The Old English Heptateuch, with Ælfric's letter to Wulfgeat and Libellus de veteri testamento et nouo . s. xi2

Title

The Old English Heptateuch, with Ælfric's letter to Wulfgeat and Libellus de veteri testamento et nouo . s. xi2

Shelfmark

MS. Laud Misc. 509

Date

11th century, second half

Language

Old English (ca. 450-1100)

Contents

Form

codex

Support

parchment

Hands

Fols 1-141, except fols 15r/8-21, 15v/1-10 and 17r/11-23 : A small and regular rounded hand. e: open-headed s low or long s used. The long sis used initially and medial, and has a broken shaft made in two strokes. The descender curves to the left. ðhas a long upstroke tagged to the left at the top, the cross-stroke not transecting the upstroke. d: a small round back with a short tapered ascender curved to the right. Wedged ascenders. Tapered descenders to the left. . Also wrote British Library MS. Cotton Vespasian D. xxi, fols 18-40. s. xi2

Fols 15r/8-21, 15v/1-10 : Another small and regular rounded hand, very similar to the main hand. s short or long s used. The long sis used initially and medially, and the descender curves to the left. Short swith a hook-like ascender, stopping on the writing line. ðhas a long upstroke occasionally tagged to the left at the top, occasionally it curves to the right. d: a small round back with a short tappered ascender curved to the right. Wedged ascenders. descenders curving to the left with a serif. s. xi2

Fol. 17r/11-23A fairly large rounded hand. ðhas a long upstroke tapered and curved to the right at the top. d: a small round back with a short ascender curved to the left. Long s with a flat foot. Wedged ascenders. Tapered descenders, which turn to the left. s. xi2

Decoration

Plain green, red, purple initials with occasional decorations in green, fol. 65v. Black initials are also used (fol. 56). Red titles by the main hand. Titles are in red in the script and hand of the text, although the shade of red seems different, for instance on fol. 65v (Ker 1957, p. 424).

Binding

Leather binding of s. xvii1bearing Laud's arms. The front and back covers have become detached (Doane 2002, p. 74). Graham suggests that the fragments of pasteboard stuck to the verso of fol. iv indicate that it served as a pastedown in the Cottonian binding. He argues that L'Isle removed Cotton's binding and had it rebound, retaining the Cottonian endleaves but turning them over and around in the process (2000, p. 293).

Acquisition

Part of Laud's third donation to the Bodleian, 1639. Former Bodleian pressmark Laud E. 19' ( Ker 1957, p. 424).

Provenance

"M. R. James tentatively attributed a twelfth-century hand repsonsible for some of the Latin material ... to Christ Church, Canterbury, and this prompts speculation that the whole volume belonged to that house" (Marsden 2008, p. xxxv); not in MLGB3.

Henry VIII, Royal Library: in the 1542 catalogue of the old Royal Library, it was number 159 (fol. 2, top), and it is described as 'the pentatuik and saints Lyues'.

Robert Cotton (see Ker 1938, p. 132).

William Lisle, d. 1637. Cotton 'lent the part now at Oxford, 'Liber Genesis et pentatuchum Saxonice bound withe my arms and clapses in 4 to' to 'Mr. Lyll of Cambrig' before 23rd of April 1621, as appears from the list of Cotton's loan of books in MS. Harley 6018, fol. 148v' ( Ker 1957, p. 424).

William Laud, 1638. Ker notes: 'The dates of ownership and gift suggest that Laudobtained the manuscript from L'Isle (cf. Laud misc. 201, 381, 636)'.

Title

Aelfric

Shelfmark

MS. Laud Misc. 509

Summary

Heptateuch (part) and Joshua. (Old English translation, at least partly by Aelfric)

Aelfric, Homily on Judges

Aelfric, Letter to Wulfgeat

Aelfric, Libellus de veteri testamento et novo (This MS. was formerly a single volume with BL MS. Cotton Vesp. D. xxi fols. 18-40.)

Date

11th century, end

Language

Old English (ca. 450-1100)

Physical extent

141 Leaves

Custodial history

See the red-and-green initial on f. 65. On f. 2, old reference 'No. 139'. Manuscript 2829 acquired by the Bodleian Library