This composite manuscript contains two parts. The first part (ff.
1-185), copied in the first quarter of the 13th century, contains
the only surviving copy of the Speculum Ecclesiae (Mirror of the
Church) that Gerald of Wales (b. c. 1146, d. c. 1223), author and
ecclesiastic, is thought to have written around 1220. It also
contains one of the two extant copies of Gerald’s autobiography,
De Rebus a Se Gestis (About the Things Done by His Deeds). The
second part (f. 186r-237v), copied in the second half of the 13th
century, contains another unique copy of a work: the Speculum
Ecclesiae of Roger of Ford, abbot of Glastonbury (r. 1252-1261).
Both parts originate from different manuscripts, but may have been
written and joined within the same religious institution, possibly
Llanthony Secunda Priory in Gloucestershire. Nevertheless, it is
also possible that they were joined together by Sir Robert Bruce
Cotton (b. 1571, d. 1631). Contents: ff. 1r-153v: Gerald of Wales,
Speculum Ecclesiae [featuring a Middle English lyric on f. 95v].
ff. 154r-185v: Gerald of Wales, De Rebus a Se Gestis (About the
Things Achieved through His Deeds). ff. 186r-237v: Roger of Ford,
Speculum Ecclesiae . Decoration:ff. 1r-185v: 1 medium initial in
red (ff. 138v). Rubrics in red. Manicules added in brown ink in the
margins. Display script (capitals in brown ink) highlighted in red.
Small (one-line) initials highlighted in red. ff. 186r-237v: 1
medium puzzle initial in red and blue (f. 186r). Medium initials in
red or blue with pen-flourishing in the other colour. Small
(one-line) initials highlighted in red. Paraph markers in blue or
red. Underlining in red.
