Harley MS 1748

Contents:

ff. 1r-170r, 174r-346v: A Bible.

The manuscript contains various additions:

Marginal notes throughout the Bible, some relate to the standardisation of the order of the books on the Bible, e.g.: '[…] Ita q[uo]d lib[er] apocal[ipsis] sit u[l]tim[us] lib[er] totius biblie s[ecundum] nova[m] ordinac[i]o[n]em libr[orum]' (f. 339v) (see De Hamel, A History of the Bible (2001), pp. 121-22).

ff. 1r-2r: List of chapters (capitula) of books of the Old Testament; written in the 13th century.

f. 2r: A list of the order (ordinacio) of the biblical books, with the note: 'Ista ordinacio que hic ponitur est secundum antiquam ordinacionem parisiensem'; written in the 13th century.

f. 2v: Unfinished alphabetical index of subjects, only for 'Aa' to 'As'; written in the 13th century.

ff. 3r-4v, 339v-343r: Extensive, but now barely legible (?) theological notes in crayon; written in the 13th century.

ff. 5r-12v: Metrical summary of the contents of the books of the Bible, beginning: 'Opera [R]ex lignum prohibet Adam et Eva pectant'; written in the 15th century.

ff. 170v-173v: Collects and Canon of the Mass, written between 2 Maccabees and Proverbs; added in a 13th-century hand.

f. 343v: A list of chapters of the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles; written in the 13th century.

f. 338r (lower margin): A note in English: 'This is the best parchment that ever wor wraght upon'; written in the late 15th or early 16th century.

ff. 344r-345r: Concordance of the Gospels; added in the 13th century.

f. 345v: A list of Canticles and their biblical sources; written in the 13th century.

f. 345v: Nomina mensium Hebraicorum; written in the 13th century.

f. 345v: Nomina regum duarum tribuum Judeae et Benjamin; written in the 13th century.

f. 345v: Nomina Regum X. Tribuum; written in the 13th century.

Decoration:

1 large puzzle initial in red and blue with penwork decoration in brown, green, and light brown (f. 13r). Numerous large puzzle initials in red and blue with pen-flourishing in both colours, one including an animal head (f. 15r). Numerous initials in blue or red with pen-flourishing in the alternate colour. Simple initials in red or blue. Running headers and chapter numbers in red and blue.

The added Canon of the Mass (ff. 170v-172v) features the following decoration: 1 large (8-line) initial in green and red with green and red dots inside their letters (f. 171r); 2 large (2-line) puzzle initials in green and red with green an red dots inside their letters (ff. 170v, 171r); large (2-line) initials in green or red and highlighted with yellow throughout; 1-line initials in green or red; capitals highlighted in red; rubrics in red; crosses in green or red.