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Cambridge. Corpus Christi College, Parker Library MS 414

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Source
Parker Library On the Web (Cambridge)
Library
UK, Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, Parker Library
Shelfmark
  • MS 414
Biblissima authority file
Date
  • 1300 - 1399
Language
  • Latin
Title
    • 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
    • Gervase of Tilbury, Otia imperialia || Gervasii Tilberiensis otia imperialia ad Ottonem IV
    • Julius Valerius transl., Historia Alexandri magni || Vita Alexandri magni
    • pseudo-Turpinus, Historia Caroli magni et Rolandi || Turpini historia Caroli magni
    • 'Dares Phrygius', De excidio Troiae historia || Daretis Phrygii de excidio Troja historia, Cornelio Nepote interprete
    • Walter Map, Epistola Valerii ad Rufinum ne ducat uxorem (De nugis curialium, dist. 4, 3-5), with the Commentary of John Ridewall OFM || Valerius ad Rufinum de nuptiis non habendis cum expositione
    • Tractatus de ortu deorum || Tractatus de ortu deorum
    • Historia de adventu Enee in Italiam || Historia adventus Eneae in Italiam
    • De primis habitatoribus Anglia || De primis habitatoribus Angliae
    • Geoffrey of Monmouth, Historia regum Britanniae || Galfredi Monumetensis historia Britanniae
    • see more
Agent
Description

  • 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 :


    3-248 - Gervase of Tilbury, Otia imperialia || Gervasii Tilberiensis otia imperialia ad Ottonem IV

    Note: Tria diversa opera quae Gervasio vulgo attribuuntur, nempe Commentarius de regnis imperatorum Romanorum Mundi descriptio, et Tractatus de mirabilibus mundi omnia in his otiis imperialibus continentur

    Note: (3) Gervasii TilberiensisOtia imperialia

    rubric: (3) Serenissimo domino suo Ottoni quarto, etc. (added)

    incipit: (3) Ottoni quarto romano imperatori semper augusto Geruasius tilberiensis vester dignacione marescallus, etc.

    rubric: (3) Collaccio regni et sacerdocii

    incipit: (3) Duo sunt imperator Auguste quibus hic mundus regitur

    explicit: (7) conregnetis in eternum cum Christo

    rubric: (7) Explicit prefatio Secuntur tituli capitulorum operis sequentis

    rubric: (8) Prima libri decisio

    incipit: (8) Cum uniuscuiusque rei principium

    Note: The end of Decisio I and beginning of II (from capitulum 24 de diluuio et archa: Leibnitz, p. 906) are wanting. A marginal note on p. 51 says, Hic deficiunt x folia de alio libro. require (?) supra in principio sed et ait augustinus

    Note: Decisio II begins in the section de ortu tigris et gangis (Leibnitz, p. 911 ?)

    Note: At p. 79 a page and a half are left blank: a quire was wanting, but was evidently supplied. The text on p. 81 continues without break

    rubric: (172) Incipit tercia decisio continens mirabilia uniuscuiusque prouincie

    incipit: (172) Ut operi cepto debitam consummacionis

    Note: (178) The hand changes

    Note: There is a gap after p. 182, after the heading

    rubric: (182) De visione portarum inferni

    Note: p. 183 deals with 'celatura lapidum'

    Note: Ends with the letter to John on p. 242

    explicit: (242) continuans aput deuotum dominum Imperatorem

    Note: In a smaller hand, paragraphs mostly from the Letter and Gesta of Alexander, the Gesta Karoli, and Justin

    rubric: (242) De calice aque et arundinibus

    incipit: (242) In libro de situ indie et generibus hominum et ferarum ita legitur

    Note: De ypotamis. De Scorpionibus. De miranda belua maris indici ... De valle iordia ... grippis, arundinibus, etc., seribus, signis in morte Alexandri, signis in morte Karoli, 7 dormientibus in germania, scripto hominis et umbra hominis, Cariboli, etc., statu iudeorum et balsamo, Parthis et eorum ortu

    Note: Ending imperfectly, p. 248

    explicit: (248) persequi destructores omiserunt. Eo tempore eciam theodotus

    Note: The only printed text of the whole work is that in Leibnitz, Scriptores Rerum Brunsvicensium I 881-1005, taken from a MS. at Wolfenbüttel formerly at St Augustine's, Canterbury, collated for Leibnitz with the Corpus Christi MS. by Chr. Wasse of Queens' College


    249-275 - Julius Valerius transl., Historia Alexandri magni || Vita Alexandri magni

    Note: In the first hand

    rubric: (249) Incipiunt gesta Alexandri Magni et eius genere atque vita

    incipit: (249) Egipti sapientes sati genere diuino

    explicit: (275) extinctus occubuit

    rubric: (275) Explicit vita Alexandri

    Note: Abridgment of Julius Valerius. Ed. Zacher. Ward, Catalogue of Romances I, p. 186 [actually pp. 120-122]


    275-320 - pseudo-Turpinus, Historia Caroli magni et Rolandi || Turpini historia Caroli magni

    rubric: (275) Epistola turpini de gestis Karoli

    incipit: (275) Turpinus dei gratia Archiepiscopus Remensis

    explicit: (275) deo placeas

    rubric: (275) Explicit

    rubric: (275) Incipit tituli capitulorum sequentis hystorie que est de bello Roscidiuallensi karoli imperatoris magni

    Note: Capitula (34)

    Note: Text

    incipit: (277) Gloriosissimus Christi apostolus Iacobus

    explicit: (316) beatus Matheus apostolus et ewangelista sua predicacione conuertit ad dominum

    rubric: (316) Explicit

    Note: Ward, Catalogue I 546. Cf. MS 292, MS 318

    rubric: (316) Qui legis hoc carmen turpino posce iuuamenUt pietate dei subueniatur ei

    rubric: (316) Finitur hystoria Belli Roscidiuallis

    Note: pp. 317-320 blank


    321-343 - 'Dares Phrygius', De excidio Troiae historia || Daretis Phrygii de excidio Troja historia, Cornelio Nepote interprete

    Note: (321) Dares Phrygius

    incipit: (321) Cornelius nepossalustio

    explicit: (321) ad pollicitum reuertamur

    incipit: (321) Peleus rex in peloponense essonem fratrem habuit

    Note: (341) Hand changes

    Note: The last section on f. 340 begins

    incipit: (340) Pentesilea ex consuetudine

    Note: The first on p. 341 begins

    incipit: (341) Hoc postquam multis verbis dixit

    explicit: (343) huc usque historia daretis scripta est

    incipit: (343) Quis troianorum quem grecorum occiderit. Hector prothesilaum

    explicit: (343) palamonem. ephistrephum. ficidium

    Note: Added

    Note: (343) Tot numerus occisorum 1839000 .i. occidentium centum milia triginta milia et nouem milia

    Note: Ward, Catalogue I p. 12


    343-366 - Walter Map, Epistola Valerii ad Rufinum ne ducat uxorem (De nugis curialium, dist. 4, 3-5), with the Commentary of John Ridewall OFM || Valerius ad Rufinum de nuptiis non habendis cum expositione

    Note: (343) Valerius ad Rufinum (Mapes, De Nugis Curialum Distinctio IV)

    incipit: (343) Loqui prohibeor et tacere non possum - scripsisse videar. Vale. Amen

    rubric: (349) Explicit epistola Valerii ad Ruffini de non ducenda uxore

    incipit: (349) Incipit exposicio eius

    incipit: (349) Loqui, etc. Hec epistola continet principaliter tria

    explicit: (366) rugose frontis et tristis offenditque correptos

    rubric: (366) Explicit

    Note: This is the comment of John Rideval or Ridewas. Tanner, Bibliotheca Britannico-Hibernica, p. 630


    367-396 - Tractatus de ortu deorum || Tractatus de ortu deorum

    Note: The former hand

    rubric: (367) Incipit tractatus de ortu deorum et integ(umen)tis breuibus et utilibus

    rubric: (367) Maria. Jhesus. Jhoannes. Andreas. franciscus

    incipit: (367) Dii quos pagani finxerunt et adhuc colendo uenerantur homines olim fuisse

    explicit: (396) quod equum constat esse velocissimum

    rubric: (396) Explicit tractatus de ortu deorum et integumentis breuibus et utilibus

    Note: By Johannes Anglicus? a copy of his Integumenta on the Metamorphoses of Ovid is in Bodl. MS. Digby 104, f. 161


    397-419 - Historia de adventu Enee in Italiam || Historia adventus Eneae in Italiam

    rubric: (397) Incipit hystoria de itinere de aduentu Enee in ytaliam

    incipit: (397) Superius autem excidio troie secundum Daretem explicito. Iter enee in ytaliam casusque suos quidam Paulus ita prosequitur. Eneas igitur cum anchise patre et ascanio filio

    explicit: (419) et cepit albanum ciuitas Rome subiecta esse, etc.


    419-421 - De primis habitatoribus Anglia || De primis habitatoribus Angliae

    incipit: (419) Anglia modo dicta olim Albion dicebatur et habebat inhabitatores gigantes

    explicit: (421) Et sic veritas clarescit historie de primis habitatoribus huius terre, etc.


    421-562 - Geoffrey of Monmouth, Historia regum Britanniae || Galfredi Monumetensis historia Britanniae

    rubric: (421) (Galfridus Monumetensis)

    incipit: (421) Dum mecum multa

    explicit: (422) gratulatur affectu

    incipit: (422) Britannia insularum optima

    Note: The prophecies of Merlin occur as usual

    Note: Ends

    explicit: (562) transferre curaui

    Note: Apparently not mentioned by Hardy

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  • 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
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