Medieval Manuscripts in Cambridge Libraries

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

Cambridge, University Library, MS Add. 4087

Collection of alchemical works

Contents

Introduction: Cambridge, University Library, MS Add. 4087 is an early 15th-century miscellany containing thirty-one works, mostly alchemical and medical, and by both Arabic and Latin authors and pseudo-authors. While many of the works are excerpts – passages copied from longer alchemical texts - MS Add. 4087 includes several lengthy passages from popular 13th- and early 14th-century works, including De essentiis essentiarum, ascribed to Thomas Capellanus; the Breve breviarum de dono dei and the Epistola tres ad Iohannem of pseudo-Roger Bacon; the Expositio super Arithmeticam Boethii of Simon Bredon; the Tractatus de alkimia of Richard de Fournival; and the Epistola ad Hasan of pseudo-Avicenna (on the authenticity of these works, especially the Epistola, see Newman (1994)). The Tractatus de alkimia will be of special interest to readers, as the margins contain drawings of alchemical apparatus (see ff. 56v-58v). Though the Tractatus de alkimia is the only work in MS Add. 4087 to contain alchemical illustrations, each work features richly decorated initial letters, drawn in red and blue ink, often with a floral motif (see ff. 51v, 129r, 196r-196v). Medieval European alchemy was heavily influenced by the scientific developments of the Islamic Golden Age. Though some form of alchemy had been practiced since at least Roman Egypt, many traits that we now associate with alchemy arise in this period. One of the most influential schools of alchemy arose under the name of Jabir ibn Hayyan, a semi-mythical figure said to be active during the 9th century. This school promoted the 'Mercury-Sulfur Theory', in which every metal (gold, silver, copper, iron, tin, mercury, and lead) is formed by some combination of two principles: 'mercury' and 'sulfur'. The proportion of these two principles, as well as their purity, determines which metal will be produced. Gold, the noblest of all metals, is produced from the best proportion of the purest 'mercury' to 'sulfur'. Copper, a base metal, is contaminated by impurities, and contains too much sulfur in relation to mercury. In this way, it becomes possible for an alchemist to separate and purify the components of a metal, recombining them in the proper proportion to make a better, 'noble' metal. The truth of alchemy was not uncontested during the Islamic Golden Age. Many philosophers denied the possibility of transmutation, either on the basis of the inability of man to know, and therefore transmute, species, or on theological grounds. One of the most famous dissenters was the Persian philosopher Ibn Sina (d. 1037) (or Avicenna, as he became known among his Latin audience). Ironically, Ibn Sina developed a posthumous reputation as an alchemist, and many alchemical works were spuriously attributed to him after his death. These works were very popular among 13th- and 14th-century Latin alchemists, and included his De anima in arte alkymia and his Epistola ad Hasan, found in ff. 46v-54r of MS Add. 4087 (for more on Islamic and medieval alchemy, see Principe (2012)). This use of pseudonymous authorship is a common feature of medieval alchemical literature. As alchemical works were translated from Arabic into Latin in the 12th and 13th centuries, many new works appeared under the names of older, established authorities, in order to lend credibility to novel ideas. Much like Avicenna, Jabir and other Islamic authors had works spuriously attributed to them after death. Latin authors - including Roger Bacon, Arnald of Villanova and Ramon Llull - were likewise used as pen names by 13th- and 14th-century alchemists looking to provide their works with an additional layer of authority. MS Add. 4087 contains many excellent examples of this. As the practice of alchemy grew in the 13th century, Latin authors expanded upon the theories of their Arabic predecessors, applying alchemy to new fields, such as medicine and pharmacology. While Arabic alchemy – and the Latin alchemy of the 12th and early 13th centuries – had been concerned with the transmutation of base metals into noble ones, the late 13th and early 14th centuries mark a turn in the alchemists' goals. While many were still interested in chrysopoeia, or gold-making, many also turned their attention towards the production of pharmaceuticals intended either to cure specific diseases or to prolong human life. While the idea of a 'medicine for metals' had existed previously, it appeared as a metaphor. 13th- and 14th-century European alchemists extended this metaphor to its ultimate conclusion, attempting to make materials that would both transmute metals and heal human bodies (see Allen (2023)). The growing interest in medicine can be seen in MS Add. 4087, which contains not only traditional recipes for transmutation, but also medical works, including excerpts on the medical properties of animals from Albertus Magnus's De animalibus. Dr Meagan S. Allen| Visiting Assistant Professor, History of Science and Technology| Johns Hopkins University References:
William R. Newman, 'The Alchemy of Roger Bacon and the Tres Epistolae Attributed to Him', in Comprendre et maîtriser la nature au Moyen Âge: mélanges d'histoire offerts à Guy Beaujouan, Hautes études médiévales et modernes, 73 (Geneva: Droz, 1994), 461-79
Lawrence Principe, Secrets of Alchemy (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2012)
Meagan S. Allen, Roger Bacon and the Incorruptible Human, 1220-1292: Alchemy, Pharmacology, and the Desire to Prolong Life (Basingstoke: Palgrave MacMillan, 2023)

Language(s): Latin

1. i verso
Fragment of a medical text
Language(s): Latin

A fragmentary (?) flyleaf with text written in the late 14th or early 15th century; includes the words ‘mortificat’ and ‘purificat’.

2. 1r
Aphorism (?)
Language(s): Latin

Not transcribed; added in the 15th or 16th century.

3. 1r-30r
De essentiis essentiarum Thomas Capellanus
Language(s): Latin
Incipit: 1r Magnifico principi ac illustrissimo domino domino [R] ac primogento regis ierusalem et sicilie
Explicit: 30r nullo modo aut vix possunt alii peruenire domino dirigente quem benedicam in secula seculorum Amen
eTK 0844K (t0162780000)
4. 30r-36v
Liber ignium ad comburendos hostes
Language(s): Latin
Rubric: 30r Composiciones diversorum ignium Nota bene
Incipit: 30r Suus suo amicus amico Anselmo Ferrarius
Explicit: 36v Si vero auricalcum [...]||

This collection begins with Prologue to the Eighty-eight Natural Experiments of Abū Bakr Muḥammad ibn Zakarīyā al-Rāzī [Rhazes], immediately followed on f. 30v by the Liber Ignium Comburendos of Marcus Graecus, and a collection os miscellaneous receipt (ff. 33r-36v)

eTK 0038I (t0007570000)
eTK 1550H (t0296290000)
5. 37r-38r
Liber de quindecim stellis tractans, quindecim herbis et quindecim lapibidus et quindecim figuris Pseudo-Hermes Trismegistus
Language(s): Latin
Incipit: || 37r uincta stelle cui lapis conuenit
Explicit: 38r et coagulatum galle arsenicum cum forti vnio
Rubric: 38r Explicit liber hermetis de .4. partibus
Delatte (1942), pp. 240-75
6. 38r-40v
De modo fabricandi figuras seu sigilla unicuique planetae proprias et conformes
Language(s): Latin
Incipit: 38r Incipiunt figure septem planetarum et scias quod in istis .7. figuris
Explicit: 40v vel ollam illam extra villam et fiet quod vis
Final rubric: 40v Explicit tractatus de .7. figures .7. planetarum

Featuring numerical tables drawn in red ink.

eTK 0738F (t0142120000)
7. 40v-44r
Liber triginta verborum Pseudo-Geber
Language(s): Latin
Incipit: 40v Iam tu scis qui in hanc queris doctrinam
Explicit: 44r quod facias donec tus numerus compleatur
Final rubric: 44r Explicit liber de triginta verbi
eTK 0651H (t0126000000)
8. 44r-46v
A. B. C.
Language(s): Latin
Rubric: 44r Incipit liber A B C dictus
Incipit: 44r Habeatur de limatura eris libri 6 vel plus secundum quantitatem operis tui
Explicit: 46v Et remanebit pulcherrima aqua solis que est notiam ad huius operis perfeccionem

Text repeated on ff. 193v-195v. Also attested in Oxford, Corpus Christi College, MS 125, ff. 47v-51v, but not difference in wording at the beginning ('Habeatur de limatura eris W. G. vel plus secundum quantitatem operis tui' - see Singer).

Singer, no. 551B (this MS not recorded)
eTK 0593E (t0115450000)
9. 46v-54r
Epistola ad Hasen regem de re recta Pseudo-Avicenna
Language(s): Latin
Rubric: 46v Incipit epistola Auicenne Abiucene de Alkymia et est bonus liber
Incipit: 46v Pertracta inter me et Hasyn sunt eo quod ipse scit verba que rogauit me
Explicit: 54r non est ignis et citrinum completur quatuor rotis
Final rubric: 54r Explicit epistola Auicenne abyucene
eTK 1036K (t0199160000)
Zetzner (1659-61), IV, pp. 863-75
10. 54r-61r
De arte alchemica Richard de Fournival
Language(s): Latin
Incipit: 54r Dixit arthurus expositor huius operis accepi arsenicum
Explicit: 61r quia numquam nisi nunc exiuit filia principis ita nuda etcaetera
Final rubric: 61r Explicit tractatus Magistri Ricardi Forniuale de Alkimia
eTK 0450B (t0088810000)
11. 61r-71r
Super Palladium de plantationibus et insertionibus arborum Geoffrey of Vinsauf
Language(s): Latin
Incipit: 61r Modus incisionis arborum multiplex est
Explicit: 71r que resident in fundo vasis ne putrescant
Final rubric: 71r Explicit tractatus Alberti de plantacionibus arborum et conservacione vini. Amen
eTK 0879J (t0169910000)
12. 72r-128v
Philosophia pauperum Albertus Magnus
Language(s): Latin
Incipit: 72r Philosophia diuiditur in .3. partes
Explicit: 125v Et hec de anima et potenciis anime dicta sufficiant

Followed by an alphatical index (ff. 125v-128v).

Borgnet (1890-99), V, 445-536
13. 129r-130v
Alchemical tract
Language(s): Latin
129r Mercher ad Fledium. Liber de Lapide qui vocatus Rebis
Incipit: 129r Dixit Mereheris ad Fledium serva quod dicam tibi
Explicit: 130v quoniam ipse est iusticia
Final rubric: 130v quoniam ipse est iusticia. Expletus est liber de rebis
eTK 0455E (t0089750000)
14. 130v-132r
Liber duodecim aquarum
Language(s): Latin
Incipit: 130v Libelli huius series xij splendit capitulis
Explicit: 132r Hec siquidem aqua candelas accendit et domos illuminat et operi summe necessaria
Final rubric: 132r Explicit liber duodecim aquacionum etcaetera.
15. 133v-155r
Breve breviarium de dono dei Roger Bacon
Language(s): Latin
Incipit: 133v Breve breviarium breviter abbreviatum sufficit intelligenti
Explicit: 155r et studiis liberalibus eruditi
Final rubric: 155r Explicit breve breviarium
eTK 0128C (t0024350000)
eTK 0180N (t0034770000)
16. 155r-156r
Liber de spiritu occultato
Language(s): Latin
Incipit: 155r Cum queris quid est opus occultatus in sulphure et arsenico
Explicit: 156r ad masculum et feminam est philosophice preferenda
Final rubric: 156r Explicit liber de spiritu occultato alkimie
eTK 0334B (t0065560000)
17. 156r-159r
Treatise on the art of alchemy
Language(s): Latin
Rubric: 156r Nicholaus ad Gulielmum de Arte Alchemica
Incipit: 156r Septem sunt corpora saturnus jupiter mars sol venus mercurius luna ista corpora oportet ex mundificentur
Explicit: 159r ardem per totam diem cum folle
Final rubric: 159r Explicit tractatus Nicholai
eTK 0817F (t0157140000)
eTK 1432C (t0274200000)
18. 159r-169r
Anonymous treatise on alchemy
Language(s): Latin
Incipit: 159r Quidam accepit vna[m] vnciam et dimidiam unciam de kibrit
Explicit: 169r et postea congela et habebis vermilionem fixum
eTK 1244A (t0238630000)
19. 169r-172v
Commentary on Arnaldus de Villa Nova, Semita semite
Language(s): Latin
Rubric: 169r Incipit expositio bona super librum O venerande pater
Incipit: 169r In nomine patris et filii et spiritus sancti Amen. Ad cognicionem cuiuslibet sciencie
Explicit: 172v in principio istius libelli mediante igne lento
eTK 0032D (t0006420000)
20. 172v-190v
Expositio super Arithmeticam Boethii Simon Bredon
Language(s): Latin
Rubric: 172v Incipit liber Arythmetice
Incipit: 172v Quantitatum alia continua que magnitudo dicitur
Explicit: 190v Ista ergo sufficiunt pro sententia huius libri etcaetera

Featuring numerical tables drawn in red ink.

eTK 1175F (t0225480000)
eTK 1175F (t0225490000)
21. 191r-193v
A short treatise on alchemy
Language(s): Latin
Incipit: 191r Sume de kibrit oleo cortum
Explicit: 193v et iuvenies quod cupis deo tribuente de fratre Roberto
Final rubric: 193v Explicit bonum opus
eTK 1535J (t0293660000)
22. 193v-195v
A. B. C.
Language(s): Latin
Rubric: 193v Liber vocatus A. B. C.
Incipit: 193v Habeatur de limatura eris libri 6
Explicit: 195v ad huius operis perfeccionem
Final rubric: 195v Explicit liber a.b.c.

Text repeated on ff. 44r-46v. Also attested in Oxford, Corpus Christi College, MS 125, ff. 47v-51v, but not difference in wording at the beginning ('Habeatur de limatura eris W. G. vel plus secundum quantitatem operis tui' - see Singer).

Singer, no. 551B (this MS not recorded)
eTK 0593E (t0115450000)
eTK 0539E (t0115460000)
23. 195v-207v
Experimenta or Secreta Albertus Magnus
Language(s): Latin
Rubric: 195v Incipiunt Secreta fratris Alberti Coloniensis
Incipit: 195v Sicut dicit philosophius omnis scientia est de genere bonorum
Explicit: 207v aliquid utilitatis inveniat
Final rubric: 207v Expliciunt Secreta Fratris Alberti Coloniensis Ordinis fratrum Predicatorum etcaetera
eTK 1487K (t0284630000)
eTK 1487K (t0284640000)
24. 207v-214v
Short accounts of the properties of animals, mainly medicinal Albertus Magnus
Language(s): Latin
Rubric: 207v Proprietates animalium piscium et vermium extracta a libro Alberti Magni de ordine predicatorum
Incipit: 207v Asinus est animal notum valde
Explicit: 214v et quod tactum fuerit mittat in virorem
Final rubric: 214v Expliciunt proprietates et opera animalium etcaetera extracta de Libro Alberti quem composuit de moribus et naturis animalium per shlmzm de Dzndhz etcaetera

Mostly extracted and abbreviated, with some additional material, from Books XXII-XXVI of Albertus Magnus, De animalibus.

eTK 0151E (t0028980000)
25. 215r-230r
Tractatus trium verborum [Epistolas tres ad Iohannem Parisiensem] Roger Bacon
Language(s): Latin
23.1. 215r-216r
Prima epistola
Incipit: 215r Cum ego Rogerus rogatus a pluribus sapientibus de separacione
Explicit: 216r quia omnia vera includuntur in ea. Vale et valeant qui te valere desiderant
Final rubric: 216r Explicit Mzrusm et orhmsm mcuezdhsm Rlierh azdsu ze hlgzu nunc oz rhd
eTK 0296E (t0057710000)
eTK 0296E (t0057720000)
25.2. 216r-218v
Secunda epistola
Incipit: 216r Cum tibi promisi mittere duas cedulas subsequentes
Explicit: 218r-218v sed ea habebis cum deo et spiritu sancto qui viuit in saecula saeculorum Amen.
Final rubric: 218v Explicit mzhst mouezdhsm eiusdem vt supra
eTK 0332I (t0065310000)
25.3. 218v-230r
Tertia epistola
Incipit: 218v Cum de ponderibus vtilis sit distinctio quia pauci veritatem
Explicit: 230r cum auxilio vnius dei in trinitate et trinitatis in vnitate vale
Final rubric: 230r Explicit verdhsm mcuezdhsm Rlicrh azd ad fratrem hlgznunc de ozrht alk
eTK 0290G (t0056640000)
26. 230r-244r
De corporibus et spiritibus Archilaus
Language(s): Latin
Incipit: 230r Incipit in nomine domini brevis exposicio summe tocius libri mineralis
Explicit: 244r et ad lunam faciendam infinitum et ultra per quod vivit deus benedictus in secula Amen
Final rubric: 244r Explicit liber de corporibus et spiritibus cuius libri est auctor archileus philosophus inter omnes huius sciencie sequaces precipuus

This is a commentary on Hermes, Tabula Smaragdina.

eTK 0017E (t0003560000)
eTK 0181C (t0034800000)
eTK 1564A (t0298630000)
27. 244v-254v
De physicis ligaturis Pseudo-Dioscoridos
Language(s): Latin
Rubric: 244v Incipit liber de secretis nature secundum diversos auctores et dicitur liber diascoridis de fisicis ligaturis et sunt hic plura bona nota
Incipit: 244v Nemo equius inter stolidos reputari debet
Explicit: 254v multi sapientes expertum fuisse comuniter affirmant
eTK 0777G (t0150530000)
eTK 0910I (t0175950000)
28. 255r-264r
Masāʾil Khālid li-Maryānus al-rāhib [Khalid Rex et Morienus Romanus]
Language(s): Latin
Incipit: 255r O Moriene primum querere libet
Explicit: 264r in aurum purissimum convertetur. Sit ergo deus benedictus per cuncta seculorum secula Amen
eTK 0971K (t0186460000)
Manget (1702), pp. 509-19
30. 264r-269r
Nomina sinonomia super alkymiam
Language(s): Latin
Incipit: 264r Animal id est antropos
Explicit: 269r zersini est quod egreditur de auro quando purgatur
Final rubric: 269r Expliciunt Sinonoma Alkimye
eTK 0099E (t0019170000)
31. 269r-275v
Flos florum experimentorum thesauri pauperum Petrus Hispanus
Language(s): Latin
Incipit: 269r Si capilli capitis cadunt
Explicit: 275v si ex ea irroretur domus
Final rubric: 275v Expliciunt experimenta profata a Magistro Petro Hispano
eTK 1443L (t0276240000)
32. 275r-278r
Nomina sinonomia in alkemia
Language(s): Latin
Rubric: 275v Incipiunt nomina sinonoma in Alkemia et primo de nominibus incipientibus per A.
Incipit: 275v Attrimentum id est vitroleum
Explicit: 278r zei id est vitreolum
Final rubric: 278r Expliciunt Synonoma
eTK 0015I (t0003280000)
33. 278r
A recipe for a poultice to relieve infirmity of the knees
Language(s): Latin
Incipit: 278r Qui Raphaelem archangelum Thobie dedit medicum
Explicit: 278r et die antiphonam predictam cum oracione predicta et pater noster cum aue
Analecta Hymnica Medii Aevi 28 (1898), p. 290
Colgrave (1940), p. 160
34. 278r-278v
Collection of practical magic and alchemical recipes
Language(s): Latin
Incipit: 278r Aqua que lucet de nocte ut luna fit hoc modo. Accipe de vermibus que lucent de nocte super terram
Explicit: 278v si ponet in igne non comburitur

The first is for a water that shines by night like the moon. On the following page, the text provides instructions 'if you should wish to make pretty jokes/entertainments' ('Et si volueris facere pulcros ludos'). It is followed by instructions to make a crystal that will illuminate one's house, to make a knife resistant to venom/poison, to make marvellous bottles in the manner of urine flasks, for making invisible ink that is revealed when warmed by fire, and for making aromatic wax candles.

eTK 0120P (t0023100000)

Physical Description

Secundo Folio: 2r supra substantiam
Form: codex
Support: Parchment (FHHF)
Extent: Codex: i + 3 + 278 leaves. 175 × 135-145 mm.
Foliation:

18th-century foliation:

[a] + i-iii + 1-232, 234-262, 262bis, 263-278

Numbering in brown ink in the upper right-hand corner of the rectos.

Collation

  • Quire 1-312 (ff. 1-36)
  • Quire 412-1 (ff. 37-47: 2nd leaf missing)
  • Quire 5-1712 (ff. 48-203)
  • Quire 1812-1 (ff. 204-214: 6th leaf missing)
  • Quire 19-2212 (ff. 215-262bis)
  • Quire 2310 (ff. 263-272)
  • Quire 2412-6 (ff. 273-278: 7th-12th leaves missing)

1-312 412-1 (2nd missing) 5-1712 1812-1 (6th missing) 19-2212 2310 2410-6 (7th-12th missing)

Leaf signatures comprising: Roman numerals written in plummet, partially visible (Quires 1-2); 'a i'-'a vi' written in plummet (Quire 3); 'a i'-'a vi' written in ink (Quire 4), continuing thereafter to 'v' (Quire 23) and presumably 'x' (Quire 24, not visible).

 Catchwords in brown ink in the lower right-hand corners of the last versos of quires.

Condition

The manuscript features some ink and water stains. ff. ii-iii are parchment fragments. The lower right-hand corner of f. 279 has been torn off. There is dried plant material (blades of greass) between ff. 43 and 44; ff. 132 and 133; and ff. 227 and 228.

Layout

135 × 85 mm. Ruled in leadpoint, frame only, with occasional line ruling. Single columns. 34 lines to the page, written below top line.

Hand(s)

Written in a small informal Anglicana.

Decoration

Diagrams of alchemical instruments and proceses in brown and red ink drawn in the margins of ff. 56v, 57v, and 85v; a circular space has been left blank on f. 100r for a wind diagram.

Full serrated border in blue and red ink with penwork foliage at the four corners.

Large (2- or 5-line) blue initials with red penwork decoration and pen-flourishing throughout. Their style and motifs - serrated acanthus / cabbage leaves, hatched backgrounds and lion's head in profile (f. 269v) is closely similar to that found in the group of manuscripts studied by Lynda Dennison and Nicholas Rogers.

Lynda Dennison and Nicholas Rogers, 'A Medieval Best-Seller: Some Examples of Decorated Copies of Higden's Polychronicon', in The Church and Learning in Later Medieval Society: Essays in Honour of R.B. Dobson. Proceedings of the 1999 Harlaxton Symposium, ed. by Caroline M. Barron and Jenny Stratford, Harlaxton Medieval Studies, 11 (Donington: Shaun Tyas, 2002), 80-99
Lynda Dennison, 'The Significance of Ornamental Penwork in Illuminated and Decorated Manuscripts of the Second Half of the Fourteenth Century', in Tributes to Kathleen L. Scott. English Medieval Manuscripts: Readers, Makers and Illuminators, ed. by Marlene Villalobos Hennessy (London: Harvey Miller, 2009), 31-64.

Capitals in the text sometimes touched with red.

Headers in red ink.

Paraphs in blue or red.

Additions

A printed description of the manuscript (probably taken from a sale catalogue), pasted on f. [a] recto, with later annotations concerning the manuscript in pencil written next to it.

Quire numbers ('I-III', 'a-v') in the bottom right-hand corner of the recto side of the first leaf of each quire (Quires 1-23, and '+' in the same position on the first leaf after the centre of the quire, written in pencil by a hand of the 19th/20th century.

Binding

Late 14th- or early 15th-century binding of brown leather over wooden boards to five bands with blind-tooling of irregular patterns, featuring flowers, with marks that possibly represent alchemical symbols, initials, and a merchant's mark; with the remains of brass seatings for a catch and clasp, the latter now gone.

Binding height: 200mm; widht: 140mm; depth: 70mm

History

Origin: c. 1400. ; England.

Provenance and Acquisition

Edmund Ley (fl. 15th/16th century) : his ownership inscription on f. iii recto: ‘Liber Edmundi Ley (?)habentes in Su[...]’.

George Pen (fl. 17th century) : his ownership inscription in the upper margin of f. 1r: ‘Georgii Pen liber’; and at the foot of f. 278v: ‘G.P. Georgius Pen’.

Reginald Cholmondeley (1826–1896) of Condover Hall, Shropshire: his armorial bookplate pasted on the inside of the front cover, recorded and described in detail by Alfred J. Horwood, 'The manuscripts of Reginald Cholmondeley, esq., of Condover Hall, Shropshire', Fifth Report of the Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts (London: H.M. Stationary Office, 1876), pp. 333-335 (p. 334); probably sold with his library on 24 November 1887.

Samuel Sandars (1837-1894) , librarian and benefactor: bought from Quaritch in 21 August 1889, his armorial bookplate pasted on f. [a] verso and his name inscribed on f. [a] recto: ‘Samuel Sandars. Trinity Coll. Cant. AM / London 1889’.

Bequeathed to the University Library in 1894 by Samuel Sandars (1837-1894) : ‘SSS. 16. 1’ inscribed on the Condover Hall bookplate pasted on the inside of the front cover and on the Sandars donation bookplate pasted on the inside of the rear cover.

Additional Information

Record Sources

This catalogue entry draws on Jayne Ringrose, Summary Catalogue of the Additional Medieval Manuscripts in Cambridge University Library acquired before 1940 (Woodbridge, 2009), by kind permission of the Boydell Press; and unpublished descriptions by C.E. Sayle (between 1893 and 1924), now held in the University Archives (UA ULIB 7/3/72); M.R. James , (between 1926 and 1930) now held in the University Archives (UA ULIB 7/3/74); and H.L. Pink (between 1948 and 1970), now held in the University Archives (UA ULIB 7/3/75).

Availability

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Bibliography

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