Harley MS 5426

This composite manuscript consists of two parts (ff. 1-106; and ff. 107-213) that were separately produced, and joined together at a later stage, probably in the Harleian library. The first part of the manuscript appears to have been written in an Italian script; the second part was most likely written in England. Both parts were probably written in the 14th century.

Contents:

Part 1

ff. 1r-106r: Thomas Waleys [Allensis] (fl. 1318-1349), Commentary on Augustine’s De Civitate Dei [attributed to: 'fratre Thoma ordinis predicatorum natione Anglico'].

Part 2

ff. 107r-115r: A table of chapters of Gregory the Great, Moralia in Iob; imperfect at the beginning.

ff. 115v-195r: An index of persons and subjects in Gregory the Great’s Moralia in Iob.

ff. 195v-213v: A table of chapters for Paterius, Liber de Expositione Veteris ac Novi Testamenti (compiled from the works of Gregory the Great).

The manuscript contains a few later additions:

f. 106r: A table listing the number of chapters in the ten books of Thomas Waleys, Commentary on Augustine’s De Civitate Dei.

f. 106v: A note in Latin and a drawing of a banderol, inscribed: ‘So[..] Rerum Dominus Virtus’.

Decoration:

Part 1 (ff. 1-106):

2 large red initial with arabesque motifs (ff. 1r, 2v); 4 large red initials with penwork decoration and anthropomorphic faces in brown and red ink inside their letters (ff. 60r, 79v, 85v, 102r); 3 large red initials with geometric patterns in brown ink inside their letters (ff. 70r, 93r, 99v); small red initials with arabesque motifs throughout. Red brackets decorated with anthropomorphic faces on ff. 44r, 59r, 59v, and 60r.

Part 2 (ff. 107-213):

Large blue and red initials with penwork decoration in the opposite colour; 1 large brown in initial with a human face (f. 152r); small blue and red initials throughout. Blue and red paraphs.