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Cotton MS Vespasian B X
- Record Id:
- 040-001103234
- Hierarchy Root Ancestor Record Id:
- 032-001101582
- MDARK:
- ark:/81055/vdc_100000001273.0x0002ac
- LARK:
- ark:/81055/vdc_100063650401.0x000001
- SLARK:
- Format:
- ISAD(G)
- Reference (shelfmark):
- Cotton MS Vespasian B X
- Title:
- Benedeit, 'Voyage of St Brendan'; Navigatio sancti Brendani; Vita Longini martyris; De quindecim signis diei judicii; Robert Kilwardby, De ortu scientiarum; Pseudo-Aristotle, De morte Aristotelis sive de pomo; Cosmographia (Cosmography of Aethicus Ister).
- Scope & Content:
-
This composite manuscript contains three main parts (ff. 1-24; ff. 24-30; ff. 31-124), joined in the early modern period in the library of Sir Robert Cotton (b. 1571, d. 1631).
Among the manuscript's contents is the Cosmographia (Cosmography of Aethicus Ister), an 8th-century work that describes the cosmography of the heavens, the geography of the world, and the monstrous creatures that inhabit its different regions. The work is presented as a travelogue written down by its protagonist ‘Aethicus Ister’, a Scythian philosopher, which was then found and edited by the Church Father St Jerome (b. 347, d. 420). The manuscript also contains the Anglo-Norman French poem known as the 'Voyage of St Brendan', written during the 1st quarter of the 12th century by a monk called Benedeit (fl. 12th century).
Contents:
ff. 1r-11r: Benedeit, 'Voyage of St Brendan', an Anglo-Norman French poem.
ff. 11v-21r: Navigatio sancti Brendani (Voyage of St Brendan), in Latin prose.
ff. 21r-22: Vita Longini martyris (The Life of Longinus the Martyr).
f. 22v: De quindecim signis diei judicii (On the 15 signs of the Day of Judgement).
ff. 24r-27r: Robert Kilwardby, De Ortu Scientiarum (On the Rise of the Sciences), imperfect.
ff. 27v-30r: Pseudo-Aristotle, De morte Aristotelis sive de pomo (On the death of Aristotle, or the Apple), translated by Manfred of Sicily.
f. 30v: Table of contents in a modern hand.
ff. 31r-124: Cosmographia (Cosmography of Aethicus Ister).
- Collection Area:
- Western Manuscripts
- Project / Collection:
- Cotton Collection
- Hierarchy Record Ids:
- 032-001101582
040-001103234 - Is part of:
- Cotton MS : Cotton Manuscripts
Cotton MS Vespasian B X : Benedeit, 'Voyage of St Brendan'; Navigatio sancti Brendani; Vita Longini martyris; De quindecim signis diei… - Contains:
- Cotton MS Vespasian B X, ff 1–23 : Benedeit, Voyage of St Brendan; Navigatio sancti Brendani; Vita Longini martyris; De signis quindecim.
Cotton MS Vespasian B X, ff 24–30 : Robert Kilwardby, De ortu scientiarum; Pseudo-Aristotle, De morte Aristotelis sive de pomo, translated by…
Cotton MS Vespasian B X, ff 31–124 : Cosmographia (Comosgraphy of Aethicus Ister), with Latin and Old English glosses.
Click here to View / search full list of parts of Cotton MS Vespasian B X - Hierarchy:
- 032-001101582[0932]/040-001103234
- 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_100063650401.0x000001
- Thumbnail:
-
- Languages:
- Anglo-Norman
English, Old
Latin - Scripts:
- Latin
- Start Date:
- 0975
- End Date:
- 1299
- Date Range:
- 4th quarter of the 10th century-4th quarter of the 13th century
- Era:
- CE
- Access:
-
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- User Conditions:
- Letter of introduction required to view this manuscript
- Physical Characteristics:
-
Materials: Parchment.
Condition: the outer edges of ff. 31-124 were damaged by fire in 1731.
Dimensions: 260×190 mm (written area varies).
Script: Gothic cursive, written below top line (ff. 1-23; ff. 24-30); Caroline minuscule (ff. 31-124).
Foliation: ff. 124 (+ 11 unfoliated paper flyleaves: 6 at the beginning and 5 at the end).
Binding: Post-1600 (brown leather).
- Custodial History:
-
Provenance:
Sir Robert Bruce Cotton (b. 1571, d. 1631), 1st baronet, antiquary and politician: owner. 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 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.
- Information About Copies:
- Full digital coverage available for this manuscript: see Digitised Manuscripts at http://www.bl.uk.manuscripts/.
- Publications:
-
Crick, Julia C., The Historia Regum Britannie of Geoffrey of Monmouth, 3, A Summary Catalogue of the Manuscripts (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,1989), no. 93.
Dean, Ruth J., and Maureen B. M. Boulton, Anglo-Norman Literature: A Guide to Texts and Manuscripts, Anglo-Norman Text Society, Occasional Publications Series, 3 (London, 1999), no. 54.
Gneuss, Helmut, Handlist of Anglo-Saxon Manuscripts: A List of Manuscripts and Manuscript Fragments Written or Owned in England up to 1100 (Toronto: Toronto University Press, 2001), no. 386.
Hartzell, K. D., Catalogue of manuscripts Written or Owned in England up to 1200 containing Music (Woodbridge: Boydell Press, 2006), no. 144.
Herren, Michael (ed.), The Cosmography of Aethicus Ister: Edition, Translation, and Commentary (Turnhout, Belgium: Brepols, 2011).
Ker, Neil, R, Catalogue of manuscripts containing Anglo-Saxon (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1957), no. 206.
Ker, Neil R., and Andrew G. Watson (eds.), Medieval Libraries of Great Britain: A List of Surviving Books (London: Royal Historical Society, 1964), p. 207.
Ward, Harry L. D., and John A. Herbert, Catalogue of Romances in the Department of Manuscripts in the British Museum, 3 vols (London: British Museum, 1883–1910), II, pp. 534, 541–4.
Waters, Edwin G. R., The Anglo-Norman Voyage of St Brendan by Benedeit: a Poem of the Early 12th century (Oxford: 1928; reprt. Geneva: 1974)
- Material Type:
- Archives and Manuscripts
- Legal Status:
- Not Public Record(s)