Harley MS 912

Commonplace-Book including Theological and Historical Texts in Prose and Verse; mid 14th cent. Latin and Anglo-Norman. Imperfect. The commonplace-book, now in two volumes, also includes the Pseudo-Hippocrates, Epistula ad Antiochum regem (ff. 393-393v; item 1), followed (ff. 393-395v; item 2) by a short medical treatise. The cataloguing of this manuscript was funded by the Wellcome Trust. Texts relating to medicine are itemised in the description; non-medical texts are mentioned only summarily and include: - a) Purgatorium S. Patricii, abridged version from Henry of Sawtry, same version as Legenda Aurea, Latin (ff. 161v-162v), for which see J. A. Herbert, Catalogue of Romances in the Department on Manuscripts in the British Museum, ii (London, 1893), pp. 466-468; - b) Guillaume de Berneville (William of Barnwell, Cambridge?), La vie de saint Gilles, excerpt (vv. 2975-3057), Anglo-Norman (ff. 183v-184), for which see R. J. Dean and M. B. M. Boulton, Anglo-Norman Literature. A Guide to Texts and Manuscripts (London, 1999; Anglo-Norman Text Society, Occasional Publications Series, 3), no. 529; - c) Gerald of Wales, Itinerarium Kambrie and Descriptio Kambriae, excerpts, Latin (ff. 209-221), recorded in R. Bartlett, Gerald of Wales 1146-1223 (Oxford, 1982), pp. 216-217; - d) Jacques de Vitry, Historia Occidentalis, Historia Hierosolimitana Abbreviata, Book II, Latin (ff. 221v-229), for which see J. F. Hinnebusch, 'Extant Manuscripts of the Writings of Jacques de Vitry', Scriptorium, 51 (1997), p. 159. Tables of contents (ff. 1-55v). Owned in the 14th cent. by W. de Dowedal, an inscription almost completely effaced with his name 'Orate pro anima W. de Dowedal' on f. 1v. For the provenance, see C. E. Wright, Fontes Harleiani (London, 1972), pp. 138, 388. The names 'Georgus Browne' on ff. 36v, 37, and on blank after f. 127 together with the names 'Henri Karnell' and 'John Powell', together with the name 'John Dinham' on blank before 128. Owned by John Barfold or Barolus (unidentified): inscriptions relating to him on ff. 11v-12, 37, on blank after ff. 127, 338v, and on blanck flyleaf on vol. 2, in particular (f. 37) 'Johannes Barfolus / me iure possidet teste / Joanne Dinham', and (f. 338v) 'To the righte honorable my lorde Barfold'. The date and circumstances of the arrival of the MS. in the Harleian collection are unknown. The volume is not mentioned in C. E. Wright and R. C. Wright, The Diary of Humfrey Wanley (London, 1966). Owned by Edward Harley (1689-1741), 2nd earl of Oxford and Mortimer, book collector and patron of the arts, and possibly by his father Robert Harley (1661-1724), 1st earl of Oxford and Mortimer, politician. Bequeathed with the Harleian library to Edward's widow, countess Henrietta, née Cavendish Holles (1694-1755), during her lifetime and thereafter to their daughter, Margaret Cavendish Bentinck (1715-1785), duchess of Portland. Sold with the other Harley manuscripts 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 Harleian manuscripts became part of the collections of the British Library on its establishment in 1973. The MS. is described in A Catalogue of the Harleian Manuscripts in the British Museum (London, 1808-1812), i, pp. 472-473; J. A. Herbert, Catalogue of Romances…, cit. above, p. 466.

Parchment; ff. 401+i, plus two blanks after f. 127, divided into two volumes: vol. 1, ff. 1-208, vol. 2, ff. 209-400; f. 312 an inserted paper leaf. Two sets of old foliation in ink: '1-48' (ff. 58-105) and '1-84, 85-267' (ff. 129-208, 209-378). Modern foliation in pencil ff. '1-400' (followed here, repeating no. 333; ff. 9v, 11, 15v, 19v, 21, 22, 23v, 26, 27, 30v, 39v, 46v, 312v, 349v-350, 400v blank; ff. 36v, 311v, 338v, 378-378v, 389v, 390v, 400 originally blank). circa 140 x 93mm. Gatherings, mainly of 12 leaves, individually mounted on guards, with horizontal catchwords. Ruled in ink (bounding lines only) for columns of 21-35 lines. Texts below or across top line. Written in cursive English scripts (cursiva libraria - Anglicana) by several hands. Major initials (2 lines; from f. 129 passim) in red with contrasting pen-work decoration in brown ink; minor initials touched in red; rubrics and paragraph signs in red. Marginalia including maniculae. Marginal pen drawings of faces (ff. 248v-249). Occasional original repair to parchment flaws. British Library binding with Harley arms and motto gilt-tooled at centre of covers; blind-tooled brown leather covers from previous binding glued onto the pastedowns of volume 1.

Contents relating to medicine as follows:

1. ff. 393-393v. Pseudo-Hippocrates, Epistula ad Antiochum regem; mid 14th cent. Latin. Copy. Inc. '[Hip]pocras Antiocho regi salutem. Quoniam / conuenit te regem sapientissimum esse', expl. 'allopicie / id est capitis ulcera'. A copy of the text with a different incipit in Harley 1585 (ff. 6v-7v). Listed in L. Thorndike and P. Kibre, Catalogue of Incipits of Medieval Scientific Writings in Latin, rev. ed. (London, 1963; The Mediaeval Academy of America Publication, 29; with supplements in 1965 and 1968), p. 1267l; its electronic version on CD-ROM (Ann Arbor, MI, 2000=eTK), no. 1267L. For the text see P. Kibre, Hippocrates latinus. Repertorium of Hippocratic Writings in the Latin Middle Ages, rev. ed. (New York, 1985), pp. 149-150. Keywords: medicine; humours.

2. f. 393-395v. Short medical treatise; mid 14th cent. Latin. Copy. Imperfect. Inc. 'Si ergo circa pectus causa est; haec signa precedunt / capitis et pectoris sudor', breaking at 'et tenuissime in aceto rade et pone in vase eve-/[…]'. With marginal notabilia, the first reading 'De pectore'. Keywords: medicine.

Theology LATIN: History: Poetry ANGLO-NORMAN: Commonplace-Book including theological and historical texts in prose and verse: mid 14th cent.: Latin and Norman-french: Copies.

includes:

• ff. 393-393v Pseudo- Hippocrates: Epistula ad Antiochum regem, attr. to: mid 14th cent.: Lat: Copy.
• ff. 393-393v Medicine and Surgery: Epistula ad Antiochum regem attr. to Pseudo-Hippocrates: mid 14th cent.: Lat: Copy.
• ff. 393v-395v Medicine and Surgery: Short medical treatise: mid 14th cent.: Lat: Copy.