Cambridge, Queens' College, MS 21
Beda Super Marcum
Contents
Physical Description
Mid-20th-century foliation:
1-102
Numbering in pencil in the upper right-hand corner of the first leaf of each quire. Full foliation added after digitisation.Collation
The manuscript comprises one quire composed of six leaves followed by eleven quires composed of eight leaves and one quire composed of twelve leaves. There is one leaf cancelled in quire 10 and three leaves cancelled in quire 13.
- Quire 16 (ff. 1-6)
- Quire 28 (ff. 7-14)
- Quire 38 (ff. 15-22)
- Quire 48 (ff. 23-30)
- Quire 58 (ff. 31-38)
- Quire 68 (ff. 39-46)
- Quire 78 (ff. 47-54)
- Quire 88 (ff. 55-62)
- Quire 98 (ff. 63-70)
- Quire 108-1 (ff. 71-77: leaf 3 cancelled)
- Quire 118 (ff. 78-85)
- Quire 128 (ff. 86-93)
- Quire 1312-3 (ff. 94-102: leaves 2, 5, 12 cancelled)
Quires are numbered on the verso of the last leaf.
Layout
220 × 150 mm. Two columns, 30-34 lines, frame and lines ruled in brown ink. Pricked in the outer margins. Written above top line. Extensions of letters in some of the final lines of columns.
Hand(s)
Protogothic bookhand (textualis); '7'- and '9'-shaped diples in the margins.
Decoration
Green, red and plain parchment abstract-patterned initial (I, 18 ll., f. 2v), at the opening to the main text.
Green, red and plain parchment initial (I, 21 ll., f. 1r), at the opening to the Prologue.
Red initial (Y, 4 ll., f. 1v) with abstract decoration in red and green, for the opening to the Capitula; red initial (M, 3 ll., f. 97v) with abstract decoration in red and green, with infill of stylized leaf forms in green, for one of the principal openings in the text.
Green and red abstract-patterned initials (e.g. I, 5 ll., f. 35v; I, 6 ll., f. 45r) for some of the paragraph openings.
Red and plain parchment initial (P, 2 ll., f. 6r) for one of the paragraph openings.
Green initials (2 ll.) with simple abstract patterns in red, with no infill, alternating with red initials (2 ll.) with simple abstract patterns in green, for some of the paragraph openings (e.g. ff. 7v-8r); red initials (2 ll.), incorporating abstract and stylized leaf forms, with no infill (e.g. N, 2 ll., f. 11v; E, 2 ll., f. 42r), for some of the paragraph openings.
Red initials (e.g. E, 2 ll., f. 26v; E, 2 ll., f. 37v) on plain parchment inner grounds, with infill of abstract patterns in green, and green initials (2 ll.) with infill of abstract patterns in red (e.g E, 2 ll., f. 76r; E, 2 ll., f. 80v), for some of the paragraph openings.
Binding
Contemporary alum-tawed skin over wooden boards, with remains of leather strap on the front cover, on four sewing stations. Three nail holes in each corner of front cover which once secured metal bosses; some bronze nails still in place.
History
Provenance and Acquisition
Given to Queens' College Library in the early 1630s by Francis Tyndall with a 17th-century inscription recording the gift on front flyleaf (f. 1r): 'Donum Francisci Tyndall armigeri'.
Additional Information
Record Sources
Availability
For further information on the availability of the manuscript, please contact Queens' Old Library and Special Collections.
Bibliography
-
A catalogue of the library of the college of St. Margaret and St. Bernard, commonly
called Queen's College
in the University of Cambridge, Horne, Thomas Hartwell (London, Society of Queen's College, 1827)
A descriptive catalogue of the western manuscripts in the library of Queens' College,
Cambridge, James, M.R. (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1905)
Cambridge under Queen Anne: illustrated by memoir of Ambroise Bonwicke and diaries
of Francis Burman and
Zacharias Conrad von Uffenbach Cambridge under Queen Anne, Mayor, John E.B. (Cambridge, Cambridge Antiquarian Society, 1911)
Funding of Cataloguing
Dr Virge James in memory of the late Dr Nigel James (Queens' mat. 1960)
Digital Images
Abbreviations
View list of abbreviations and editorial conventions.
