Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, MS 406: Seneca, Tragedies. Iohannes de Alta Villa, Architrenius. Miscellaneous Texts
Description
Abstract/Contents
- Summary
- CCCC MS 406 contains a number of texts copied in a series of early thirteenth-century hands. Among these is what is thought to be one of the earliest versions of the 'A' recension of Seneca's Tragoediae to be copied in England. The text has been much used and discussed by modern editors of Seneca's Tragedies. Alongside this there appears a broad variety of texts typical of a monastic or university commonplace book including satirical verse, classical history, cosmology and poetics. The texts include the Architrenius of Iohannes de Alta Villa (fl. late twelfth century) and the Anticlaudianus of Alanus ab Insula (Alain de Lille, c. 1128-1203), Joseph of Exeter (d. 1210) Bellum Troianum, Walter of Châtillon (fl. c. 1160-90) Alexandreis, the first part of Bernardus Silvestris (d. after 1159) Cosmographia (the Megacosmos) and Geoffrey of Vinsauf (d. after 1200) Poetria noua. There has been some suggestion that the manuscript has an Oxford provenance, but when and how this manuscript passed into Parker's possession is not known.
- Contents
- Tragedies -- Architrenius -- Epistola ad Terricum in Megacosmum -- Bellum Troianum -- Anticlaudianus -- De coloribus sententiarum -- Poetria noua -- Alexandreis
Bibliographic information
- M.R. James Date
- xiii
- Downloadable James Catalogue Record
- https://stacks.stanford.edu/file/druid:fp391pz2877/MS_406.pdf
- Superseded Interim Catalogue Record
- https://stacks.stanford.edu/file/druid:zj484kv4840/406.pdf
- Contains
-
- Seneca, Tragedies. 1r-40v
- James
- Senecae Tragoediae. 1r-40v
- Author
- Seneca
- Note
-
Triple columns. Misbound. The true order of the quires is 1, 4, 3, 2, 5
a.
(1r) Hercules Furens - Rubric
- (1r) Iuno
- Incipit
- (1r) Soror tonantis hoc enim solum mihi
- Note
-
b.
(5r) Thiestes
Ending imperfect - Explicit
- (8v) Parere crescit pondus et dextram grauat
- Note
-
l. 986
Continued f. 25r
c.
(9r) Medea
Begins imperfect l. 387 - Incipit
- (9r) Flammata facies spiritum ex alto citat
- Note
-
The beginning is on f. 23v
d.
(11r) Agamemnon
e.
(14r) Octauia
Breaks off at l.761 - Explicit
- (16v) Superos adora maneat ut presens metus
- Note
-
Continued on f. 33r
f.
(17r) Edippus
Beginning at l. 285 - Incipit
- (17r) Gelidumque dirimit
- Note
-
The beginning is on f. 32r
g.
(19v) Troas
c.
(23v) Beginning of Medea
b.
(25r) End of Thiestes
h.
(25r) Thebais
i.
(27v) Ypolitus
g.
(32r) Beginning of Edippus
e.
(33v) End of Octavia
k.
(33v) Hercules Oetheus
Ending 39v - Explicit
- (39v) Fulmina mutes
- Rubric
- (39v) Lucii. Annei. Senece. Hercules Oe ... neus explicit feliciter
- Note
-
f. 40r-40v blank
Examined by Mr C. E. Stuart, Trinity College, Craven Student 1907. It is one of the earliest of the English MSS.
- Iohannes de Alta Villa, Architrenius. 41r-64v
- James
- Iohannis de Alta villa Architrenius. 41r-64v
- Author
- Iohannes de Alta Villa
- Note
- Another hand: double columns
- Incipit
- (41r) Velificatur athos dubio mare ponte ligatur
- Note
-
Wright, Satirical Poets of the Twelfth Century I 240
Ends f. 64r - Explicit
- (64r) Equet in eternum populus dilectus et ultra
- Rubric
- (64r) Explicit
- Note
- On f. 64v in 4 columns are the capitula to the Architrenius
- Bernardus Silvestris, Epistola ad Terricum in Megacosmum. 65r-74r
- James
- Bernardi Siluestris Megacosmus. 65r-74r
- Author
- Bernardus Silvestris
- Note
- Another hand: double columns
- Rubric
- (65r) Incipit Epistola magistri bernardi siluestris ad magistrum Terricum in megacosmum
- Incipit
- (65r) Terrico ueris scientiarum titulis doctori
- Explicit
- (65r) ualeatque uita uestra
- Rubric
- (65r) Incipit megacosmus bernardi siluestris
- Incipit
- (65r) Congeries informis adhuc cum silua teneret
- Note
-
(69r) Liber II
Ends 74r - Explicit
- (74r) Ductoresque pedes omnificasque manus
- Rubric
- (74r) Explicit cosmographia magistri bernardi siluestris
- Note
- Ed. Wrobel and Barach, Biblioth. philos. mediae aetatis I, Innsbruck, 1875
- Joseph of Exeter, Bellum Troianum. 74v-86v
- James
- Iosephi Exoniensis Ilias. 74v-86v
- Author
- Joseph of Exeter
- Note
- (74v) (Prologue)
- Incipit
- (74v) Cresce Ioseph nomen augmenti moribus impleNe uirtute minor nomine maior eas...Nam uacuus labor est carpere mortis iter
- Rubric
- (74v) Frigii Daretis Yliados liber primus de prima pergamorum euersione incipit
- Incipit
- (75r) Iliadum lacrimas concessaque pergama fatisPrelia bina ducum bis adactam cladibus urbem
- Note
-
(77r) Herethe hand changes and there are 3 columns to a page
Ends - Explicit
- (86v) Quam pascit presens extremaque krminat etas
- Rubric
- (86v) Frigii Daretis yliados liber explicit
- Note
- Printed several times: e.g. in the London reprint of the Delphin edition of Dares Phrygius and Dictys Cretensis (1825)
- Alanus ab Insula (Alain de Lille), Anticlaudianus. 86v-100v
- James
- Alani Anticlaudianus (without the prose preface). 86v-100v
- Author
- Alanus ab Insula (Alain de Lille)
- Incipit
- (86v) Auctoris mendico stilum falerasque poete
- Note
-
Wright, Satirical Poets of the Twelfth Century II 272
Ends - Explicit
- (100v) Supplantare nouas saltem post fata silebit
- De coloribus sententiarum. 101r-101v
- Note
-
a.
(101r) Poem exemplifying colores, double columns
Headings in margin - Rubric
- (101r) Exempla colorum sententiarum
- Incipit
- (101r) Ecce Est pape leges sacras dictantere minorum
- Note
-
(101r) Distinctio
(101r) Prescriptam iuris formam seruare sed errant
(101r) Licencia
(101r) Quam plures quorum ce pape redarguit error. Parcis non punis enormia lucra sequentes, etc....
(101r) (Breuitas)
(101r) Non persona patris uel sacri flaminis esse Debuit ipsa salus hominis sic collige paucis
(101v) Demonstracio - Explicit
- (101v) Ciuibus angelicis celo nascente creatis Lucifer egregie lucis de luce creantis ... Istius radix sic sum quasi causa remota Huius pestis ero uicine causa salutis
- Geoffrey de Vinsauf, Poetria noua. 102r-112v
- Author
- Geoffrey de Vinsauf
- Note
- b.
- Rubric
- (102r) Incipit liber magistri Galfridi (Vinesauf: cut off) Anglici ad Willelmum de Wrotham epistola prima
- Incipit
- (102r) Quem pape scripsi munus speciale libelliAccipe flos regni primo pocieris honore...Sed licet omnis apex tibi crescat honoris, honoreCrescere non poteris quantum de iure mereris
- Note
- Text begins
- Incipit
- (102r) Papa stupor mundi si dixero papa nocenti
- Note
- Ends 112v
- Explicit
- (112v) Plene. sed res est longe fecundior ore
- Rubric
- (112v) Explicit artificium lepide loquendi
- Note
- Printed in Leyser, pp. 861-978
- Walter of Châtillon, Alexandreis. 113r-144v
- James
- Gualteri de Castellione Alexandreis. 113r-144v
- Author
- Walter of Châtillon
- Note
- (113r) Another hand
- Incipit
-
(113r) Primus aristotiles imbutum nectare sacro...Pergama miratur et sompnia uisa retractat
(113r) Gesta ducis macedonie totum digesta per orbem - Explicit
- (113r) nostram paciare camenam
- Note
- The next eleven lines in another hand
- Incipit
- (113r) Nondum prodierat mature plena tenellis...Confusos turbare duces primumque (?) leonis
- Note
- (141v) Liber X ends
- Explicit
- (141v) Gloria Willelmi nullum moritura per euumLaus tibi sit christe quia finitur liber iste
- Rubric
- (141v) Explicit liber Alexandri
- Note
- (141v) Prose prologue
- Incipit
- (141v) Moris est usitati cum in auribus multitudinis
- Explicit
- (141v) totum opus per capitula distinguamus
- Note
-
Capitula follow, ending with the argument of Liber I (Primus Aristotiles) as above
See Hist. Litt. XV 100. Ward, Catalogue of Romances I 94. Often printed
On ff. 142v-144r are scribbles, notes, memorial verses, lists of sins, etc.
Liber VII 331, etc. reads - Incipit
- (132r) Nollet corruptus munere iudexNon caderent hodie nullo discrimine sacriPontifices. quales nuper cecidisse querunturVicine modico distantes equore terreSed quia labilium, etc.
- Seneca, Tragedies. 1r-40v
- TJames
- 69
- Stanley
- G. 3
- Location
- https://purl.stanford.edu/ky226pt1201
- MS 406
- Repository
- UK, Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, Parker Library
Access conditions
- Use and reproduction:
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- License:
- This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 4.0 International license (CC BY-NC).