Volume 1

Catalogue of the Stowe manuscripts in the British Museum.

  • British Museum. Department of Manuscripts (Stowe MSS)
Date:
1895-1896
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Catalogue of the Stowe manuscripts in the British Museum. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    and summarising the chronology of the principal nations of an- tiquity ; it then gives lists of the Eoman emperors down to John Comnenus [1118-1143], of kings of France to Louis VI. [1108- 1137], and of Saxon emperors to Lothair II. [1125-1138], followed by lists of the kings of Aquitaine, of the Vandals, Visigoths, and Ostrogoths, the dukes of Normandy and kings of England to Henry the younger, son of Henry II. [1170-1183], and the dukes of Normandy in Apulia. After these come genealogies of the Maccabees and the Herods, and miscellaneous lists, e.g. of the books of the Bible, the plagues of Egypt, the cities of Sodom, of towns (ancient and modem), and of writers of history; and the volume breaks off incomplete, while dealing with the prophets of Israel, with the words “ significantur vii prophetse qui pronunciaverunt.” Vellum ; if. 272. Early xiiith cent. Titles and initial letters of chapters in red. In the margin of f. 130 is the name of John King, 1647; and on a paper fly-leaf (f. 1) the inscription “Biblio- theca Palmeriana Londini, 1747.” With book-plate of arms of Ralph Verney, 1st Earl Verney (oh. 1752), whose mother was Elizabeth, daughter of Ralph Palmer, of Little Chelsea. Quarto. 6. Petri Comestoris Historia Scholastica. Begins with the epistle dedicatory to William [de Champagne], Archbishop of Sens [1168-1176, afterwards of Reims, and Cardinal], and is complete to the end of the Gospel history, with a continuation covering the Acts of the Apostles and ending with the martyrdom of St. Peter and St. Paul, by Petrus Pictaviensis [Chancellor of the Cathedral and University of Paris, oh. 1205 ?], entitled “ Incipit commentum magistri Petri Pictaviensis super Actus Apostolorum” (f. 166 b). This is printed by Migne, vol. cxcviii., 1645, as by P. Comestor himself. Appended also (fif. 191-195 b), in a somewhat later hand, is the story of Barlaam and Josaphat, from the Legenda Aurea of Jacobus de Voragine (o5. 1298). Vellum; ff. 195. xinth and (fif. 191-195 b) early xivth centt. In double columns of 44 lines. The initial letter of each book contains a miniature in gold and colours. That at the beginning of the epistle dedicatory represents the author presenting his work to the Archbishop of Sens, with a scroll containing the first words of the epistle, “ Eeverendo patri et domino suo Willelmo dei gratia Senonensi archiepiscopo Petrus servus Christi presbiter Trecensis vitam bonam et exitum beatum.” Titles of chapters in red, and initials in red and blue. Folio. 6. Stjorn (i.e. “ a steering ”) : a Biblical Paraphrase of the historical books of the Old Testament, in Icelandic. Begun by order of