Cartulary of St Albans Abbey; Ralph of Dunstable, Vita Sancti Albani ; Golliardic stanzas; Versus de Motu et Pena Peccandi ; Versus de Mensibus Anni ; Versus de Virtutibus Imitandis et Earum Distinctionibus ; Vita Beati Thome Martiris Archiepiscopi Cantuariensis ; Hildebert of Lavardin, Biblical Epigrams; Alain de Lille, Anticlaudianus (excerpt)
Agent
Preferred form
Alain de Lille (11..-1202?)
Original form
Alain de Lille, c 1128-1203
Other form
Alanus de Insulis
Alain de Lille
Alanus ab Insulis (1115?-1202?)
Alanus ab Insulis (11..-1202?)
ALANUS DE INSULIS
Alanus ab Insulis
Alanus (Magister)
Author: Alanus, ab Insulis
Alanus ab Insula (Alain de Lille)
Alanus<ab Insulis>
Alanus, ab Insulis, 1120-1202
Alain du Pui
Alanus <ab Insulis> (1120-1202)
Lille, Alan, 1128-1202
Alan of Lille (b. c. 1128, d. c. 1202), theologian and poet
Alain de Lille (1116-1202/1203)
Alanus
Alanus <ab Insulis>
Alanus, de Insulis, 1128-1203, O.Cist.
Alanus ab Insulis - ca. 1128 - 1202 - auteur
Alanus ab Insulis - ca. 1128 - 1202 - auteur (apocrief)
This composite manuscript consists of two parts that were produced
at different periods of time but potentially at the same location.
The first part (ff. 1-124) contains the cartulary of the Sacrist of
the Benedictine abbey of St Albans that was written after 1393 and
contains additions to the second half of the 15th century. The
second part (ff. 125-196) contains the lives of St Alban, written
by Ralph Dunstable (fl. 1180), a monk from St Albans, and Thomas of
Canterbury. It also contains Latin poems by Hildebert of Lavardin
(b. c. 1055, d. 1133), Bishop of Le Mans and Archbishop of Tours,
the French theologian Alain de Lille (b. c. 1128, d. 1202/1203),
and various anonymous writers. The second part was written in the
first quarter of the 13th century, and was most likely produced at
St Albans Abbey as well: Ralph of Dunstable’s life of St Alban
can be found in three other manuscripts, all originating from St
Albans (see Thomson, Manuscripts (1982), p. 91). The two parts were
possibly joined together in the library of Sir Robert Bruce Cotton
(b. 1571, d. 1631) (see Tite, The Early Records (2003), p. 97).
Contents: ff. 1r-124r: The cartulary of the Sacrist of the
Benedictine abbey of St Albans, containing copies of deeds, leases,
and other documents [ff. 1-63 should follow ff. 64-124]. ff.
125r-158v: Ralph [here ‘Robertus’] of Dunstable (fl. 1180),
Vita Sancti Albani (The Life of St Alban) [BHL 212; Walther 732].
ff. 159r-159v: Golliardic stanzas concerning the state of the
Church, beginning 'Quasi corvus crocito'. ff. 159v-171v: Anonymous,
Versus de Motu et Pena Peccandi (Poem on the and Progress and
Punishment of Sinners), including a section entitled De Miseria
Hominis (On the Suffering of Mankind). ff. 171v-181r: Anonymous,
Versus de Mensibus Anni (Poem on the Months of the Year): a debate
between the four seasons [Walther 5773]. ff. 181r-183v: Anonymous,
Versus de Virtutibus Imitandis et Earum Distinctionibus (Poem on
Imitable Virtues and Their Distinctions); possibily incomplete and
followed by other pieces (see Rigg, ‘A Latin Poem’ (1995), p.
162); the texts on f. 183v, beginning ‘Posse triplex homini’
and ‘Dives obit’, are listed as separate items by Thomson,
Manuscripts (1982), p. 91. ff. 184r-190v: Anonymous, Vita Beati
Thome Martiris Archiepiscopi Cantuariensis (The Life of St Thomas,
Martyr and Archbishop of Canterbury), metrical version [BHL 8227;
Walther 10906b]. ff. 191r-196v: Hildebert of Lavardin, Biblical
Epigrams [Walther 20296]. f. 196v: Alain de Lille, an excerpt from
Anticlaudianus (or De Officio Viri Boni et Perfecti Libri Novem ),
beginning: ‘Hic ardent seraphini flammata calore supernæ’,
imperfect [Walther 7854]. The manuscript contains a number of
additions: f. 1*recto: A table of contents, added by Richard James
(b. 1592, d. 1638), librarian for Sir Robert Bruce Cotton.ff.
62v-63r: short notes and memoranda added in a (?) 15th-century
hand[ff. 1*verso, 40r, 61v-63v, 99v, 106r, 117v, 124v are blank].
Decoration:Part 1:Medium initials in red, once with foliate penwork
decoration in brown ink (f. 110r); first letters of words and
Tironian notes often highlighted in red; running headers in red;
rubrics in red; line-fillers in brown and red ink. Part 2:1 large
initial in blue against a green ground with foliate penwork inside
the letter and red pen-flourishing (f. 125r); medium initials in
red and blue with penwork decoration in the opposite colour; small
(one-line) initials at the beginning of verses highlighted in red;
rubrics in red; running headers in red.
