Oxford, Bodleian Library, Bodl. 851
| England |
| Oxford |
| Bodleian Library |
| Bodl. 851 |
| SC 3041 |
| s. xivex/xv2 |
| English |
| Scribe of ff. 124r-139r - Scribal Dialect: Worcestershire. Linguistic Atlas Grid Reference: 393 253, LP 7700 (McIntosh, Samuels and Benskin 1986, vol. 4, p. 250). Scribe of ff. 141r-208r: Scribal Dialect: Worcestershire. Linguistic Atlas Grid Reference: not mapped (McIntosh, Samuels and Benskin 1986, vol. 4, p. 250). Scribe of ff. 139-40. Language of Suffolk or SE Norfolk (McIntosh, Samuels and Benskin 1986, vol. 1, p. 146). Scribe of ff. 141r-208r, Worcestershire (McIntosh, Samuels and Benskin 1986, vol. 1, p. 146).
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Part 1
A manuscript of three independent sections, the first containing Walter Map's
De Nugis Curialium, the second is an anthology of Latin poems, whilst the third contains
Piers Plowman. The manuscript has been dated to the last quarter of the fourteenth century (Pächt and Alexander, 1973, p. 59) although Rigg favours the early 1370s (1994, p. 31). The volume includes later additions. Part of part three in a fifteenth-century hand. A comprehensive description of this manuscript is given in Rigg (1994, pp. 23-42).
Item: 1| ff. 7r-77r |
| De Nugis Curlialium |
| 'In libro magistri gauteri mahap de nugis curialium'. |
| 'Explicit distinctio quinta libri magistri gauteri mahap de nugis curialium'. |
Ed. by James, rev. Brooke and Mynors 1983.
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Item: 2| ff. 73va-73vb |
| Fall of Carthage |
| 'Narrat flaccensius in hystoriis'. |
| 'vt patet superius per ordenem'. |
James 1914, pp. 260-261.
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Item: 3| f. 74ra-vb |
| Epistola Sathanae |
| 'Poro sobrios viros'. |
| 'vmbra pretereunt non attendant'. |
| A short extract from the 'Epistola Sathane ad vniversalem ecclesiam'. |
Ed. Wattenbach 1892.
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Item: 4| ff. 74va-76va |
| Execution of Archbishop Scrope (1405) |
| 'Quis meo capiti dabit'. |
| 'Vt spretis infimis letemur superis'. |
| 'Explicit processus martirii ricardi scroup eborancensis archiepiscopi'. |
| A later addition. |
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Item: 5| ff. 75ra-76rb |
| Convocacio sacerdotum |
| 'Examinacio sacerdotum propter concubinas'. |
| 'Et qui prius fuerant artibus inbuti'. |
| A later addition. |
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| Codex |
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| 235-245 x 175-180 |
| 14, 22, 312 (wants 1); 4-812. Catchwords: ff. 17v, 29v, 41v, 53v, 65v. |
| Pricking visible. Ruled in drypoint. Writing space of 190 x 145 mm. |
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Scribe of ff. 7ra-73vb, 83va-115vb: Anglicana Formata.
Scribe of ff. 74ra-74va, 81va, 118va-120vb, 116ra-118rb, 124r-139r. Bookplate f. 6v. Writing in a small, neat Anglicana Formata script.
A scribe called Dodsthorpe wrote most of the entries on ff. 2r and 3r, f. 5r-v, ff. 75va-76rb, ff. 120vb-123ra.
Scribe of ff. 74va-75rb writing in a 'sloppy' Anglicana hand.
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F. 6v - elaborate bookplate - the name WELLIS is written in large scrolls; a bear/lion on the left side pulls with his chain at the bow of the W; on the right side St. Christopher carries the Christ-child, and his staff pierces the S extensions. The ascenders of the W of Wells contain the words 'Iste liber constat Fratri Iohanni de' and those of the LL have 'Monacho Rameseye'. Facsimile in Pächt and Alexander (1973, p. 59, Plate LXVI).
Two/three-line blue initials with red penwork, alternating red and blue paraphs, red and blue initials for stanzas, occasional red initials, some initials tinted red, titles and running titles in red.
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| F. 77v worn. |
Part 2
Item: 6| ff. 78ra-80rb |
| Ave virgo |
| 'Venus urit lubrica'. |
| 'Dapibus ambrosiis'. |
Rigg 1978, pp. 111-83.
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Item: 7| ff. 80va-81va |
| De coniuge non ducenda |
| 'Sit deo gloria laus benediccio'. |
| 'Nec dolor coniugis habet remedium. Explicit'. |
Rigg 1986.
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Item: 8| f. 81va |
| Debate between Heart and Eye |
| 'Si quis cordis et oculi non sentit in se iurgia'. |
| 'Nam cordi causam imputat occasionem oculo'. |
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Item: 9| ff. 81vb-89ra |
| Debate between Michael of Cornwall and Henry of Avranches |
| 'Versus magistri michaelis cornubiensis contra magistrum henricum abrincensem coram domino hugone abbate west monasterii et aliis'. |
| 'An sis conductus ductus fur ad fora luctus'. |
Hilka 1926, pp. 123-54.
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Item: 10| ff. 89ra-90rb |
| Fall of Troy |
| 'Excidium troie'. |
| 'Vlcio pugnatur fit machina troia crematur'. |
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Item: 11| ff. 90rb-94va |
| John of Bridlington |
| 'Prophecia cuiusdam de domino edwardo rege anglie tercio post conquestum'. |
| 'Hinc terrena spuens sanctus super ethera scandit'. |
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Item: 12| ff. 94vb-97va |
| Babio |
| 'De babione et croceo domino babionis et viola filiastra babionis quam croceus duxit'. |
| 'Sunt incredibiles vxor alumpna cliens'. |
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Item: 13| ff. 97vb-115vb |
| Speculum stultorum |
| 'Speculum burnelli merito liber iste vocatur cuius sub specie stultorum vita notatur'. |
| 'cauterium admittant. Explicit. Amen'. |
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Item: 14| ff. 116ra-116vb |
| Battle of Neville's Cross 1346 |
| 'Corda superborum scotorum destrue christe'. |
| 'Spes tua conamen victoria lux releuamen'. |
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Item: 15| ff. 116vb-118rb |
| Battle of Crécy |
| 'Francia feminea pharisea vigoris ydea'. |
| 'Gloria solamen sit christus in omnibus amen. Explicit'. |
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Item: 16| f. 118rb |
| Verses |
| 'O niger intrusor et sancte sedis abusor'. |
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Item: 17| ff. 118va-120vb |
| Apocalypsis Goliae |
| 'Apocalipsis magistri galteri mahap super vita et moribus personarum ecclesiasticarum'. |
| 'Mentis vestigia fecisset lubrica. Explicit'. |
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Item: 18| f. 120vb |
| Riddle |
| 'Que noua praua nimis peiora nouissima primis'. |
| 'Montibus vna salit maxillas altera tegit'. |
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Item: 19| ff. 120vb-123ra |
| Geta |
| 'Incipit comedia de geta'. |
| 'Birra geta hominem se fore queque placent'. |
| A later addition. |
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| Codex |
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| x |
| 9-1112, 1210. Catchwords: ff. 89v, 101v, 113v. Ff. 120vb-123v originally blank. |
| Writing space of 190 x 145 mm. Double columns ruled in drypoint. |
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Scribe of ff. 78ra-81va writing in an Anglicana Formata script.
Scribe of ff. 82-89, 81vb-83va writing in an Anglicana Formata script.
Scribe of ff. 74ra-74va, 81va, 118va-120vb, 116ra-118rb, 124r-139r. Bookplate f. 6v. Writing in a small, neat Anglicana Formata script.
Scribe of ff. 7ra-73vb, 83va-115vb writing in an Anglicana Formata script.
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Two/three-line blue initials with red penwork, alternating red and blue paraphs, red and blue initials for stanzas, occasional red initials, some initials tinted red, titles and running titles in red.
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| F. 123v worn. |
Part 3
Item: 20| ff. 124r-208r |
| Piers Plowman, Z-text (IMEV 1459) |
| 'In a somer sesoun wen softe was the sonne'. |
| 'Explicit passus secundus de dobest'. |
| The text is copied in two hands. |
Rigg 1994.
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| Codex |
| Parchment |
| 250 x 175 mm |
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13-148; 15-176; 188; 1910; 20-238. According to Rigg and Brewer (1983, p. 5) ff. 124r-139r are two quires that were 'originally separate from the rest of the manuscript'.
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| Pricking: not visible. Writing space: 190 x 125. Single columns with 50 lines. Ruled in drypoint. Fifteenth-century additions: Writing space: 185 x 125. Frame ruled. |
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Scribe of ff. 74ra-74va, 81va, 118va-120vb, 116ra-118rb, 124r-139r. Bookplate f. 6v. Writing in a small, neat Anglicana Formata script. Characteristics: small hand, looks professional; 2-shaped r in medial; double compartment a; long r in medial; circular reversed e; body height 1.5mm.
Second hand of Piers begins 2/3 way down f. 139r, thicker hand, Anglicana - B-shaped w; sigma s in final and initial position; hooked ascender on b and l; hooked ascender on d; thorn; long s in medial position; double lobed a ; v-shaped r in medial; body height 2mm. A later fifteenth-century hand.
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| F. 124r: initial page: three-sided border elongated seventeen-line capital I in blue and red with red penwork flourishing and a bar border in blue and red blocks extending along the left margin to bottom of page. At corner, roundel in red penwork giving way to more red penwork along the bottom margin. Red penwork along top margin.
Passus divisions marked by four-line blue initials with red penwork flourishing.
Ff. 140-208 (the section added at a later date) are decorated with the first letter of each line tinted red; caesura marked in red; red underlining. Sections marked by two-line red lombards.
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Not medieval. Size: 260 x 175 mm. Brown leather cover with blind tooled triple lines around edges. Pasteboard. Five bands across the spine.
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| ff. 208 |
| Flyleaves of the volume are Ramsey abbey accounts. Ff. 1-4 are an extra quire of flyleaves containing over 70 items mostly in Latin but with some in English and French. As Rigg notes these items are typical of flyleaf poetry of the period being items of local interest, riddles, proverbs, literary extracts, drinking and begging poems etc. (Rigg 1994, p. 38). |
| Good |
| Unknown |
| Inscription, f. 6v, on a scroll on the miniature 'Iste liber constat fratri Johanni de Wellis, monacho Rameseyensi'. was at Gloucester College before 1376, a prominent figure at the Council of Black Friars in 1382, was appointed proctor on behalf of the provincial chapter of English Black Monks to go to Rome to plead for the release of cardinal Adam Easton and died in Perugia in 1388. See also Rigg and Brewer 1983, p. 4 and Hanna 1993. |
Catalogued and encoded: Rebecca Farnham, University of Birmingham, March 2004.
- Boffey, J., and Thompson, J. J., ‘Anthologies and Miscellanies: Production and Choice of Texts’, in Griffiths, J., and Pearsall, D., ed, Book Production and Publishing in Britain 1375-1475, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 279-315, p. 301.
- Doyle, A. I. 1986. ‘Remarks on Surviving Manuscripts of Piers Plowman’, in Simpson, J. and Kratzmann, G., ed, Medieval English Religious and Ethical Literature: Essays in Honour of George H. Russell, Cambridge: D. S. Brewer, pp. 35-48, p. 37.
- Eljenholm-Nichols, A., Orr, M. T., Scott, K. L., and Dennison, L., ed, 2000. An Index of Images in English Manuscripts from the Time of Chaucer to Henry VIII c. 1380 - c. 1509: The Bodleian Library, Oxford, MSS Additional - Digby, vol. 1, Turnhout: Harvey Miller Publishers, pp. 77, n. 325.
- Hanna, R. 1993. ‘Studies in the Manuscripts of Piers Plowman’, Yearbook of Langland Studies, 7, 1-26, pp. 14-23.
- Hilka, A. ed. 1926. ‘Eine mittellateinische Dichterfehde’, in Mittelalterliche Handschriften. Festgabe zum 60. Geburtstage con Hermann Degering, Leipzig.
- James, M. R. ed. and trans. revised by Brooke C. N. L., and Mynors, R. A. B. 1983. De Nugis Curialium, Oxford Medieval Texts, Oxford: Clarendon Press; New York: Oxford University Press.
- James, M. R. 1914. The Library of the Grey Friars of Hereford, British Society of Franciscan Studies 5, Collectanea Franciscana 1, Aberdeen: Typis Academia, pp. 5-6, 11-13.
- Kane, G. 1988. ‘The Text’, in Alford, J. A., ed, A Companion to Piers Plowman, Berkeley: University of California Press, pp. 175-200, p. 178.
- Kerby-Fulton, K. 2000. ‘Professional Readers of Langland at Home and Abroad: New Directions in the Political and Bureaucratic Codicology of Piers Plowman’, in Pearsall, D., ed, New Directions in Later Medieval Manuscript Studies. Essays from the 1998 Harvard Conference, York: The University of York Centre for Medieval Studies, pp. 103-129, p. 111.
- Madan, F., and Craster, H. H. 1922. A Summary Catalogue of Western Manuscripts in the Bodleian Library at Oxford, vol. 2, part 1, Oxford: Clarendon Press, pp. 574-576.
- McIntosh, A., Samuels, M. L. and Benskin, M. 1986. A Linguistic Atlas of Late Medieval English: General Introduction, Index of Sources, Dot Maps, 4 vols, Aberdeen: Aberdeen University Press, 1.
- McIntosh, A., Samuels, M. L. and Benskin, M. 1986. A Linguistic Atlas of Late Medieval English: County Dictionary, 4 vols, Aberdeen: Aberdeen University Press, 4.
- Pächt, O., and Alexander, J. J. G. 1973. Illuminated Manuscripts in the Bodleian Library, Oxford, vol., 3, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. 59, no. 650.
- Rigg, A. G. ed, 1978. ‘A Medieval Poetic Anthology (II)’, Medieval Studies, 40, 387-407 .
- Rigg, A. G. ed. 1986. Gawain on marriage: the textual tradition of the De coniuge non ducenda with critical edition and translation, Studies and Texts, 79, Toronto: Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies.
- Rigg, A. G. 1994. ‘MS Bodley 851’, in Brewer, C., and Rigg, A. G. ed, Piers Plowman: Facsimile of the Z-Text in Bodleian Library, Oxford, Ms Bodley 851, Cambridge: D. S. Brewer, pp. 23-45.
- Rigg, A. G. and Brewer, C. ed. 1983. Piers Plowman: The Z Version, Toronto: Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies. .
- Rigg, A. G., and Brewer, C., ed, 1994. Piers Plowman: Facsimile of the Z-Text in Bodleian Library, Oxford, MS Bodley 851, Cambridge: D. S. Brewer.
- Russell, G. and Kane G., ed, 1997. Piers Plowman: the C version: Will’s Visions of Piers Plowman, Do-well, Do-Better and Do-Best, London: Athlone Press, p. 17.
- Skeat, W. W., ed, 1873. The Vision of William Concerning Piers the Plowman secundum wit et resoun: together with Dowell, Dobet, et Dobest, by William Langland: The ‘Whitaker’ text; or Text C, EETS, os, 54, London: Trübner, 3, pp. xxx-xxxiii.
- Wattenbach, W. 1892. Über erfundene Briefe in Handschriften des Mittelaters, besonders Teufelsbriefe, Sitzungsberichte der koniglich preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin, Erster Band, pp. 91-123, pp. 104-16.
