Cambridge, University Library, MS Ii.3.17
Alchemical and Astrological Texts
Physical Description
19th and mid-20th-century foliation:
[i]-[iv] + 1-47 ; 48-159 | 160-161 + [v]-[viii]
Numbering in pencil in the upper right-hand corner of the rectos by multiple hands, principally Henry Bradshaw (1831-1886) , and including corrections by his own hand and later by H.L. Pink .Collation
A composite manuscript consisting of a larger Part of 159 leaves (itself apparently comprising two codicological units), and two leaves recycled from another manuscript at the end of the volume:
- Quire 112 (ff. 1-12)
- Quire 212-1 (11th leaf missing, stub visible; ff. 13-23)
- Quires 3-412 (ff. 24-47) ;
- Quire 58 (ff. 48-55)
- Quire 610 (ff. 56-65)
- Quires 7-128 (ff. 66-113)
- Quires 13-1512 (ff. 114-149)
- Quire 1610 (ff. 150-159) |
- Two leaves (ff. 160-161)
112 212-1 (11th leaf missing, stub visible) 3-412; 58 610 7-128 13-1512 1610 | two leaves
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 ('1-16') 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 a hand of the 19th/20th century (with additions by ?H.L. Pink; see below).
'These two flyleaves are Digest 45.1': annotation in ink by Charles Sayle (1864-1924) (f. [v] recto).
Collation formula by the hand of H.L. Pink , written in pencil on f. [viii] verso.
Binding
17th-century binding. Rebacked and extensively repaired in the 20th century by J.P. Gray and Son, bookbinders of Cambridge; Gray stamp visible on the turn in above the front pastedown. Covers are sprinkled calf over paste or mill board with matching decoration in blind to each cover. Covers are decorated with a narrow double-fillet at the perimeter of the boards and a dotted single-fillet inset from the perimeter of the boards by c. 20mm. Small fleurons at each corner of the dotted-fillet frame, positioned between the dotted-fillet frame and the double-fillet frame. Head, fore and tail edges of the covers decorated with a double-fillet.
Spine is green-brown leather. Five raised bands with double-fillet decoration at the upper and lower perimeter of each compartment and at the upper and lower openings of the spine. Spine is capped at head and tail: head and tail bands are not visible. A title 'ALCHEMICA' tooled in gold on the spine in one compartment and 'Ii.3.17' for the current shelfmark tooled in gold in another.
Paper pastedowns pasted over the turn ins. The right pastedown is blank. The front pastedown contains:
- A former CUL shelfmark of the 'Greek letter type' in ink: #.H.η.16
- A title for the volume in ink: 'Rosarium Medicum'
- A former catalogue number for the volume in ink: 280
- The current shelfmark in ink: Ii.3.17
- A record in Latin of the donation of the volume by John Rant of Gonville and Caius in 1655
- A Cambridge University Library bookplate
- A 'D' in pencil - the size-based classification system used for manuscripts in Cambridge University Library
Four paper flyleaves (watermark of a vase with flowers) at each end of the volume (ff. [i]-[iv] and [v]-[viii] probably contemporary with this binding.
Binding height: 295 mm, width: 200 mm, depth: 45 mm.
Small puncture at the centre of ff. 160-161, the perimeter of the hole stained green. This damage is typically caused by brass (or other copper-alloy) book furniture such as a staple, boss, or fastening plate. There are no metal features on the present binding and as the damage appears on leaves that would probably not have been endleaves in their original legal manuscript context, it is likely that a previous binding for the entire composite volume included a metal fitting in the centre of the back board.
History
Provenance and Acquisition
?Ownership inscription of a Wylhemus Chausey in a 15th or 16th century hand: 'Ego Wylhelmus Chausey publicus' (f. 161r).
?Ownership inscription of a William Martyn in 15th- or 16th-century hand: 'Ego Wylhelmus Martyn publicus' (f. 162r).
Given to Cambridge University Library in 1655 by
John Rant
(c. 1610-1658)
, fellow of Gonville
and Caius College. An inscription recording his donation is written in ink on the
front pastedown: 'Ex dono ornatissimi simul et doctissimi viri Johannis Rant olim
Collegii Gon. & Caii socii dignissimi 1655'.
Part 1: Alchemical and Astrological Texts [Cambridge, University Library, MS Ii.3.17, ff. 1-47, 48-159]
Contents
Collection of chemical, alchemical and medical recipes and charms added by multiple contemporary hands. Ff. 1r-2v barely legible. Entries numbered in the the margins, and a list of numbered entry titles (nos. 15-204) added to the outer or lower margins of ff. 3r-28r.
Rubric added to the margin by a 15th-century hand.
Full transcription. Marked as 'Experimentum' by a 15th-century rubric and a marginal note by a 16th-century hand. Not stated explicitly, but the intention is that the words are written on a strip of parchment or paper, and then used as an amulet to facilitate childbirth.
Against wounds, fistula and canker / gangrene.
Includes the following rubrics:
- 'ad faciendum oleum vitreatum'
- 'ad faciendum argentum finum'
- 'ad dealbandum sulphur vi' (sic)
- 'Modus faciendi Risalgar'
- 'Descripcio elixir'
Full transcription.
Excerpt from ch. 20.
Dicta interspersed among the alchemical recipes noted above and continuing thereafter, including citations of Hermes, Diascorides, Aristotilis, Nicholaus, Tullius, Frater Philippus de ordine predicatorum, Socrates, Avicenna, Galen, Arturus, Asser 'sive Assen filius', Belenus, Johannis de Anglia and Maurenus.
Full transcription.
Full transcription
Full transcription.
Full transcription.
Against snake bite or the bite of any venomous aniaml.
The text begins with a short prologue on f. 44r.
The following Item is in a different hand, but it may be a continuation of this text by a different scribe.
There is a short prologue on f. 44r, followed by some alchemical recipes. The first alchemical recipe on f. 44r begins: 'Recipe calcis unam partem et de ydrogiros 3 partes
This item is possibly a continuation of the previous item in another hand.
Followed by a note in the lower margin added in a small hand: 'Dicendum est de proiectione post absolucionem cum peruentus fuit ...'
Rubric added by a 15th-century hand. Also in Wolfenbüttel, Herzog August Library, Cod. Guelf. 433 Helmst. 284r-284v, and Leiden, UB, Voss. chyme F 1, 127r-127v.
Singer (1928) Corr. 113.vi proposes that this Item and the next may be parts of the same text.
Rubric written by a 16th-/17th-century hand. Singer (1928) Corr. 113.vi proposes that this Item and the previous may be parts of the same text.
The explicit contains a dating clause which records that the translation into Latin was completed 'millesima centesima octogesima secunda in mense februarii et in eius die undesimo in hora octava eiusdem diei', i.e., at the 8th hour of the 11th of February 1182.
This is the translation attributed to Robert of Chester . Another copy of the text with a similar explicit is Oxford, Bodleian Libraries, MS Digby 162, f. 23r)
This appears to be a translation of the 'Alumen de Hispania'.
After the explicit, there are 6 lines of verse in Latin, typically found as the concluding lines of Latin versions of this text: 'Maria mira sonat hic breuiter talia donat ... Gaudet in assata Sociata per tria sata' (See Singer (1928) 790, 817; Timmerman, 'Prose Texts', esp. p. 311; and cf. eTK 0849C).
'Ad laxandum ventre' (to loosen the stomach) and 'Contra paralisim lingue' (against paralysis of the tongue / ?loss of speech).
Added by a different but contemporary hand, extending into the bottom margin. 'Ad trammutatio' (i.e. transmutation) and 'Ad solem' (i.e. gold).
Medieval copies of this text are often attributed to Aristotle or Abū Bakr al-Rāzī.
A text with a very similar incipit is in Bologna, University Library, MS 138 (104), ff. 310v-315v.
Some of the minor sections of text in this Item closely resemble passages of text found in Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, MS Lat. 6514, ff. 41v-53r , some of which is printed in J. Corbett, Catalogue des Manuscrits Alchemiques Latins (Bruxelles, 1939), pp. 294-309. In particular, see the alchemical preparations described in the lower half of CUL MS Ii.3.17, ff. 92r, and Corbett, p. 300, Recettes 7-9 (et seq.). See also eTK 0265J (t0051180000) and 1535L (t0293690000) for other possible identifications of parts of this Item.
In a different hand from the preceding text.
See https://www.mirabileweb.it/title/epistola-ad-hasen-regem-de-re-recta-title/127222.
For the medicinal potion known as 'Antioche'.
Interspersed among the alchemical recipes. They address the following:
- against aposteme/swelling ('...purgat corpus humanum (?)ablutioni apostema...) (f. 112v)
- for ?leprosy ('Vt mulier appareat leprosa')
- for ?poor sight ('Si vis miser videri')
- two for ?sleeplessness/insomnia ('Vt narret dormiendo quod fecerit')
- two for purposes rendered illegible by later erasure (f. 113r)
- a proven remedy for flux of the stomach ('propter fluxum ventris probatus', in margin)
See Timmermann (2015) for list of subtitles.
See Timmermann (2015) for list of subtitles. Singer (1928) 28.v and Corr. 28.v does not recognise as separate text.
See also Cambridge, University Library, MS Add. 4087, ff. 129r-130v .
It is not clear if this is one text or several combined texts. Other possible incipits:
- 135v: DIxit ieberbenhayen Sal est radix huius operis
- 139r: IN lxx'a quinque ponitur venus pro cupro quinque stagnum de preparacione secundum morienum
Attributed to Kindī in the manuscript.
See Mirabile.
Followed by one paragraph:
See http://www.mirabileweb.it/title/de-duodecim-aquis-title/167204
At least five items, some without titles.
Another hand added rubric in the upper margin: "De preparacionibus metallorum". Text ends imperfectly; followed by catchwords 'devant L a primere(?)'.
Physical Description
Collation
- Quire 112 (ff. 1-12)
- Quire 212-1 (ff. 13-23: 11th leaf missing, stub visible)
- Quires 3-412 (ff. 24-47)
- Quire 58 (ff. 48-55)
- Quire 610 (ff. 56-65)
- Quires 7-128 (ff. 66-113)
- Quires 13-1512 (ff. 114-149)
- Quire 1610 (ff. 150-159)
Sequence of Roman numeral leaf signatures in red ink visible in the lower outer corner of some of the rectos in the first half of Quires 2 and 4. Occasional medieval leaf signatures in Hindu-Arabic numerals in light brown ink in the upper outer corner of ff. 1-49.
Another sequence of medieval leaf signatures visible in the lower outer corner of some of the rectos in the first halves of Quires 8-10; Quire 8 has partial 'b' signatures, and Quires 9 and 10 have clear 'c' and 'd' signatures, so this particular sequence probably began with a set of 'a' signatures in Quire 7 (now presumably lost to trimming).
No quire signatures particular to this Part.
Catchwords on ff. 12v, 23v, 35v, 55v, 65v, 73v, 81v, 89v, 97v, 104v, 125v, 137v, 149v, 159v.Condition
Layout
215-20 × 117-32 mm. Frame and line ruling in plummet, faintly up to f. 47 and more strongly thereafter, bounding lines extended to the edge of the leaf. Ruled in single-column format, 29-38 lines to the page, written below top line. No pricking visible.
Hand(s)
Written by several scribes, in Anglicana up to f. 46v, and Anglicana formata from f. 48r onwards (and for additions to ff. 46v-47v). An enlarged style of Anglicana formata is used as a display script for rubrics and chapter headings from f. 48r onward.
Decoration
Red and blue initials and pilcrows.
Alchemical marginal sketches:
- 20r distilling apparatus
- 24r 'locus ignis'
- 47v table of alchemical symbols
- 113v circular diagram of planetary system
History
Part 2: Fragment of Justinian's Digest [Cambridge, University Library, MS Ii.3.17, ff. 160-161]
Contents
Language(s): Middle English
In the lower margin, in a different hand to the main text. 'Secundum M A' in the margin.
Physical Description
Collation
No leaf signatures particular to this Part.
No quire signatures particular to this Part.
No catchwords particular to this Part.Condition
Layout
140 × 120 mm. Ruled in leadpoint, frame and lines. Ruled in two-column format, trimmed along the top edge of the leaf with text lost, but 37-38 lines of text visible in each column. Pricking marks visible along lower edge of leaves.
Hand(s)
The main text is written in a northern textualis libraria of the 13th century.
Decoration
Outline sketches in the lower margins of f. 160r and f. 161r in faint leadpoint or crayon of a man's head in profile wearing a coif.
Flourished initials at divisions of the text; plain red or blue initials with the other colour used for small flourishes that extend only slightly into the adjacent margin.
Plain initials in red or blue at minor divisions of the text.
Occasional paraph marks in red or blue.
History
Additional Information
Record Sources
- A. Timmermann, 'Alchemy in Cambridge: an annotated catalogue of alchemical texts and illustrations in Cambridge repositories',Nuncius: Journal of the Material and Visual History of Science 30:2 (2015) 345-511 at pp. 493-96
- D.W. Singer, Latin Alchemical MSS, 3 vols (Brussels 1928-1931)
- 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
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Custodial History
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)
Notes on Some Manuscripts of the Mappae Clavicula Speculum, Johnson, Rozelle P. (10, 1, 72-81, 1935, http://www.jstor.org/stable/2848238)
La technique de l'enluminure d'après les textes medievaux: essai de bibliographie, Avril, François (Paris, Bibliothèque nationale, 1967)
The original text of the Latin 'Morienus' Ambix: the journal of the society for the
study of alchemy and early Christianity, Stavenhagen, Lee (17, 1, 1-12, 1970)
Anglo-Norman literature: a guide to texts and manuscripts Anglo-Norman Text Society
occasional publications series, Dean, Ruth J.Boulton, Maureen Barry McCann (London, Anglo-Norman Text Society, 1999)
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)
The Medicine of the Friars in Medieval England Health and Healing in the Middle Ages, Jones, Peter Murray (Woodbridge, Boydell & Brewer, 2024, https://www.jstor.org/stable/jj.5558126)
Funding of Cataloguing
Wellcome
Digital Images
Abbreviations
View list of abbreviations and editorial conventions.
