Harley MS 3724

This manuscript contains a collection of miscellaneous texts in Latin and Middle English, written in Ireland during the 13th century. They include a copy of the Topographia Hiberniae (Topography of Ireland), an account of the landscape, history and people of Ireland, written by the historian Gerald of Wales (b. c. 1146, d. c. 1223) around 1188, and Laudabiliter, a bull said to have been issued in 1155 by Pope Adrian IV (r. 1154-1159) which granted the right to King Henry II (r. 1154-1189) to invade and govern Ireland.

Contents:

f. 1r: Prosa Magri Girobaldi Whitwhibanensis Archidiaconi, written in Latin.

f. 1v: Oratio Manassis Regis (Prayer of King Manasses), written in Latin, beginning, 'Domine deus omnipotens partum nostrorum Abraham'.

ff. 2r-4r: Jacobus de Voragine, Historia de Septem Dormientibus (Narrative of the Seven Sleepers), written in Latin, beginning, 'Septem dormientes in civitate Ephesi arti sunt’.

f. 4r: De Sancto Petro martire (On St Peter the Martyr), an alliterative poem in Latin, beginning, ‘Petre, piis plausibus pro petra punito’.

f. 4v: A set of Latin verses, beginning, ‘Si tibi pulcra domus et splendida mensa, quid inde?’

f. 4v: A set of Latin verses, beginning, ‘Iudice Francigena sacco portatur avena’.

ff. 5r-44r: Gerald of Wales, Topographia Hiberniae (Topography of Ireland), written in Latin, beginning, 'Placuit excellentiae vestrae invictissime Anglorum rex’.

ff. 44v-45v: De cuiusdam claustralis moribus et vita (On the life and habits of a monk), written in Latin, beginning, ‘Fratres dilectissimi differere cupiens’.

ff. 45v-46r: A Latin hymn, beginning, ‘Aue gemma prefulgida supra cristatum splendida’, with accompanying musical notation.

ff. 46v-48r: A Latin treatise on the sacrament, beginning ‘In hoc tractatu docet…’

ff. 48r-49r: Laudabiliter, a bull purportedly issued in 1155 by Pope Adrian IV (r. 1154-1159), granting the right to King Henry II (r. 1154-1189) to invade and govern Ireland; written in Latin, beginning, ‘Adrianus episcopus servus servorum Dei’.

f. 49r: Apostolic Creed, written in Middle English, beginning, ‘I bileue in god fadir almichty’.

f. 49v: Pater Noster, written in Middle English verse, beginning, ‘Ure fader in heuene riche’.

ff. 49v-51r: A compilation of Latin verses, beginning, ‘Fata monent stelleque docent aviumque volatus’.

ff. 51r-52r: De concubinis sacerdotum (On the concubines of priests), a poem in Latin incorrectly attributed to Walter Map, beginning, ‘Prisciani regula penitus cassatur’. The text of the poem has been crossed out with black ink. It is followed by a short prose passage on the same subject.

ff. 52v-59v: Epistola Valerii ad amicum suum de uxore (A letter of Valerius to his friend concerning his wife), beginning, ‘Loqui perhibeor et tacere non possum’.

f. 59v: A couplet in Middle English: ‘Silly sicht i seich, unsembly forte se, / A fwil ar hit was fetherid, fundid forte fle’.

Decoration:

Marginal paintings in colours of birds, faces, a hare, an axe, a chalice, a crenelated wall, and hybrid creatures (ff. 9v, 13r, 36r, 37r, 38r, 39v, 41r, 42r, 42v, 45v, 46v, 48r, 50r, 52v, 53r).

An added pen-and-ink sketch of the Howard family's rampart lion crest (f. 4v).

Full- or partial borders in colours with geometric or foliate motifs.

Large initials in colours, many filled with a chequered design, some with foliate motifs or faces.

Large initials in red. Smaller initials in red and yellow or blue and yellow.

Paraphs in red or blue. Capitals marked in red.