The contents are as follows.
(i) 'Cronica de regibus et pontificibus Anglie', compiled by a Franciscan and based mainly on the works of Ralph de Diceto. It begins with a description of Britain and its marvels (cf. Diceto, ‘Opera Historica’, volume i, pages 30, 10-15), followed (folio 3 verso) by Diceto's 'De partitione provinciae', which is printed in Thomas Gale, ‘Historiae Britannicae ... scriptures XV’, volume i, pages 560-562. The first part of the chronicle (folio 4 verso) is taken from Diceto (‘Opera Historica’, volume ii, pages 222-232), with a continuation to 1317. In the later part of the annals, the place of meeting of the annual chapter of the English province of the Franciscan Order is noted with some regularity, together with other matters of Franciscan interest, especially in East Anglian houses. (Folio 1.)
(ii) Histories of the archbishops and bishops of England and Wales. That of the archbishops of Canterbury is by Diceto, and is printed in Henry Wharton, ‘Anglia sacra’, volume ii, pages 677-693. (Folio 54.)
(iii) 'Testimonia gentilium de secta Christiana', attributed here to Robert Grosseteste, Bishop of Lincoln, but probably by the Dominican John of Paris, called Quidort. It has also been ascribed to Roger Bacon. See S Harrison Thomson, ‘The writings of Robert Grosseteste’, page 266. (Folio 80.)
(iv) 'Incipit liber de peccato originali editus a fratre Egidio Romano'. The treatise by Cardinal Egidio Colonna, consisting of a preface and six chapters, the initial letters of which form an acrostic of the author's name. (Folio 87.)
(v) 'Liber pentacronon', a collection based on the works of St Hildegard (died 1179) by Gebeno, Prior of Eberbach in the diocese of Mainz, who lived in the early 13th century. The collection contains Gebeno's preface and adaptations of some of St Hildegard's visionary writings and letters. For her works, see ‘Patrologia Latina’, volume cxcvii. (Folio 94.)
(vi) 'Vade mecum in tribulatione', a tract written in prison by the Franciscan alchemist, John of Roquetaillade (Johannes de Rupescissa, flourished 1349). A leaf containing the fourth and fifth ‘intentiones’ is missing after folio 131. For a printed version, see Edward Brown's Appendix to Ortwinus Gratius, ‘Fasciculus rerum expetendarum’, pages 496-508. Unlike the British Library Royal MS.8.E.VII and Harleian MS.1008, dates given here are of the 14th century. This manuscript is not listed in Jeanne Bignami-Odier, ‘Etudes sur Jean de Roquetaillade’. (Folio 129.)
Paragraph marks in red. A few of the margins contain partially erased fragments of an earlier work, and there are some marginalia in a sixteenth-century hand.
There are two memoranda, dated 1632 and supposedly signed by Thomas, Earl of Haddington, which concern Crookston mill (folio 64) and the possibility of creating an earldom for William Borthwick of Crookston (folio 128 verso).
