Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, MS 210: William Worcester, Itineraria

purl.stanford.edu/mp810zm2076

Title:

Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, MS 210: William Worcester, Itineraria

Alternate Title:

William Botoner of Worcester

Language:

English, French, Middle (ca. 1400-1600), and Latin

Extent:

pp. 332

Dimensions:

297 Height (mm) and 137 Width (mm)

Approximate Date:

[ca. 1400 - 1499]

Provenance:

The pages are numbered in red chalk, as if by Parker. Like MS 205 the book is noticed by T. James (just before 1600) but does not occur in Parker's list.There is a partial transcript in MS 101. 31. From the existence of this we may conclude that the book was known to Parker: very probably he acquired it late in life.

Table of contents:

Itineraria

Description:

CCCC MS 210 contains the unique copy of William Worcester's Itineraria. William Worcester (1415-1480/85), a servant of Sir John Fastolf, wrote the Itineraria in note form during a series of journeys he undertook throughout southern and western England between 1478 and 1480, and the manuscript must date from this period. The text's eclectic mixture of local history, biography and geography reflect a lively and curious mind. How this manuscript came into Parker's possession is unknown, and it has been suggested that the codex was another bequest to the college by Henry Aldrich (Fellow 1569-79, d. 1593) (see CCCC MS 208). However, the presence of Parker's characteristic red chalk in the volume and the existence of a partial transcript of the text in CCCC MS 101 must refute that claim. Instead, it is probable that Parker acquired the manuscript shortly before his death, after the composition of his Register, CCCC MS 575, which contains no reference to this manuscript.