This 12th-century manuscript predominantly contains the lives of
the martyrs St Thomas of Canterbury, St Pelagia of Antioch, St
Eustace, St Katherine of Alexandria, and the confessor St Aignan,
Bishop of Orléans. It also includes hymns and prayers, a
theological tract, and a commentary on the Song of Songs by Marbod
of Rennes (b. c. 1035, d. 1123), archdeacon of Angers and Bishop of
Rennes. The manuscript was owned and perhaps also produced at the
Cistercian abbey of St Mary, Val-St-Lambert, near
Liège.Contents:f. 1v: A table of contents: ‘In hoc volumine
continentur hec. Vita et passio sancti thome archiepiscopi
cantuariensis. Conversio vita et obitus sancte pelagie. Vita et
passio sanctorum eustachii sociorum qui eius. Vita sancti Aniani
aurelianensis episcopi. Vita et passio sancte Katherine
virginis’. ff. 2r-5v: Office of the Trinity, beginning ‘Incipit
cursus sancte trinitatis cuius sit merces cantanti visio perpes’.
f. 5v: A miracle concerning the salvation of the soul of a person
who devoutly recited the Office of the Trinity during his life:
‘Erat quidam famulus dei monachus cursum sancte trinitatis corde
et ore tenens. Post eius obitum longe tempore domino revelante dum
sepulcrum illius aperiretur . ut eius meritum et gloria
demonstraretur . invente sunt tres rubentes rose in ore eius . et
cartula hanc habens scripturam . Hec iccirco promeruit . quia
cursum sancte trinitatis tenuit’. ff. 6r-19v: Passio sancti
Thomae Cantuariensis Archiepiscopus et Martyris (The Martyrdom of
Saint Thomas of Canterbury), beginning ‘Ad laudem beatissimi
martyris Thomae et fidelium aedificationem, opus impar scientiae
meae aggredior’. ff. 19v-31r: Reiner of St Laurent, Vita sancti
Pelagiae sive Speculum poenitentiae (The Life of St Pelagia or the
Mirror of Penitence), beginning: 'Exemplar conuersionis ac
poenitentiae Pelagiam proposui, quae de tenebris ad lucem'. ff.
31r-45v: Passio Sancti Eustachio Martyris (The Martyrdom of Saint
Eustace), beginning ‘In diebus Traiani imperatoris demonum
prevalente fallacia’. ff. 45v-53v: Vita sancti Aniani episcopi et
confessoris (The Life of St Anian, Bishop and Confessor),
beginning: ‘Illo in tempore quo fulgens a rota seculi novella
plantatio fidei’. f. 53v: A suffrage to Katherine of Alexandria:
‘Deus qui dedisti legem moisy in monte sinay et in oedem loco
corpus beate katherine virginis et martiris tue per angelos tuos
mirabiliter collocala tribue quesimus ut eius meritis et
intercessione ad montem qui Christus est valeamus pervenire per
eiundem dominum’. ff. 54r-60v: A hymn for the feast of St
Katherine of Alexandria, entitled ‘Incipit passio sancte
katerinae virginis et martyris’ [music notation on 4 staff-bars
with c clef]. ff. 60v-78v: Vita et Passio sancti Katherine martyris
, beginning ‘Cum memoria que fragilis est et plerisque sepius
perturbata negociis. infinite rerum universitati'. ff. 79r-87v:
Marbod of Rennes, Commentary on the Song of Songs, beginning
‘Quem sitio votis nunc oscula porrigat oris quem mihi venturum
promiserant organa vatum’. f. 87v: Three prayers (?), now erased.
ff. 88r-91v: A theological tract, opening with a hymn attributed to
St Ambrose, beginning ‘Almi prophetae progenies pia [B]eatus
ambrosius secundum nomen eius ita et laus eius in fines terrae’.
The manuscript contains a 13 th -century leaf that has been added
later: ff. 1*recto-1*verso: an unidentified theological text. [f.
1r is blank].Decoration:Large initials in green or red, one with
red penwork decoration (f. 61r). A large green initial with red
pen-flourishing (f. 88r). Small initials in red. Initials and
rubrics in red. Quire signatures (final versos) in brown ink.
