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Cotton MS Claudius C IX
- Record Id:
- 040-001102508
- Hierarchy Root Ancestor Record Id:
- 032-001101582
- MDARK:
- ark:/81055/vdc_100000001246.0x000323
- LARK:
- ark:/81055/vdc_100062812800.0x000001
- SLARK:
- Format:
- ISAD(G)
- Reference (shelfmark):
- Cotton MS Claudius C IX
- Title:
-
Hugh of Saint-Victor, Chronicle; annalistic chronicle, AD 1–1171; William of Malmesbury, Gesta regum Anglorum; Notarial copy of letters patent of Queen Elizabeth I of England (r. 1558–1603), issued at Hereford Cathedral; Charters of Kings Edward I (r. 1272–1307) and Henry III (r. 1216–72) of England for the Abingdon Abbey; Award of Norham, addressed to the abbot and convent of Battle; Liber terrarum of Abingdon Abbey and other memoranda
- Scope & Content:
-
This composite manuscript consists of three parts that were produced separately in England during the 12th and 13th centuries. The first part (ff. 4-17), written in the 2nd half of the 12th century, contains the Chronicle of the theologian Hugh of Saint-Victor (b. c. 1096, d. 1141). The second part (ff. 18-103), written in the 1st half of the 13th century, contains the Gesta Regum Anglorum (Deeds of the Kings of England) by William of Malmesbury (b. c. 1090, d. 1142), historian, man of letters, and Benedictine monk. The third part (ff. 105-202), written in the 2nd half of the 12th century and late 13th century, contains the Liber Terrarum (Book of the Lands) of the Benedictine abbey of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Abingdon. The manuscript ends with a section (ff. 204-209) of indices, notes and letters that were added to the 3rd part in the 1st half of the 17th century by Sir Simonds D’Ewes (b. 1602, d. 1650), first baronet, diarist and antiquary. The separate parts were joined together in the library of Sir Robert Bruce Cotton (b. 1571, d. 1631), 1st baronet, antiquary and politician. The manuscript’s final flyleaf (f. [210]recto) appears to contain previously unnoticed excerpts from an unidentified late medieval morality play – a ‘genre’ of which only five examples survive in Middle English - or dream allegory.
Contents:
ff. 4r-12r: Hugh of Saint-Victor (b. c. 1096, d. 1141), Chronicle.
ff. 12v-17v: Annalistic chronicle, AD 1-438, 629-1178 (final entry 1171), with entries added in a 12th- or 13th-century hand on ff. 17r-17v; in 14th- or 15th-century hand on f. 15r.
ff. 18r-102v: William of Malmesbury, Gesta Regum Anglorum.
ff. 102v-103r: Award of Norham, 5-6 June 1291 (attested by William March, Treasurer, 9 July 1291), addressed to the abbot and community of Battle, rubricated ‘Compositio inter dominum Edwardum regem Anglie et magnates Scotie’, written in Latin and Anglo-Norman c. 1291.
ff. 105r-202r: Liber Terrarum (Book of the Lands) [Cartulary], of the Benedictine abbey of St Mary the Virgin, Abingdon [including Old English boundary clauses]; features various later additions, see the separate description for Cotton MS Claudius E IX, ff. 105-202.
The manuscript contains a number of later additions:
f. 203r: Charter of Edward I, king of England (r. 1272-1307), for the abbot and community of Abingdon, York, 4 October 1301.
f. 203r: Charter of Henry III, king of England (r. 1216-72), for Abbot William (r. 1256-60) and the community of Abingdon, entitled ‘De warennis in comitatibus Berk’, Oxon’ et Glocestr’’, 20 March 1257.
f. 103r: A Latin verse, 'veritas liberavit nos', added in the (?) 14th century.
f. [210]recto: Two excerpts from a morality play or allegorical work, as suggested by the second quotation, on money, written in Middle English in the late 15th or early 16th century: ‘Here I conclude and make my ende / he þat lackes Money wanteth a frende’; ‘Money maketh many men Mad quod Might’.
f. 195r: A late medieval or early modern parchment leaf, with ?16th-century note in the upper margin of f. 195r.
f. 104r: A title, 'Historia Abbatiae Abbendonensis de rebus & terries eiusdem ecclesiae duobus distincta Libris', added in the 17th century.
ff. 204r-209v: Indices for and notes on Abingdon’s Liber Terrarum, added in several hands, primarily that of Sir Simonds D’Ewes (d. 1650); this section also includes two letters to Sir Simonds D’Ewes, one written by Roger Dodsworth (d. 1654), dated 16 January 1645/6 (sealed); the other by John Rawson, undated.
f. 2r: Title-page to Lucius Annaeus Seneca, The Works both Morall and Natural, trans. by T. Lodge (London, 1614), added in the library of Sir Robert Bruce Cotton (b. 1571, d. 1631).
f. 3r: A table of contents added by the so-called ‘Stylized Hand’, a scribe working for Sir Robert Bruce Cotton.
[ff. 1v, 2v, 3v, 104v, 185r, 195v, and 203v are blank].
Decoration:
See the separate description of Cotton MS Claudius C IX, ff. 1, 4-17, 18-103, 105-202, 204-209, 203.
- Collection Area:
- Western Manuscripts
- Project / Collection:
- Cotton Collection
England and France 700-1200 Project - Hierarchy Record Ids:
- 032-001101582
040-001102508 - Is part of:
- Cotton MS : Cotton Manuscripts
Cotton MS Claudius C IX : Hugh of Saint-Victor, Chronicle; annalistic chronicle, AD 1–1171; William of Malmesbury, Gesta regum Anglorum;… - Contains:
- Cotton MS Claudius C IX, f 1 : Notarial copy of letters patent of Queen Elizabeth I of England (r. 1558–1603), issued at Hereford Cathedral
Cotton MS Claudius C IX, ff 4–17 : Hugh of Saint-Victor, Chronicle; annalistic chronicle, AD 1–1171
Cotton MS Claudius C IX, ff 18–103 : William of Malmesbury, Gesta regum Anglorum; Award of Norham, addressed to the abbot and convent of Battle
Cotton MS Claudius C IX, ff 105–202 : Liber Terrarum of Abingdon Abbey and other memoranda, including Old English boundary–clauses
Cotton MS Claudius C IX, f 203 : Charters of Kings Edward I (r. 1272–1307) and Henry III (r. 1216–72) of England for the Abingdon Abbey
Cotton MS Claudius C IX, ff 204–209 : Abingdon indices, notes and letters
Click here to View / search full list of parts of Cotton MS Claudius C IX - Hierarchy:
- 032-001101582[0580]/040-001102508
- Container:
- View / search within Archive / Collection: Cotton MS
- Record Type (Level):
- File
- Extent:
-
A parchment codex
- Digitised Content:
- https://iiif.bl.uk/uv/#?manifest=https://bl.digirati.io/iiif/ark:/81055/vdc_100062812800.0x000001
- Thumbnail:
-
- Languages:
- Anglo-Norman
English
English, Middle
English, Old
Latin - Scripts:
- Latin
- Start Date:
- 1150
- End Date:
- 1649
- Date Range:
- 2nd half of the 12th century-1st half of the 17th century
- Era:
- CE
- Access:
- Restrictions to access apply please consult British Library staff
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- User Conditions:
- Letter of introduction required to view this manuscript
- Physical Characteristics:
-
Conditions: Intact.
Materials: Parchment; Paper (ff. 2, 204-209).
Dimensions: 305 x 220 mm [ff. 1, 4-202]; 290 x 190 mm [f. 203]; 305 x 185 mm [ff. 204r-209v] (text space: 225 x 210 mm [f. 1r]; 250 x 170 mm [ff. 4r-11v]; 250 x 155-160 mm [ff. 12v-17v]; 240-245 x 170-175 mm, in 2 columns [ff. 18r-103r]; 240-245 x 170-175 mm [ff. 105r-202v]; 290 x 190 mm [f. 203]; 305 x 185 [ff. 204r-209v]).
Foliation: ff. 209 ( + 3 unfoliated modern paper flyleaves at the beginning + 1 unfoliated parchment flyleaf and 4 unfoliated modern paper flyleaves at the end); 1 unfoliated modern paper between f. 207 and f. 208 (f. [207a]); ff. 2-3, and 104 are early modern parchment leaves; ff. 2r, 204-209 are early modern paper leaves; f. [207a]recto contains a square piece of cardboard with a circular cut-out, serving as a protective cover for a red wax seal on f. 207v; 1 unfoliated parchment stub between f. 14 and f. 15; f. 126 and f. 127; f. 136 and f. 137; f. 174 and f. 175; and f. 184 and f. 185; 1 unfoliated paper stub between f. 102 and f. 103; f. 160 and f. 161; and f. 200 and f. 201; ff. 201-209, [210], and [211] are smaller leaves and have been mounted on paper strips; all quires have been mounted on paper guards. The manuscript has been foliated with the sequence ‘1-210’ in 1868 (crossed out) and ‘1-209’ in 1970 in pencil, replacing a pre-1731 foliation in ink with the sequence ‘1-207’ (crossed out); a note of foliation on the 1970-foliation on f. [211]recto.
Script: Protogothic (4r-103r; 105r-202v); Gothic cursive (f. 1r; 178r-178v, 182r-182v, 184r-184v, 185v-187r, 193v-194v); Humanistic cursive (ff. 204r-209v).
Binding: British Museum/British Library in-house: rebound in 1982 (stamp inside upper cover). Brown half leather binding; Cotton’s bookplate gold-stamped on the upper and lower covers, the spine inscribed in gold at the British Museum: ‘CHRONICON AD ANNUM 1171, ETC.’; the boards from the 1839 British Museum binding are kept separately.
- Custodial History:
-
Provenance:
Sir Robert Bruce Cotton (b. 1571, d. 1631), 1st baronet, antiquary and politician: the manuscript is listed in his catalogues; his bookplates gold-stamped on the upper and lower covers; his pressmark on f. 1v; his name (‘Ro. Cotton Bruceus’) inscribed in the lower margin of ff. 4r, 18r and 105; a table of contents has been added to f. 3r by the so-called ‘Stylized Hand’, an unknown scribe who added tables of contents in Cotton’s most important manuscripts; a printed title-page also found in other Cotton manuscripts (Lucius Annaeus Seneca, The Works both Morall and Natural, trans. by T. Lodge (London, 1614)) has been added in his library; a mark also found in other Cotton manuscripts on f. 1v; the manuscripts has a type of fore-edge inscription (now illegible due to rebinding) that is also found in other Cotton manuscripts (see Tite, The Early Records (2003), pp. 125-26).
Cotton’s collection was augmented by his son, Sir Thomas Cotton (b. 1594, d. 1662), 2nd baronet, and his grandson, Sir John Cotton.
Sir John Cotton (b. 1621, d. 1702), 3rd baronet: bequeathed the entire Cotton collection of books and manuscripts to trustees ‘for Publick Use and Advantage’, 12 and 13 William III, c. 7. Formed one of the foundation collections of the British Museum in 1753.
The British Museum: possibly added ff. 203-209 to Cotton MS Claudius C IX.
- Information About Copies:
- Full digital coverage available for this manuscript; see Digitised Manuscripts, https://bl.uk/manuscripts/.
- Publications:
-
Anglo-Saxon Charters, ed. by Agnes Jane Robertson, 2nd edn (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1956), p. 299.
Calendar of the Charter Rolls preserved in the Public Record Office, 6 vols (London: Mackie for H. M. Stationery Office, 1903-1927), I (1903): Henry III, A.D. 1226-1257, ed. and trans. by Maxwell, H. C., Crump, C. G. and Trimmer, R. D., p. 121.
Charters of Abingdon Abbey, ed. by Susan E. Kelly, 2 vols, Anglo-Saxon Charters, 7-8 (Oxford: Oxford University Press for the British Academy, 2000-2001) I: pp. liii-lviii; II: pp. 585-91.
Clever, Laura, Illuminated History Books in the Anglo-Norman World, 1066-1272 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018), pp. 127-28, 138, 141.
Davis, Godfrey Rupert Carless, Medieval Cartularies of Great Britain and Ireland, revised edition by Claire Breay, Julian Harrison and David M. Smith (London: The British Library, 2010), p. 1 (no. 3).
Douglas, David Charles, ‘Some Early Surveys from the Abbey of Abingdon’, English Historical Review, 44 (1929), 618-25.
English Historical Documents, ed. by David Charles Douglas and others, 12 vols (London: Eyre and Spottiswoode, Routledge, 1953-1977), II (1953; 2nd edn, 1981): 1042-1189, ed. by David Charles Douglas and George W. Greenway, p. 975.
Garnett, George, Conquered England: Kingship, Succession, and Tenure 1066-1166 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007), p. 68 n. 193.
Gelling, Margaret, 'The Hill of Abingdon', Oxoniensia, 22 (1957), 54-62.
Green, William M., ‘Hugo of St Victor De tribus maximis circumstantiis gestorum’, Speculum, 18 (1943), 484-93 [without this manuscript].
Hall, Hubert, The Red Book of the Exchequer, 3 vols, Rolls Series (London: Longman, 1896), I, pp. 305-306.
Harmer, Florence Elizabeth, Anglo-Saxon Writs (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1952), p. 122.
Harrison, Julian, ‘The English reception of Hugh of Saint-Victor’s Chronicle’, Electronic British Library Journal (2002), 1-33 (3, 12-15, 27 n. 104, 30 n. 128).
Harrison, Julian, ‘Hugh of Saint-Victor’s Chronicle in the British Isles’, in Schrift, Schreiber, Schenker: Studien zur Abtei Sankt Viktor in Paris und den Viktorinern, ed. by Rainer Berndt, Corpus Victorinum, Instrumenta, 1 (Berlin: Akademie Verlag, 2005), pp. 263-92 (264, 273-74).
Hudson, John, ‘The Abbey of Abingdon, Its Chronicle and the Norman Conquest’, Anglo-Norman Studies, 19 (1997 for 1996), pp. 181-201.
Hudson, John, Historia Ecclesie Abbendonensis: The History of the Church of Abingdon, 2 vols (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2002-2007), I (2007): pp. xxii-xxvi, lxx-lxxiv, clxxvii-clxxxv; II (2002): pp. xxx-xxxvi, 2-321, 378-399.
Jaffé, Philippe, Regesta Pontificum Romanorum ab condita ecclesia ad annum post Christum natum MCXCVIII, 2 vols, 2nd edn (Leipzig: Veit, 1885-188), pp. 303 (no. 12782); 317 (no. 12981).
Keynes, Simon, Studies on Anglo-Saxon Royal Diplomas (unpublished doctoral thesis, Trinity College, Cambridge, 1976), pp. 70-77.
Laing, Margaret, Catalogue of Sources for a Linguistic Atlas of Early Medieval English (Woodbridge: Brewer, 1993), p. 72.
Liebermann, Felix, Ungedruckte Anglo-Normannische Geschichtsquellen (Strasbourg: Trübner, 1879), pp. 35-49.
Medieval Libraries of Great Britain: A List of Surviving Books, ed. by Neil Ripley Ker, 2nd edn, Royal Historical Society Guides and Handbooks, 3 (London: Royal Historical Society, 1964), p. 3.
Parkes, Malcolm, Their Hands Before Our Eyes: A Closer Look at Scribes: The Lyell Lectures Delivered in the University of Oxford, 1999 (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2008), p. 17 n. 19.
Sawyer, Peter Hayes, Anglo Saxon Charters: An Annotated List and Bibliography (London: Royal Historical Society, 1968), p. 269 (no. 876).
Slade, C. F., and Gabrielle Lambrick, Two Cartularies of Abingdon Abbey, 2 vols, Oxford Historical Society, n.s. 32-33 (Oxford, 1990-92), I, p. 15.
Stevenson, Joseph, Chronicon Monasterii de Abingdon, 2 vols, Rolls Series (London: Longman, 1858), I, pp. xiv–xvii, II: pp. 245-49, 297-334.
Stones, Edward Lionel, Edward I and the Throne of Scotland, 1290-1296: An Edition of the Record Sources for the Great Cause, 2 vols (Oxford: Oxford University Press for the University of Glasgow, 1978), II, pp. 120, 68, 74.
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle: A Collaborative Edition, 9 vols [23 vols planned] (Cambridge: Brewer, 1983-ongoing), X (1996): The Abingdon Chronicle, pp. xxxi-xxxiii.
Tite, Colin G. C., The Early Records of Sir Robert Cotton’s Library: Formation, Cataloguing, Use (London: The British Library, 2003), p. 125.
Van Houts, Elisabeth M. C., 'Camden, Cotton and the Chronicles of the Norman Conquest of England', The British Library Journal, 18.2 (1992) pp. 148-62 (pp. 150, 160 n. 12).
Vincent, Nicholas, and others, ‘Medieval Cartularies: Additions and Corrections’, Monastic Research Bulletin, 3 (1997), 7-38.
Watson, Andrew G., Catalogue of Dated and Datable Manuscripts c.700-1600 in the Department of Manuscripts, The British Library (London: The British Library, 1979), I: The Text, p. 100 (no. 519); II: The Plates, pl. 93.
Whitelock, Dorothy, Martin Brett and Christopher Nugent Lawrence Brooke, Councils and Synods with Other Documents Relating to the English Church, 2 vols (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1981), I: A.D. 871-1204, 1 vol in 2, pp. 179-90.
William of Malmesbury,Gesta Regum Anglorum: The History of the English Kings, ed. by Mynors, Roger Aubrey Baskerville Mynors, Rodney Malcolm Thomson, and Michael Winterbottom, 2 vols (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1998-1999), I (as ‘Aac’).
Willelmi Malmesbiriensis Monachi De Gestis Regum Anglorum Libri Quinque, Historiæ Novellæ Libri Tres, ed. by William Stubbs, 2 vols, Rolls Series (London: Eyre and Spottiswoode 1887-89), I (1887), pp. lxxiii-lxxiv (as ‘Aa’).
- Material Type:
- Archives and Manuscripts
- Legal Status:
- Not Public Record(s)
- Notes:
- This manuscript is part of The Polonsky Foundation England and France Project: Manuscripts from the British Library and the Bibliothèque nationale de France, 700-1200.