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Harley MS 5398

Record Id:

040-002051244

Hierarchy Root Ancestor Record Id:

040-002051244

MDARK:

ark:/81055/vdc_100000000859.0x000397

LARK:

SLARK:

Format:

ISAD(G)

Reference (shelfmark):

Harley MS 5398

Title:

Collection of religious texts, including Richard Rolle, De modo vivendi; sermons by Johannis Schyrborn, John Haynton, and Rainold of Gloucester; Tract on the Ten Sibyls; Speculum peccatoris; Richard of Saint-Victor, Benjamin minor; Formula Dictaminis; Pseudo-Bernard of Clairvaux, Speculum conscientiae, Contemplationes de passione Christi, Epistola de honestate morum, Meditiationes de miseria humane conditiones, and De ingratitudine

Scope & Content:

Contents:

f. 2r: Poem on the Twelve Signs of the Zodiac: Est aries taurus gemini cancer leo virgo / Libra que scorpio architenens capra urna que pisces / Semper quindenis ponuntur signa kalendis'; followed by a prose explanation on the Signs of the Zodiac.

f. 2r: Mnemonic verse on the Kalendar, begining: 'Bis senos menses tenet annus, nomina quorum'.

f. 2v: Poem on the Ages of Man, beginning: 'Infans postquam puer adolescens post iuvenis senex'.

f. 2v: 'Agnus Dei', beginning: 'Balsamus et munda cera cum cristmastis unda'.

ff. 2v-3r: Latin proverbs, beginning: 'Anno milleno centeno septuageno. Anglorum primas corruit ense Thomas. Auro quid melius. Iaspis. Quid iaspide sensus'.

f. 3r: Sayings attributed to a demon, angel, the Virgin Mary, and Christ, beginning: 'Demon ad animam: Hanc animam posto quam plenam crimen nosco'.

ff. 3r-3v: Short Latin poem, beginning: 'Aspice peccator ubi Filius est mediator'; 'Mors tua. mors Christi. fraus mundi. terror averni'; 'Flores pulvis eris'; 'Tangere qui gaudes meretricem qualiter audes'

f. 3v: Extract attributed to St Jerome, beginning: 'Cum egritudine [...] rapitur intencio mentis ubi est vis doleris'.

f. 3v: Excerpt attributed to St Bernard, beginning: 'Quis non rapitur ad devocionem qui corporis Christi'.

f. 3v: A calculation of the number of the wounds on Christ's body from the Flagellation (5475), attributed to St Bernard.

f. 3v: A poem on the wounds of Christ, beginning: 'Vulnera sustento pro te me quanta memento'.

ff. 4r-20r: Richard Rolle, De modo vivendi.

f. 20r: Poem in Middle English, A glorious garland of eight roses, beginning: 'Goddys chosyn who so wil be / And ever wony on his blis' [NIMEV 995.3; DIMEV 1629].

ff. 20v-26r: Johannis Schyrborn, Sermon on "Multi unum corpus sumus in Christo"; signed by 'Stoyle'.

f. 26r: Short Latin poems, beginning: 'Cum quidem tupre facis quod me spectante ruberes'; 'Sunt pueri parvi, puri, parvo saciati'; 'Nam dum cantor mulcet populum vocibus deum irritat pravis moribus'.

ff. 28r-31v: Tract on the Ten Sibyls, beginning: 'Sibille generaliter dicuntur omnes femine prophetantes'.

ff. 32r-38r: Speculum peccatoris ['Secundum composicionem beati Anselmi'], beginning: 'Quoniam carissime in huius via vite fugientes sumus'

f. 38r: A short Latin poem, beginning: 'Mater digna dei veniae via lux que dici'; signed 'Stoyle'.

ff. 38v-39r: Notes and tracts in Latin, including an extract from Hugh of Saint-Victor De Arca Noe ('De tribus vocibus').

f. 39v: Short Latin and Middle English poems, beginning: 'Stipes cipressi cedrus quod tendis in altum'; 'In cruce sum pro te cur peccas desine pro me'; 'I hong yn cros for love of the. leve thy synne for love of me'; 'Cerne cicatrices. veteres vestigia pugne';''By holde my woundes. how sore y am dyght'; 'Ecce vides quanti michi sis homo sim tibi tanti'; 'Quis te lesit ita ihesu dulcissima vita'

ff. 40r-45r: John Haynton, Academic sermons preached at Oxford in 1432.

ff. 45v-50r: Rainold of Gloucester, Sermon beginning 'Optulit immaculatum'; signed by 'Stoyle'.

ff. 51r-53r: 'Sermo examinatorius'; signed by 'Stoyle'.

f. 53r: Latin poem, beginning: 'Effigiem Christi qui transis pronus adora'; signed by 'Stoyle'.

ff. 54r-59v: John Haynton, Academic sermons preached at Oxford in 1432, entitled: 'Sermo examinatorius'.

f. 59v: A Latin poem, beginning: 'O deus alme verbis me inter diserta tuis'.

ff. 60r-63r: Anonymous sermon on 'Estote factores verbi et non auditores tantum'.

ff. 64r-105r: Richard of Saint-Victor, Benjamin minor.

ff. 105r-127v: Collection of theological excerpts, beginning: 'Alredus rex Anglorum perscrutans quoddam dictum Boecii'.

ff. 128r-133r: Johannis Wodeward, monk of Worcester, Letter, beginning 'Leticia dei permissione Regina consolacionis magistra musice' and 'Sobrietas dei ordinacione dux morum'; dated 1432.

ff. 133r-145r: Formula Dictaminis; signed by 'Stoyle'.

ff. 145v-156v: Pseudo-Bernard of Clairvaux, 'Speculum conscientiae'.

ff. 157r-164v: Pseudo-Bernard of Clairvaux, 'Contemplationes de passione Christi'.

ff. 165r-167r: Pseudo-Bernard of Clairvaux, 'Epistola de honestate morum' [Formula honestae vitae]

f. 167v: A Latin poem, beginning: 'Si velis in ecclesiam ingressum bonum facere'.

ff. 168r-183r: Pseudo-Bernard of Clairvaux, 'Meditiationes de miseria humane conditiones'; signed by 'Stoyle'.

ff. 183v-191r: Pseudo-Bernard of Clairvaux, 'De ingratitudine'.

f. 192r: A Latin poem, beginning: 'Pars prior officia parat ecclesie que ministros'.

f. 192v: Notes on regular and leap years, beginning: 'Annus communis constat ex 364 diebus 6 horis ex xij mensibus. Annus bisextilis constat ex 366 diebus'.

f. 194v: Latin poem, beginning: 'Cancello laices prohibt scriptura sedere'.

f. 195r: Latin sayings: 'Sis memor ffinis in exordio' and 'Memento finis semper'.

The manuscript contains a few additions:

ff. 1r-1v, 193r-193v: Fragmentary text, entitled: 'Textus disputandi per Magistrum David [...] in responsione formali Magistri Ricardi Andr[...]' [Richard Andrew (b. 1402, d. 1477), king's clerk; see Richardson, 'Letters of the Oxford Dictatores' (1942), II, pp. 436-39; and Walker, 'Between Church and Crown' (1999), p. 960 n. 19)]; written in the 15th century.

f. 26v: Practice sentences in French; written in the 16th century.

f. 27r: Prayer in English and Latin; crossed out and largely torn away; written in the 16th century.

f. 63v: A short date inscription for the 22nd year of the reign of Henry VII.

Decoration:

Large initials in red with pen-flourishing in brown ink. Cadels in black and red. Flourished line-fillers in red, black or purple. Rubrics and paraph marks in red. Minor initials highlighted in red.

Collection Area:

Western Manuscripts

Project / Collection:

Harley Collection

Hierarchy Tree:

[{ "id" : "040-002051244", "parent" : "#", "text" : "Harley MS 5398: Collection of religious texts, including Richard Rolle, De modo vivendi; sermons by Johannis Schyrborn, John Haynton, and Rainold of…" , "li_attr" : {"class": "orderable"} }]

Hierarchy Record Ids:

032-002045828
040-002051244

Is part of:

Harley MS 1-7661 : Harley Manuscripts

Harley MS 5398 : Collection of religious texts, including Richard Rolle, De modo vivendi; sermons by Johannis Schyrborn, John Haynton, and Rainold…

Hierarchy:

032-002045828[5400]/040-002051244

Container:

View / search within Archive / Collection: Harley MS 1-7661

Record Type (Level):

File

Extent:

1 volume

Digitised Content:

Languages:

English, Middle
Latin

Scripts:

Latin

Start Date:

1450

End Date:

1499

Date Range:

2nd half of the 15th century

Era:

Access:

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User Conditions:

Physical Characteristics:

Materials: Paper; parchment (ff. 194 and 195).

Dimensions: 208 x 147 mm (text space: 155 x 100 mm).

Foliation: ff. 195 (+ 2 unfoliated modern paper flyleaves at the beginning + 2 at the end); ff. 1 and 192-195 originally were flyleaves; 1 unfoliated paper stub after f. 50 and 1 after f. 64.

Collation: Indicated by catchwords.

Script: Gothic cursive.

Binding: British Museum in-house; black half leather with the Harleian arms gold stamped on the outside covers; marbled endpapers.

Custodial History:

Origin:

Central England (Oxford ?).

Provenance:

The name 'Stoyle', possibly identifiable with the scribe, inscribed beside some of the colophons (ff. 26r, 50r, 53r, 145r, 183r).

'J Hyett', 15th or 16th century: their name inscribed on f. 2r (not in Wright, Fontes Harleiani (1972)).

? 'Robertus Westbyry', 15th or 16th century: his name inscribed on f. 193r (not in Wright, Fontes Harleiani (1972)).

? 'Rychard pysyng', 16th century: his name inscribed on f. 192v (not in Wright, Fontes Harleiani (1972)).

Nathaniel Noel (fl. 1681, d. c. 1753), bookseller, employed by Edward Harley for buying books and manuscripts chiefly on the Continent, where his agent was George Suttie: purchased by Edward Harley on 13th August 1724 (see Diary, ed. by Wright and Wright (1966), II, p. 307 n. 1; Wright, Fontes Harleiani (1972), p. 255).

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, ‘13 Augusti, 1724’ (f. 1; see Wright and Wright 1966).

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.

Publications:

A Catalogue of the Harleian Manuscripts, in the British Museum, 4 vols (London: Eyre and Strahan, 1808-12), III (1808), p. 285 (no. 5398).

Richard Owst, Preaching in Medieval England: An Introduction to Sermon Manuscripts of the Period c. 1350-1450 (Cambridge: University Press, 1926), pp. 259-62.

Henry G. Richardson, 'Letters of the Oxford Dictatores', in Formularies Which Bear on the History of Oxford, c. 1204-1420, ed. by Herbert E. Salter, William A. Pantin and Henry G. Richardson, Oxford Historical Society Publications, n. s. 4-5, 2 vols (Oxford: Oxford Historical Society, 1942), II, 329-450 (pp. 436-39).

The Diary of Humfrey Wanley 1715-1726, ed. by Cyril Ernest Wright and Ruth C. Wright, 2 vols (London: Bibliographical Society, 1966), II: 1723-1726, p. 307 n. 1.

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. 255, 457.

Siegfried Wenzel, 'Academic Sermons at Oxford in the Early Fifteenth Century', Speculum, 70 (1995), 305-29 (p. 306).

Simon Walker, 'Between Church and Crown: Master Richard Andrew, King's Clerk', Speculum, 74 (1999), 956-91 (p. 960 n. 19).

Julia Boffey and Anthony S. G. Edwards, A New Index of Middle English Verse (London: The British Library, 2005), p. 68 no. 995.3/1.

Rudolf Goy, Die Handschriftliche Überlieferung der Werke Richards von St. Viktor im Mittelalter, Bibliotheca Victorina, 18 (Turnhout: Brepols, 2005), p. 226.

Material Type:

Archives and Manuscripts

Legal Status:

Not Public Record(s)

Names:

Pseudo-Bernard of Clairvaux
Richard of Saint-Victor, Prior of the Augustinian abbey of St Victor, Paris, d 1173,
   see also http://isni.org/isni/0000000121448179,
   see also http://viaf.org/viaf/98148813
Rolle, Richard, c 1310-1349,
   see also http://isni.org/isni/0000000121177882,
   see also http://viaf.org/viaf/2465074

Places:

England