Annals of Burton Abbey; an account of the Council of Oxford of 1222; St Cyprian, Confessio ; Pseudo-Basil, Admonitio ad Filium Spiritualem ; Isidore of Seville, Synonyma ; Pseudo-Methodius, De Initio et Fine Saeculi ; Alexander of Stainsby, Constitutiones ; Honorius Augustodunensis, Imago Mundi ; Invectivum Contra Regem Iohannem ; Reginald of Canterbury, Vita Sancti Malchi
This composite manuscript is made out of six parts that were
produced separately in England. The first part (ff. 4-102) was
produced at Burton Abbey in the early 13th century and contains the
Annals of Burton Abbey. The second part (ff. 103-108) is an account
of the Council of Oxford of 1222. The third part (ff. 109-116),
containing the Confessio (Confession) of Saint Cyprian of Antioch
(fl. 300), was written in the 11th century. The fourth part (ff.
117-170) contains the Admonitio ad Filium Spiritualem (Admonition
to a Spiritual Son) attributed to St Basil (b. 330, d. 379); the
Synonyma (Synonyms) of Isidore of Seville (d. 636); De Initio et
Fine Saeculi (About the Beginning and the End of the World)
attributed to Methodius, bishop of Olympus; the Constitutiones
(Episcopal Constitutions) of Alexander of Stainsby (d. 1238),
bishop of Coventry, and the Imago Mundi (Image of the World) by
Honorius of Autun (b. c. 1080, d. 1137). The fifth part (ff.
171-178) contains the anonymous Invectivum Contra Regem Iohannem
(The Barons’ Insult against King John), written in the first half
of the 13th century. The sixth part (ff. 179-213) preserves the
Vita Sancti Malchi (The Life of Saint Malchus) by Reginald of
Canterbury (d. c. 1112) and was written in the 10th century.
Contents: ff. 4r-102r: Burton Annals including the Provisions of
Oxford of 1258 in Latin and French (ff. 91r-93v), beginning:
‘Anno ab incarnatione domini M o .iiii o indictione secunda’.
ff. 103r-108r: An account of the Council of Oxford of 1222,
beginning: ‘Autoritate Dei patris omnipotentis et beate Virginis
Marie’. ff. 109r-116v: Cyprian of Antioch, Confessio , beginning:
‘Quicumque in Christi misterus proficius meis intendite
lacrimis’. ff. 117r-123v: Pseudo-Basil, Admonitio ad Filium
Spiritualem , beginning: ‘Audi fili admonitionem patris tui et
inclina aurem tuam’. ff. 124r-138v: Isidore of Seville, Synonyma
, preceded by a prologue (f. 124r), beginning: ‘In subsequenti
hoc libeo qui nuncupatur sinonima’. ff. 139r-141v:
Pseudo-Methodius, De Initio et Fine Saeculi , preceded by a
prologue (f. 139r), beginning: ‘In nomine domini nostri Ihesu
Christi incipit liber Methodii episcopi ecclesie paterenis’. ff.
142r-153v: Alexander of Stainsby, Constitutiones , beginning:
‘Universis archidiaconis per Coventriam Brocesini constitutis’.
ff. 154r-170r: Honorius of Autun, Imago Mundi , beginning: ‘Ad
instructionem multorum quibus deest copia librorum hic libellus
edatur’. ff. 171r-178v: Invectivum Contra Regem Iohannem . ff.
179r-213v: Reginald of Canterbury, Vita S. Malchi , preceded by a
prologue (f. 179r) and followed by Carmina (Poems), beginning:
‘Prelia gesturus’. The manuscript also contains later
additions:f. 1r: A note written in 1839 relating to the purchase by
Sir Robert Cotton from the Dean and Chapter of Christ Church,
Canterbury of the section of the manuscript containing the Burton
Annals.f. 3r: A table of contents added by Sir Robert Cotton's
librarian Richard James.ff. 214r: Notes in a 17th-century hand.[ff.
1v-2v, 3v, 102v, 108v, 170v, 214v are blank].Decoration:See Cotton
MS Vespasian E III, ff. 4-102, ff. 103-108; ff. 109-116; ff.
117-170; ff. 171-178; ff. 79-213.
