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Harley MS 1915
- Record Id:
- 040-002047746
- Hierarchy Root Ancestor Record Id:
- 040-002047746
- MDARK:
- ark:/81055/vdc_100000000709.0x0001a7
- LARK:
- ark:/81055/vdc_100063299806.0x000001
- SLARK:
- Format:
- ISAD(G)
- Reference (shelfmark):
- Harley MS 1915
- Title:
-
The Eusebian canon tables; Zacharias of Besançon, De Concordia Evangelistarum; Bede, Expositio Super Acta Apostolorum; Bede, Retractatio in Actus Apostolorum; Victorinus of Pettau, Commentarius in Apocalypsim; Bede, Nomina Regionum atque Locorum de Actibus Apostolorum; Commemoratorium de Apocalypsi Iohannis Apostoli
- Scope & Content:
-
This manuscript is closely related to the readings of the New Testament as it includes a concordance on the four Gospels written by Zacharias of Besancon (d. 1157). It is followed by Bede's commentary on the Acts of Apostle, including his retractatio, a treatise in which he underlined his own mistakes in a previous commentary on the Acts of Apostle. The manuscript includes also another Bede's text related to the Acts of Apostle, the Nomina Regionum atque Locorum de Actibus Apostolorum (The Names of the Regions and Places in the Book of Acts), a geographical dictionary on the places and regions cited in Acts. The eschatological part of the manuscript includes a commentary on Apocalypse by Victorinus of Pettau and an anonymous commentary on Apocalypse.
Contents:
ff. 1v-6r: A table of chapters of the four Gospels
ff. 6v-8v: The Eusebian canon tables.
ff. 9r-164v: Zacharias of Besançon, De concordia evangelistarum (On the concordance of Gospels) with glosses copied by the same scribe, preceded by a prologue (ff. 9r-16r); beginning of the prologue, imperfect: '[De excellentia Evangelii et differentia ipsius ad legem, de figuris evan]gelistarum et eorum modo scribendi, de materia Evangelii'; the Epilogus brevis (the Brief Epilogue) in verse (f. 16r); the second prologue (ff. 15v-16r); the third prologue (ff. 16r-v); capitula of the two books (ff. 16v-17r); commentary on capitula (f. 17r); Book 1 (ff. 17r-48v), preceded by a prologue (ff. 17r-v), the text beginning: 'In principio erat verbum [...]. Verbum, id est sapientia nata, disponens omnia'; Book 2 (ff. 49r-80r), beginning: 'Et factum est cum consummasset Ihesu participiens duodecim discipulis suis [...]. Civitates discipulorum dicit'; Book 3 (ff. 80r-131v), preceded by capitula (ff. 80r-v), beginning: 'Venit Ihesu in partes Cesaree Philippi. Philippus frater Herodis tetracha Ituree et Trachnotidis regionum'; Book 4 (ff. 132r-164v), preceded by capitula (f. 132r), beginning: 'Et factum est, cum consummasset Ihesus sermones hos omnes [...]. Scitis qui post biduum pascha fiet [...]. Consummatis verbo et opera sermonibus cunctis ab initio Evangelii', ending: 'Novissime visus est et mihi. Hoc non post parvum tempus ascensionis'.
ff. 165r-183r: Bede, Expositio super Acta Apostolorum (Commentary on the Acts of Apostles), preceded by capitula (ff. 165r-167r), extracts from the Admonitio Lectori (Admonition to the reader) from Zacharias of Besancon's De concordia evangelistarum (f. 167r), followed by a short text, which is an anonymous commentary on Matthew, attributed here to Remigius of Auxerre on the Passion and the Last Supper (f. 167r), beginning: 'Remigius in Mattheum capitulum CCCLI. Si anni recte computentur ab inicio mundi usque ad passionem Domini invenimus quum ipso anno quo Dominus passus est secundum annos Lunares VIII idus Martii fuit neomenia'. Prologue of Bede's Expositio super Acta Apostolorum (ff. 167v-168r), beginning: 'Domino in Christo desideratissimo et vere beatissimo Acce episcopo'; beginning of the text (f. 168r): 'Primum quidem sermonem feci de omnibus [...]. De omnibus se dicit Christi factis et dictis in Evangelio scripsisse'.
ff. 183r-192v: Bede, Retractatio in Actus Apostolorum, in which the author corrected the errors he made in his Commentary on the Acts of Apostles; preceded by a prologue (f. 183r), beginning: 'Scimus eximium doctorem ac pontificem Augustinum'; beginning of the text (f. 183r): 'Primum quidem sermonem feci de omnibus'.
ff. 193r-198v: Victorinus of Pettau, Commentarius in Apocalypsim (Commentary on Apocalypse), preceded by St Jerome's prologue on Victorinus of Pettau's commentary on Apocalypse (f. 193r), beginning: 'Diversos marina discrimina transvadantes inveniunt casus'; Victornus's commentary beginning (f. 193r): 'Principium libri beatitudinem legenti, audienti et servanti'.
ff. 198v-200v: Bede, Nomina Regionum atque Locorum de Actibus Apostolorum, beginning: 'Acheldemach, hoc est ager sanguinis, qui hodieque demonstratur in Helia ad Australem plagam montis Syon', imperfect at the end: 'Theatrum, locus a spectaculo vocabulum mutuans, quod in eo populus desuper atque spectans ludos scenicos contemplaretur'.
ff. 200v-202r: Anonymous, Commemoratorium de Apocalypsi Iohannis Apostoli, a reading guide on the Apocalypse, beginning: 'Incipit brevis expositio Ieronimi in Apocalypsim Iohannis apostoli. Iohannes Gratia Dei interpretatur, figuram Christi tenuit'
Decoration:
Full-page canon tables with decorated architectural frames in red, green, blue, and some yellow (ff. 6v-8v).
Four large decorated initials in gold and colours with foliate motifs, hybrid creatures, and animals (ff. 17v, 49r, 80v, 132r), one including a head (f. 17v).
Six puzzle initials in red and blue with penwork decoration including arabesque motifs, one with ropework motifs, one with some green (ff. 167v, 168r, 183r, 193r (x2), 100v).
Numerous initials in blue or red, with penwork decoration in the alternate colour and occasionally with a reserved line. 3 initials in green with penwork decoration in red (ff. 49, 61v, 87v).
Numerous small initials in red or blue. Display script in red with some blue (f. 77v) or in brown with some red (f. 49r). Rubrics in red. Underlining in red.
- Collection Area:
- Western Manuscripts
- Project / Collection:
- England and France 700-1200 Project
Harley Collection - Hierarchy Tree:
- [{ "id" : "040-002047746", "parent" : "#", "text" : "Harley MS 1915: The Eusebian canon tables; Zacharias of Besançon, De Concordia Evangelistarum; Bede, Expositio Super Acta Apostolorum; Bede,…" , "li_attr" : {"class": "orderable"} }]
- Hierarchy Record Ids:
- 032-002045828
040-002047746 - Is part of:
- Harley MS 1-7661 : Harley Manuscripts
Harley MS 1915 : The Eusebian canon tables; Zacharias of Besançon, De Concordia Evangelistarum; Bede, Expositio Super Acta Apostolorum;… - Hierarchy:
- 032-002045828[1917]/040-002047746
- 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_100063299806.0x000001
- Thumbnail:
-
- Languages:
- Latin
- Scripts:
- Latin
- Start Date:
- 1175
- End Date:
- 1199
- Date Range:
- 4th quarter of the 12th century
- Era:
- CE
- Access:
-
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- User Conditions:
- Letter of introduction required to view this manuscript
- Physical Characteristics:
-
Material: Parchment.
Dimensions: 380 x 260 mm (text space: 270 x 170 mm, in 2 columns).
Foliation: ff. 202 (+ 3 unfoliated paper flyleaves at the beginning and 4 at the end).
Script: Gothic, written above top-line.
Binding: British Museum/British Library in-house. Rebound in 1965; threaded book-marks (e.g. f. 101).
- Custodial History:
-
Origin: Northern France or England.
Provenance:
Added inscription, late 16th century, citing Conrad Gessner (b. 1516, d. 1565), humanist and naturalist (f. 1r).
Nathaniel Paris (fl. 1664), stationer in Little Britain, London: owned until 1672, purchased from him by Mr Samuel Knott from Devon (f. 1r).
Samuel Knott (d. 1687), rector of Combe Raleigh, Devon (1661-1668), antiquary and collector of manuscripts: acquired by him on 3 March 1672 (inscription, f. 1r).
Robert Burscough (b. 1650/51, d.1709), prebendary of Exeter in 1701, archdeacon of Barnstaple in 1703, rector of Cheriton Bishop in 1705: sold by his widow on 17 May 1715 to Robert Harley, along with other manuscripts (f. 1r) (see Wright, Fontes Harleiani (1972), 87-88 and Diary of Humphrey Wanley (1966)).
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, inscribed as usual by their librarian, Humfrey Wanley ‘17 May 1715’ (f. 1r).
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/.
- Publications:
-
A Catalogue of the Harleian Manuscripts in the British Museum, 4 vols (London: Eyre and Strahan, 1808-12), I, no. 1915.
Wilhelm Köhler, 'Die Karolingishen Miniaturen', in Zweiter Bericht über die Denkmäler Deutscher Kunst (Berlin: Reimer, 1912), pp. 52-77 (p. 56).
C. A. Phillips, 'The Winchester Codex of Zachary of Besançon', Bulletin of the Bezan Club, 2 (1926), 3-9 (p. 5).
The Diary of Humfrey Wanley 1715-1726, ed. by C. E. Wright and Ruth C. Wright, 2 vols (London: Bibliographical Society, 1966), I: 1715-1723, p. 11 n. 6.
Cyril Ernest Wright, Fontes Harleiani: A Study of the Sources of the Harleian Collection of Manuscripts in the British Museum (London: British Museum, 1972), pp. 88, 211, 267, 287.
William L. Petersen, Tatian’s Diatessaron: Its Creation, Dissemination, Significance, and History in Scholarship, Supplements to Vigiliae Christiane formerly Philosophia Patrum, 25, ed. by J. Den Boeft and others (Leiden: Brill, 1994), p. 471.
- 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.