Harley MS 5396

Composite Miscellany including Texts relating to Theology, Medicine and Poetry; mid 15th cent. and early 13th cent. Latin and Middle English. Copies. Imperfect. This composite volume consists of four different MSS. (ff. 1-142, 143-209, 210-270, 271-311) and comprises: - a) John Felton, vicar of St Mary Magdalen Oxford, Sermones de tempore or Sermones Mawdeley (ff. 1-136v, followed by an alphabetical table of contents on ff. 136v-142), in Latin, mid 15th cent.; - b) Robert Holcot, Convertimini (ff. 143-207v, followed by an alphabetical table of contents ff. 207v-209v, imperfect at the end), in Latin, mid 15th cent.; - c) Antidotarium (?) (ff. 210-270v; imperfect; item 1) in Latin, early 13th cent.; - d) Collection of verse (ff. 271-311v; imperfect at the end) in Middle English, including (ff. 306-310) 'The Tournament of Tottenham', often published from this MS., with the date 1456 on f. 306: for an index of the poems see J. Boffey and A. S. G. Edwards, A New Index of Middle English Verse (London, 2005), p. 305. The cataloguing of this manuscript was funded by the Wellcome Trust and only the medical text is fully itemised in the description. A late ownership inscription 'Iste liber constat Johannes app.....' on f. 311v. Another late 15th cent. inscription, 'Wylyam Northe of Yorke' on f. 280v. Owned by John Batteley (1647-1708), clergyman and antiquary. Bought with other MSS. from his collection on 5 Nov. 1723 from his nephew John by Edward Harley (1689-1741), 2nd earl of Oxford and Mortimer, book collector and patron of the arts, the date of the purchase marked on f. 1 by Harley's librarian, Humfrey Wanley (1672-1726): see C. E. Wright and R. C. Wright, Diary of Humfrey Wanley (London, 1966), ii, p. 263 n. 1; C. E. Wright, Fontes Harleiani (London, 1972), pp. 66-67, 259, 456. Bequeathed with Edward's library to his widow, 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 '143.C.26 / 5396' in black ink and '18/I A' in pencil on f. i. The MS. is described in A Catalogue of the Harleian Manuscripts (London, 1808-1812), iii, pp. 264-265.

Parchment and paper (ff. 272-311); ff. 311, including a small parchment slip (f. 11) and a parchment label glued onto a paper sheet (f. 271). Modern foliation in pencil '1-311' (followed here; ff. 11, 142v, 271v blank). Old pagination '1-78' on ff. 272-311v. circa 220 x 150mm. The volume consists of four codicological units (ff. 1-142, 143-209, 210-270, 271-311) of different origin. Gatherings: first unit i⁸, ii⁸⁺¹ (f. 11 added slip), iii^8-1 (fourth missing), iv-xvii⁸, xviii^8-3 (sixth-eighth cancelled); second unit xix-xxi¹⁰, xxii^12-1 (twelfth excised), xxiii¹², xxiv¹⁴; third unit xxv-xxxi⁸, xxxii^{4: i.e. 8-4?}; fourth unit xxxiii⁶, xxxiv^6-1, xxxv⁶, xxxvi⁸, xxxvii^16?; gatherings of first and second units with alphabetical signatures and horizontal catchwords, gatherings of third unit with horizontal catchwords. Variously ruled in ink or metal point (single vertical bounding lines) for single columns of circa 24-42 lines. Text above top line on ff. 210-270v. Written in English protogothic and cursive gothic scripts. First and second units (ff. 1-209) with large initials (2-3 lines) in blue with contrasting pen-work decoration in red, other initials occasionally touched in red, rubrics and paragraph marks in red, marginal notabilia, catchwords and running titles framed in red. British Library binding with Harley arms and motto gilt-tooled at centre of covers.

Medical contents as follows:

1. ff. 210-270v. Antidotarium (?) alphabetically arranged; early 13th cent. Latin. Copy. Imperfect at the beginning and the end. Starting at '[...]cefam trementinam. simul soluta omni cum diligentia', breaking at 'reconditum usui reservetur. / [...] dol. arteticam. nefreciem podagram'. Headings include: Bianca, Cephalicon, Dimmargaricon, Esdramagnum etc. With corrections and marginal notes by a slightly later hand. Keywords: recipes, medical; herbs and herbal medicine; antidotary.

includes:

• ff. 1-142 Sermons: John Felton, d 1434 Fellow of Magdalen College and Vicar of St Mary Magdalen, Oxford: Sermones de tempore by John Felton: mid 15th cent.: Lat: Copy.
• ff. 143-209v Sermons: Robert Holcot, d 1349 Friar Preacher: Convertimini by Robert Holcot: mid 15th cent.: Lat: Copy.
• ff. 210-270v Medicine and Surgery: Antidotarium (?): early 13th cent.: Lat: Copy. Imperf.
• ff. 271-311v Poetry MIDDLE ENGLISH: Collection of verse: circa 1456: Enm: Copy. Imperf.