A 12th century computistical miscellany put together at Thorney
Abbey in Cambridgeshire. One of the most celebrated examples of
this genre, it comprises numerous texts, diagrams and tables
associated with the reckoning of time and the construction of
calendars, touching on maths, astrology, cosmology, medicine,
history and many other key areas of medieval knowledge. During the
1620s it was on loan to Sir Robert Cotton who removed 5 leaves from
it and incorporated them into another volume, which is now in the
British Library (Cotton Nero C.vii, fols 80-4).
Contents: a. Main Text: A computistical miscellany compiled at
Thorney Abbey: 1. Fols. 1va–2vb: A sequence of medical texts. ||
2. Fol. 3: Abbo of Fleury (Sharpe, 1 [1—4]), an acrostic poem in
honour of St Dunstan, to be read off through a grid, the key to
which is given in a note (s. xvii) at the page foot.|| 3. Fols.
3va–4ra: A series of notes on the calendar and on using the
calendar for prognostic purposes, accompanied by four sets of
prognostic tables in triple columns (fol. 4). || 4. Fols.
4va–5rc: Coena Cypriani.|| 5. Fol. 5v: runic, cryptographic and
foreign alphabets, with letter names and texts exemplifying
cryptographic techniques. || 6. Fols. 6va–7rb: Degrees of
consanguinuity, table with texts, to illustrate Etymologiae 9.6.28.
There are twenty Old English glosses to the Latin. || 7. Fols.
12va–13ra: Byrhtferth's 'Proemium super Bedam de temporibus'. ||
8. Fol. 13v: A summary of basic data and formulae. || 9. Fols.
14–15v: An anthology of computistical poetry and readings, with
lengthy glosses. || 10. Fols. 16–21v: A calendar, with an
elaborate letter set, allowing use with all preceding tables, and
extensive optional materials. || 10a. Fols. 22–34: Two series of
tables and diagrams: twelve tables, with explanatory texts, keyed
to the preceding calendar; thirteen tables and diagrams for
determining the date of Easter, with perpetual calendars and
explanatory texts. || 10b. Fols. 34v–5: Multiplication and
division tables, with a prose explanation of types of numbers. ||
10c. Fols. 35v–7r: Diagrams explaining lunar and solar time. ||
11. Fol. 28r: The legend of Pachomius, to whom a method of
calculating Easter was taught by an angel, together with mnemonics
for Easter and for Lent. || 12. Fols. 37v–40v: An anthology of
cosmographical extracts. || 13. Fols. 42va–48rb: A compilation of
texts on the abacus. || 14. Fols. 49–50ra: Explanatory texts
attached to fraction and abacus tables. || 15. Fols. 50ra–52vb:
Gerland of Besancon on the abacus.|| 16. Fols. 52va–56rb: An
anonymous treatise on the abacus. || 17. Fols. 58va–61vb: De
temporibus. || 18. Fols. 62ra–65rb: Bede, 'De natura rerum',
acephalic, beginning near the end of ch. 16, and with glosses. ||
19. Fols. 65va–123ra: Bede, 'De temporum ratione' (glossed, in
many cases with explanatory diagrams). || 20. Fols. 123ra–35va:
Helperic of Auxerre, monk of Granval, 'De computo' (glossed), in
Abbo’s revision. || 21. Fols. 135va–38vb: Dionysius Exiguus,
Two tracts of Paschal reckoning. || 22. Fols. 139–43v + BL MS
Cotton Nero C.vii, fols. 80–4 + the next: Easter tables with
marginal annals from Thorney; the original hand annals end with
1111. These are preceded by inherited annals from Ramsey, covering
538–1081. || 22a. Fols. 144–55v: a continuation of the previous
item, copied s. xiii ex. extending the table to the year 2612. ||
23. Fols. 156ra–57ra: Dionysius Exiguus 'Argumenta titulorum
pascalium'. || 24. Fols. 157ra–vb: Three texts on the zodiac. ||
25. Fols. 157vb–58va: 'Sortes sanctorum', a form of
fortune-telling by casting three dice. || 26. Fol. 158vab:
Pseudo-Jerome on the grades of Roman society followed (fol. 158vb)
by a note on biblical weights and measures, 'Talentum libras habet
lx. Gressus iii. Pedes...'. || 27. Fol. 159rab: Pseudo-Jerome on
the fifteen signs preceding Doomsday, the version ascribed to Peter
Damian. || 28. Fol. 159rb: Prognostics based on the weekday on
which 1 January falls. || 29. Fols. 159v–67v: Verbs and
prepositional prefixes, with glosses, including extensive marginal
materials for which a wide column has been left, to indicate
synonyms and usage. || 30. Fols. 167va–75rb: A series of notes on
grammar, orthography and prosody, most summaries, paraphrases or
précis of Priscian, Institutiones grammaticae. || 31. Fols.
175ra–7vb: A sequence of medical recipes and associated
materials. The sequence includes an Old English rubric introducing
a charm, 'þid blodrine of nosu þriht on his forheafod on cristes
mel' (fol. 175, the leading edge margin). || b. Added Texts: i.
Fol. 1: a geometry problem (s. xv), on what was a blank guard page.
ii. Fol. 2va: Two medical recipes, added in the margin, s. xii.
iii. Fol. 5: A riddle, not in the main text hand but probably s.
xii. iv. Fol. 11vb: a Greek alphabet with numerical equivalents, s.
xiv. v. Fol. 13rb: a linear diagram of the qualities of the four
elements, s. xii2/4. vi. Fols. 40vab: Prognostications based on
Egyptian days and divinatory diagrams (with brief explanations),
filler in a contemporary hand in the blank spaces surrounding a
diagram of wind-names.
Hand: The original production involved five scribes, all writing
caroline. The MS received additions from three scribes, s. xiii4/4,
writing textura.
