Medieval Manuscripts in Cambridge Libraries

A catalogue of Western manuscripts and papyri at Cambridge University Library, the Fitzwilliam Museum and selected Cambridge colleges

Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, MS 41

Bede, Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum, in Old English

Contents

Introduction: Cambridge, Corpus Christi College MS 41 (hereafter CCCC MS 41) is a copy of the Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum (The Ecclesiastical History of the English People) by Bede , who lived and worked at the Benedictine monastery in Jarrow in the north-east of England from the late seventh century until his death in 735. Bede composed around forty works during his lifetime, and he listed most of them in a post-script at the end of the Historia ecclesiastica, located in this manuscript on pp. 479-482. The majority of Bede's writings are guides to help readers study and understand various books of the Bible, but he also produced homilies, textbooks on grammar and the composition of poetry, books on the lives of saints and other important religious figures, and books on the natural sciences and computus. By far his most famous work, then and now, the Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum is a history of the Christian church in England from the first conversion efforts, to the establishment of monastic sites, to the connections (and occasional conflicts) between kings and various abbesses and abbots, priests and bishops, and monks and nuns. Bede cast his research back into the distant past and tried to describe the pre-Roman peoples of Britain and their customs, life in Roman Britain, contemporary events in mainland Europe, and the migration to and settlement in what is now England by various Germanic tribes in the 5th and 6th centuries. Although there are some inaccuracies in the text, Bede was a careful and diligent researcher, and took care to inform his readers where he had found his information, his assessment of its veracity, and its potential corroboration in other sources. The Historia ecclesiastica is also full of personal detail, particularly as the narrative moves closer to Bede's own lifetime, with anecdotes about shepherds and princesses, travel and debates, and miraculous stories of healing and divine intervention. The Historia ecclesiastica was very widely circulated, not just in England but in many parts of north-western Europe. The Latin version of the text has survived in part or in full in over 150 manuscripts, but CCCC MS 41 is one of fewer than ten surviving partial or complete copies of the Old English version of the text. Other significant copies are: CCCC MS 41 was written in the first half of the eleventh century, probably somewhere in the south of England. The manuscript is large and has generous margins, which later that century were used to accommodate a number of other texts, ranging from the Old English Poem Solomon and Saturn, to liturgical texts, and medical recipes and charms in Old English. At least some of the marginal additions were probably made at Exeter: CCCC MS 41 was one of the manuscripts given to Exeter Cathedral by Leofric , who was bishop there from 1050 to 1072. The manuscript still contains a bilingual curse on p. 488 against anyone who might try to remove the book from the Cathedral: 'Hunc librum dat leofricus episcopus ecclesie sancti petri apostoli in exonia ubi sedes episcopalis est ad utilitatem successorum suorum. Si quis illum abstulerit inde, subiaceat maledictioni. FIAT. FIAT. FIAT. Ðas boc gef Leofric. b. into sce petres mynstre on exancestre þaer se bisceopstol is for saƿle alisednysse 7 gif hig hƿa ut æt brede god hine fordo on þære e...(?)' (This book was given by Leofric, bishop of the church of Saint Peter the Apostle in Exeter where his episcopal seat is for the use of his successors. If anyone steals it, may they be put under a curse. Let it be so. Let it be so. Let it be so). A list of the books donated to Exeter by Bishop Leofric survives in Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS Auct D.2.16 ('The Leofric Missal'), ff. 1r-2v, but this particular volume is not included in that list. Other manuscripts that were part of Leofric's gift to Exeter, and which were also once in the possession of Matthew Parker include Cambridge, University Library, MS Ii.2.11, an eleventh-century copy of the Gospels in Old English, which contains a donation inscription on f. 1r: 'Hunc textum euangeliorum dedit Leofricus episcopus ecclesiae sancti petri apostoli in exonia ad utilitatem successorum suorum. Ðas boc leofric b⟨isceop⟩ gef sancto petro 7 eallum his æftergengum in to exancestre gode mid to ðenienne' (Bishop Leofric of the church of Saint Peter the Apostle in Exeter gave this book of the gospels for the use of his successors). Another is Cambridge, University Library, MS Ii.2.4 , an eleventh-century copy of Gregory the Great's Cura pastoralis in the Old English translation attributed to King Alfred. Dr Sarah Gilbert| Project Cataloguer | Curious Cures in Cambridge Libraries

Physical Description

Secundo Folio: 3: biddende 7 þær
Form: codex
Support: All medieval leaves are parchment.
Extent: Codex: ii + 1 | 244 | 1 + ii leaves. 350 × 210 mm.
Foliation:

Late-19th or early-20th century pagination (paper endleaves foliated)

ff. a-b + i | pp. 1-488 | 489-490 + ff. c-d

Pagination in pencil in the upper outer corner of each recto from 25 onward. The pencil-paginator corrects the ink-paginator's many mistakes throughout the volume and where a leaf has both an ink and a pencil page number, the number in pencil should be used. It should be noted that the page designations in pencil are significantly fainter than those in ink, particularly when working with the digitised surrogate.

The final parchment endleaf is paginated as pp. 489-490, perhaps in error, as its counterpart is foliated as f. i at the beginning of the volume.

Note that the paper endleaves [a]-[b] and [c]-[d] and the first parchment endleaf (f. i), are foliated rather than paginated.

Foliation:

18th-century pagination

1-646 (for pp. 1-490)

Pagination in ink in the upper outer corner of each recto. This pagination sequence contains significant errors and should not be used.

Collation

The manuscript consists of 31 quires, most comprising 8 leaves, but with minor variations in form in several places. The fourth leaf was cancelled from Quire 13, and the sixth leaf from Quire 31, with no interruption to the main text. Two quires are not solely comprised of nested bifolia; the fourth and fifth leaves in Quire 9, and the third and sixth leaves in Quire 16 are singletons arranged into two sets of paired half-sheets that take the place of a bifolium in each quire.

The manuscript was completed in two possibly simultaneous copying stints, the first from pp. 1-206 (Quires 1-13), and the second from pp. 488 onwards (Quires 14-31); evidence for the stints can be seen in the two sequences of quire designations used in this volume, the first of which encompasses Quires 1-13 and the second of which encompasses Quires 14-30 (Quire 31 lacks its final leaf). In addition, the mise-en-page of p. 206 reflects scribal awareness of an approaching link with another portion of the text; the text on p. 206 is much more widely spaced than earlier in the volume, and the text ends abruptly, mid-sentence, not at the end of a line, and leaving a much larger lower margin than is typical even by the expansive marginal standards common to this volume.

The manuscript has been rebound since it was examined by M.R. James for his 1912 Catalogue, and so his description of the binding and the endleaves is no longer an accurate reflection of the physical characteristics of the volume. The endleaves in the current binding are arranged as follows: two paper leaves coterminous with the current a binding (ff. [a]-[b], a c. 16th century parchment endleaf (f. i), the core 11th century leaves (pp. 1-488), a c. 16th century parchment endleaf (pp. 489-490), and two paper endleaves (ff. [c]-[d]. The parchment endleaf at the beginning of the manuscript is foliated and has the Roman numeral designation 'i', but the parchment endleaf at the end of the manuscript was included within the main Hindu-Arabic pagination sequence and has the designation 'pp. 489-490'.

  • 2 modern paper endleaves (foliated as ff. a - b) +
  • 1 parchment endleaf (f. i) |
  • Quire 18 (pp. 1-16)
  • Quire 26 (pp. 17-28)
  • Quires 3-88 (pp. 29-124)
  • Quire 96+2 (pp. 125-140: 4th and 5th leaves are singletons)
  • Quires 10-128 (pp. 141-188)
  • Quire 1310-1 (pp. 189-206: 4th leaf cancelled, after p. 194)
  • Quires 14-158 (pp. 207-238)
  • Quire 166+2 (pp. 239-254: 3rd and 6th leaves are singletons)
  • Quires 17-308 (pp. 255-478)
  • Quire 316-1 (pp. 479-488: 6th leaf excised, after p. 488) |
  • 1 parchment endleaf (pp. 489-490) +
  • 2 modern paper endleaves (ff. c recto - d verso)

18 26 3-88 96+2 (4th and 5th singletons) 10-128 1310-1 (4th cancelled) 14-158 166+2 (3rd and 6th singletons) 17-308 316-1 (6th excised) + pp. 488-489 + c-d

Condition

Outer margins trimmed away from pp. 315-318.

Additions

Quire signatures ('1-30') in the bottom right-hand corner of the recto side of the first leaf of each quire, written in pencil by a hand of the 19th/20th century (sometimes obscured by staining of the parchment and/or over-writing of folio numbers).

Note in pencil on f. a recto: 'Ultra-violet yields no more information on p. 1.' The note is signed R.I.P (for Raymond Ian Page), former Fellow Librarian of the Parker Library and dated 7 February 1981.

Binding

Rebound on 15 April 1953. A note recording the rebinding is present on f. a recto: 'MS. 41 Rebound by John P. Gray of 10, Green St. (Pilgrim Trust grant) 15.iv.53. . J. P. T. B.' (i.e. John Patrick Tuer Bury (1908-1987), historian and fellow of Corpus Christi College).

Fully bound in light brown leather over mill-board. The leather covering the boards is undecorated except for decoration applied to the raised bands on the spine which extends across the joints and onto the front and back covers. Five raised bands on spine, each decorated with a blind single-fillet along the upper and lower perimeters of the band; the fillets extend in pairs across the joints and onto the front and back covers and taper into a decorative point. The upper and lower openings of the spine are each decorated with a blind single-fillet across the width of the spine and inset from the opening by c. 10 mm. Three compartments on the spine bear text tooled in gold, 'M S .' '41' and 'CCCC' respectively. The spine is capped at head and tail and no bands are visible. Paper pastedowns pasted over the turn ins, both blank.

The present leaves f. i and pp. 489-490 are both former pastedowns and contain text in a hand of the 16th century; both leaves are coated in an adhesive residue on their outermost sides, and have wear in a pattern indicating their proximity to the former binding's turn ins.

Neil Ker states that the binding replaced by J.P. Gray in April 1953 was 'of s. xviii'; this is the binding that M.R. James would have seen when he examined CCCC MS 41 for his Catalogue. The endleaves were probably added to the volume in a 16th-century binding, given the re-use of similar such documents in other manuscripts once in the possession of Matthew Parker.

N. Ker, Catalogue of Manuscripts Containing Anglo-Saxon (Oxford, 2nd edn., 1990), no. 32

History

Provenance and Acquisition

All Parts (i.e., f. i, and pp. 1-488, 489-490) together by the end of the 18th century, and perhaps before that.

Bequeathed to Corpus Christi College by Matthew Parker (1504-1575) . It is possible that f. i and pp. 489-490 were already bound with pp. 1-488 at the time of Parker's gift.

Part 1: 16th century documents - former pastedowns (first section) [Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, MS 41, f. i and pp. 489-490]

Contents

Language(s): Latin

1. i recto
Legal document
Language(s): Latin and renaissance English

Two leaves (f. i and pp. 489-490), one at each end of the earlier medieval textblock. Both leaves are former pastedowns, and have since been lifted. The leaves bear traces of adhesive residue and have been trimmed for reuse as binding waste, and as such, the text is illegible in some places and incomplete in others.

Legal document written in a 16th century hand. The legal text is only present on one side of each leaf, i.e., f. i recto, and p. 490. The text refers to places in and around Cambridge including a 'Thomas Hobbeson in ecclesia parochiali sancti Clementis Cantabrigi' (Thomas Hobbeson in the ecclesiastical parish of St Clement's Cambridge); St Clement's church is on Bridge Street in Cambridge. This part of the document may contain a reference to the Thomas Hobson (c. 1544-1630) , citizen of Cambridge, haulier, stablemaster, and businessman. One difficulty with associating this note with him is that he moved to Cambridge in 1568 and lived on Trumpington Street, making him a parishoner of St Bene't's, where he is also buried.

Other names visible in the document are 'Robert Stewkyn', and 'magistri Edwardi Heynes Notarii publicii'. There is also a reference to the village of Fenstanton.

2. i verso
Notes in the hand of Abraham Wheelocke comparing this manuscript to Cambridge, University Library, MS Kk.3.18 Abraham Wheelocke
Language(s): Latin

Cambridge, University Library, MS Kk.3.18 was used by Wheelocke as the basis for his edition of the Old English Historia ecclesiastica.

See M. Budny, R. I. Page, and D. M. Wilson, Insular, Anglo-Saxon, and Early Anglo-Norman Manuscript Art at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge: An Illustrated Catalogue, 2 vols (Kalamazoo, Mich., 1997), pp. 501-524, esp. p. 512

Physical Description

Form: codex
Support: Parchment.
Extent: Codex: 2 leaves. 350 × 210 mm.

Collation

Two leaves, perhaps once part of the same original document sheet, but now separate and used as pastedowns for a former Corpus Christi MS 41 binding.

No leaf signatures particular to this Part.

No quire signatures particular to this Part.

No catchwords particular to this Part.

Condition

Both f. i and pp. 489-490 were once pastedowns in a former Corpus Christi MS 41 binding. Both f. i and pp. 489-490 may once have been part of the same single-sheet document, or they may have always been distinct leaves, but there is too much damage to determine their original relationship except to note that they derive from the same source item. There is adhesive residue on f. i recto and p. 490 - both leaves were pastedowns in a former binding and have since been lifted, making both sides of each leaf accessible, but the adhesive residue has obscured much of the text on both leaves. Both leaves have been trimmed from their original size, with loss of text around all perimeters of the leaves due to trimming.

Layout

Original layout uncertain due to extensive trimming.

Hand(s)

Written in a secretary minuscule with occasional enlarged names and section headers.

Decoration

No significant decoration in this Part.

Binding

The leaves f. i and pp. 489-490 were used as pastedowns in a former binding as both f. i recto and p. 490 are coated in an adhesive residue. The binding probably included wood boards and metal clasps across the fore edge as f. i and pp. 489-490 have worm damage and abrasions characteristic of pastedowns over wood boards, and both have metallic staining in typical positions for for fore edge fastenings.

History

Origin: 16th century. ; England, probably in or near Cambridge.

Date of production assigned based on palaeographical features. Place of production assigned based on two references to places in or near Cambridge, England.

Part 2: The Old English translation of Bede's Ecclesiastical History and various shorter texts in Old English [Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, MS 41, pp. 1-488]

Contents

Language(s): Old English with occasional phrases and short texts in Latin

1. 1-484
Historia ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum in Old English Bede
Language(s): Old English with occasional Latin phrases
Incipit: 1 Ðis is seo gesettnes ðisse brytenne oð hibernia scotta ealandes on[sic] heora Ðam ærran begangam
Explicit: 484 þæt he on riht mote oð his daga ende drihten herigan AMEN
Final rubric: 484 ge weorþe þæt

  • Chapter list - pp. 1-18
  • Preface, including Bede's address to his readers and his letter to Ceolwulf - pp. 18-22
  • Book 1 - pp. 22-66
  • Book 2 - pp. 66-124
  • Book 3 - pp. 124-224
  • Book 4 - pp. 224-368
  • Book 5 - pp. 368-483
  • Colophons - pp. 483-484

Note that the text of the Old English Historia Ecclesiastica in Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, MS 41 closes with a metrical colophon on pp. 483-484 found only in this manuscript.

Edition of the text: J. Schipper, König Alfreds Übersetzung Von Bedas Kirchengeschichte, Bibliothek Der Angelsächsischen Prosa 4 (Leipzig 1897-1899), 2 vols. Edited as manuscript 'B'.
Discussed as manuscript 'B' in a study of the manuscripts of the Old English Historia Ecclesiastica in Sharon Rowley, The Old English Version of Bede's 'Historia Ecclesiastica' (Boydell & Brewer, 2011)
2. 2-7
Blessing for candles bletsung to candelun
Language(s): Latin text with title in Old English
Rubric: 2 bletsung to candelun
Incipit: 2 Domine Iesu Christe creator celi
Explicit: 7 Sancti Simeonis collecta. Erudi quesumus domine

Written in the lower margin.

3. 8-39
Masses for Sexagesima (second Sunday before Ash Wednesday) through to Good Friday
Language(s): Latin
Incipit: 8 Dom. c. in sexagessima. Deus qui conspicis quia ex nulla nostra actione confidimus
Explicit: 39 ut in diebus nostris et merito et numero populus tibi serviens augeatur

Written in the upper, outer, and lower margins.

4. 45
Mass for Saint Benedict
Language(s): Latin
Incipit: 45 Omnipotens aeterne deus qui per beati benedicti abbas exempla
Explicit: 45 Intercessio suis adiuti exemplis eius gradiamur et meritis. Per.

Written in the upper and outer margin.

5. 46-47
Office for Easter Eve
Language(s): Latin
Incipit: 46 Deus qui diuitias misericordie tue
Explicit: 47 Cummunicantes[sic] et noctem

Written in the upper, outer, and lower margins.

6. 60
Mass for Saints Philip and James
Language(s): Latin
Incipit: 60 Deus qui nos annua apostolorum tuorum philippi et iacobi sollemnita[sic] laetificas
Explicit: 60 ut quorum sollemnia caelebramus eorum orationibus adiuuemur . per dominum

Written in the upper and outer margin.

7. 60
Mass for the Discovery of the Cross
Language(s): Latin
Incipit: 60 eodem(?) die ad inuentio sancte crucis . Deus qui preclara salutifere crucis
Explicit: 60 pro salute[sic] mundi triumphare iussisti . per dominum nostrum ihesum christum filium tuum.

Written in the outer and lower margin.

8. 61-71
Antiphons etc., for Advent
Language(s): Latin
Incipit: 61 Ecce nomen . uitatoria . rege uenturu
Explicit: 71 leuate caputa nostra

Written in the upper margins.

9. 74
Mass for the Fourth Sunday in Advent
Language(s): Latin
Incipit: 74 ⟨Deus qui tribus⟩ pueris mitigasti . flammas ignium
Explicit: 74 remedium esse facias et futurum per .

Written in the upper margin.

10. 75
Antiphons for the Christmas Season
Language(s): Latin
Incipit: 75 ...(?) cristus . A dominus . Quare . tamquam . caeli enarrant
Explicit: 75 R diligebat . U In crucem denique

Written in the upper and outer margin.

11. 124
On Christmas Day and the marvels accompanying the Nativity
Language(s): Old English
Incipit: 122 On þone forman deeig on geare þæt is on þone ærestan geohel dæig
Explicit: 124 þurh ðæt manige untrume men þær on ƿurdon gehælede

Written in the outer and lower margin.

12. 124-125
On Saint Anastasia
Language(s): Old English
Incipit: 124 On þone ilcan dæig cristes acennednesse godes circean arƿorðiað sanctam anastasiam
Explicit: 125 andƿearde lif ond hire lichama resteð nu on rome birig

Written in the outer and lower margin.

13. 125-128
On Saint Euphemia
Language(s): Old English
Incipit: 125 ⟨O⟩n ðone forman dæig bið sancta eufemian tid
Explicit: 128 ond hire lichama resteð ƿið rome birig an þam ƿege þema nemneð LATINA

Written in the outer and lower margin.

14. 128-130
On Saint Stephen
Language(s): Old English
Incipit: 128 On þone æfteran dæig godes circean arƿorðiað Sanctus Stephanus
Explicit: 130 þa heo eft com þa mitte heo hire cild lifiende ond gesund

Written in the outer and lower margin.

15. 130-131
On Saint John the Evangelist
Language(s): Old English
Incipit: 130 ⟨O⟩n þone .iii. dæig bið sancte iohannes tid þæs godspellres[sic]
Explicit: 131 forþam nat nænig man hƿæþer se iohannes si þe cƿicu þe dead

Written in the outer and lower margin.

16. 131-132
On the Massacre of the Innocents
Language(s): Old English
Incipit: 131 On þone feorðan dæig þið[sic] þara haligra cilda
Explicit: 132 ond he ofstang hine silfne mid his agenre handa

Written in the outer and lower margin.

17. 132
On Saint Sylvester
Language(s): Old English
Incipit: 132 On þone .vii. dæg þæs monþes bið sancte silvestres
Explicit: 132 þa cƿæt sanctus silluester to him disega on þisse nihte þe bið þæt fearh afirred . ond þæt gelamp

Written in the outer margin.

18. 134-139
Offices for Advent
Language(s): Latin
Incipit: || 134 ut redemptionis nostrae sollemnitas et praesentis
Explicit: 139 et praesens nobis remedium esse facias et futurum . per

Written in the upper and outer margins.

19. 158
Liturgy of the Mass
Language(s): Latin
Rubric: 158 MIS⟨SA⟩ QUAM SACERDOS PRO SE DEBET
Incipit: 158 Suppliciter te deus pater omnipotens qui es creator
Explicit: 158 et in specie uulnerati medicus ambulauit . hic nobis dominus ||

Upper and outer margin.

20. 182
Prayer
Language(s): Latin
Incipit: 182 Pietatem tuam quesumus domine nostrorum absolue uincula delictorum
Explicit: 182 et defunctorum peccata dimitte eiusque premia eterne concede . per .

Written in the outer margin.

21. 182
Medical Recipe - ƿið ymbe
Language(s): Old English

Full transcription: ƿið ymbe nim eorþan oferƿeorp mid þinre sƿiþran handa under þinum sƿiþran fet ond cƿet foic[sic] under fot funde ic hit hƿæt eorðe mæg ƿið ealra ƿihta gehƿilce ond ƿið andan ond wið æminde ond ƿið þa micelan mannes tungan ond ƿið on for ƿeorp ofer greot þonne hi sƿirman ond cƿeð sitte ge sige ƿif sigað to eorþan næfre ge ƿilde tu ƿuda fleogan beo ge swa gemindige mines godes sƿa bið manna gehƿilc metes ond eþeles.

Written in the outer margin.

Also printed in Cockayne, Leechdoms I, p. 384
22. 192-194
Offices for the Eve and Feast of All Saints
Language(s): Latin
Incipit: 192 .ii . kl . November . uigilia omnium sanctorum ; Domine deus noster multiplicia super nos gratiam
Explicit: 194 et omnium simul sanctorum uirginumque salutem mentis et corporis . et ad perpetuam peruenire gloriam . per .

Written in the upper and outer margins.

23. 196-198
Salomon and Saturn (incomplete)
Language(s): Old English
Incipit: 196 Saturnus cƿæð hƿæt Ic iglanda eallra hæbbe boca onbyrged þurh gebregdstafas
Explicit: 198 A ofermægene 7 hine eac ofslehð .T. ||

Written in the upper, outer, and lower margin.

The only other known version of the poem is in Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, MS 422 ('The Red Book of Darley').

M. Foys et al., Old English Poetry in Facsimile Project (2019) https://oepoetryfacsimile.org
24. 206-208
Veterinary charms for the protection of cattle
Language(s): Old English and Latin
24.1. 206

Full transcription: Ne for stolen ne for holen nan uht þæs ðe Ic age þe ma ðe mihte herod urne drihten Ic geþohte sancte ead elenan ond ic geþohte crist on rode ahangen swa ic þence þis feoh to findanne næs to oðfeorrganne ond to ƿitanne næs to oðƿyrceanne, and to lufianne næs to oðlædanne gar mund godes ðegen find þæt feoh . ond fere þæt feoh ond hafa þæt feoh and heald þæt feoh ond fere ham þæt feoh þæt he næfre næbbe landes þæt he hit oðlæde ne foldan þæt hit oðferie ne husa þæt he hit oð hit healde Gif hyt hwa gedo ne gedige hit him næfre binnan þrym nihtum cunne ic his mihta his mægen ond his mihta ond his mundcræftas eall he weornige swa syer ƿudu ƿeornie sƿa breðel þeo sƿa þystel se ðe ðis feoh oðfergean þence oððe ðis orf oðehtian ðence amen.

Written in the lower margin.

Cockayne, Leechdoms I, pp. 384-385
24.2. 206
Incipit: 206 Ðis man sceal cƿeðan ðonne his ceapa
Explicit: 206 sƿa næfre ðeos dæd forholen ne ƿyrþe . per crucem Christi

Written in the lower margin.

Cockayne, Leechdoms I, pp. 390-393
24.3. 206-208
Incipit: 206 Gif feoh sy under numen
Explicit: 208 nec hoc furtum celatur nec celare[sic] possit per dominum nostrum.

M.R. James noted that this charm is partly derived from the hymn of St. Secundinus on St. Patrick.

Written in the lower margins.

Old English part of this charm printed in Cockayne, Leechdoms I, pp. 392-393
Latin part of this charm printed in the M. R. James, Catalogue
25. 208
Medical charm against pain in the eye
Language(s): Old English

Full transcription: ƿið eah ƿærce genim læfre neoðoƿearde cnuƿa ond ƿring ðurh hærenne clað odn do sealt to ƿring þonne in þam eagan.

Written in the lower margin.

Cockayne, Leechdoms I, pp. 382-383
26. 224-225
Office for the Invention of the Cross
Language(s): Latin
Incipit: 224 Salue crux que in corpore Christi dedicata es
Explicit: 225 ut uitalis tuitione ligni ab omnibus muniamur aduersis . per .
27. 254-280
Homily containing a dialogue on the body and soul
Language(s): Old English
Incipit: 254 Men þa leofestan ic eoƿ bidde 7 eaðmodlice lære
Explicit: 280 hit us of geboden is þonne gyfð he us ece lif in his ƿuldres fægernesse aƿoruld a butan ende AMEN
Cameron, B3.4.9
28. 272
Prayer against the ferocity of enemies
Language(s): Latin with title in Old English
Rubric: 272 ƿið ealra feo⟨n⟩da grimnessum
Incipit: 272 Dextera domini fecit uirtutem, dextera domini exaltauit me
Explicit: 272 deus in unitate spiritus sancti per omnia secula seculorum

Written in the outer margin.

This text is found in the midst of the Homily copied in the margins of pp. 254-280. The homily resumes a line and a half after the prayer ends, and it is possible that the prayer was copied first, and that the scribe of the homily had to work around the pre-existing prayer when adding the homily to the margins of CCCC MS 41.

'Dextera domini ...' is Psalm 117:16-17 and is also found in a charm against fevers ('Contra febres') in Durham, Cathedral Library, MS Hunter 100, f. 117r where the reader is directed to copy an abbreviated form of the charm onto an iron crucifix to be worn by the patient.

29. 280-287
Homily on the Assumption of the Virgin Mary
Language(s): Old English
Incipit: 280 Her sagað ymbe þa halgan marian usses dryh⟨t⟩nes modor
Explicit: 287 þa micelan mihte se liofað 7 ricsað in ealra ƿoruda ƿoruld . abutan ende AMEN
Edited in J.S. Grant, Three Homilies from Cambridge, Corpus Christi College 41: The Assumption, St Michael and the Passion (Ottawa, 1982), pp. 13-41
Cameron B.3.3.21
30. 287-295
Homily on the Last Judgement, Heaven and Hell
Language(s): Old English with title in Latin
Rubric: 287 + Repleatur os meum laude ut possim cantare
Incipit: 287 Men ð⟨a⟩ l⟨eofestan⟩ tƿa ceastra ƿæron from fruman ƿorode
Explicit: 295 7 his micelnisse þurhgife urses(?) dominis hælendes christes se lifað 7 rixað in ecnes butan aenigum ende . AMEN
Edited and translated in N. Volmering 'The Old English Account of the Seven Heavens' in J. Carey, E. Nic Cárthaigh and C. Ó Dochartaigh (eds.), The end and beyond: medieval Irish eschatology vol. 1, Celtic Studies Publications 17.1 (2014), pp. 285-306
31. 295-301
Homily on for Easter on Ascension Day and the Last Judgement
Language(s): Old English with title in Latin
Rubric: 295 Hec est dies quam fecit dominus exultemus et letemur in ea
Incipit: 295 Men þa leofestan Her sagað an þissum bocum ym⟨be⟩ ða miclan geƿird
Explicit: 301 ond ricsaþ mid feder ond mid suna ond mid þan halgan gaste a ƿorulda a ƿorulda a butan ænegumende AMEN

This Homily is also in Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, MS 303, pp. 72-75 where it has the rubric ‘Sermo in Resurrectione domini’ and draws on the Gospel of Nicodemus for much of its content.

Cameron B8.5.3 / B3.2.29
Edited in W. H. Hulme, 'The Old English Gospel of Nicodemus', Modern Philology 1 (1904) pp. 579-614
32. 326
Three medical prayers
Language(s): Latin with titles in Old English
32.1. 326
Medical prayer for sore eyes

Full transcription: Ƿið sarum eagum Domine sancte pater omnipotens æterne deus sana occulos hominis istius .N. sicut sanasti occulus filii tobi et multorum cecorum manus aridorum pes claudorum sanitas egrorum resurrectio mortuorum felicitas martirum et omnium sanctorum oro domine ut erigas et inluminas occulos famuli tui .N. in quacunque ualitudine constraitum[sic] medellis celestibus sanare digneris tribue famulo tuo .N. ut armis iustitie munitur[sic] diabolo resistat et regnum consequamtur[sic] æternum . per .

32.2. 326
Medical prayer for sore ears

Full transcription: Ƿið sarum earum Rex glorie christe raphaelem angelum exclude fandoraohel auribus famulo dei .illi. mox recede ab aurium torquenti sed in raphaelo angelo sanitatem auditui componas . per

32.3. 326
Medical prayer for sickness

Full transcription: Ƿið magan seocnesse Adiuua nos deus salutaris noster exclude angelum D(?)anielem malum qui stomachum dolorem stomachi facit sed in dormielo sancto angelo tuo sanitatem serui tui in tuo sancto nomine sanatione[sic] ad ad tribuere . per

Cockayne, LeechdomsI, pp. 386-387

33. 329
A prayer for a woman's fertility and safe childbirth
Language(s): Latin
Incipit: 329 Creator et sanctificator pater et filius et spiritus sanctus
Explicit: 329 ut crescereuel nt et multiplicareuel nt . da super terram huic famulam tuam .N. ut prospere et sine dolore parturit

Contains the 'Sator Square' text: '+sator.arepo.tenat.opera.rotas'.

34. 350-353
Prayer or Charm against suffering and difficulties
Language(s): Old English
Incipit: 350 Ic me on þisse gyrde beluce
Explicit: 353 ond inna halre hand hofna rices blæd þa hƿile þe ic on þis life ƿunian mote amen .
Cockayne, LeechdomsI, pp. 388-391
Cameron A43.11
35. 370-373
Propers for the Commune Masses and for the king
Language(s): Latin
35.1. 370
Rubric: 370 MISSA IN NATALI UNIUS apostoli
Incipit: 370 Quaesumus omnipotens deus ut beatus .ll. apostolus tuus pro nobis
Explicit: 370 apostolo tuo ueneranda gerimus solemnitate nobis proficiant ad medellam .p.
35.2. 370
Rubric: 370 IN NATALI plurimorum apostolorum
Incipit: 370 Deus qui nos innua[sic] apostolorum tuorum illis
Explicit: 370 sollempnia cælebramus eorum orationibus ad inueniur . per .
35.3. 370
Rubric: 370 IN NATALI unius martiris
Incipit: 370 Presta quaesumus omnipotens deus ut qui beati illi martyris tui
Explicit: 370 caelestibus nos munda mysteriis et clementer exaudi . per .
35.4. 371
Rubric: 371 IN NATALE[sic] PLURIMORUM MARTYRU
Incipit: 371 Deus qui nos concedis sanctorum tuorum illotum natalitia
Explicit: 371 Presta nobis domine quaesumus intercedentibus sanctis tuis .ll. utque ore contingimus pura mente capiamus
35.5. 371
Rubric: 371 IN NATALI UNIUS confesoris
Incipit: 371 Da quaesumus omnipotens deus . ut beati illustriis(?) confessores tui ueneranda
Explicit: 371 Presta quaesumus omnipotens deus ut de perceptis muneribus gratias exhibentes beneficia potiora sumamus . per .
35.6. 372
Rubric: 372 IN NATALI PLURIMORUM confessorum
Incipit: 372 Deus qui nos concedis sanctorum tuorum illorum confessionibus
Explicit: 372 ut quod pia deuotioni gerimus certa redemptione capiams . per .
35.7. 372
Rubric: 372 IN NATALI UIRGINIS
Incipit: 372 Deus qui inter cetera potentie tue miracula
Explicit: 373 et interdente[sic] beata illa martyre tua . sempiterna protectione confirment[sic] . per .
35.8. 372
Rubric: 372 MISSA COTIDIANA PRO REGE
Incipit: 372 Quaesumus omnipotens deus ut famulus tuus illi qui tua miseratione suscepit
Explicit: 372 et potius temporis decursum ad aeternam perueniat hereditatem . per .
36. 402-417
Homily on Saint Michael
Language(s): Old English
Incipit: 402 Men ða leofestan us is to ƿorðianne ond to mærsianne seo gemind
Explicit: 417 ond hi gelæde on heofoncund rice to þam dryhtene ðe lifað ond rixað mid fæder ond mid suna ond mid þam Halgan gaste In ealra ƿorl⟨d⟩a ƿorld abutan ende AMEN
Edited in J. S. Grant, Three Homilies from Cambridge, Corpus Christi College 41: The Assumption, St Michael and the Passion (Ottawa, 1982), pp. 42-77
Cameron B3.3.24
37. 436
Scribbles in Runes

On p. 436 are the following runes of the Old English Futhorc: ᚪᛒᚳᛗ or ᚪᛒᚳᛞ and on p. 448 the runes are: ᛉᛁᛁ .ond. ᛉᛉᛉ . ᛋᚹᛁᚦᚩᚹᚱ.

The runes are discussed in T.E. Birkett, 'Correcting Bede's Corrector? A Runic Note in the Margins of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge MS 41' Notes and Queries 59.4 (2012), pp. 465-470
448
Scribbles in Runes

On p. 436 are the following runes of the Old English Futhorc: ᚪᛒᚳᛗ or ᚪᛒᚳᛞ and on p. 448 the runes are: ᛉᛁᛁ .ond. ᛉᛉᛉ . ᛋᚹᛁᚦᚩᚹᚱ.

The runes are discussed in T.E. Birkett, 'Correcting Bede's Corrector? A Runic Note in the Margins of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge MS 41' Notes and Queries 59.4 (2012), pp. 465-470
38. 475-477
Responses from the Minor Prophets (Job, Tobit, and Judith) for the first Sunday in October until the first Sunday in November, and from the first Sunday in November until the middle of Advent
Language(s): Latin
Incipit: 475 R. Induta est .V. dies
Explicit: 477 R. Aspice domine de sede
39. 478
Responses for the Feast of Saint Martin
Language(s): Latin
Incipit: 478 ...(?) Regem confessorum
Explicit: 478 Domine si ad . ecce sacerdos . ...(?) luctus
40. 482
Responses for the Feasts of John the Baptist and Peter and Paul
Language(s): Latin
Incipit: 482 ...(?) Dum uenerit
Explicit: 482 Amen dico uobis quod uos qui reliquistis omnia et secuti estis me

Upper margin is damaged, leading to loss of the opening lines of the marginal text.

41. 483
Mass against paganism
Language(s): Latin with title in Old English
Rubric: || 483 For þone cyng ond for þone bysceop ond for eall cris...(?)
Incipit: 483 Uenias ad hoc minaris ut parcas lapsis manum porrige
Explicit: placitorum tuorum cum benedictione numereatur . per christem

Upper margin of leaf is damaged and some parts of the text have been lost.

42. 484-488
Homily with narrative of The Passion
Language(s): Old English
Incipit: 484 MEN Þ⟨A⟩ L⟨EOFSTAN⟩ ðe gehirað nu hu drihten ƿæs sprecende on þas tid to his geferum
Explicit: 488 fon cundan hirusalem þam drihtene sie ƿuldor ond ƿeorðmind . In ealra ƿoruld a woruld abutan ende AMEN fiat
Edited in J.S. Grant, Three Homilies from Cambridge, Corpus Christi College 41: The Assumption, St Michael and the Passion (Ottawa, 1982), pp. 78-110
Cameron B3.2.19

Physical Description

Secundo Folio: 3: biddende 7 þær
Form: codex
Support: Parchment (HFFH).
Extent: Codex: 244 leaves. 350 × 210 mm.

Collation

  • Quire 18 (pp. 1-16)
  • Quire 26 (pp. 17-28)
  • Quires 3-88 (pp. 29-124)
  • Quire 96+2 (pp. 125-140: 4th and 5th leaves are singletons)
  • Quires 10-128 (pp. 141-188)
  • Quire 1310-1 (pp. 189-206: 4th leaf cancelled, after p. 194)
  • Quires 14-158 (pp. 207-238)
  • Quire 166+2 (pp. 239-254; 3rd and 6th are singletons)
  • Quires 17-308 (pp. 255-478)
  • Quire 316-1 (pp. 479-488: 6th leaf excised, after p. 488)

No leaf signatures.

Alphabetical quire signatures present in the lower margin of the last verso of most quires. There are two sequences of alphabetical quire signatures in the volume, the first partially incomplete due to trimming, and the second apparently complete. The first remaining designation in the first sequence is the designation 'F' on p. 92 (the final verso of Quire 6); this sequence continues to 'M' on p. 188 (the final verso of Quire 12). As there are no textual gaps in Quires 1-5, these quires presumably once bore the designations 'A'-'E' before the signatures were lost to trimming. A second quire signature sequence begins at Quire 14; p. 206 (the final verso of Quire 14) has the designation 'A' and the sequence continues to the designation 'R' on p. 478, the final leaf of Quire 30. Since the second sequence begins with an 'A' at the end of Quire 14, Quire 13 was perhaps included in the first medieval collation sequence for the volume, and so may have lost an 'N' designation to trimming.

No catchwords.

Condition

In good condition. Substantial portions of outer margins trimmed away from pp. 315-318.

Layout

250-295 × 135-145 mm. Ruled in drypoint, frame and line in single-column format. 23-28 written lines to the page from pp. 1-484, written above top line. Marginal space is substantial and the margins have been used to record a variety of additional texts, each employing an idiosyncratic text layout.

265 × 145 mm. Ruled in drypoint, frame and line in single-column format. 41-42 written lines to the page from pp. 484-488, written above top line.

Hand(s)

The main text written in English vernacular minuscule by two main scribes. Scribe 1 worked from pp. 1-190 line 20, and Scribe 2 from pp. 190-488 replacing Scribe 1 at line 21 on p. 190. Where Latin is copied by the main scribes it is written in the same script as was used for the Old English; this is contrary to typical practice in 11th century England, where scribes would typically use an English vernacular minuscule for Old English, and an Anglo-Caroline minuscule for Latin.

P. Stokes, English Vernacular Minuscule from Æthelred to Cnut, c. 990 – c. 1035, Publications of the Manchester Centre for Anglo-Saxon Studies 14 (Cambridge, 2014)

The mise-en-page of the manuscript resulted in generous margins, which were subsequently filled with related and unrelated texts by several further scribes who all added their texts in English vernacular minuscule, with varying levels of influence from the English form of Caroline minuscule that was used for copying Latin texts in England in the eleventh-century.

P. Stokes, English Vernacular Minuscule from Æthelred to Cnut, c. 990 – c. 1035, Publications of the Manchester Centre for Anglo-Saxon Studies 14 (Cambridge, 2014)

On p. 488 there is a donation inscription in Latin and Old English recording the gift of the manuscript from Bishop Leofric to the religious community at Exeter Cathedral, his episcopal seat. The Latin portion of the inscription is in a later-eleventh century Anglo-Caroline minuscule, and is in a hand of similar appearance to the hand that copied the Old English version of the donation inscription directly below the Latin text. The donation inscription has been dated to 1069x1072, and the position of the inscription on the page suggests that it can be used as a terminus ante quem for the rest of the manuscript.

P. Stokes, English Vernacular Minuscule from Æthelred to Cnut, c. 990 - c. 1035, Publications of the Manchester Centre for Anglo-Saxon Studies 14 (Cambridge, 2014), esp. p. 41
D.A.E. Pelteret, Catalogue of English Post-Conquest Vernacular Documents (Woodbridge, 1990), esp. pp. 98-9 (no. 92)
Elaine M. Drage, 'Bishop Leofric and the Exeter Cathedral Chapter, 1050-1072: A Reassessment of the Manuscript Evidence' (unpublished D.Phil. dissertation, University of Oxford, 1978), pp. 29-41

On p. 488 there is a donation inscription in Latin and Old English recording the gift of the manuscript from Bishop Leofric to the religious community at Exeter Cathedral, his episcopal seat. The Old English portion of the inscription is in a later-eleventh century English Vernacular minuscule, and is in a hand of similar appearance to the hand that copied the Latin version of the donation inscription directly above the Old English text. The donation inscription has been dated to 1069x1072, and the position of the inscription on the page suggests that it can be used as a terminus ante quem for the rest of the manuscript.

P. Stokes, English Vernacular Minuscule from Æthelred to Cnut, c. 990 - c. 1035, Publications of the Manchester Centre for Anglo-Saxon Studies 14 (Cambridge, 2014), esp. p. 41
D. A. E. Pelteret, Catalogue of English Post-Conquest Vernacular Documents (Woodbridge, 1990), esp. pp. 98-9 (no. 92)
Elaine M. Drage, 'Bishop Leofric and the Exeter Cathedral Chapter, 1050-1072: A Reassessment of the Manuscript Evidence' (unpublished D.Phil. dissertation, University of Oxford, 1978), pp. 29-41

Decoration

Incomplete drawing of Christ, crucified, outline only, in brown ink on p. 484. On the opposite page, p. 485 an incomplete figure of a ?nude? onlooker standing on a small hill or mound looks over towards Christ. Both illustrations are palimpsest, overwritten with a homily on the Passion ‘Men ðe gehirað nu hu ...’.

Decorative initials combining zoomorphic, gymnastic, and inhabited details, typically rendered in light brown ink, sometimes with a red outline wash. The largest decorative initial is on p. 1, with other smaller initials on pp. 61, 206, 224, 224, 230, 233, 246, 248, 251, 252, 253, 254, 259, 261, 264, 266, 268, 272, 273, 276, 282, 285, 289, 292, 300, 301, 307, 352, 394, 400, 410, 433.

Simple decorative initials in dark brown ink, typically an enlarged majuscule with an emphasis on the contrast between thick and thin strokes, sometimes incorporating monogram and cipher techniques to include several letters within one matrix.

There are a large number of unfilled spaces reserved for decorative initials throughout the volume at book and chapter division, and in particular in the leaves copied by Scribe 1, i.e., pp. 1-190. The only zoomorphic, gymnastic or interlaced initals accompanying Scribe 1's stint can be found on, pp. 1 and 61.

Rubrication and display scripts more common in the opening leaves of the volume. The first page of the text p. 1 opens with a large zoomorphic Ð, followed by several words written in decorative majuscules loosely inspired by Square Capitals, and then further lines in Rustic Captials, and these two registers are used for rubrication (sometimes also washed with a red pigment) throughout the volume.

Additions

The number 'xxiiii' in red ink in an early medieval style on p. 1; the number is by the upper part of the bow of the large decorative Ð on that leaf and is significantly blurred and blackened due to oxidation.

An informal 'aue' in brown ink in the upper margin of p. 1.

The name ‘ælf’ in faint brown ink in an 11th-century hand (p. 155).

The name ‘ælfƿine’ in dark brown ink in an 11th-century hand (p. 155).

The name ‘ælfƿerd’ in brown ink in an 11th-century hand (p. 242, outer margin).

A title for the volume in an early modern hand in dark ink in the upper margin of p. 1: 'Histor Bede Collegij Corp. Christi Cantabr. Sum incola'.

The number '117' in faded brown ink in the upper inner corner of p. 1.

History

Origin: 11th century, probably c. 1000-1050, and by 1072 at the latest. ; England, perhaps Crediton.

Date of production assigned based on palaeographical features. The terminus ante quem for the main text is the Leofrician donation inscription on p. 488, which must have been added to the volume before 1072 as Leofric died in that year; in all likelihood, the text of the Old English Historia Ecclesiastica in this manuscript was completed in the first half of the eleventh century.

Place of production assigned based on palaeographical and linguistic features. For a discussion of the possibility of a Crediton origin for the volume, see Stokes (2014).

P. Stokes, English Vernacular Minuscule from Æthelred to Cnut, c. 990 - c. 1035, Publications of the Manchester Centre for Anglo-Saxon Studies 14 (Cambridge, 2014), esp. p. 41
D.A.E. Pelteret, Catalogue of English Post-Conquest Vernacular Documents (Woodbridge, 1990), esp. pp. 98-9 (no. 92)
Elaine M. Drage, 'Bishop Leofric and the Exeter Cathedral Chapter, 1050-1072: A Reassessment of the Manuscript Evidence' (unpublished D.Phil. dissertation, University of Oxford, 1978), pp. 29-41

Provenance and Acquisition

Donation inscription on p. 488: 'Hunc librum dat leofricus episcopus ecclesie sancti petri apostoli in exonia ubi sedes episcopalis est ad utilitatem successorum suorum. Si quis illum abstulerit inde, subiaceat maledictioni. FIAT. FIAT. FIAT. Ðas boc gef Leofric. b. into sce petres mynstre on exancestre þaer se bisceopstol is for (his) saƿle alisednysse 7 gif hig hƿa ut æt brede god hine fordo on þære e...(?)' (This book was given by Leofric, bishop of the church of Saint Peter the Apostle in Exeter where his episcopal seat is for the use of his successors. If anyone steals it, may they be put under a curse. Let it be so. Let it be so. Let it be so) .

Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, MS 41 was one of the manuscripts given to Exeter Cathedral by Leofric (d. 1072) , bishop of Exeter c. 1050-1072, and it still contains a bilingual donation inscription cursing anyone who might try to remove the book from the Cathedral. Before being appointed Bishop of Exeter in c. 1050, Leofric was appointed Bishop of Cornwall and Bishop of Crediton by King Edward the Confessor. Leofric requested and received papal permission to move the episcopal seat to Exeter in 1050, and donated several manuscripts to Exeter upon his appointment there, so it is possible that this book and others in that donation might originate from Crediton, but this is far from certain.

Pages 1-488 given to Corpus Christi College in 1574 by Matthew Parker (1504-1575) , archbishop of Canterbury. Annotations in the characteristic orange-red crayon used by Parker and his circle throughout the volume. It is possible that f. i and pp. 489-490 were already bound with pp. 1-488 at the time of Parker's gift to Corpus Christi College.

Part 1: 16th century documents - former pastedowns (second section) [Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, MS 41, f. i and pp. 489-490]

Contents

Language(s): Latin

1. 489
Note about the homily on St Michael in the hand of Abraham Wheelocke Abraham Wheelocke
Language(s): Latin

Full transcription: 'Angelis S. Micaelam inuocat . Saxoni margine . p . 541 .'

Refers to the homily on St Michael recorded in the margins of pp. 402-417 which are pp. 522-541 in the older, incorrect ink foliation.

See M. Budny, R. I. Page, and D. M. Wilson, Insular, Anglo-Saxon, and Early Anglo-Norman Manuscript Art at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge: An Illustrated Catalogue, 2 vols (Kalamazoo, Mich., 1997), pp. 501-524, esp. p. 513
2. 490
Legal document
Language(s): Latin and renaissance English

Two leaves (f. i and pp. 489-490), one at each end of the earlier medieval textblock. Both leaves are former pastedowns, and have since been lifted. The leaves bear traces of adhesive residue and have been trimmed for reuse as binding waste, and as such, the text is illegible in some places and incomplete in others.

Legal document written in a 16th century hand. The legal text is only present on one side of each leaf, i.e., f. i recto, and p. 490. The text refers to places in and around Cambridge including a 'Thomas Hobbeson in ecclesia parochiali sancti Clementis Cantabrigi' (Thomas Hobbeson in the ecclesiastical parish of St Clement's Cambridge); St Clement's church is on Bridge Street in Cambridge. This part of the document may contain a reference to the Thomas Hobson (c. 1544-1630) , citizen of Cambridge, haulier, stablemaster, and businessman. One difficulty with associating this note with him is that he moved to Cambridge in 1568 and lived on Trumpington Street, making him a parishoner of St Bene't's, where he is also buried.

Other names visible in the document are 'Robert Stewkyn', and 'magistri Edwardi Heynes Notarii publicii'. There is also a reference to the village of Fenstanton.

Physical Description

Form: codex
Support: Parchment.
Extent: Codex: 2 leaves. 350 × 210 mm.

Collation

Two leaves, perhaps once part of the same original document sheet, but now separate and used as pastedowns for a former Corpus Christi MS 41 binding.

No leaf signatures particular to this Part.

No quire signatures particular to this Part.

No catchwords particular to this Part.

Condition

Both f. i and pp. 489-490 were once pastedowns in a former Corpus Christi MS 41 binding. Both f. i and pp. 489-490 may once have been part of the same single-sheet document, or they may have always been distinct leaves, but there is too much damage to determine their original relationship except to note that they derive from the same source item. There is adhesive residue on f. i recto and p. 490 - both leaves were pastedowns in a former binding and have since been lifted, making both sides of each leaf accessible, but the adhesive residue has obscured much of the text on both leaves. Both leaves have been trimmed from their original size, with loss of text around all perimeters of the leaves due to trimming.

Layout

Original layout undertermined due to extensive trimming.

Hand(s)

Written in secretary with occasional enlarged names and section headers.

Decoration

No significant decoration in this Part.

Binding

The leaves f. i and pp. 489-490 were used as pastedowns in a former binding as both f. i recto and p. 490 are coated in an adhesive residue. The binding probably included wood boards and metal clasps across the fore edge as f. i and pp. 489-490 have worm damage and abrasions characteristic of pastedowns over wood boards, and both have metallic staining in typical positions for for fore edge fastenings.

History

Origin: 16th century. ; England, probably in or near Cambridge.

Date of production based on palaeographical features. Place of production assigned based on two references to places in or near Cambridge.

Additional Information

Record Sources

This catalogue entry draws on the existing online catalogue record for available at CCCC 41 as well as Neil Ker's description of the manuscript [no. 32] in his Catalogue of Manuscripts Containing Anglo-Saxon.

Availability

Visitors to Corpus Christi College who wish to consult Special Collections material are required to apply to the Parker Library in advance of their visit. For information on eligibility and admission procedures see: Parker Library: Information for Readers.

Custodial History

Recorded as no. 278 in Thomas James, Ecloga Oxonio-Cantabrigiensis (1600).
Recorded as no. 1544 / no. 277 in Edward Bernard, Catalogi librorum manuscriptorum Angliæ et Hiberniæ, in unum collecti, cum indice alphabetico (c. 1697).
Recorded as 'S.2' in William Stanley, Catalogus librorum manuscriptorum in Bibliotheca Collegii Corporis Christi in Cantabrigia: Quos legauit Matthaeus Parkerus Archiepiscopus Cantuariensis (1722) (see p. 1).
Recorded as no. 41 in James Nasmith, Catalogus librorum manuscriptorum quos Collegio Corporis Christi et B. Mariae Virginis in Academia Cantabrigiensis legauit Reverendissimus in Christo Pater Matthaeus Parker, Archiepiscopus Cantuariensis (1777) (see front pastedown).

Bibliography

Funding of Cataloguing

Wellcome (cataloguing).

Andrew W. Mellon Foundation (digital images).

Digital Images

Cambridge Digital Library

Abbreviations

View list of abbreviations and editorial conventions.

Study at Cambridge

About the University

Research at Cambridge