The Production and Use of English Manuscripts 1060 to 1220

Elaine Treharne

Cambridge, Trinity College, B. 14. 52

MS Items

fols i verso-ii verso, fol. 1ra/1-21, fol. 1rb/1-23 and fol. 1ra/23-31, fol. 1v/1-2, fol. 1v/4-11, fol. 1v/13-24, fols 2r/1-9v/21, fols 10r/1-11r/17, fols 11r/17-12r/11, fols 12r/11-14r/8, fols 14r/9-17v/17, fols 17v/18-20v/9, fols 20v/9-24v/7, fols 24v/8-26r/17, fols 26r/18-28r/3, fols 28r/4-30r/9, fols 30r/10-31r/4, fols 31r/5-34r/15, fols 34r/16-37v/20, fols 38r/1-39v/15, fols 39v/15-42v/17, fols 42v/17-44v, fols 44v/10-46v/23, fols 47r/1-48r/17, fols 48r/18-49v/12, fols 49v/12-52r/8, fols 52r/8-53r/24, fols 53/1-54v/17, fols 54v/17-57r/7, fols 57r/r-60r/9, fols 60r/9-61v/9, fols 61v/9-64r/10, fols 64r/10-66r/23, fols 66v/1-66r/23, fols 69r/9-71v/6, fols 71v/6-75v/11, fols 75v/12-78r/13, fols 78r/14-81r/17, fols 81r/18-83r/23, fols 83v/1-86r/16, fols 86v/1-86v/12, fols 87v/1-88r/12, fols 88v/1-15 and 90v/1-26 and fols 89v-90r.

Physical Description

Object Description

Hand Description

Decoration Description

Binding Description

Accompanying Material

History

Additional Information

Administration Information

Surrogates

Bibliography

Back to List of MSS and Descriptions

Homilies; Poema Morale

Date: s. xii2; xiii

Summary:

A composite manuscript containing thirty-four homilies and the Poema Morale. James 1900 dates the two main scribes to s. xiii (p. 459), but Ker 1957 suggests that the Trinity Homilies 'may have been written before 1200' (p. xix) and Treharne 2004 dates the sermons to the end of the twelfth century and the Poema Morale to the second half of the twelfth century (p. 281). Five of the items in the manuscript, including the Poema Morale, also occur in Lambeth Palace Library 487.

Manuscript Items:

Item: fols i verso-ii verso
Item: fol. 1ra/1-21
Item: fol. 1rb/1-23 and fol. 1ra/23-31
Item: fol. 1v/1-2
Item: fol. 1v/4-11
Item: fol. 1v/13-24
Item: fols 2r/1-9v/21
Item: fols 10r/1-11r/17
Item: fols 11r/17-12r/11
Item: fols 12r/11-14r/8
Item: fols 14r/9-17v/17
Item: fols 17v/18-20v/9
Item: fols 20v/9-24v/7
Item: fols 24v/8-26r/17
Item: fols 26r/18-28r/3
Item: fols 28r/4-30r/9
Item: fols 30r/10-31r/4
Item: fols 31r/5-34r/15
Item: fols 34r/16-37v/20
Item: fols 38r/1-39v/15
Item: fols 39v/15-42v/17
Item: fols 42v/17-44v
Item: fols 44v/10-46v/23
Item: fols 47r/1-48r/17
Item: fols 48r/18-49v/12
Item: fols 49v/12-52r/8
Item: fols 52r/8-53r/24
Item: fols 53/1-54v/17
Item: fols 54v/17-57r/7
Item: fols 57r/r-60r/9
Item: fols 60r/9-61v/9
Item: fols 61v/9-64r/10
Item: fols 64r/10-66r/23
Item: fols 66v/1-66r/23
Item: fols 69r/9-71v/6
Item: fols 71v/6-75v/11
Item: fols 75v/12-78r/13
Item: fols 78r/14-81r/17
Item: fols 81r/18-83r/23
Item: fols 83v/1-86r/16
Item: fols 86v/1-86v/12
Item: fols 87v/1-88r/12
Item: fols 88v/1-15 and 90v/1-26
Item: fols 89v-90r

Physical Description:

Object Description:

Form: Codex

Extent:

139 mm x 104 mm (dimensions of all - size of leaves)

c. 122-28 mm x 80 mm (dimensions of Quire 1 - size of written space)

c. 114 mm x 86-91 mm (dimensions of Quires 2-11 - size of written space)

Foliation and/or Pagination: Three foliations are recorded on Quires 2-11.

A sixteenth-century foliation in black ink begins at 1 on fol. 10r, at the start of the homilies. Most of it is lost due to cropping, but it appears to have run throughout the manuscript. The foliation corresponds to the sixteenth-century table of contents (fol. 1rb/1-23, 1ra/23-31).

A seventeenth-century pagination is written in a browner ink on the rectos, starting with the homilies on fol. 10r, and is generally not lost due to cropping. This is the pagination used by Morris 1873 and Ker 1932.

A prominent pencilled foliation begins on the first parchment leaf and is written on the upper right rectos, usually below the other numbers.

In the description of Hill 1966 and in the microfiche facsimile of Wilcox 2000, the foliation is described as written on the first ten folios, with '3' omitted, '5' twice and '5*-8' for 6-9, but '10' on fol. 10 at the start of Quire 2, then every tenth folio after that.

The pencilled foliation now runs throughout the manuscript: i-ii, 1-2, [3], 4-5, 5, 6-8, 10-91, 91A-93. It corresponds to the descriptions in James 1900, Wilcox 2000 (p. 16) and this description.

Collation:

Quires:

8+1

Signatures:

Condition:

Leaves are heavily cropped with some loss to the text.

Note:

Quire 1 is a self-contained unit, with different layout, lineation, format, written area and decoration to the rest of the manuscript (see above). Its text has suffered more cropping than the other texts, suggesting it was once wider than the rest of the book. It is not included in the sixteenth-century foliation or seventeenth-century pagination and was not included in the 1sixteenth-century contents, and the second quire opens with a sixteenth-century title, all of which suggests that the quire was not part of the manuscript until after the seventeenth century (Wilcox 2000, p. 17). However, the opening folio must have been at the front of the manuscript in the sixteenth century, when the table of contents was written, and probably in the fifteenth century when the inscription 'Rithmus anglicus cum omiliis anglicis in hoc volumine | continentur' was added. Ivy 1958 suggests that the Poema Morale originally occupied a quire of eight that was later placed inside a bifolium. This view is supported by the varying wormholes on fol. 1 and fols 2-3, which do not correspond.

Hand description:

Number of hands:

Summary:

The majority of the manuscript is written by two main scribes who write in a similar hand, often changing stints at the start of a page or half-way through the first line, and never starting at the beginning of a new item (Wilcox 2000, p. 17). The two scribes have distinctively different forms for the abbreviation & and the letter ð (Ker 1932). According to Ker 1932, the scribes' contributions are as follows:

Hand 1: fols 2r/1- 21v/21, 23r/1-21, 36r/15-21, 38v/6-21, 66v/13-68v/11, 70r/1- 71r/23, 73v/1-76r/23, 78r/1-23, 79r/1-23, 80v/1- 81r/1, 85r/1-23

Hand 2: fols 22r/1-22v/21, 23v/1-36r/15, 36v/1-38v/6, 39r/1- 66v/13, 68v/11- 69v/23, 71v/1- 73v/1, 76v/1- 77v/23, 78v/1-23, 79v/1- 80r/23, 81r/1- 85r/1, 85v/1- 86r/16

Wilcox 2000 argues that Ker's identification of the scribe of Quire 1 (fols 2-9) is doubtful, as the different mis-en-page and size of script make comparison difficult. He suggests that Quire 1 may have been written by a different scribe (p. 18). Treharne 2004 notes that 'a third scribe' writes fols 87v-88r (p. 281), although Wilcox 2000 argues that two scribes were responsible for this item, one writing fol. 87v/1-14 and the other writing fols 87v/14-88r/12. Later hands are found elsewhere in the manuscript, and there are abundant pencil annotations in a thirteenth-century hand throughout the manuscript.

Hand:

Scope: major
Script: English Vernacular Minuscule
Ker reference: Ker p. xix
Description: Hand 1, which copies the Poema Morale and the first folios of the Homilies, is relatively compressed and angular, and although the manuscript itself is small, since the bodies of the graphs are so compressed there is still space on the page, and the prevailing impetus of the mise-en-page seems to be the need for legibility.
Summary of the characteristics of the hand:
Insular, rounded d and upright d are used.
g is Caroline for the stop, and insular five-shaped g for the spirant.
h is notable. It is formed with at least three strokes: a relatively split ascender, a sharp and thin angle upwards and then a thicker downstroke curling round back under.
The use of þ distinguishes the text from Latin.
The use of ð distinguishes the text from Latin.
The use of ƿ distinguishes the text from Latin.
minims are not very regular; they have angular shoulders and small feet to the right.
ascenders are relatively short; they are split or wedged at the top.
descenders are relatively short, but end with an emphatic curve to the left.
Punctuation: Punctuation in the form of a punctus elevatus and a punctus, the latter being placed on the line or just above.
Abbreviations:
The abbreviation mark for 'that' extends from the right of the þ.
The ˥ has, in Quire 1, quite a flat head and an angled stroke down which finished with a flick to the right below the line. By the end of the quire the head is more curved, slightly tilted, and matches those that follow from fol. 10 onwards.
Ligatures: st ligatures are used; the d+e ligature is used where the e is attached to the top of upstroke of d, rather than the full-blown biting seen in the thirteenth century. However, biting p is also used occasionally. or ligatures are common.
Correcting technique: Overwriting erasure; subpunction; insertion of correction with an insertion mark and interlinear addition. Corrections probably in a different hand in a darker ink at fols 78r/9, 80r/16, 83r/17 and 20. (Ker 1957, p. 406; Treharne 2000, pp. 25-26).

Hand:

Scope: major
Script: English Vernacular Minuscule
Ker reference: Ker p. xix
Description: Hand 2, which copies folios (as outlined above) from fol. 22r. This is a much more upright and regular hand, but it is very narrow and angular. The most notable characteristic distinguishing this hand is the crossed and squiggly ˥.
Summary of the characteristics of the hand:
g is exclusively Caroline, with a rounded tail which flicks sharply down to the right in a hairstroke at the end.
There is a rare, diplomatic form of n at fols 66r and 77r formed with a downstroke and a 3-shaped second limb.
ð is formed with one stroke of the pen.
ascenders are relatively short; they are split or wedged at the top.
descenders are relatively long, and sweep to the left. At the last line of fols 24v-25r and 31r, the scribe uses very elaborate descenders, which extend to the foot of the page.
Punctuation: Punctuation in the form of a punctus elevatus, punctus interrogativus and punctus, the latter being placed on the line or just above. Longish, thin hyphens appear at line-ends.
Abbreviations: This scribe uses far more abbreviations than Scribe 1. These abbreviations are those typically used by scholastic scribes, who use the initial letters of individual biblical quotations rather than write out the entire reference.
Ligatures: st ligatures are used; biting p used occasionally; or ligatures are common.

Hand:

Scope: major
Script: English Vernacular Minuscule
Ker reference: Ker p. xix
Description: Hand 3, which copies fols 87v to 88r. The script of this scribe is usually described as thirteenth-century, though it might equally well be late twelfth-century. The ˥ has a wavy head and a descender below the line that curves emphatically to the left. This is probably the most distinctive feature.
Summary of the characteristics of the hand:
a is Caroline, and slightly enlarged when in initial position.
d is round-backed and usually quite short, but occasionally it has an exaggeratedly long ascender, especially at line beginnings.
g is exclusively Caroline, with a rounded tail, which is sometimes closed.
The right limb of h descends under the line and curves to the left.
The second limb of n occasionally curves under the line.
The upstroke of t consistently transects the crossbar (unlike Scribes 1 and 2).
ð is used only once, and þ is used otherwise.
ascenders often have a slight tag to the left and are a little leftward leaning.
descenders curve to the left.
Punctuation: Punctuation in the form of a punctus elevatus, punctus interrogativus and punctus, the latter being placed on the line or just above. Longish, thin hyphens appear at line-ends.

This scribe uses far more abbreviations than Scribe 1. These abbreviations are those typically used by scholastic scribes, who use the initial letters of individual biblical quotations, rather than write out the entire reference.

Ligatures: Suprascript s is used in final position.

Decoration Description:

Rubrics and some capital letters that introduce Latin in the text are written in red. The first letter of a homily is enlarged and written in red or sometimes green (fols 10r/1, 12r/12, 20v/10, 28r/4, 31r/5, 38r/1, 53v/1, 57r/8). At fol. 30r/10, the new item is not fully differentiated from the one which precedes it, and it begins with an enlarged black initial instead of a coloured one. The Poema Morale has an enlarged red opening initial and a capital letter, positioned in the margin, beginning each line. 'AMEN' is written at the end of the poem in display capitals and touched in red (Wilcox 2000, p. 18).

Binding Description:

According to the binder's note on the back flyleaf, the manuscript was rebound and repaired in October 1984 by the Cockerell Bindery. The current binding (146 mm x 115 mm) retains the original dark brown leather binding over pulp boards, the embossed coat of arms of Archbishop Whitgift in gold on the front and back and the fittings for two brass clasps on the front and back. The title 'Homiliæ Anglicæ--MS.' is gold-tooled on the spine, with 'B' '14' and '52' in black ink on white stickers at top, middle and bottom of the spine. There are wormholes on the rear boards, none of which have penetrated. The pages have gilded edges.

On the final flyleaf is the note from the binder: 'DC6820 Condition when received: binding rebacked dark brown calf, over pulp boards, a very heavy impression of arms in gold on both boards, most of the gold missing, two clasps clasping on the back board, crossover missing, red lettering piece. Book sewn on four white thongs, thongs broken, sewing broken, gatherings free, vellum leaves in good condition though very heavily cropped, coloured edges. Book taken down, damaged leaves guarded and repaired, resewn on four cords to the old marking up. The old boards repaired and laced on. The spine covered with brown calf.' (Wilcox 2000, p. 16).

Accompanying Material:

Fol. 1v contains the fifteenth-century inscription 'Rithmus anglicus cum omiliis anglicis in hoc volumine | continentur'. This inscription is picked up by a heading 'Rithmus Anglicus' in a probably sixteenth-century hand on fol. iiv.

Fol. 88r contains two names in a fifteenth-century hand identified by Hill 1966 as 'Ser Thomas Stone (or Stow)' and 'Ser John Newson' (p. 200), although Laing and McIntosh 1995 read the second name as 'John Newbore' (p. 43).

Fol. 1r contains a sixteenth-century table of contents, keyed to the early foliation.

Fol. 1v contains an astrological dating and six lines of Latin hexameters and pentameters, signed 'WP' or 'WL'. Hill 1966 identifies this as the work of William Patten (fol. 1528-1590) written out by his son, Thomas (b. 1561). Hill identifies the dating formula as 23rd September 1583, the date of Archbishop John Whitgift's enthronement at Canterbury. At the foot of the page is 11 lines of a letter written in English recommending the writer of the above verses to 'yor grace' for his knowledge of the antiquities and his knowledge of Armenian. Hill 1966 suggests that the scholar is William Patten, a sixteenth-century Humanist scholar, and that the letter may have been from Henry Carey, Lord Chamberlain Hunsdon (1524?-1596) to Archbishop Whitgift or possibly Archbishop Parker (p. 195).

There are interlinear and marginal glosses in six different hands (Hill 1966, pp. 193-4) and extensive pencilled underlining and annotations, particularly pencilled cross-references to variations on the phrase 'was teames atold' (Wilcox 2000, p. 15).

The flyleaves include an extensive doctrinal index to Quires 2-11 in the hand of Abraham Whelock, Cambridge University's first lecturer in Anglo-Saxon (1593-1653). The same hand wrote an inscription on fol. iv: 'Hic codex MS. fidem protestantium in permultis | multum ornat. Legi & | perlegi. A. W.'

Fol. ir contains three shelf-marks of Trinity College Library: 'R. 15. 17' (deleted), a number scribbled over and 'B. 14. 52'. On fol. 1v is the modern Trinity College Cambridge Library stamp.

History:

Origin:

The dialect suggests a south-eastern origin, perhaps London (Hill 1977, p. 107) or south Cambridgeshire (Laing and McIntosh 1995, p. 33)

Provenance:

Unknown.

Acquisition:

The manuscript was given to Trinity College by Archbishop Whitgift (d. 1604).

Additional Information:

Administration Information:

Manuscript described by Elaine Treharne with the assistance of Simon Patterson, Natalie Jones, Hollie Morgan and George Younge (2010; 2013).

Surrogates:

Wilcox, Jonathan, Anglo-Saxon Manuscripts in Microfiche Facsimile, Medieval & Renaissance Texts & Studies (Tempe, AZ: Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, 2000), vol. 8: Wulfstan Texts and Other Homiletic Materials

Bibliography:

Hall, Joseph, Selections from Early Middle English, 1130-1250, 2 vols (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1920)

Hill, Betty, 'Trinity College Cambridge MS. B. 14. 52, and William Patten', Transactions of the Cambridge Bibliographical Society, 4, no. 3 (1966), 192-200

---, 'The Twelfth-Century Conduct of Life, Formerly the Poema Morale or A Moral Ode', Leeds Studies in English, 9 (1977), 97-144

Ivy, G. S., 'The Bibliography of the Manuscript Book', in The English Library Before 1700: Studies in its History, ed. by Francis Wormald and C. E. Wright (London: Athlone Press, 1958), pp. 32-65

James, M. R., The Western Manuscripts in the Library of Trinity College, Cambridge: A Descriptive Catalogue (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1900), vol. 1: Containing an Account of the Manuscripts Standing in Class B

Ker, N. R., Catalogue of Manuscripts Containing Anglo-Saxon (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1957; repr. 1990), p. xix

---, 'The Scribes of the Trinity Homilies', Medium Ævum, 1 (1932), 138-40

Laing, Margaret, 'Anchor Texts and Literary Manuscripts in Early Middle English', in Regionalism in Late Medieval Manuscripts and Texts: Essays Celebrating the Publication of 'A Linguistic Atlas of Late Mediaeval English', ed. by F. Riddy (Cambridge, 1991), pp. 27- 52

Laing, Margaret, and Angus McIntosh, 'Cambridge, Trinity College, MS 335: Its Texts and Their Transmission', in New Science out of Old Books: Studies in Manuscripts and Early Printed Books in Honour of A. I. Doyle, ed. by Richard Beadle and A. J. Piper (Aldershot: Scolar Press, 1995), pp. 14-52

Morris, Richard, ed., Old English Homilies of the Twelfth Century, EETS, OS 53 (London: N. Trübner, 1873)

Treharne, Elaine, 'The Life and Times of Old English Homilies for the First Sunday in Lent', in The Power of Words: Anglo-Saxon studies Presented to Donald G. Scragg on his Seventieth Birthday, ed. by Hugh Magennis and J. Wilcox (Morgantown: West Virginia University Press, 2006), pp. 205-42

---, ed., Old and Middle English c. 890- c.1400: An Anthology, 2nd edn (Oxford: Blackwell, 2004)