Royal MS 13 A V

COLLECTION of romantic, historical, and other works, in Latin, viz.:

1. 'Incipit libellus de ortu Alexandri et interfeccione Nectanaby': romance of Alexanderthe Great, the abridgement of Julius Valerius (cf 13 A. i), in 22 chapters marked byinitials (see Ward, Cat of Romances, i, p. 118). Beg. 'Primi sapientes Egipti'. f. 2.

2. 'Incipit epistola Alexandri ad Aristotilem, in qua continentur gesta ipsius Alexandri': the letter of Alexander to Aristotle on the marvels of India, in 10 chapters marked by initials (see ib.). Beg. 'Semper memor tui sum'. f. 15 b.

3. Martini Poloni, Chronicon Pontificum et Imperatorum (cf. 6 B. xi, art. 12): the later recension (C in Weiland's ed., Mon. Germ. Hist., Scnptores, xxii, p. 377) continued to the death of Pope John XXI (1277), with a corresponding change in the preface and a long insertion following it, on Roman and other history before Augustus. 'Prologus ad cronica' beg. 'Quoniam scire tempora sumniorum pontificum'; text, 'Sicut dicit Orosius'. The Chronicle of Emperors begins on f 59, after, nine blank leaves. f. 24.

The passage concerning the female pope is added in the margin of f. 49; and on f. 58, at the end of the Chronicle of Popes, are written the verses:

' In me cognosce, qui transis, quam breue posse Eat hominis; valui, dum quod es ipse fui, Sed modo nil possum, quia tantum puluis et os sum. Sic tu nil poteris, quando sepultus cris.' In the Chronicle of Emperors the account of Ptolemy the Mathematician (f. 62 b) and a few other passages are added in the margins; and the history of Frederic I, omitted in its proper place, is written at the end. These additions are in a different, but contemporary, hand. Following the Chronicle are eleven leaves which were left blank. On the first of them (f. 84) have been inserted some notes on Faith, &c.; and other theological entries have been made with a plummet on ff. 85 b, 86 b-87 b.

4. History of the siege of Troy, professing to be translated from the Greek of Dares Phrygius by Cornelius Nepos: an abridgement, not divided into chapters or sections (see Ward, Cat. of Rom. i, p. 23 f., and cf. 6 C. VIII, art. 2, 10 A. x, art. 13). Introductory epistle beg. 'Dum multa Athenis'; text, 'Pelias rex Tesalie frater Esonis'. Colophon, 'Explicit Dares de gestis Troianorum et Grecorum'. f. 88 b.

5. Geoffrey of Monmouth, Historia regum Britanniae (cf. 3 A. III). Without the general prologue, but including the prologue to the Prophecies and the epistle to Bishop Alexander (f. 131 b). Beg. 'Britannia insularum optima'; ends imperfectly in the ch. beg. 'Etelbertus ergo rex Canciorum', with the words 'perditum irent' (ed. Schulz, p. 162), after which are three blank leaves. f. 99.

6. Theological treatise, beg. 'Sicud in apoteca diuitis alicuius omnis homo quod desid[er]at inuenit, sic etiam in isto libro omnis anima quod necessarium habet inuenit'. Ends at the foot of f. 189 b impertectly, art. 7 being in a different hand. f. 162.

7. 'Albertus [Magnus] de mineralibus' (so title at foot of page). Heading, 'Incipit liber primus mineralium, qui est de lapidibus'. Text beg. 'De mixtione et coagulacione'. Imperf., ending at the foot of f. 223 b, near the end of tract. ii, lib. iii, cap. 1, 'adheret superficiei nisi' (ed. Venice, 1495, fol. 16 b). f. 190. Vellum; ff. 223. 7¹/₂ in. x 5³/₈ in. Early XIV cent. Gatherings (beg. f. 2 and incl. unnumbered blank leaves), i, ii¹², iii⁶, iv-viii⁸, ix⁶, x-xii⁸, xiii⁵, xiv⁶, xv⁹, xvi-xix⁸, xx¹⁰, xxi¹², xxii⁸, xxiii⁶ , xxiv¹⁶, xxv-xxvii¹², xxviii¹⁰, with catchwords. Written in England, in double columns, by several hands. Sec. fol. 'et si forte'. Initials in red and blue. Old Royal press-mark 'no. 219' (Westm. invent. of 1542, Add. MS. 25469, f. 27); cat. of 1666, f. 20 ?; omitted in CMA.