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 Dd.4.45

Alchemical works

Physical Description

Form: codex
Support: A composite manuscript of four separate parts. The manuscript's first three parts (ff. 1:1r-1:32v) consists of paper leaves, while its fourth part (ff. 2:1r-2:12v) consists of parchment leaves.
Extent: Codex: ii + 10 | 13 | 9 | 12 + ii leaves.
Foliation:

Mid-20th-century foliation:

[i-ii] + 1:1-1:10 | 1:11-1:23 | 1:24-1:32 | 2:1-2:12 + [iii-iv]

Numbering in pencil in the upper right-hand corner of the rectos, in part by H.L. Pink.

Collation

  • Quire 18 (ff. 1:1-1:8)
  • Quire 24-2 (ff. 1:9-1:10: 1st and 2nd leaves cancelled) |
  • Quire 314-1 (ff. 1:11-1:23: 1st leaf cancelled) |
  • Quire 410-1 (ff. 1:24-1:32: 1st leaf cancelled) |
  • Quire 58 (ff. 2:1-2:8)
  • Quire 64 (ff. 2:9-2:12)

18 24-2 (1st and 2nd leaves cancelled) | 314-1 (1st leaf cancelled) | 410-1 (1st leaf cancelled) | 58 64

Additions

Quire signatures ('1-4' for Parts 1-3, '[a]-b' for Part 4) in the bottom right-hand corner of the recto side of the first leaf of each quire, and '+' in the same position on the first leaf after the centre of the quire, written in pencil by H.L. Pink (Parts 1-3) and perhaps Henry Bradshaw (1831-1886), University Librarian 1867-1886 (Part 4).

Classmark on the front pastedown, note on the former binding of the manuscript on f. [i] recto, and collation formula and statement of extent on the rear pastedown, all written in pencil by H.L. Pink.

Binding

Binding by J.P. Gray and son of Cambridge, dated 1965 by a note on the front pastedown. Millboard three-quarter binding with marbled cloth covering and brown leather spine.

Binding height: 245 mm, width: 158 mm, depth: 18 mm.

The manuscript was previously bound together with Dd.4.43, Dd.4.44, and Dd.4.46.

History

Provenance and Acquisition

John Moore (1646-1714) , bishop of Ely: no. 606 (inscribed on f. 1:1r) in Bernard, Catalogi librorum manuscriptorum Angliæ et Hiberniæ (c. 1697).

Presented to the University Library in 1715 by George I : donation bookplate engraved by John Pine in 1736 on the inside upper cover of Cambridge, University Library, MS Dd.4.43, with which it was previously bound.

Part 1 [Cambridge, University Library, MS Dd.4.45, ff. 1:1-1:10]

Contents

Language(s): Latin treatises with a Middle English poem.

1. 1:1r-1:4r
Liber Lucis Pseudo-Johannes de Rupescissa
Language(s): Latin
Rubric: 1:1r Arnaldus de Noua Villa
Incipit: 1:1r [M]ateria lapidis est rest vilis pretii ubicunque reperitur que est aqua viscosa sive mercurius communis sicut extrahitur de minera
Explicit: 1:4r Non tangat latera scutellarum et hic finis et deo gratias

Attributed to Arnaldus de Villa Nova, but actually a copy of the Liber Lucis (Book of Light): a work that describes seven operations for making the philosopher's stone, and is attributed to Franciscan friar and alchemist Johannes de Rupescissa [Jean de Roquetaillade] (c. 1310-1366) [not among the 55 copies of the work listed by Robert Halleux, 'Les ouvrages alchimiques de Jean de Rupescissa', Histoire littéraire de la France, 41 (1981), pp. 241-284 (pp. 278-284)]. Also Pseudoy-Raymond Lull, De lapide phisico minerali (see Timmermann (2015), p. 475).

2. 1:4v-1:6r
Alchemical work on the Philosopher's Stone Pseudo-Avicenna
Language(s): Latin
Rubric: 1:4v Declaracio lapidis philosophorum per auicennam filio suo
Incipit: 1:4v Fili mi Abbulhaly intellige que dicam tibi de cognicione lapidis
Explicit: 1:6r Ita ut utri aliam habent potentiam supra mille gradus Mercurii seu Jouis veneris vel saturni
Final rubric: 1:6r Explicit archananum auicenne de philosophorum lapide

Attributed to to the Muslim physician and philospher Ibn Sīnā [Abū ʿAlī al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Sīnā] (980-1037), known in the West as Avicenna.

3. 1:6v-1:10r
Secretum Secretorum Pseudo-Pliny
Language(s): Latin
Incipit: 1:6v Hic incipit tractatus optimus in quo exponit et aperte declarat plenius philosophus quis sit lapis philosophicus et ex qua materia debet fieri
Explicit: 1:10r quod qui habet ipsum incomparabilem habet thesaurum
eTK 0620F (t0120190000)

Physical Description

Secundo Folio: 1:2r forciore igne
Form: codex
Support: Paper folded in quarto. Folios 1:1-1:8: Balance ( 70 × 85 mm. ). Centre of the inner margin. Resembles Briquet nos 2425-2431. These examples are dated to 1430-1476. Folios 1:9-1:10: bœuf ( 25 × 40 mm. ). Centre of the inner margin. The height measure is based on the upper half of the watermark only, since the lower half is missing. Resembles Briquet no. 2773. This example is dated to 1423-1432.
Extent: Codex: 32 leaves. 1:1-1:10 220 × 145 mm.

Collation

  • Quire 18 (ff. 1:1-1:8)
  • Quire 24-2 (ff. 1:9-1:10: 1st and 2nd leaves cancelled)

Catchwords in brown ink on each verso of quire 3 (ff. 1:11-1:23)

Condition

Brittle paper edges with some torn edges and corners that have been subsequently repaired with new paper. Some staining. No loss of text.

Layout

1:1r-1:10r 165-170 × 100 mm. No ruling. Single columns. 26-28 lines to the page.

Hand(s)

ff. 1:1r-1:10r are written in a script with Anglicana features, executed in Currens.

Decoration

Underlining of quotations and authorities in brown ink.

History

Origin: Second half of the 15th century. ; England.

Part 2 [Cambridge, University Library, MS Dd.4.45, ff. 1:11-1:23]

Contents

Language(s): Latin

1. 1:11r-1:12v
Alchemical work on Aqua Mercurius and Oleum Sulphuris Pseudo-Albertus Magnus
Language(s): Latin
Incipit: 1:11r Aqua mercurius et oleum sulphuris. Opus istud multis diebus abscondebatur. Circa quod primo principaliter est notandum quod Mercurius noster non est
Explicit: 1:12v et ego Albertus dico quod sum expertus istas duas operationes, et quod non est aliud opus perfectum [a] me, nisi hec duo opera, et vera sunt et etiam Euclides et multi philosophi concordant mecum et dicunt quod totum beneficium hujus artis in Mercurio et luna consistit, et in Mercurio et Sole, et scias quod omnia alia sunt vana et illusoria. Deo gratias

Attributed to Albertus Magnus (on this work, see Pearl Kibre, 'Alchemical Writings Ascribed to Albertus Magnus', Speculum, 17:4 (1942), 499-518 (p. 505) [without this manuscript].

A shorter version of this text, with a slightly different preface, and no authorial attribution, appears in Cambridge, Trinity College, MS O.2.47.

eTK 0119H (t0022780000)
2. 1:13r-1:22r
Alchemical sayings attributed to various authors
Language(s): Latin
Incipit: 1:13r Hermes dicit quod elixerium sine mercurio stare non potest nec confiti nec compleri
Explicit: 1:22ret oleum dico quod iterum calcinetur et sufficit et tunc ad opus seruetur etcaetera deo gracias

Authors are identified Hermes Trismegistus, Aristotle, Jābir ibn Ḥayyān [Geber], and Ortolanus [Hortolanus].

eTK 0611H (t0118640000)
3. 1:22v-1:23r
Collection of alchemical recipes
Language(s): Latin and Middle English
Rubric: 1:22v super cuprum
Incipit: 1:22v Opus verum super cuprum: Take copir in plate and cement hem with arsenik
Explicit: 1:23r omnibus virgis coruli una post aliam

Six recipes added by the same 15th-century hand

Margaret Connolly, Manuscripts in the University Library, Cambridge (Dd-Oo) (2019), p. 19.
1:22v
Medical recipes
Language(s): Latin
Rubric: 1:22v Ad faciendum capillos crescere
Rubric: 1:22v Vt dens se cadat

Recipes to make hair grow and a tooth to fall out.

4. 1:23v
Biblical excerpts
Language(s): Latin
Incipit: 1:23v Si vere utique justiciam loquimini / Recumbentibus undecim discipulis / Missus est Angelus / In principio erat etcaetera

Psalm 57:2; Mark 16:14; Luke 1:26; and John 1:1, added by a late 15th or early 16th-century hand.

Physical Description

Secundo Folio: 1:12r lapidem calidum
Form: codex
Support: Paper, folded in quarto. Folios 1:11-1:23: fleur a 7 pétales ( 30 × 40 mm. ). Upper half of the inner margin. Resembles Briquet no. 6560. This example is dated to 1473.
Extent: Codex: 13 leaves. 220 × 150 mm.

Collation

  • Quire 314-1 (ff. 1:11-1:23: 1st leaf cancelled)

Layout

170-175 × 115-125 mm. No ruling visible. Single columns. 32-36 lines to the page.

Hand(s)

ff. 1:11r-1:22r are written by a single scribe in a cursive Anglicana and Secretary features, executed in Currens.

ff. 1:22v-1:23v are written by one or two scribes in a cursive Anglicana script.

Decoration

Underlining of quotations and authorities in brown ink.

History

Origin: 15th century. ; England.

Part 3 [Cambridge, University Library, MS Dd.4.45, ff. 1:24-1:32]

Contents

Language(s): Latin

1. 1:24r-1:32v
Lapis aquilae John of Cripplegate
Language(s): Latin
Incipit: 1:24r [L]apis Aquile cum natura preciosissimus nec vllus ei thesaurus invalore comparabile eo
Explicit: 1:32v Est cuius testis Senior hoc secretum magnum dei gloriosi Soror prophecie inspiratum a deo prophetis et electis suis in ipsum credentibus Cuius patri igitur sit honor et gloria in secula seculorum Amen
Final rubric: 1:32v Explicit tractatus magistri Johannis de porta claudorum cuius cognomen quere in hoc libello et invenies
eTK 0809H (t0155660000)

Physical Description

Secundo Folio: 1:25r ethiopem genitrix
Form: codex
Support: Paper, folded in quarto. Folios 1:24-1:32: cloche ( 60 × 35 mm. ). Upper half of the inner margin. Resembles Briquet nos 3984-3985. These examples are dated to 1436-1473.
Extent: Codex: 9 leaves. 225 × 150 mm.

Collation

  • Quire 410-1 (ff. 1:24-1:32: 1st leaf cancelled)

A letter 'c' in the lower margin of f. 1:32v may be a quire signature.

Condition

Brittle corners and outer margins; the lower outer corner of f. 1:24 and the lower outer margin of f. 1:32 have been torn off and repaired with blank paper.

Layout

170 × 100-105 mm. Ruled in leadpoint (?), frame only. Single columns. 30-33 lines to the page, written below top.

Hand(s)

Folios 1:24r-1:32v are written in a script with Secretary and Anglicana features, executed in slighly more formal upright style.

Decoration

Underlining of quotations and authorities in brown ink.

History

Origin: 15th century. ; England.

Part 4 [Cambridge, University Library, MS Dd.4.45, ff. 2:1-2:12]

Contents

Language(s): Latin prose text followed by Middle English prose and verse

1. 2:1r-2:9v
Tractatus de serpente
Language(s): Latin
Incipit: 2:1r Christi nomine inuocato ad honorem proficiencium in actibus nature quia plerumque plures litteras philosophorum intelligentos operantur vt inueniunt in scripturis et lapsum paciuntur laboris erroris et dampi
Explicit: 2:9v hiis autem paucis dictis sufficit doctrina supradictum [sic: supradicta] solide ac sane intelligenti. Et scimus quoniam diligentibus deum omnia cooperantur in bonum. Deo gratias.
Final rubric: 2:9v Explicit tractatus de serpente sub compendio breviloquii Holkottis

Attributed (perhaps spuriously) to the Dominican friar Robert Holcot (d. 1349). This work also survives in London, British Library, Harley MS 3528, ff. 25r-31v; Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS Ashmole 1450, ff. 6v-10v (see Singer, Catalogue of Latin and Vernacular Alchemical Manuscripts, I (1928), p. 282 (no. 300) [without this manuscript]; 16th-century alchemical manuscript London, Wellcome Library, MS.527, ff. 17v-19v, contains text entitled 'Breviloquium' attributed to Robert Holcot.

Singer, Catalogue of Latin and Vernacular Alchemical Manuscripts, I (1928), p. 282 (no. 300)
2. 2:9v-2:10r
Alchemical tract
Language(s): Middle English
Incipit: 2:9v Aske ye of þe clerkys that holden hem so wise What is þe whete that moste be sawen in þe erth
Explicit: 2:10r And whan he is of age norssh hym forth wiþ his owne moders mylk. or gif hym his owne moders mylke.

Extract from an alchemical tract usually attributed to Roger Bacon

For other copies, see Margaret Connolly, Manuscripts in the University Library, Cambridge (Dd-Oo) (2019), p. 19.
3. 2:10r-2:11v
Of Spain take the clear light
Language(s): Middle English
Incipit: 2:10r Of spayn take the clere light / þe rede gumme þat is so bright
Explicit: 2:11v Avise þe welle er þou begynne / Or ellis litel shalt þou wynne
Final rubric: 2:11v Explicit

Poem on preparing the Philosopher’s Stone, ascribed in Cambridge, Trinity College O.2.16 to Richard Carpenter.

IMEV 2656
NIMEV 2656
DIMEV 4210-17

Physical Description

Secundo Folio: 2:2r mundificacio sudoris propter terram
Form: codex
Support: Parchment (FHHF)
Extent: Codex: 12 leaves. 233 × 150-155 mm.

Collation

  • Quire 58 (ff. 2:1-2:8)
  • Quire 64 (ff. 2:9-2:12)

Leaf signatures in brown ink in lower margins and corners of the rectos of the first halves of quires: ‘aj’-‘aiiij’ and ‘bj’-‘bij’.

 A catchword in a red frame on f. 2:8v.

Condition

A large horizontal fold in the lower margin of f. 2:4r. A hole in the parchment in the right margin of f. 2:6r. Stains throughout. No loss of text.

Layout

115 × 95 mm. Ruled in leadpoint, frame only, but only rarely visible. Single columns. 29 lines to the page, written below top line.

Hand(s)

Folios 2:1r-2:11v is written by a single scribe in an Anglicana script with Secretary features.

Decoration

One large (2-line) blue initial with penwork decoration in red on f. 2:1r.

2 small (1-line) red initial on ff. 2:9v and 2:10r.

Marginal notae and a final rubric on f. 2:9v rubricated in red.

Paraphs in red on ff. 2:1r-2:9v.

Verse couplet lines in red on ff. 2:10r-2:11v.

History

Origin: Second half of the 15th century. ; England.

Additional Information

Record Sources

This catalogue entry draws on M. Connolly, Manuscripts in the University Library, Cambridge (Dd-Oo), Index of Middle English Prose, 19 (Cambridge: Brewer, 2009), A. Timmerman, 'Alchemy in Cambridge: An Annotated Catalogue of Alchemical Texts and Illustrations in Cambridge Repositories', Nuncius, 30:2 (2015), 345-511 (pp. 475-477), and an unpublished description of the manuscript composed between 1926 and 1930 by M.R. James , now held in the University Archives (UA ULIB 7/3/74).

Availability

Entry to read in the Library is permitted only on presentation of a valid reader's card. For information on eligibility and admissions procedures, see Joining the Library). For further enquiries, and to confirm the availability of the manuscript, please contact the Special Collections Reading Room.

Bibliography

    Catalogue of Latin and Vernacular Alchemical Manuscripts in Great Britain and Ireland Dating from before the XVI century, Singer, Dorothea WaleyAnderson, Annie (Brussels, Maurice Lamertin, 1928) Manuscripts in the University Library, Cambridge (Dd-Oo) Index of Middle English prose, Connolly, Margaret (Woodbridge, D.S. Brewer, 2009) Verse and Transmutation: A Corpus of Middle English Alchemical Poetry (Critical Editions and Studies) Medieval and Early Modern Philosophy and Science Series, Timmermann, Anke (Leiden, Brill, 2013) Alchemy in Cambridge: An Annotated Catalogue of Alchemical Texts and Illustrations in Cambridge Repositories Nuncius: Journal of the Material and Visual History of Science, Timmermann, Anke (30, 2, 345-511, 2015)

Funding of Cataloguing

Wellcome

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Cambridge Digital Library

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