Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, MS 412
Text on royal governance, and pseudo-Augustine, De duodecum abusiuis saeculi
Contents
Physical Description
20th-century foliation.
Foliated as: a-b + i-iv | 1-77 | v-viii + c-d
Foliated in pencil in Hindu-Arabic numerals in the upper outer corner of each recto.Collation
Quires of 8 leaves for the most part, arranged as follows:
- Four endleaves (ff. i recto - iv verso)
- Quires 1-98 (ff. 1-72)
- Quire 108-3 (ff. 73-77; 6th-8th leaves cancelled)
- Four endleaves (ff. v recto - viii verso)
1-98 108-3 (6th-8th cancelled)
No leaf signatures common to the entire volume.
No quire signatures common to the entire volume.
No catchwords common to the entire volume.Additions
Quire signatures ('1-10') 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.
Binding
18th-century binding. Quarter bound in leather with parchment sides over paste- or millboard. Five raised bands on spine (not photographed); spine is unlabelled and undecorated. Paper pastedowns pasted over the turn ins. Several other manuscripts at Corpus Christi College are bound in this style and with these materials, e.g., Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, MS 456, so it is likely that the College undertook a rebinding programme in the 18th century, perhaps focussing on the most fragile or poorly bound items in the manuscript collection at that time.
Two paper endleaves at each end of the volume, probably contemporary with the binding, ff. a - b and c - d. Folio a recto contains a 'Corpus Christi College, Cambridge' stamp in black ink, and the shelfmark 'MS 412' written in black ink; all other paper endleaves are blank.
The binding is tight in the latter half of the volume which impedes the maximum angle of opening for the book.
History
Provenance and Acquisition
Folios i-iv written and owned by Edmund Popley of the Diocese of York and Principal of Beef Hall in Oxford, c. 1496-1497. Popley may also have owned ff. 1r-77v, which would explain how his notes came to be bound with the rest of the volume, but there is no strong evidence to rule for or against Popley's ownership of ff. 1r-77v.
The first four medieval endleaves in the volume (ff. i-iv) are in Popley's hand and contain a copy of the Articuli Cleri enacted in 1316 (ff. ii recto - iv verso), followed by some brief legal notes (f. iv verso). Popley signed the notes on f. iv verso as 'Edmundus Poplay' and mentioned a connection to an unspecified university ('studia quindecim annorum que habuit in hac uniuersitate in facultate arcium') and recorded the date of a legal action as 12 June 1489 ('Hec gracia concessa et confirmata est anno domini millesimo cccco lxxxxix mensia Jun. xiimo'). The name, the date, and the long connection to a university allows for the Poplay of ff. i-iv to be identified as the Edmund Poplay (Popley) of the Diocese of York, who was ordained as a deacon in 1484 and was Principal of Beef Hall in Oxford c. 1496-1497. There is no codicological evidence for or against the union of Parts 1 (ff. i-iv) and 2 (ff. 1r-77v) in 1489 , so it is not possible to determine if Poplay was the owner of ff. 1r-77v, or if their composite arrangement occured later, but Poplay's ownership of ff. 1r-77v offers the simplest explanation for how his notes came to be with the main section of MS 412.
Full transcription of Poplay's note on f. iv verso: 'Litera domini regis iusticiariis directa supra ponitur infra constituciones prouinciales de foro competenti C circumspecte agatis in quo C continentur omnes casus in quibus iudex ecclesiasticus cognoscere(?) potest regia prohibitione non obstante . Melius tamen est quod non faciat nisi regiam consultacionem optineat etc. Edmundus poplay. Supplicat venerabili etc. Edmundus poplay in jure canonico Baccallarius quatenus studia quindecim annorum que habuit in hac uniuersitate in facultate arcium et in juribus Ciuili et canonico sibi sufficiant ad hunc effectum ut admittatur ad incipiendum in jure canonico ita quod soluat markam(?) . Hec gracia concessa et confirmata est anno domini millesimo cccco lxxxxix mensia Jun. xiimo condicio talis est quod soluat uniuersitati xls'.
William Porter : name written in large gothic letters on f. i verso, probably in the 16th century, and presumably indicating his possession of the manuscript. No William Porter with plausible biographical information has been identified. M.R. James noted in his Catalogue that a William Porter also signed his name in Cambridge, Trinity College, MS B.16.3, front flyleaf 3r , but as both the script and the spelling ('Willyam Porter') are different, it is not necessarily the case that these are the same William Porter.
Folios 1-77 bequeathed to Corpus Christi College by Matthew Parker (1504-1575) , archbishop of Canterbury. Folios i-iv and v-viii may have already been bound with folios 1-77 at the time of Parker's gift to Corpus Christi College (and certainly were by 1600 - see Custodial History). A partially erased signiature with a distinctive flourish on f. viii recto also appears in simplified form on f. 77v, although unfortunately the name of the signator cannot be identified in either case. All Parts bound together c. 1722 as f. ii recto bears a siglum 'N. 26' assigned to the volume in Thomas Stanley's Catalogue of 1722.
Part 1: Legal text [Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, MS 412, ff. i-iv]
Contents
Language(s): Latin
The Articuli Cleri were enacted on the 24th November 1316, in the reign of King Edward II. The date given here in the CCCC MS 412 copy of the Articuli Cleri is 23 November 1316.
The Articuli Cleri were copied by Edmund Poplay who was Principal of Beef Hall in Oxford, c. 1496-1497; see Provenance for further information on Poplay. Poplay also wrote a note under the Articuli Cleri in which he included biographical information: 'Litera domini regis iusticiariis directa supra ponitur infra constituciones prouinciales de foro competenti C circumspecte agatis in quo C continentur omnes casus in quibus iudex ecclesiasticus cognoscere(?) potest regia prohibitione non obstante . Melius tamen est quod non faciat nisi regiam consultacionem optineat etc. Edmundus poplay. Supplicat venerabili etc. Edmundus poplay in jure canonico Baccallarius quatenus studia quindecim annorum que habuit in hac uniuersitate in facultate arcium et in juribus Ciuili et canonico sibi sufficiant ad hunc effectum ut admittatur ad incipiendum in jure canonico ita quod soluat markam(?) . Hec gracia concessa et confirmata est anno domini millesimo cccco lxxxxix mensia Jun. xiimo condicio talis est quod soluat uniuersitati xls'. The note is written in two different inks, the first ink a visual match for the rest of the Articuli Cleri, and the second ink, which begins at 'Supplicat venerabili etc ...' is darker and more opaque than the ink used for the writing in the rest of this Part.
Physical Description
Collation
Four endleaves (ff. i recto - iv verso)
No leaf signatures particular to this Part.
No quire signatures particular to this Part.
No catchwords particular to this Part.Condition
Layout
155 × 110 mm. Frame-ruling visible in crayon on f. iii verso, no other ruling visible in this Part. Written in single-column format, typically 30 lines to a page, but somewhat informally written, particularly on f. iv verso
Hand(s)
Folios ii recto - iv verso written in secretary script by Edmund Popley.
The name 'William Porter' written in a textualis 'formata' on f. i verso.
Decoration
No significant decoration in this Part.
History
Provenance
Written by an Edmund Popley . Popley copied the document on ff. ii recto - iv verso and added a dating clause 'Hec gracia concessa et confirmata est a. d. mill⟨esi⟩mo cccco lxxxxix mens. Iun. xiimo', i.e., 12 June 1499. An Edmund Popley of the correct age to be participating in legal proceedings in 1499 has not been identified.
Owned by a William Porter . Porter added his name in large textualis formata letters to f. i verso. No further biographical information is known about him.
Part 2: Text on royal governance, and pseudo-Augustine, De XII abusiuis saeculi (excerpt) [Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, MS 412, ff. 1r-77v]
Contents
Language(s): Latin
Followed by a descriptive contents list with 33 numbered chapters.
- Part 1: 1v
- Part 2: 29r
- Part 3: 54v
- Part 4: 65r
This text was incorrectly described by M. R. James in his Catalogue as Giles of Rome's De regimine principium. The text is in fact De informatione principum, a text often attributed to Durand de Champagne , and which appears in two main recensions, one with an explicit dedication to the future King Louis X of France (b. 4 October 1289; d. 5 June 1316; r. 29 November 1314 – 5 June 1316), and one without the direct address to the future King Louis X. The version of De informatione principum in CCCC MS 412 lacks the explicit dedication to the future King Louis X.
This text also appears in the following manuscripts:
This text is also often attributed to pseudo-Cyprian (Saint), Bishop of Carthage .
Full transcription: Tres sunt stulticie maiores omnibus audi ;| Tantum mentiri tot dare . totque minari| Ut nil credaris . nil habeas . nil metuaris
Also in Cambridge, Pembroke College, MS 111, f. 131r (see Thomson), and apparently also in Cambridge, Clare College, MS 14, f. 96v.
Physical Description
Collation
- Quires 1-98 (ff. 1-72
- Quire 108-3 (ff. 73-77; 6th-8th leaves cancelled)
Medieval alphanumeric leaf signatures in ink in the lower outer corner of many of the rectos in the first half of each quire in the form 'ai, aii, aiii, aiiii' etc., many probably lost to trimming due to the proximity of the remaining signatures to the edges of the leaves. The quires are signed a-i, k (j omitted).
No quire numbers.
Catchwords present in the lower margin of the last verso of each quire, sometimes enclosed in a simple scroll frame (e.g., f. 64v), or surrounded my small decorative flourishes (e.g., f. 24v).Condition
Layout
150 × 100 mm. Ruled in leadpoint, frame and lines, typically 40 lines to the page. Written below top line.
Hand(s)
Folios 1r-77v (except for the poem 'Tres sunt stulticie ... nil metuaris') written in a gothic hybrida by a single scribe.
Fragment of a poem ('Tres sunt stulticie ... nil metuaris') on f. 77v written in a semi-hybrida.
Decoration
Puzzle initial, 5 lines high, in red and blue at the opening of the text on f. 1r.
Plain initials in red, blue, or touched with yellow (see e.g., f. 29r) at the major and minor divisions of the text. Some initials touched with yellow.
Rubrication in plain red ink at the major and minor divisions of the text.
Paraph marks in red and blue.
History
Date and place of production based on palaeographical features.
Provenance and Acquisition
Folios 1-77 given to Corpus Christi College in 1574 by Matthew Parker (1504-1575) , archbishop of Canterbury. It is possible that folios i-iv and v-viii were already bound with folios 1-77 at the time of Parker's gift to Corpus Christi College, particularly as a partially erased signiature with a distinctive flourish on f. viii recto also appears in simplified form on f. 77v; unfortunately, the name of the signator is unknown.
Part 3: Medical recipe [Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, MS 412, ff. v-viii]
Contents
Language(s): Middle English and Latin
Written by a 16th-century hand. For pain and burning in the penis and strangury.
Full transcription: Take euery day ix berys off yvy and brey them small and drynke them with warme watyr or ellys with whyȝt wyne grene or make powdyr alway the quantyte off ix kepte . Et ista medicina sedat dolorem et ardorem virgi solnit stranguiriam(?) . Allso a noynt the yerd with oyle off rosys oftyntymys and inbybe blake wull in the seyde oyle and emplastre hytt a pon the yerd . allso the juse off purslan schall sese the ardoȝ of the yerd yff hit be anoyntyd therewith
Physical Description
Collation
Four endleaves (ff. v recto - viii verso)
No leaf signatures particular to this Part.
No quire signatures particular to this Part.
No catchwords particular to this Part.Condition
Layout
Informally written, no ruling visible; written in single-column format.
Hand(s)
Medical recipe on f. v recto written in secretary script.
Decoration
Mostly erased sketch of a head in profile in ink on f. viii recto
Additions
An erased signature with a decorative flourish on f. viii recto. This signature also appears in simplified form on f. 77v, it is not possible to derive a name in either case.
History
Date and place of production based on palaeographical and linguistic features.
Additional Information
Record Sources
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
Bibliography
Funding of Cataloguing
Wellcome (cataloguing).
Andrew W. Mellon Foundation (digital images).
Digital Images
Abbreviations
View list of abbreviations and editorial conventions.
