Harley MS 1277

Collection of Grammatical Treatises; 15th cent. Latin and Middle English. A collection of grammatical treatises including: - a) A List of Latin verbs (ff. 51-149v); - b) Nicolaus de Munshulle, Opus grammaticum: verbale (ff. 150-169), another copy in Add. 37075, ff. 331-354: see G. L. Bursill-Hall, A Census of Medieval Latin Grammatical Manuscripts (Stuttgart, 1981; Grammatica speculativa, 4), p. 112, no. 149.54.30 and 200.1.2; - c) A Glossary of verbs in Latin and Middle English (ff. 170-175); - d) Construe sic casum (ff. 208-219v); - e) Three glossaries relating to parts of the human body in Latin and Middle English (ff. 221-222v, 225, 237-238v; items 1-2). The cataloguing of this MS. was funded by the Wellcome Trust and only the two glossaries relating to the human body are itemised in the description. The name 'Johannes Nortis' scribbled on f. 236v, i.e. parchment flyleaf. The date and circumstances of the arrival of the MS. in the Harleian collection are unknown and the volume is mentioned in neither C. E. Wright and R. C. Wright, The Diary of Humfrey Wanley (London, 1966), nor C. E. Wright, Fontes Harleiani (London, 1972). 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. Harley shelfmarks '68.B.4 / 1277' in brown ink and '9/VI C' in pencil on f. ii. Described in A Catalogue of the Harleian Manuscripts in the British Museum, 4 vols. (London, 1808-1812), i, p. 645. Partial list of contents in Bursill-Hall, A Census..., cit. above, p. 116, no. 149.113.

Paper; ff. i (parchment)+i+247+iv, plus single blanks after ff. 177, 207 and one old parchment flyleaf now after f. 136; parchment flyleaves (f. 1* and leaf after f. 136) from a 13th-cent. MS. Modern foliation in pencil '1*, 1-247' (followed here, including parchment flyleaf at the front as f. 1* and blank flyleaves as ff. 244-247; ff. 169v, 177v, 185v, 193v, 206v, 236v blank). circa 220 x 150mm. Gatherings individually mounted on guards: i¹⁰⁺² (first is front flyleaf, twelfth originally belonged to the following gathering), ii^10-1 (first bound with previous gathering), iii¹², iv¹⁸, v^16-1 (sixteenth missing), vi-ix¹⁶, x-xi¹⁰, xii²⁰, xiii⁸, xiv¹⁶, xv¹²⁺¹ (last originally belonged to following gathering), xvi^14-1 (first bound with previous gathering), xvii^8-2? (formed of two original gatherings), xviii¹², xix^12-1 (tenth missing). Unruled or ruled in ink (only single bounding lines); single columns of 27-40 lines. Written in brown or black ink in English cursive hands (littera cursiva media - secretary and Anglicana) by a number of scribes. Large initials (2-5 lines) in red at the beginning of treatises. British Library binding with Harley arms and motto gilt-tooled at centre of covers.

Contents relating to medicine as follows:

1. ff. 221-222v. Latin glossary relating to the human body with English translation; 15th cent. Latin and Middle English. Inc. (f. 221) 'Os facies mentum dens guttur lingua palatum / Mowyth face chyn tohyt throte tunge þe palet of þe mowth', expl. (f. 222v) 'ungula cauda pilus cortucetum cruor extat / claueys tayl her atalde blod / Explicit os facies mentum'. Keywords: glossary; anatomy.

2. ff. 225, 237-238v. Latin glossaries relating to the human body with English translation; 15th cent. Latin and Middle English. Inc. 'hoc caput talis? an henyd', expl. 'hoc cutis an a skyn / hic spiritus a gost'; title (f. 237) 'Nomina humani corporis', inc. 'hoc caput an henyd / hic frons talis? a forhede/ ', expl. (f. 238v) 'hoc barba / hoc gernobodum / a berd / Expliciunt nomina humani corporis'. Keywords: glossary; anatomy.

Dictionaries: Grammar: Collection of grammatical treatises and glossaries: 15th cent.: Lat. and Enm: Copies.

includes:

• ff. 221-222v, 225, 237-238v Dictionaries: Medicine and Surgery: Glossaries rel. to the human body: 15th cent.: Lat. with Enm. transl.: Copies.