Hard-coded id of currently selected item: . JSON version of its record is available from Blacklight on e.g. ??
Metadata associated with selected item should appear here...
Harley MS 652
- Record Id:
- 040-002046481
- Hierarchy Root Ancestor Record Id:
- 040-002046481
- MDARK:
- ark:/81055/vdc_100000000652.0x00009e
- LARK:
- ark:/81055/vdc_100058540020.0x000001
- SLARK:
- Format:
- ISAD(G)
- Reference (shelfmark):
- Harley MS 652
- Title:
-
Homiliary; Lections from six lives of saints connected to St Augustine's abbey; Fragment from the homiliary attributed to Alan de Farfa
- Scope & Content:
-
This early 12th-century manuscript from the Benedictine abbey of St Augustine, Canterbury, consists of a homiliary with 119 sermons for the period between Holy Saturday and the fourth Sunday after Epiphany. The main structure of the homiliary derives from the reconstructed collection of Paul the Deacon (b. c. 720, d. 799)'s homiliary, but it includes also an interpolated selection from St Gregory the Great (b. c. 540, d. 604), Smaragdus of Saint-Mihiel (d. c. 830), Hrabanus Maurus (d. 856), and Bede the Venerable (b. c. 673, d. 735)'s homily for the Ember fast in Trinity. It is followed by a series of lections on lives of saints connected to St Augustine's (ff. 209v-216v).
A fragment of the homiliary attributed to Alan of Farfa (d. 769) was added to the beginning of the manuscript (ff. 1*-4*) probably before the 15th century, based on the 15th-century press-mark of St Augustine's abbey written on f. 4* recto. It was written in North East France in the 2nd or 3rd quarter of the 9th century. These four leaves were used as pastedowns and flyleaves for this manuscript.
Contents:
ff. 1r-208r: Homiliary, beginning with Bede's homily for the Holy Saturday (Homilia II, 1) (f. 1r): 'In vigilia resurrectionis Domini lectio Sancti evangelium secundum Matheum. Vespere sabbati que lucescit [...] Omelia venerabilis Bede presbiteri de eadem lectione. Vigilias nobis hujus sacratissime noctis', ending with Pseudo-Origen's homily for the fourth Sunday after the Epiphany (f. 208r): 'In navicula sedet et omnem creaturam iussione inclinat ubi vult Ihesus Christus Dominus noster qui cum Patre et Spiritu sancto vivit et regnat in secula secularum. Amen'.
ff. 209v-216v: Six lectiones from lives of saints, based on those written by Goscelin of Saint-Bertin (d. after 1114), beginning with the Translatio Sancte Mildrithe (Translation of St Mildred's relics), in eight lections (ff. 209v-210r), beginning: 'In translatione Sancte Mildrithe virginis, lectio 1. Monasterio gloriosissime virginis Myldrithe in taneto insula'; twelve lections on the feast of St Adrian of Canterbury (ff. 210r-211v), beginning: 'In festivitate Sancti Adriani abbatis, lectio 1'; twelve lections on the life of St Lawrence of Canterbury (ff. 211v-212v), beginning: 'Lectiones de sancto Laurentio archiepiscopo. Assumpto ad celestia deo dilecto patre Augustino successit in episcopatum famulus Christi Laurentius'; eight lections on the life of St Justus of Canterbury (ff. 213r-214r), beginning: 'De Sancto Iusto archiepiscopo, lectio 1. Ordinatus vir domini Augustinus'; eight lections on the life of St Honorius of Canterbury (ff. 214v-215v), beginning: 'De Sancto Honorio archiepiscopo, lectio 1. Beato archiepiscopo Iusto ad celestia translato'; eight lections on the life of St Theodore of Canterbury (ff. 216r-v), imperfect at the end, beginning: 'De Sancto Theodoro archiepiscopo, lectio 1. Beatissimus Adrianus abbas monasterii Niridani'.
The manuscript contains a later addition:
ff. 1*r-4*v: A fragment of a 9th-century French homiliary: beginning with Pseudo-St John Chrysostom for the feast of the Holy Innocents (f. 1*): 'Postquam Dominus quatriduanum (sic) mortuum suscitavit stupentibus Iudaeis et aliis eorum in videndo credentibus'; ending (f. 4*) with St Augustine (b. 354, d. 430), Tractatus in Iohannis evangelium abbreviated by Alan of Farfa (ff. 1*r-4*v).
Decoration:
One large historiated initial in colours with the head of Christ and entwined animals (f. 1r).
Large inhabited initial in colours with entwined animals and head terminals (f. 160r).
Large initials in red, green, yellow, purple, or blue, some with penwork decoration.
Small initials in brown, green or blue.
Rubrics in red.
- Collection Area:
- Western Manuscripts
- Project / Collection:
- England and France 700-1200 Project
Harley Collection - Hierarchy Tree:
- [{ "id" : "040-002046481", "parent" : "#", "text" : "Harley MS 652: Homiliary; Lections from six lives of saints connected to St Augustine's abbey; Fragment from the homiliary attributed to Alan de Farfa" , "li_attr" : {"class": "orderable"} }]
- Hierarchy Record Ids:
- 032-002045828
040-002046481 - Is part of:
- Harley MS 1-7661 : Harley Manuscripts
Harley MS 652 : Homiliary; Lections from six lives of saints connected to St Augustine's abbey; Fragment from the homiliary attributed to Alan de… - Hierarchy:
- 032-002045828[0652]/040-002046481
- Container:
- View / search within Archive / Collection: Harley MS 1-7661
- Record Type (Level):
- File
- Extent:
- A parchment codex
- Digitised Content:
- https://iiif.bl.uk/uv/#?manifest=https://bl.digirati.io/iiif/ark:/81055/vdc_100058540020.0x000001
- Thumbnail:
-
- Languages:
- Latin
- Scripts:
- Latin
- Start Date:
- 0800
- End Date:
- 0899
- Date Range:
- 9th century
- Era:
- CE
- Access:
-
Please request the physical items you need using the online collection item request form.
Digitised items can be viewed online by clicking the thumbnail image or digitised content link.
Readers who have registered or renewed their pass since 21 March 2024 can request physical items prior to visiting the Library by completing
this request form.
Please enter the Reference (shelfmark) above on the request form.If your Reader Pass was issued before this date, you will need to visit the Library in London or Yorkshire to renew it before you can request items online. All manuscripts and archives must be consulted at the Library in London.
This catalogue record may describe a collection of items which cannot all be requested together. Please use the hierarchy viewer to navigate to individual items. Some items may be in use or restricted for other reasons. If you would like to check the availability, contact our Reference Services team, quoting the Reference (shelfmark) above.
- User Conditions:
- Letter of introduction required to view this manuscript
- Physical Characteristics:
-
Material: Parchment.
Dimensions: 350 x 235 mm (text space: 270 x 170 in two columns).
Foliation: ff. 216 ( + 1 unfoliated modern paper flyleaf at the beginning + 2 at the end); ff. 1*-4* are medieval flyleaves.
Script: Caroline minuscule.
Binding: British Museum/British Library in-house. Rebound in 1986.
- Custodial History:
-
Origin: Canterbury, Southeastern England.
Provenance:
The Benedictine abbey of St Augustine, Canterbury, founded in 598: liturgical evidence and lections at the end for St Mildred, St Adrian, St Honorius, St Lawrence, St Justus, St Theodore, all related to Canterbury; 15th-century pressmark from Canterbury 'D.x.g.ii' (f. 4*)'; perhaps added the four leaves (ff. 1*-4*) that are from a 9th-century manuscript from Northern France.
The Harley Collection, formed by Robert Harley (b. 1661, d. 1724), 1st earl of Oxford and Mortimer, politician, and Edward Harley (b. 1689, d. 1741), 2nd earl of Oxford and Mortimer, book collector and patron of the arts.
Edward Harley bequeathed the library to his widow, Henrietta Cavendish, née Holles (b. 1694, d. 1755) during her lifetime and thereafter to their daughter, Margaret Cavendish Bentinck (b. 1715, d.1785), duchess of Portland; the manuscripts were sold by the Countess and the Duchess in 1753 to the nation for £10,000 (a fraction of their contemporary value) under the Act of Parliament that also established the British Museum; the Harley manuscripts form one of the foundation collections of the British Library.
- Information About Copies:
-
Full digital coverage available for this manuscript: see Digitised Manuscripts at http://www.bl.uk.manuscripts/.
Select digital coverage available for this manuscript: see Catalogue of Illuminated Manuscripts at http://www.bl.uk/catalogues/illuminatedmanuscripts/welcome.htm.
- Publications:
-
A Catalogue of the Harleian Manuscripts in the British Museum, 4 vols (London: Eyre and Strahan, 1808-12), I, no. 652.
C. R. Dodwell, The Canterbury School of Illumination 1066-1200 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1954), p. 122.
Andrew G. Watson, 'An Identification of some Manuscripts owned by Dr. John Dee and Sir Simonds D'Ewes', The Library, 5th series, 13 (1958), 194-98 (p. 197).
Medieval Libraries of Great Britain: A List of Surviving Books, ed. by N. R. Ker, 2nd edn, Royal Historical Society Guides and Handbooks, 3 (London: Royal Historical Society, 1964), p. 44.
C. Lambot, 'Le sermon CCXXIV de saint Augustin et sese recensions interpolées', Revue Benedictine, 79 (1969), 195-205 (p. 200) (this MS. as 'h3').
Anne Lawrence, ‘Manuscripts of Early Anglo-Norman Canterbury’, in Medieval Art and Architecture at Canterbury before 1220, ed. by Nicola Coldstream and Peter Draper, British Archaeological Association Conference Transactions, 5, 1979 (Leeds: Maney and Son, 1982), pp. 101-11 (pp. 102, 105).
Mary Richards, Texts and Their Traditions in the Medieval Library of Rochester Cathedral Priory, Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, 78, part 3 (Philadelphia: The American Philosophical Society, 1988), p. 109.
Helmut Gneuss, Handlist of Anglo-Saxon Manuscripts: A List of Manuscripts and Manuscript Fragments Written or Owned in England up to 1100, Medieval and Renaissance Texts and Studies, 241 (Tempe: Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, 2001), no. 423.9 [ff. 1*-4*], no. 424 [ff. 1r-216v].
Richard Gameson, ‘L’Angleterre et la Flandre aux Xe et XIe siècles: le témoignage des manuscrits’, in Les Échanges culturels au Moyen Âge, Série Histoire Ancienne et Médiévale, 70 (Paris: Sorbonne, 2002), pp. 165-206, (p. 183) [ff. 1*-4*].
Richard Gameson, 'La Normandie et l'Angleterre au Xie siècle: Le temoignage des manuscrits', in La Normandie et l'Angleterre au Moyen Âge, Colloque de Cerisy-la-Salle, 4-7 octobre 2001, ed. by Pierre Bouet and Véronique Gazeau (Caen: CRAHM, 2003), pp. 129-59 (p. 148 n. 78).
Richard Gameson, The Earliest Books of Canterbury Cathedral: Manuscripts and Fragments to c. 1200 (London: Bibliographical Society, 2008), p. 194.
Richard W. Pfaff, The Liturgy in Medieval England: A History (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009), p. 117.
Rosamond McKitterick, 'Exchange between the British Isles and the Continent, c. 450-c. 900', in The Cambridge History of the Book in Britain, 6 vols (Cambridge: University Press, 1999-2012), I: 400-1100 (2012), ed. by Richard Gameson, pp. 313-37 (p. 327).
Richard Sharpe and James Willoughby, Medieval Libraries of Great Britain (Oxford: The Bodleian Libraries, 2015), http://mlgb3.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/mlgb/book/1509/?search_term=Harley%20652&page_size=500 [accessed 01 November 2016].
- 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.