Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, MS 414: Gervase of Tilbury, Otia imperialia. Julius Valerius, transl., Historia Alexandri magni. pseudo-Turpinus, Historia Caroli magni et Rolandi. 'Dares Phrygius', De excidio Troiae historia. Walter Map, Epistola Valerii ad Rufinum, Tractatus de ortu deorum, Historia de adventu Enee in Italiam, De primis habitatoribus Anglia. Geoffrey of Monmouth, Historia regum Britanniae
Abstract/Contents
- Summary
- CCCC MS 414 is a classic example of a medieval miscellany of historical, romantic and spiritual texts. Copied in the fourteenth century, the single most substantial text in this volume is the Otia imperiala by Gervase of Tilbury (c. 1140 -1220), an encyclopaedia of history and geography. Other texts present include the Historia Alexandri magni, the Historia Caroli magni et Rolandi of pseudo-Turpin (fl. second quarter of twelfth century), the Historia regum Britanniae and Prophetia Ambrosii Merlini of Geoffrey of Monmouth (d. 1154), accounts of the siege of Troy and of Aeneas' return to Italy, Walter Map (c. 1140-1210) Epistola Valerii ad Rufinum (also in CCCC MSS 107 and 177) with the commentary of John Ridewall OFM (d. after 1340), and a tract on the ancestry of Christ. James postulated an East Anglian provenance on the basis of the script and decoration, but this has never been confirmed. The manuscript contains a Parkerian guide to the contraction of words used by medieval scribes.
- Contents
- Otia imperialia -- Historia Alexandri magni -- Historia Caroli magni et Rolandi -- De excidio Troiae historia -- Epistola Valerii ad Rufinum ne ducat uxorem (De nugis curialium, dist. 4, 3-5), with the Commentary of John Ridewall OFM -- Tractatus de ortu deorum -- Historia de adventu Enee in Italiam -- De primis habitatoribus Anglia -- Historia regum Britanniae
Description
| Alternative title | Gervasius Tilberiensis. Gesta Alexandri, etc. |
|---|---|
| Type of resource | mixed material |
| Extent | ff. 3 + 282 |
| Date created | [ca. 1300 - 1399] |
| Language | Latin |
| Material | Vellum |
| Layout | mostly 37-38 lines to a page |
| Height (mm) | 206 |
| Width (mm) | 149 |
| Collation | 3 flyleaves, 1(10)-4(10) (wants 1) 5(10) 6(12) 7(10) 8(10) 9(12) (wants 10-12) 10(12) 11(12) 12(6) 13(4) (wants 4) 14(12) 15(8) 16(2) 17(10) 18(4) 19(10) (+2 after 1) 20(8) 21(8) 22(12)-29(12). Parker's pagination omits one leaf. |
| Writing | in several hands, rather rough |
| Foliation | ff. a-b + i-ii + pp. 1-394 + 394a + 395a + 395-562 + ff. c-d |
| Provenance | The heading of no. 6 points to a Franciscan house, and the general aspect of the book suggests East Anglia. |
| Additions | On ff. iv-iir are Parkerian notes and on f. iiiv a Parkerian transcript of the beginning of the text for the use of those who are unaccustomed to the contractions., At top of 1r (p. 3) a small erasure and the title Ocia inperialia. |
| 2 fo. | vincit edocuit |
Bibliographic information
| M.R. James Date | xiv |
|---|---|
| Downloadable James Catalogue Record | |
| Superseded Interim Catalogue Record | |
| Contains |
|
| TJames | 237 |
| Stanley | P. 10 |
| Location | https://purl.stanford.edu/fz952dc9137 |
| Location | MS 414 |
| Repository | UK, Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, Parker Library |
Access conditions
- Use and reproduction
- Images courtesy of The Parker Library, Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. For higher resolution images suitable for scholarly or commercial publication, either in print or in an electronic format, please contact the Parker Library directly at parker-library@corpus.cam.ac.uk
- License
- This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 4.0 International license (CC BY-NC).
Collection
Parker Manuscripts
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