Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, MS 414: Gervase of Tilbury, Otia imperialia. Julius Valerius, transl., Historia Alexandri magni. pseudo-Turpinus, Historia Caroli magni et Rolandi. 'Dares Phrygius', De excidio Troiae historia. Walter Map, Epistola Valerii ad Rufinum, Tractatus de ortu deorum, Historia de adventu Enee in Italiam, De primis habitatoribus Anglia. Geoffrey of Monmouth, Historia regum Britanniae
Description
Abstract/Contents
- Summary
- CCCC MS 414 is a classic example of a medieval miscellany of historical, romantic and spiritual texts. Copied in the fourteenth century, the single most substantial text in this volume is the Otia imperiala by Gervase of Tilbury (c. 1140 -1220), an encyclopaedia of history and geography. Other texts present include the Historia Alexandri magni, the Historia Caroli magni et Rolandi of pseudo-Turpin (fl. second quarter of twelfth century), the Historia regum Britanniae and Prophetia Ambrosii Merlini of Geoffrey of Monmouth (d. 1154), accounts of the siege of Troy and of Aeneas' return to Italy, Walter Map (c. 1140-1210) Epistola Valerii ad Rufinum (also in CCCC MSS 107 and 177) with the commentary of John Ridewall OFM (d. after 1340), and a tract on the ancestry of Christ. James postulated an East Anglian provenance on the basis of the script and decoration, but this has never been confirmed. The manuscript contains a Parkerian guide to the contraction of words used by medieval scribes.
- Contents
- Otia imperialia -- Historia Alexandri magni -- Historia Caroli magni et Rolandi -- De excidio Troiae historia -- Epistola Valerii ad Rufinum ne ducat uxorem (De nugis curialium, dist. 4, 3-5), with the Commentary of John Ridewall OFM -- Tractatus de ortu deorum -- Historia de adventu Enee in Italiam -- De primis habitatoribus Anglia -- Historia regum Britanniae
Bibliographic information
- M.R. James Date
- xiv
- Downloadable James Catalogue Record
- https://stacks.stanford.edu/file/druid:bb437qy6362/MS_414.pdf
- Superseded Interim Catalogue Record
- https://stacks.stanford.edu/file/druid:zy579jy9151/414.pdf
- Contains
-
- Gervase of Tilbury, Otia imperialia. 3-248
- Nasmith
- Gervasii Tilberiensis otia imperialia ad Ottonem IV. 3-248
- Author
- Gervase of Tilbury
- Note
-
Tria diversa opera quae Gervasio vulgo attribuuntur, nempe Commentarius de regnis imperatorum Romanorum Mundi descriptio, et Tractatus de mirabilibus mundi omnia in his otiis imperialibus continentur
(3) Gervasii TilberiensisOtia imperialia - Rubric
- (3) Serenissimo domino suo Ottoni quarto, etc. (added)
- Incipit
- (3) Ottoni quarto romano imperatori semper augusto Geruasius tilberiensis vester dignacione marescallus, etc.
- Rubric
- (3) Collaccio regni et sacerdocii
- Incipit
- (3) Duo sunt imperator Auguste quibus hic mundus regitur
- Explicit
- (7) conregnetis in eternum cum Christo
- Rubric
-
(7) Explicit prefatio Secuntur tituli capitulorum operis sequentis
(8) Prima libri decisio - Incipit
- (8) Cum uniuscuiusque rei principium
- Note
-
The end of Decisio I and beginning of II (from capitulum 24 de diluuio et archa: Leibnitz, p. 906) are wanting. A marginal note on p. 51 says, Hic deficiunt x folia de alio libro. require (?) supra in principio sed et ait augustinus
Decisio II begins in the section de ortu tigris et gangis (Leibnitz, p. 911 ?)
At p. 79 a page and a half are left blank: a quire was wanting, but was evidently supplied. The text on p. 81 continues without break - Rubric
- (172) Incipit tercia decisio continens mirabilia uniuscuiusque prouincie
- Incipit
- (172) Ut operi cepto debitam consummacionis
- Note
-
(178) The hand changes
There is a gap after p. 182, after the heading - Rubric
- (182) De visione portarum inferni
- Note
-
p. 183 deals with 'celatura lapidum'
Ends with the letter to John on p. 242 - Explicit
- (242) continuans aput deuotum dominum Imperatorem
- Note
- In a smaller hand, paragraphs mostly from the Letter and Gesta of Alexander, the Gesta Karoli, and Justin
- Rubric
- (242) De calice aque et arundinibus
- Incipit
- (242) In libro de situ indie et generibus hominum et ferarum ita legitur
- Note
-
De ypotamis. De Scorpionibus. De miranda belua maris indici ... De valle iordia ... grippis, arundinibus, etc., seribus, signis in morte Alexandri, signis in morte Karoli, 7 dormientibus in germania, scripto hominis et umbra hominis, Cariboli, etc., statu iudeorum et balsamo, Parthis et eorum ortu
Ending imperfectly, p. 248 - Explicit
- (248) persequi destructores omiserunt. Eo tempore eciam theodotus
- Note
- The only printed text of the whole work is that in Leibnitz, Scriptores Rerum Brunsvicensium I 881-1005, taken from a MS. at Wolfenbüttel formerly at St Augustine's, Canterbury, collated for Leibnitz with the Corpus Christi MS. by Chr. Wasse of Queens' College
- Julius Valerius transl., Historia Alexandri magni. 249-275
- Nasmith
- Vita Alexandri magni. 249-275
- Author
- Julius Valerius
- Note
- In the first hand
- Rubric
- (249) Incipiunt gesta Alexandri Magni et eius genere atque vita
- Incipit
- (249) Egipti sapientes sati genere diuino
- Explicit
- (275) extinctus occubuit
- Rubric
- (275) Explicit vita Alexandri
- Note
- Abridgment of Julius Valerius. Ed. Zacher. Ward, Catalogue of Romances I, p. 186 [actually pp. 120-122]
- pseudo-Turpinus, Historia Caroli magni et Rolandi. 275-320
- Nasmith
- Turpini historia Caroli magni. 275-320
- Author
- pseudo-Turpinus
- Rubric
- (275) Epistola turpini de gestis Karoli
- Incipit
- (275) Turpinus dei gratia Archiepiscopus Remensis
- Explicit
- (275) deo placeas
- Rubric
-
(275) Explicit
(275) Incipit tituli capitulorum sequentis hystorie que est de bello Roscidiuallensi karoli imperatoris magni - Note
-
Capitula (34)
Text - Incipit
- (277) Gloriosissimus Christi apostolus Iacobus
- Explicit
- (316) beatus Matheus apostolus et ewangelista sua predicacione conuertit ad dominum
- Rubric
- (316) Explicit
- Note
- Ward, Catalogue I 546. Cf. MS 292, MS 318
- Rubric
-
(316) Qui legis hoc carmen turpino posce iuuamenUt pietate dei subueniatur ei
(316) Finitur hystoria Belli Roscidiuallis - Note
- pp. 317-320 blank
- 'Dares Phrygius', De excidio Troiae historia. 321-343
- Nasmith
- Daretis Phrygii de excidio Troja historia, Cornelio Nepote interprete. 321-343
- Author
- Dares Phrygius
- Note
- (321) Dares Phrygius
- Incipit
- (321) Cornelius nepossalustio
- Explicit
- (321) ad pollicitum reuertamur
- Incipit
- (321) Peleus rex in peloponense essonem fratrem habuit
- Note
-
(341) Hand changes
The last section on f. 340 begins - Incipit
- (340) Pentesilea ex consuetudine
- Note
- The first on p. 341 begins
- Incipit
- (341) Hoc postquam multis verbis dixit
- Explicit
- (343) huc usque historia daretis scripta est
- Incipit
- (343) Quis troianorum quem grecorum occiderit. Hector prothesilaum
- Explicit
- (343) palamonem. ephistrephum. ficidium
- Note
-
Added
(343) Tot numerus occisorum 1839000 .i. occidentium centum milia triginta milia et nouem milia
Ward, Catalogue I p. 12
- Walter Map, Epistola Valerii ad Rufinum ne ducat uxorem (De nugis curialium, dist. 4, 3-5), with the Commentary of John Ridewall OFM. 343-366
- Nasmith
- Valerius ad Rufinum de nuptiis non habendis cum expositione. 343-366
- Author
- Walter Map
- John Ridewall OFM
- Note
- (343) Valerius ad Rufinum (Mapes, De Nugis Curialum Distinctio IV)
- Incipit
- (343) Loqui prohibeor et tacere non possum - scripsisse videar. Vale. Amen
- Rubric
- (349) Explicit epistola Valerii ad Ruffini de non ducenda uxore
- Incipit
-
(349) Incipit exposicio eius
(349) Loqui, etc. Hec epistola continet principaliter tria - Explicit
- (366) rugose frontis et tristis offenditque correptos
- Rubric
- (366) Explicit
- Note
- This is the comment of John Rideval or Ridewas. Tanner, Bibliotheca Britannico-Hibernica, p. 630
- Tractatus de ortu deorum. 367-396
- Nasmith
- Tractatus de ortu deorum. 367-396
- Note
- The former hand
- Rubric
-
(367) Incipit tractatus de ortu deorum et integ(umen)tis breuibus et utilibus
(367) Maria. Jhesus. Jhoannes. Andreas. franciscus - Incipit
- (367) Dii quos pagani finxerunt et adhuc colendo uenerantur homines olim fuisse
- Explicit
- (396) quod equum constat esse velocissimum
- Rubric
- (396) Explicit tractatus de ortu deorum et integumentis breuibus et utilibus
- Note
- By Johannes Anglicus? a copy of his Integumenta on the Metamorphoses of Ovid is in Bodl. MS. Digby 104, f. 161
- Historia de adventu Enee in Italiam. 397-419
- Nasmith
- Historia adventus Eneae in Italiam. 397-419
- Rubric
- (397) Incipit hystoria de itinere de aduentu Enee in ytaliam
- Incipit
- (397) Superius autem excidio troie secundum Daretem explicito. Iter enee in ytaliam casusque suos quidam Paulus ita prosequitur. Eneas igitur cum anchise patre et ascanio filio
- Explicit
- (419) et cepit albanum ciuitas Rome subiecta esse, etc.
- De primis habitatoribus Anglia. 419-421
- Nasmith
- De primis habitatoribus Angliae. 419-421
- Incipit
- (419) Anglia modo dicta olim Albion dicebatur et habebat inhabitatores gigantes
- Explicit
- (421) Et sic veritas clarescit historie de primis habitatoribus huius terre, etc.
- Geoffrey of Monmouth, Historia regum Britanniae. 421-562
- Nasmith
- Galfredi Monumetensis historia Britanniae. 421-562
- Author
- Geoffrey of Monmouth
- Rubric
- (421) (Galfridus Monumetensis)
- Incipit
- (421) Dum mecum multa
- Explicit
- (422) gratulatur affectu
- Incipit
- (422) Britannia insularum optima
- Note
-
The prophecies of Merlin occur as usual
Ends - Explicit
- (562) transferre curaui
- Note
- Apparently not mentioned by Hardy
- Gervase of Tilbury, Otia imperialia. 3-248
- TJames
- 237
- Stanley
- P. 10
- Location
- https://purl.stanford.edu/fz952dc9137
- MS 414
- Repository
- UK, Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, Parker Library
Access conditions
- Use and reproduction:
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- License:
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