South English legendary

Title

South English legendary

Shelfmark

MS. Ashmole 43

Place of origin

English

Date

14th century, first quarter

Language

Middle English (1100-1500)

Contents

Form

codex

Support

parchment

Physical extent

x + 265 + xi leaves

Hands

Written in a small Anglicana hand by one scribe in brown ink. Görlach (p. 74) suggests that the scribe has attempted to reproduce features of a dignified book hand on the basis of an engrossing hand, with upright and square proportions.

Decoration

Blue initials, flourished in red with marginal extensions at the beginning of each work.

Capital letters dotted or crossed in red. Running titles added in a 15th-century hand.

Binding

Brown tanned calf over laminated pulpboard with blind tooled edging of double rows. Spine rebacked.

Acquisition

Entered the Bodleian Library from the collection of the Ashmolean Museum.

Provenance

A 16th-century hand supplies unsuitable rhyme words on fol. 211v. Two other readers of this period add some Latin marginalia, one of whom is likely also responsible for the ink foliation.

Unidentifiable scribbles on fols. 156v, 176v, 236v, 258v.

John tayllor off Brydstow (fol. 189r); later passed to his descendent:

Silas Taylor; passed to:

Elias Ashmole;