Introduction:
This is an outstanding example of a manuscript that benefits from an accessible digital
version, as its
wealth of subject matter makes it of potential interest to a variety of projects.
It is a miscellany full of different
texts, in which medical writings, poems, theology, fables, proverbs, a French-Latin
glossary of names, forms of
letter-writing, notes on the properties of plants, and other textual excerpts all
sit side-by-side between the covers.
Most of the manuscript is written in a clean bookhand, with extensive rubrication
and some decoration, meaning that
this is not simply an informal commonplace book. Rather, its contents were planned
out, and the book itself was
produced at some cost. Blank pages allowed for the addition of new material by later
hands.
I became aware of this manuscript when I was working on the wide but poorly documented
textual tradition
of a lapidary I have since termed the Techel/Azareus Complex. The background to this text dates
back to Greco-Roman Antiquity, when gemstones were engraved with various mythological
motifs. These stones turned up
occasionally during the Middle Ages - many still survive in museums and other collections
today - but the subjects and
iconography had grown unfamiliar (for some examples, see G. Max Bernheimer's guide). The lapidary in question begins in some versions (including the present
manuscript, f. 204v) with the assertion that this book describes the properties
of the sigils that the Israelites made while wandering in the desert. However, the
descriptions that follow are
recognizably the Greco-Roman figures we find on Classical cameos and intaglios. The
discovery of such stones appears
to have prompted speculation about the magical properties they might possess.
The lapidary is instantly recognizable by entries that begin with the phrase 'Si inveneris...'
('If you
find...'), followed by a description of the iconography, precision about the kind
of stone it is engraved on, and a
list of the wondrous effects it can produce. But no two copies of this lapidary are
quite the same. As the text was
transmitted, the arrangement of its contents shifted, and material was both added
and omitted. This is not uncommon in
texts like lapidaries, herbals, and recipe collections. However, this text had a particularly
remarkable tendency to
incorporate other lapidaries into it, thereby creating an ever-widening network of
related material. The version in
this manuscript at Cambridge University Library is no exception. On f. 206r, the
text switches to a treatment of the general properties of unengraved stones, which
surely originated separately,
before continuing with descriptions of the engraved ones on f. 206v.
The presence of this text in the collection does not necessarily mean that the compiler
possessed any
such stones, although of course it is possible. Other texts in the volume reveal an
interest in the special properties
of stones and plants, many of which concern their ability to heal various ailments.
In this respect, the Techel/Azareus Complex is no different. We cannot say whether the compiler's concern was more
practical or theoretical, but the later addition of medical recipes on blank pages
does suggest that the owner(s) of
this book had a continuing interest in cures and remedies.
While I was carrying out my research on the Techel/Azareus Complex, there were
simply too many references to lapidaries in manuscript catalogues, usually containing
nothing but the generic title
'De lapidibus' ('On stones'). I couldn't view them all. I had to prioritize the manuscripts
I had a reasonable belief
would contain the right text, whether through more details in the catalogue description
or by the presence of certain
other texts that sometimes accompanied it. In this case, I had a reasonable certainty
of what I would find in
Cambridge, because John M. Riddle was gracious enough to send me his handwritten notes
on this text, where he listed
this present manuscript. Even so, I probably could not have justified the trip if
I had not had a list of several
Cambridge manuscripts I also needed to see for this and other projects. If I were
starting on that same project today,
it would be an entirely different experience thanks to the progress in digitizing
manuscripts.
Dr Katelyn Mesler|
Bibelglossare als verborgene Kulturträger
|Heidelberger Akademie der Wissenschaften
Language(s): Latin
1. 1r-188v
Florilegium
Language(s): Latin
Rubric:
1r Paulus apostolus
Incipit:
1r Confortare in domino
Explicit:
188v erimus quandoque quod hic est.
Early modern hand added title 'Sententiae, sive Flores, ex Sanctis Patribus, praesertim
Sancto Augustino et
Bernardo, Isidoro' (f. ii recto)
Occasional verses of various length: f. 8r 'Stella maris metricis catharis merito
veneraris'.
Includes several subdivisons that have been indicated either with rubrics or large
initials, or both.
1.1. 8r-30v
Theological miscellany
Rubric:
8r Documentum bone fortune qualiter possumus illuminari
Incipit:
8r Ecce descripsi cani tibi
Explicit:
30v est fons uitae. Amen.
Final rubric: Explicit documentum bone fortune.
Theological miscellany, mostly written in schematic form.
1.2. 30v-36r
Documentum bone fortune
Bonaventura (?)
Rubric:
30v Documentum bone fortune qualiter homo possit Deo placuere et amplius
proficere de bono in melius
Incipit:
30v Primo studeat quam potest uilissimum
Explicit:
36r quibus magis es obligatus.
Final rubric:
36r Explicit documentum bone fortune.
On this work, see G. E. Mohan O.F.M., 'Initia Operum Franciscalium (XIII-XV S.): I-Q', Franciscan Studies, 37 (1977), 177*-375* (p. 299*)..
1.3. 36v-39v
Theological extracts
Incipit:
36v De malo alterius es tuum non inquies
Explicit:
39v nisi luctus et anxietas.
1.4. 39v-176r
Theological extracts
Theological extracts
Rubric:
39v Abiectio ambrosius de offic. libro prime In epistola ccxlvij
Incipit:
40r Abiectio dissipuli[sic] detrimentum est magistri
Explicit:
176r Zelum tuum inflammet caritas, informet scientia, firmet
constantia, sit fervidus, sit circumspectus, sit invictus. Nec temporem habeat nec
careat discretione nec timidus
sit.
Final rubric:
176r Explicit.
A series of moral extracts arranged alphabetically.
1.5. 176r
Verse on avoiding rheumatism
Incipit:
176r Tu ieiunabis non cenabis vigilabis | Sepe laborabis modius
potum sociabis | Istis quinque dabis operam sic reuma fugabis.
Added by a contemporary hand.
1.6. 176v
Theological extracts
Incipit:
176v Ypocrite humiles uolunt esse sine despectu
Two other extracts added with the main hand.
2. 189r-204v
Lapidarius metrificatus
Marbod of Rennes
Language(s): Latin
Rubric:
189r Incipit lapidarius metrificatus
Incipit:
189r
Euaus[sic] rex arabum legitur scripsisse Neroni | Qui post augustum regnauit in urbe secundus
Explicit:
204v Calculus unicoloris lapis ex re si uocatus | Intuitu solo facit ut
sis uictor in hostes.
PL 171, 1737–70
WIC 5968
3. 204v-207v
De lapidibus
Thetel
Language(s): Latin
Incipit:
204v In nomine domini hic est preciosus liber magnus de sigillis lapidum et
de uirtutibus eorum quodque fecerunt filii isrl in deserto post exitum de egipto secundum
planetarum motus et cursus
siderum et quia muulti ad similitdudinem huius falso facti sunt in hoc libello subnotamus.
Si inueneris sigillum in
lapidem scultum scilicet uirum sedentem super aratum longibarbatum
Explicit:
207v hoc sigillum fertur habuisse gallienus. ||
Complete text; although A Catalogue of the Manuscripts Preserved in the Library of the University
of Cambridge, II (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1857), p. 546 suggests that the text
ends abruptly
due to missing leaves. For an edition from another manuscript, see Joan Evans, Magical
Jewels (1922), pp. 235-238.
Mesler (2014)
4. 208r
List of French Christian names with their Latin equivalents
Language(s): Latin
Incipit:
208r Constans constancius
Explicit:
208r Marguerite margareta
5. 208v-213r
Facetus
Language(s): Latin
Rubric:
208v Incipit facetus
Incipit:
208v Cum nichil utilius humane credo saluti | Quam morum uidisse modos
et moribus uti
Explicit:
213r In quacumque domum perrexeris ante screato | Quam subeas tussique
loquens et ad hostia stato
Final rubric:
213r Explicit Facetus Girardus sit benedictus
The poem is missing words of 8 lines on due to damage to f. 210.
6. 213v-214r
Untitled poem against women
Language(s): Latin
Incipit:
213v Arbore sub quadam dictauit clericus Adam | Quo modo primus Adam
peccauit in arbore quadam
Explicit:
214r femina sola vale que nomen habes speciale | femina stella maris
sic uirgo maria uocaris
7. 214v-217v
Untitled prose text
Language(s): Latin
Rubric:
214v De Secundo philosofo
Incipit:
214v Secundus fuit philosofus. Hic philosofatus est omni tempore silencium
observans pictagoricam ducens uitam
Explicit:
217v legisset et causam didicisset quare secundus in silencio
philosofaretur precepit eius libros sacros bibliothece inseri et titulari. secundi
philosofi.
8. 218r-223v
Exordia [Forms of letter-writing]
Guido Faba
Language(s): Latin
Rubric:
218r Salutationes
Incipit:
218r Viro prudenti et honesto
Explicit:
223v Premissa igitur graciam actione deuotissima quod me litteris
litterisque talibus nostre dulcissime dilectionis dignatio dignata est uisitare. vobis
notifico etcaetera
9. 223v-225r
Poem on the Holy Name of Jesus [Dulcis iesu memoria]
Pseudo-Benard of Clairvaux
Language(s): Latin
Rubric:
223v Sunt uerba bernhardi beati
Incipit:
225r Dulcis ihesu memoria. dans cordi uera gaudia
Explicit:
225r Tunc amplexus tunc oscula que uincunt mellis pocula tunc felix Christi
copula nec finiet per secula Amen
Final rubric:
225r pauper - frater benedictus - uester
Added by a 15th-century hand; another copy of the text is edited in
André Wilmart, 'Le "Jubilus" sur le nom de Jésus dit de Saint Bernard', Storia e
Letteratura, 2 (Rome, 1944), 146-155 [without this manuscript].
10. 225v
Medical recipe
Language(s): Latin
Rubric:
225v propter tussim et tisicos
Incipit:
225v De abrotano abstinthio vrtica cordeon
Explicit:
225v ysopo dragansia elebero germandrea
The recipe has been added in the 15th century. For cough and
consumption. Another contemporary hand has added: ‘porrum calamentum’.
11. 226r
List of (?) divine names or angels
Incipit:
226r Gelian canchel seriel oriel
The names are repeated three times in the same order; added in the second
half of the 15th or first half of the 16th century.
12. 227v
Proverb
Language(s): Latin
Incipit:
227v Scienti bonum et non facienti peccatum est illi | Recogita Christum
crucifixum et contra omnia inuenies
Copied by a late 15th-century hand.
14. 238r-239v
Florilegium from Aesop's Fables
Language(s): Latin
Rubric:
238r Ysopat
Incipit:
238r Ut iuuet ut prosit conatur pagina presens - incipit | Dulcius
arrident seria picta iocis - ysopat
Explicit:
239v Nemo sibi satis est eget omnis amicus amico | Si non uis aliis
parcere parce tibi
Final rubric:
239v Sors aspera monstrat amicum | Explicit ysopat
15. 239v
Tractatus de brevibus et longis
Language(s): Latin
Rubric:
239v Incipit tracatus de breuibus et longis
Only the rubric remains due to the loss of the next folios; the text has not been
identified, but another item with
the same title occurs in ‘M.XV’ of the catalogue of the Premonstratensian abbey of
Titchfield [see
Hampshire Records of Titchfield Abbey. Catalogue of the Library. De situ et forma
librarie
Monasterii de Tychefeld, ed. by G. W. W. Minns (1892), p. 49..
16. 240r-245v
Decreta metrificata
Language(s): Latin
Rubric:
240r Incipiunt decreta metrificata
Incipit:
240r Si quis in hoc opere facto per metra studere | appetit in genere
decreta potest retinere
Explicit:
245v Versus decreti summatim iure repleti | Cum sit canon ibi debent in
pectore scribi
Final rubric:
245v Explicit
18. 285r
Chapter list for De viribus herbarum
Language(s): Latin
Rubric:
285r Incipiunt capitula macri
Incipit:
285r De arthemisia .1.
Explicit:
285r De aloe - 40
The chapter numbers have been added by a later hand that has also added two entries
which have faded ('De nigellae
36 - De [...]gal - 38).
19. 285v-286r
Medical recipes
Language(s): Latin
Incipit:
285v ad potegram altea vrtica
Explicit:
286r portulaca origanum dauci spigenardi absinthum
Written over erased text, and followed by a partially erased ingredients in the same
15th-century hand. For ?gout ('ad potegram') and kidney pain ('ad dolorem renum').
20. 286v-287r
Medical recipes
Language(s): French
Largely erased, but with a few French words remaining on f. 286r: 'epilance'
(epilepsy); written by the same 15th-century hand that added the
previous item.
21. 287v
Maxim
Language(s): Latin
Incipit:
287v Cito fama crescit sed non cito fama quiescit
Copied by a late 15th-century hand.
22. 287v-288r
Tract on faith healing
Language(s): Latin
Incipit:
287v Dominus noster ihesus Christus dei et virginis filius salus eterna
cordencium qui discipulis suis [?micteli] at in vniversum mondum [sic: mundum] ad
predicandum euangelium omni creature
potestatem dedit ut langores curarent per invocatione sui sanctissimi nominis et per
imposicionem manum
Explicit:
288r dedet plenam sanitatem mentis et corporis In nomine patris
etcaetera
Copied by a late 15th-century hand, followed by an erased recipe for
lepra.
23. 288v
Medical recipes
Language(s): Latin and Middle English
Incipit:
288v Pro auditu [...] jus . rute beonice
Explicit:
288v isti sanant cancrum
Copied by different late 15th-century hands. For hearing ('Pro
auditu'), for a wound, to stop vomiting ('ad vomitum restringere'), and for canker
('cancrum')
Secundo Folio:
2r legittime certauerit
Form: codex
Support:
Parchment (FHHF)
Extent:
Codex:
iii + 289 +
iii leaves.
Paper stubs before f. ii recto and after f. v verso indicate that two later endleaves have been removed: f.
[i] and f. [vi].
120 × 80 mm.
Foliation:
Mid-20th-century foliation:
[a] + ii-iii + 1-289 + iv-v + [b]
Numbering in pencil in the upper right-hand corner of the rectos.
Foliation:
Partial medieval foliation:
10-40 (for ff. 254v-284v)
Foliation in Arabic numerals in the upper left-hand corner of the versos.
Collation
- Quires 1-512 (ff. 1-60)
- Quire 68 (ff. 61-68)
- Quires 7-1712 (ff. 69-200)
- Quire 1812-2 (ff. 201-210: 8th and
9th leaves missing, after f. 207)
- Quires 19-2010 (ff. 211-230)
- Quire 2110-1 (ff. 231-239: 1st leaf
cancelled)
- Quire 226 (ff. 240-245)
- Quires 23-2410 (ff. 246-265)
- Quire 25-2612 (ff. 266-289)
1-512 68 7-1712
1812-2 (8th and 9th missing) 19-2010 2110-1 (1st cancelled) 226 23-2410 25-2612
Catchwords in brown ink in the lower margins of last versos, sometimes in brown
frames with minor decoration
Condition
Part of the lower half of f. 210 was cut out and later repaired with
blank parchment; cuts in the outer margin of f. 81 and the lower margin of f.
125 have been repaired with paper; large vertical cuts in f. 289 and f. 226 and a horizontal cut in f.
234 are sewn with white thread.
Layout
75-80 × 50-55 mm.
Ruled in leadpoint, frame and line ruling, with occasional line ruling. Single columns.
23-28
lines to the page, written below top line.
Hand(s)
The manuscript's main script is Northern Gothica Textualis.
The added text on ff. 223v-225r has been written in a later Northern Gothica Textualis.
Additional recipes and sayings on ff. 225r-227v,
285v-289v are written in different 15th-century cursive
hands, including both Anglicana and Secretary features.
Decoration
Large red initials with brown penwork decoration inside the letter and pen-flourishing,
mostly four- to five-lines,
but opening with a six-line initial on f. 1r with partial (three-sided) border of
pen-flourshing in brown ink with red accents; one initial on f. 61r features
pen-flourishing with a bearded man's head; and one on f. 110r a flower.
One five-line black initial in a frame of red ink and with red pen-flourshing on f.
84r.
Small one- or two-line initials in red, some with some pen flourishing in brown ink.
Abstract and antropomorphic letters 'N' at the beginning of lines on ff. 9r,
46v, 58v, 117r.
One-line capitals highlighted in red.
Diagram lines and line-fillers in red.
Human faces with red accents attached to capitals on or above the upper line on ff.
46v, 71r, 74v, and 117r, some with knotwork decoration.
Headers rubricated in red ink throughout.
Paraphs in red ink throughout.
A frame for a catchwords decorated in the shape of a (?) fish on ff. 104v, 129v.
Run-over symbols include fleurs-de-lis in brown ink that have been highlighted in
red, e.g. f.
146r.
Additions
A table of contents in a 17th-century hand on f. ii recto.
Marginal annotations to the manuscript in 15th-century script throughout ff.
1r-188v.
A collation formula by the hand of
H.L.
Pink
, ?c. 1970 ([b] recto).
Quire signatures ('1-26') 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 largely by a hand of
the 19th/20th century with alterations by H.L. Pink.
Binding
18th-century paneled brown calf consisting of an outer frame of double and a central
frame of triple blind-stamped
lines with corner fleurons.
Binding height: 125 mm, width: 80 mm, depth: 55 mm.
Paper pastedowns on the inside covers contain printed text from a poem drawing from
Classical sources, including
Virgil's Aeneid (see also MS Ff.6.51).
Paper shelf mark labels and gold-tooled spine label of red Russia leather (goldstamped
with the title: 'Tracts
M.S.') from a previous binding have been pasted onto the inside upper cover.
Dark-tanned fore edge.
Rebacked. Three raised bands on the spine. Spine compartments separated with horizontal
blind-tooled fillets on top
of the raised band. The title "Florilegium" tooled in gold and in a rectangular label
affixed to the spine the
class-mark "Ff.6.53" tooled in gold. White head and tail bands.
A note on f. [a] recto by
H.L. Pink
states that the
manuscript was repaired by
Douglas Cockerell and
Son
at Grantchester in
August 1970.
Origin:
2nd half of the 13th century.
; France or England.
Provenance and Acquisition
One of the manuscripts of
Richard Holdsworth (1590-1649)
, Master of Emmanuel College.
Acquired by the University Library in July 1664: no. 180 in the inventory of Holdsworth's
manuscripts compiled by
William Crowe (MS Ff.4.27 / Dd.8.45).
