Royal MS 1 B IV

i. B. iv BOOKS OF SOLOMON (Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, and Wisdom), in Latin, of S. Jerome's version, Preceded, in a different and somewhat later hand, by a prologue to Ecclesiastes, abbreviated from that of Alcuin (Migne, Patr. c. 668-671), which is itself based on the commentaries of Jerome and Gregory (f. 2, beg. 'Verba Ecclesiastes ... tribus nominibus uocatus est Salomon', ends 'in Epicuri dogma incurrat'), and by part of the prologue of Walafridus Strabo (Migne, cxiii.

1125-1127) to the Song of Solomon (f. 2 b, beg. 'Salomon filius Dauid'. ends 'ad teoricam perducunt'). The Song of Solomon is preceded by further extracts from

the Fathers, including Jerome (in Orig. Homil. ii, Migne, 9

xxiii. 1129) and Walafridus Strabo (in continuation of the passage quoted above). No chapter-numeration. Vellum; ff. 102. iii in. x 7.1/4 in. Early XIII cent. Gatherings of 8 leaves (except nos. 4, 7, and 9, which have 10 leaves, and no. 11, which has 12), the flesh side generally standing first. Wide margins for comments, which are only supplied in a few places. Sec. fol. 'paruulorum'. Initials are left blank for illumination; in some cases they have been supplied subsequently in ordinary ink. On f. 5 is the note, 'liber de claustro Roffensi per Iohannem priorem,

quem qui inde alienauerit, alienatum celauerit vel hunc titulum fraudulenter deleuerit anathema sit. Amen.' John de Renham, Prior of Rochester, held office 1262-1283, 1292-1294; but the entry more probably refers to John de Greenstreet, 1301-1314. On f. 1 b are written notes of a religious character, in various 13th and 14th cent. hands, one of them containing a reference to ' beatus pater noster', S. Francis of Assisi.