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Cotton MS Domitian A I, ff 2–55
- Record Id:
- 041-001103630
- Hierarchy Root Ancestor Record Id:
- 032-001101582
- MDARK:
- ark:/81055/vdc_100000001630.0x0003c4
- LARK:
- SLARK:
- ark:/81055/vdc_100063235372.0x000002
- Format:
- ISAD(G)
- Reference (shelfmark):
- Cotton MS Domitian A I, ff 2–55
- Title:
- Bede the Venerable, De natura rerum (excerpt); Isidore of Seville, De natura rerum; a glossary to Abbo of Saint-Germain-des-Prés's Bella Parisiace urbis, book 3 followed by glosses on a commentary on Priscian's Institutio de nomine, pronomine et verbo; Computistical tables; a commentary on Priscian's Institutio de nomine, pronomine et verbo; Bede, De die iudicii; a Latin colophon of three hexameters, a recipe in Old English and a list of books.
- Scope & Content:
-
Contents:
f. 2r: at the top of the leaf the four disciplines of the quadrivium are enunciated in Latin with a translation in Old English above each one. They are followed by the enumeration of the four main sciences presented in Latin and in Old English in the same way.
f. 2r: Bede the Venerable, De natura rerum (only chapter 2: De mundi formation). Incipit: 'In ipso quidem principio confitionis facta sunt caelum et terra, angeli, aer et aqua de nihilo'. Explicit: 'Sed a nove substantiae creatione'.
f. 2v: a table of contents with additions of ownership marks.
ff. 3r-v: Isidore of Seville, De natura rerum, Preface. Rubric: 'Incipit Liber Isidori Spalensis episcopi, de natura rerum'. Incipit: 'Domino et Filio sisebuto Isidorus salute. Dum te prestantem ingenio, facundiaque ac vario flore litterarum non nesciam'. Explicit'.
ff. 3v-4r: a table of chapters.
ff. 4r-36v: Isidore of Seville, De natura rerum. Incipit: 'Dies est solis orientis presentia, quousque ad occasum perveniat'. Explicit: 'Cuius terrae expositionem in medio ociano subiecta declarant formula. Finiunt expositions numero xlviiii. Explicit liber Isidori Psalensis episcopi, De natura rerum'. f. 37r: 'Trimoda sic mundus constat ratione divisus', followed by a diagram.
ff. 37v-38r: a glossary to Abbo of Saint-Germain-des-Prés's Bella Parisiace urbis, book 3 followed by glosses on a commentary on Priscian's Institutio de nomine, pronomine et verbo. Incipit: 'Incipiunt Glose diverse. Dypticas id est tabellas. Corculla id est princeps ludi'. Explicit: 'Articuli minora. Arcere repellere. Loqueatus strqngulatus. Hinc lacus'.
ff. 39r-v: computistical tables. On the recto: a nineteen-year cycle with only the lunar epacts for 12 months. At the bottom of the table: 'De ratione saltus Lune. Memento quod anno novissimo .xix. lunam novembri mensis .xxx. propter saltum qui eodem anno in se rendus enim computare debes'. The second table is dedicated to the lunar cycle, followed by an incomplete solar cycle. At the bottom of this table: 'In hoc prescripto circulo per .xxviii. annos solaris cursus singulorum mensium...'. On the verso: a large table for calculating the times of fast.
ff. 40r-551: Commentary on Priscian's Institutio de nomine, pronomine et verbo written continuously and incorporating Priscian's text:'Incipit id est inchoat vel initium sumit'. Explicit: 'enitimini id est elaborate. Finit liber'.
ff. 51r-54v: Bede, De die iudicii. Rubric: 'Incipiunt versus Bedae presbiteri, De die iudicii'. Incipit: 'Inter florigeras fecundi cespitis herbas/ Flamine ventorun resonantibus undique ramis'. Explicit: 'Acca pater, trepidi et pavidi reminiscere vernae/ Meque tuis Christo precibus commenda benignis/ Vive Deo felix et dic vale fratribus almis .7. amen'.
f. 55v: Various entries: a Latin colophon of three hexameters, a recipe in Old English beginning 'Þas wyrta sceolon to wensealfe' and a list of books.
Decoration:
Rustic and initial capitals highlighted in blue or red. Rubrics highlighted in blue or red. Some rubrics are in red.
14 circular diagrams in Isidore of Seville, De natura rerum. The subject of diagrams are:
f. 8r: a wheel of months.
f. 10v: a wheel of the year, where spring is damp and hot in the Levant, summer is hot and dry at Midday, autumn is dry and cold at Sunset, winter is damp and cold in the North.
f. 12v: a wheel of the five circles of the world accompanied by a wheel of meridians.
f. 13r: a circle of the elements: fire, air, earth, water.
f. 14r: a circle divided between the world, human beings and the year.
ff. 17r and 18r: two circles representing the sun.
f. 20r: the seven forms of the moon: the different forms of the moon are drawn in margin.
f. 23v: a circle of planets: the Earth at the centre, the Moon, Mercury, Lucifer (Venus), the Sun, Vesper (usually Venus), Phaeton (here Fofton, usually: Venus), Saturnus.
f. 28v: a diagram representing the rainbow.
f. 31r: a circular diagram showing the winds linked to the months.
f. 37r: a circular diagram of the three continents: Asia, Africa, Europe.
- Collection Area:
- Western Manuscripts
- Project / Collection:
- Cotton Collection
- Hierarchy Record Ids:
- 032-001101582
040-001103629
041-001103630 - Is part of:
- Cotton MS : Cotton Manuscripts
Cotton MS Domitian A I : Bede the Venerable, De natura rerum (excerpt); Isidore of Seville, De natura rerum; a glossary to Abbo of…
Cotton MS Domitian A I, ff 2–55 : Bede the Venerable, De natura rerum (excerpt); Isidore of Seville, De natura rerum; a glossary to Abbo… - Hierarchy:
- 032-001101582[1146]/040-001103629[0001]/041-001103630
- Container:
- View / search within Archive / Collection: Cotton MS
- Record Type (Level):
- Item
- Extent:
-
Part of Cotton MS Domitian A I
- Digitised Content:
- http://www.bl.uk/manuscripts/FullDisplay.aspx?ref=Cotton_MS_Domitian_A_i (digital images currently unavailable)
- Thumbnail:
-
- Languages:
- English, Old
Latin - Scripts:
- Latin
- Start Date:
- 0930
- End Date:
- 1124
- Date Range:
- Mid 10th century-1st quarter of the 12th century
- Era:
- CE
- Access:
-
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- User Conditions:
- Letter of introduction required to view this manuscript
- Physical Characteristics:
-
Materials: Parchment.
Dimensions: 210x145mm (text space 190x100mm).
Script: Caroline minuscule and Anglo-Saxon minuscule.
- Custodial History:
-
Origin: Canterbury, England.
Provenance:
The Benedictine abbey of Saint Augustine, Canterbury: ownership inscription of the abbey of Saint Augustine and probably its shelf mark (f. 2v), a dedication by a 12th-century hand to the abbot of Saint Augustine's (f. 2r).
- Information About Copies:
-
Full digital coverage available for this manuscript: see Digitised Manuscripts at http://www.bl.uk.manuscripts/.
- Publications:
-
Gneuss, Helmut, Handlist of Anglo-Saxon Manuscripts: A List of Manuscripts and Manuscript Fragments Written or Owned in England up to 1100 (Tempe, AZ, 2001), no. 326.
Ker, Neil R, Catalogue of Manuscripts containing Anglo-Saxon (Oxford, 1957; repr. 1990), no. 146.
Ker, Neil R, (ed.), Medieval Libraries of Great Britain: A List of Surviving Books (London, 2nd edn., 1964), p. 43.
Laistner, Max Ludwig Wolfram and Henry Hall King, A Hand-List of Bede Manuscripts (Ithaca, NY, 1943), p. 127.
Lendinara, Patrizia ,The Abbo glossary in London, British Library, Cotton Domitian i’, Anglo-Saxon England, 19 (1990), 133–49.
Lucas, Peter J. and others, Anglo-Saxon Manuscripts in Microfiche Facsimile, 5, Latin Manuscripts with Anglo-Saxon Glosses (Tempe AZ, 1997), pp. 35–41.
Planta, Joseph, A catalogue of the manuscripts in the Cottonian Library deposited in the British Museum (London, 1802), p. 572.
- Material Type:
- Archives and Manuscripts
- Legal Status:
- Not Public Record(s)