39v and 98v carry 'Robertus filius Roberti de penedok'. F. 99v 'Galfridus' Penedok is described as 'filius simonis de underhulle'. F. 111v: 'Iohannes dominus de penedoch'.

Thomas Allen (1540–1632, member of Trinity College, Oxford) acquired the book in Oxford in the sixteenth century. The catalogue of his collection drawn up in 1622 lists Digby 86 as '80 A.I' with the reference number I being written on f. 1r of the manuscript.

Bequeathed by Allen to Kenelm Digby, 1603–1665.

Title

Anglo-Normannica et Anglica varia, prosaica atque poetica

Shelfmark

MS. Digby 86

Date

A note in the official calendar endeavours to fix the date of writing as between 1272 and 1283

Language

French

English

Latin

Physical extent

207 Leaves

Custodial history

Manuscript 1453 acquired by the Bodleian Library (69). Belonged in whole or in part to Thomas Allen of Gloucester Hall.

[77. ends with 'Edwardus filius eius x', where 'f. e. x.' is over an erasure, and not by the original scribe. It is at the end of this p. (not p. 206b) that the scribe records the time he took in writing the MS. This is clearly the end of the original book (as well as that of a gathering), and is before Nov. 1283, when E. completed his 11th year. In 78, l. 4 read 'forȝef'. E. W. B. N.]