Arundel MS 501

Miscellany, assembled from fragments of several different codices. The manuscript was formerly bound together with Arundel MSS 499 and 500, and foliated consecutively with these volumes, as ff. 18-43 (the current foliation is as ff. 1-26). Folios 15 and 16 were originally part of Arundel MS 44, where they were part of the now-missing final quire.

Contents:

ff. 1r-9v: Confession of faith of the senate of a town in Germany, regarding the real presence, written in German and dated 19 April, 1577. Colophon (f. 9v): 'Decretum in Senatu 19 April. Anno 1577'.

ff. 10r-10v: 1 Maccabees 10:81-11:47, written in Latin, 15th century. Incipit (f. 10r): 'eorum Et eiecit Symon exercitum suum & commisit contra legionem equites enim fatigati erant'. Explicit (f. 10v): Et vocavit rex videos in auxilium et convenerunt omnes simul ad eum & dispersi sunt'.

ff. 11r-11v: Fragment from Book 2 Regimen acutorum, attributed to Hippocrates (b. c. 460 BC, d. c. 380 BC), translated into Latin, 14th century. Incipit (f. 11r): 'repertus est qui egrorum habitudinem cognoscere queat sicut oportet. si videlicet virtutis defectionem patiuntur'. The text is accompanied by a Latin commentary, which is written in a much smaller script than the text. Incipit (f. 11r): 'Et non inveni medicos'.

ff. 12r-12v: Notes regarding the cathedral church in Würtzburg, including the names of priests and the order of the Mass, written in Latin, 15th century.

ff. 13r-13v: Fragment of a commentary on Deuteronomy, written in Latin, 11th century (?). The fragment concerns Deuteronomy 21:15-21:23. Incipit (f. 13r: 'mant dicente scriptura non poterat filium amabilis primitivum praeponere cum sciat filium odibilis promitivum esse'. Explicit (f. 13v): 'Quando peccaverit homo quod morte plectendum est. et adiudicatus morti adpensus fuerit in patibulo. non permanebit cadver'.

f. 14r: Fragment of Hildebert of Lavardin (b. 1057, d. 1133), archbishop of Tours, Sermo de communi consensu, written in Latin, 12th century. See Patrologia Latina 171, cols 961d-962c. Incipit (f. 14r): 'Erit cum erit inquam tempus. in quo illa de contemptu in gratiam redeat'. Explicit (f. 14r): 'Vides igitur sponsam christi unam esse ecclesiam; & sponsus ecclesię unum esse christum'.

f. 14v: Notes on the dedication of the monastery of St Mary in Eberbach, written in Latin, added on a page that was originally blank.

ff. 15r-15v: Fragment of a commentary on the Pater Noster, written in Latin, 12th century. Incipit (f. 15r): 'mirum si confirmantur hoc pane corda hominum in quo sapor est totus suavitatis; cum heyam ad labores quadragenarii temporis tolerandos confortaverit'.

ff. 16r-16v: Fragment, of 138 lines, of an anagrammatic poem, about Christ and the New Jerusalem, written in Latin, 12th century. The first letter of each line is written sideways in the margin to make the anagram easier to read. Incipit (f. 16r): 'Cingunt Armillę brachia & Dextra Dextrochuria / Istam discriminalia comunt olfactoriola'. Includes musical neums for eight lines commencing 'Quenam hec tam mirificis ornanda tunc induviis,' and to the first part of what remains of the anagram as written out in the margin. (see Hughes-Hughes 1906).

ff. 17r-22v: Legal formulae, written in Latin, 14th century.

ff. 23r-24r: Texts on medical topics, particularly the colour of urine, written in Latin and German, 14th century. Heavily annotated in a later hand. Incipit of the German text (f. 24r): 'Wenn der Mage siech ist'.

ff. 24v-26v: Texts and tables on moveable feasts, the golden number, the moon, etc., written in German, 14th century.

Decoration:

Drawings of urine jars, highlighted with red (ff. 23r-24r). Astronomical diagram in black and red (f. 26v). Calendrical tables in red and black (ff. 25r-26r). Red or blue initials with purple or red penwork (ff. 11r-11v). Extensive use of red in several of the various portions of the manuscript, for a variety of purposes: large initials (ff. 10r-10v, ff. 23r-24r), the first initial of each line in verse (ff. 16r-16v), highlighting of capitals (ff. 10r-10v, 14r, 15r-15v), running titles and chapter numbers (ff. 10r-10v), and marginal annotation (ff. 15r-15v). In some places the colour of the red ink has changed over time, now appearing dark grey.