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Manuscript, probably of the 15th century, written in England, containing various works on canon law, including: the 'Casus decretalium' of Johannes Burgundus de Maioricis; a summary of the 'Decretales - Liber Sextus' of Pope Boniface VIII; the 'Apparatus ad Constitutiones Clementinas' possibly by Gulielmus de Monte Lauduno; and short extracts by other authors.

 Item
Identifier: Adv.MS.18.6.17

Scope and Contents

Manuscript written in England containing various works on canon law, including the 'Casus decretalium' of Johannes Burgundus de Maioricis; a summary of the 'Decretales - Liber Sextus' of Pope Boniface VIII; the 'Apparatus ad Constitutiones Clementinas' possibly by Gulielmus de Monte Lauduno, as well as short extracts by various other authors.

The date of production of the manuscript is unclear. A 19th-century pencil inscription on the recto of folio i suggests that it is a work of the 14th century, as does the folio catalogue entry. The summary catalogue entry and a sale catalogue excerpt within the manuscript both attribute the work to the 15th century. Dolezalek offers either the 14th or 15th century as the date of production.

The work is in a minuscule cursive Bastarda Anglicana bookhand with between 30 to 34 lines to a page.

The text has been written by several contemporary hands. Dolezalek has identified two possible authors, 'Boolond' and 'Chicheley'. For the supposed signatures of these scribes see folios 144v, 145v and 146r. Throughout the work a scribal textual apparatus is supplied in the margins.

The contents are as follows:

Johannes Burgundus de Maioricis, 'Casus Decretalium'. Folios 1r-78r.

Pope Boniface VIII, 'Decretales - Liber Sextus Summarium'. Folios 78v-134r.

?Gulielmus de Monte Lauduno, 'Apparatus ad Consitutiones Clementinas'. Folios 134v-143r.

John de Stratford and an unnamed papal legate to Boniface, 'Constitutiones de decimis'. Folios 143r-144r.

?Boolond, 'Decretales memorandae'. Folio 144v.

Folio 145r is blank.

?Chicheley, 'Versus de impedimentis matrimonii contahendi'. Folio 145v.

Anonymous, 'Constitutio de veneratione festiva sancti Georgi'. Folio 145v.

?Boolond, 'Speculum curatorum'. Folios 145v-146r.

Anonymous, 'Nota de vestibus crismalibus'. Folio 146r.

Anonymous, 'Constitutio contra abusum beneficiorum ecclesiasticorum'. A later addition. Folios 146r-147r.

Folio 147v is blank.

Notes, probably dating from the 15th century, written in two different hands with 3 lines horizontally and 4 lines vertically. The horizontal lines give details of items to be delivered at certain times of year. The vertical lines are curses against sinfulness. Folio 148r.

There are few decorative elements within the work. There is a running header in red, with 'L' for 'Liber' and a Roman numeral on each verso and recto, respectively. This runs up to 'L VII' on folio 143v. Chapters divisions and paraphs are supplied in red and large initials are stroked with red. On folio 1r is a large decorated initial in blue with penwork and outlines of ivy ornamentation in red and blue. Folios 3 to 11 also contain initials with ornamentation extending into the margins. Folio 78 recto has a large anthropomorphic initial in red. On folios 12r and 13v there are marginal sketches of human heads and animals in red.

Each folio has been lined in red recto and verso.

Horizontal catchwords are present on the following folios: 12v, 24v, 36v, 48v, 60v, 72v, 84v, 96v, 108v, 120v, 133v.

Quire signatures are visible in the lower right corner of the recto sides of some leaves. These are normally in the form of Arabic numerals, but occasionally also include lower case letters.

Dates

  • Creation: ?15th century.

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Normal access conditions apply.

Conditions Governing Use

Normal reproduction conditions apply, subject to any copyright restrictions.

Extent

1 Volumes ; 23cm x 17cm x 4.5cm

Language of Materials

Latin

Arrangement

i-ii + 148 + iii-iv folios.

Collation: 11 gaterings of 12, 1 of 14, and 1 of 2.

a-k¹², l¹⁴, m²

Custodial History

On the pastedown of the front board there is a bookplate for Joseph Jekyll of Lincolns Inn. Above this bookplate an excerpt from a sale catalogue, possibly mid-19th century, has been pasted in. It is possible that a another inscription on the paste-down is a previous shelfmark of the item; it reads: '9.S.XI'. It is unclear to which Library this might belong.

The manuscript was in the possession of John Charles Guthrie, as is evidenced by a pencil inscription on the recto side of folio i. The volume was presented to the Faculty of Advocates by Lady Guthrie on the 9th of April 1921, as recorded in an inscription on the same folio.

Bibliography

Dolezalek, G. 'Manuscripta Juridica', online resource provided by Max-Planck-Institut für europäische Rechtsgeschichte: http://manuscripts.rg.mpg.de/manuscript/2471/

'Folio Catalogue of Manuscripts: Law' (Unpublished manuscript, Edinburgh [18??]), folio 15. NLS Reference: FR.185.

Kristeller, P. O. and S. Krämer (eds.) 'Latin Manuscripts Books Before 1600: A List of the Printed Catalogues and Unpublished Inventories of Extant Collections', Fourth revised and enlarged edition (München, 1993), pages 386-388.

'Summary Catalogue of the Advocates' Manuscripts' (Edinburgh, 1972), page 69, number 853; page 110, number 1435.

Physical Description

Vellum.

The binding is probably 17th-century, and is of brown leather covering cardboard. The front and back boards have a blind-tooled centre panel with floral corner decorations. The three edges of the leaves are sprinkled with red.

The volume was boxed in 1931 and was probably also rebacked at the same time. The new back has blind tooling, raised bands, and a remnant of a red leather panel from the old back upon which is a gold-tooled title which reads: 'CANON LAW. MANUSCRIPT'.

Dolezalek has identified a 17th-century watermark in the paper folios i-iv, although it is extremely faint. This watermark is most visible in the upper portion of folio ii, and is the arms of Amsterdam held by two lions rampant.

Title
National Library of Scotland Catalogue of Manuscripts
Author
National Library of Scotland Archives and Manuscripts Division
Description rules
International Standard for Archival Description - General
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the National Library of Scotland Archives and Manuscripts Division Repository

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