This manuscript contains two didactic works composed by Aldhelm of
Sherborne (d. 709): the Epistola ad Ehfridum (Letter to Heahfrith),
a letter promoting the schools of Theodore and Adrian of
Canterbury; and the De laudibus virginitatis (In Praise of
Virginity) , a work in 60 chapters extolling virginity. These are
preceded by flyleaves including musical notations and various
verses in late 12th-century hands. After the De laudibus
virginitatis is a copy of a letter of Pope Alexander III (b. 1100,
d. 1181) to Roger de Pont l'Evêque (b. c 1185, d. 1181),
archbishop of York. Contents: ff. 3r-7r: Aldhelm of Sherborne,
Epistola ad Ehfridum. ff. 7r-96r: Aldhelm of Sherborne, De laudibus
virginitatis with some interlinear glosses in Old English (ff. 13v;
14r; 30r; 33r; 43v; 65v) and some added contemporary marginal
glosses in Latin. The manuscript contains several later
additions:ff. 1r-1v: A hymn for Mass, beginning: 'Clemens et
benigna iugi laude digna Maria', followed on the verso by an
ownership inscription (see Provenance), added in the late 12th or
early 13th century. ff. 2r-2v: Various verses including a poem: De
monacho dormiente ad vigilias (On the Monk Sleeping at
Vigils)beginning: 'Angelus: Flecte caput, fili, quia dicunt: Gloria
patri / Diabolus: Non flectet, triplicem nisi ruperit antea funem'
(f. 2r); an epitaph of Petrus Comestor that was inscribed on his
grave in the Abbey of St Victor of Paris: 'Magister Petrus
Maniur/Petrus erat quem petraregit dictusque Comestor' (f. 2r), and
a hymn De baptismo Christi (On the Baptism of Christ ) (f. 2v),
added in the late 12th or early 13th century. f. 96r: A colophon by
a hand similar to the glosses: 'Tres digiti scribunt, totum
corpusque laborat / Scribere qui nescit, nullum putet esse laborem
/ Dum digiti scribunt vix cetera membra quiescunt', added in the
late 12th or early 13th century. ff. 96v-97r: A letter from Pope
Alexander III (Pope from 1159-1181) to Roger de Pont l'Evêque,
archbishop of York (imperfect), added in the late 12th or early
13th century. Decoration:Large initials in red and green with
foliate penwork decoration (ff. 3r, 11r (x2), 30v, 66r). Initials
in red or green, some with simple penwork decoration in the same
colour; one in blue (f. 13r). Rubrics in red. Roman numbering in
red.
