Add MS 48984

The British Library Catalogue of Additions to the Manuscripts 1951-1955, 3 vols (London: British Museum, 1982), I, pp. 239-40:

'THE FORTY HOMILIES of St Gregory the Great on the Gospels, in two books, with the prefatory letter to Secundinus, Bishop of Tauromenium; late 12th cent. Latin. Imperfect at the end by the loss of one leaf after f. 126b. Printed by Migne., Patr. Lat., lxxvi, cols. 1075-1312. For other texts see Royal MSS. 6 A. iii, ff. 55-131, 6 A. xiii, ff. 2-165b, 6 B. v, ff. 2-73b; Harley MSS. 3036, ff. 4-132, 3048; and Add. MS. 15827, ff. 123-178. Four of the homilies are at ff. 251-256 in Add. MS. 14791 (of which the other two parts are Fulda, Landesbibliothek MS. Aa 16, and New York, Pierpont Morgan Library, M.11). For single leaves of manuscripts of the homilies see also Add. MS. 44085, f. 1, and Egerton MS. 2239, f. 39. Vellum; ff. xvii+128. 360 mm. ×260 mm. XII cent. (last quarter). Executed in England in an early Gothic bookhand. Gatherings of eight leaves, except xvi (last)4 lacks 4; ff. 1-3, 127, 128 are fly-leaves. Signatures in roman numerals on the versos of the last leaves of all but the imperfect last gathering, that on the second being ornamented in red (f. 19b). Contemporary foliation in roman numerals on the outer margins of the versos of leaves from f. 5b to f. 126b. Double columns of thirty-four lines. Ruled in lead. At the beginning (f. 4) is a badly corroded initial 'R' in red penwork, filled in with blue, on a green ground, the tail of which is an animal. On f. 5 is a large 'I' with a pattern of half-lozenges, topped by an animal's head, in red, blue and green. On f. 13b is a smaller 'I' in the shape of an elongated animal seen from the top. Other penwork initials at the beginnings of individual homilies in plain blue, red, green and buff, some with simple flourishes or penwork in a contrasting colour. Two lions or similar animals have been added in green by an apparently contemporary hand in the lower margins of ff. 123, 124. Binding of medieval wooden boards, reversed at least once, with a modern brown levant backing by W. H. Smith and Son, Ltd. The boards were formerly covered in a 19th cent. russia binding. Some marginal notes have been added in a later hand. On f. 127 are two early 13th cent. notes of:-(1) Expenses of Brother Jewaf Talrein for work on land at Llanllechau, in Tredunnock, Monmouthshire, held of the sons of Meurihc;-(2) A loan by Kedivor, son of John, son of Edwi, to Brother Philip, son of Seisil, to build the mill of 'Maistyr' Kanvaur, 1204. Originally owned by Caerleon (afterwards Llantarnam) Abbey, Monmouthshire, the manuscript was given by it in 1248 (see a contemporary note, etc., on f. 3b) to another Cistercian house, Hailes Abbey in Gloucestershire, at the request of Richard, Earl of Cornwall (afterwards King of the Romans), brother of Henry III and founder (1246) of Hailes Abbey. The name 'Thomas Bristow' is written in a hand of about 1500 on f. 1. Lot 220 (see printed label on f. 1) in the sale of Job Walden Hanmer, barrister (W. H. Hammond, 22 Aug. 1850). Bought by Sir Thomas Phillipps, Bart. (MS. 12357; see ff. ii, iii), and later passed into the hands of W. H. Robinson, Ltd. Bought from them in 1947 by Eric George Millar, D. Litt., Keeper of Manuscripts, British Museum (printed label at f. i), from whom it was acquired by the Department. At ff. iv-xvii is a letter from him, 1 Nov. 1955, enclosing a description of the manuscript, with other related material (mostly typewritten). In this he refers to another manuscript of his containing the same text, which later became the property of Mr B. S. Cron (MS. 9; see also Brit. Mus. Quart., xxxiii, 1968-1969, p. 13)'.