The Ormulum in the Seventeenth Century:The Manuscript and Its Early Readers

The most recent edition of the Ormulum by Robert Holt (The Ormulum, with the notes and glossary of Dr. R. M. White, OUP, Oxford, 1878) pays little or no attention to its seventeenth-century readers and owners: the philologists Jan van Vliet (1622–1666) and Francis Junius (1591–1677). This study aims to fill this lacuna in the reception history of the Ormulum by analysing the study of the Ormulum in the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. The results show a vivid and imaginative approach to the Ormulum by its first active student, Jan van Vliet, who discovered its metrical qualities and studied its lexicon. Despite a declining interest in the Ormulum by later scholars, the activities and ideas of its early readers have been a lasting influence on the reception of this unique text

Encyclopaedic Notes as Micro-Texts:Contextual Variation and Communicative Function

Encyclopaedic notes occur in some 45 manuscripts from Helmut Gneussand Michael Lapidge’s Bibliographical Handlist (2014), either as individual microtexts or in groups. They are either single statements conveying factual information, or lists itemising simple knowledge. The manuscript context of encyclopaedic notes is, as yet, unexplored: they may occur in the periphery, in the margins or centrally in manuscripts, but are never part of the larger texts in these codices. In this article, I review a group of encyclopaedic notes which recurs, in various forms, in six manuscripts. By considering codicological as well as textual features and by assessing the interplay between the intentions of authors or compilers vis-à-vis reader- or user-response, it becomes clear that the insertion of encyclopaedic notes was motivated by various types of associations made by scribes and compilers. These associations are the key to establishing their communicative functions

Cambridge University Library Ii. 4. 6.: Temporale selected from Ælfric, "Catholic Homilies" I & II, etc.

101. Cambridge University Library Ii. 4. 6. Temporale selected from Ælfric, "Catholic Homilies" I & II, etc. [Ker 21, Gneuss 18] HISTORY: A collection of homilies, mostly by Ælfric, copied in the middle of the 11c at New Minster in Winchester (Bishop 1971: xv). The manuscript, discussed by Pope (1967: 39-48), Godden (1979: xlv-xlvii), Clemoes (1997: 28-30), and Teresi (2007: 291-310), is known as "M" in the classification of Ælfrician manuscripts. At the beginning of the manuscript, "an indeterminable number of leaves" from more than one quire were lost (Pope 1967: 40), which suggests that several more items may once have been there. The homilies are for "Sundays and festivals, other than Saints' days, from the second Sunday after Epiphany to the first Sunday after Pentecost" (Ker, Cat., p. 31; cf. Godden 1979: xlv), and the manuscript was designed as a Temporale. Except for two homilies, for the Monday and Tuesday in Rogationtide, all contain material by Ælfric, and most belong to the two series of Catholic Homilies (Ker, Cat.: arts. 1-6, 8-10, 12-14, 16-24, 29-31, 33, 36-37; cf. Clemoes 1997: 30), ten complete homilies and several fragments from the First Series and twelve from the Second Series. The items which are not entirely by /Elfric are two composite homilies, added for the first time to the Ælfrician canon in this manuscript (Godden 1975). The collection in this manuscript is well organized and contains all the homilies from CH I and CH II relevant to the period, as well as the "Caput ieiunii" and the Prayer of Moses (Skeat 1881-1900: nos. xii and xiii) and additional homilies (Pope 1967-1968: nos. 4, 7-10, 12). Its organization and comprehensive nature make this manuscript important to the study of Ælfric's homilies. In the stemma of the First Series, this manuscript (M) forms part of the 8 line of transmission together with Cotton Faustina A. ix [192) (N) and CCCC 302 [48) (O). In the stemma of the Second Series, M belongs to an advanced stage of the first recension (Godden 1979: xlvi), sharing contamination with the earlier south-eastern MS CCCC 162 [33) (known as F), which entered both manuscripts from the immediate exemplar of M (Godden 1979: xlix). M, together with F, N, and 0, derives from a separate collection set up as "a series of homilies for occasions other than saints' days from Christmas to the Sunday after Pentecost;' to which later some other items were added, first in this manuscript (Clemoes 1997: 71-76; Godden 1979: lxiv-lxv). Whereas Clemoes and Godden believe that Ælfric himself may have been the compiler of this collection, Teresi (2007: 291-310) argues against this possibility, suggesting, instead, that it was made independent of Ælfric's direct influence. Glosses and additions coeval with the compilation of the MS, on ff. 23v-37r, as well as marginalia of the 13c/14c on ff. 132r and 146v show that the texts were studied through those times. Presumably, the manuscript stayed in Winchester, for in the 15c it belonged to the nearby Abbey of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Rumonus in Tavistock in Devonshire (Ker 1964: no. 1988; Wanley 1705: 160), whence it was taken away according to an inscription on f. lr: 'hunc codice<m> cu<m> altero co<n>simili: reperit R. Ferro' seruus comit<is> Bedfordie | in Domo quonda<m> cenobio de Tavestocke in Devinshire, a<nno> 1566:. Robert Ferrar (d. 1572) was a member of parliament for Tavistock and a servant of Francis (Russell), second Earl of Bedford (d. 1585), inscription(s) on 7v, '1566: 'F. Bedford'. In 1567, the Earl gave the manuscript to Archbishop Matthew Parker (see inscription f. 308v), even before the Privy Council authorized Parker to actively 'collect' such books in the interest of the nation (Kleist 2007: 467). In 1574, Parker gave 25 manuscripts and many more printed books to Cambridge University Library, and this book is no. 9 in the list (Page 1993: 9; Ker, Cat., p. 35), inscription on f. 9v: 'Matthreus Cantuar: dedit. 1574'

Lincoln Cathedral Library MS 182: Bede, "Homilies on the Gospels"

160. Lincoln Cathedral Library MS 182 Bede, "Homilies on the Gospels" [Ker 124, Gneuss 274] HISTORY: A late 10c or early 11c English manuscript. Its origin is disputed: Gneuss (no. 274), following Bishop (1967: 73-74), believes that it was written at Abingdon, a claim which is disputed by Dumville (1993: 58, n. 259; 1994: 185-86), while Marsden (1995: 381) mentions Canterbury as a place of origin. It contains Bede's homilies on the Gospels, written between 730 and 735, towards the end of his life, but before the "Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum;' since he writes in HE 5.24 that his two books of Homilies have already been completed. The manuscript was listed as "Bedam xlix omeliarum'' in the 12c catalogue of the manuscripts of Lincoln Cathedral Library, and also occurs in a 15c catalogue of the same library (Ker, Cat., p. 158; 1964: 115; cf. Woolley 1927: v-xiv). The warrant for including this manuscript in the series is that on f. 27v there is an OE scribble, 'gepafa nu; glossing 'Sine modo', perhaps because of the potential ambiguity of the Latin phrase. At least two folios have been removed from the front of the book: the first folio of quire I and a 13c table of contents which is now f. 1 of Lincoln Cathedral Library 184. According to Thomson (1989: 147-48), the table of contents was still part of this manuscript in the 17c, but had been removed by ca. 1833, as indicated by Richard Garvey's manuscript catalogue

The Hague, Koninklijke Bibliotheek 133 D 22: Ælfric, "Catholic Homilies" I (fragments from three homilies) with 150. Copenhagen, Kongelige Biblioteket Acc. 1996/12 152a. Copenhagen, Rigsarkivet Middelaldersamlingen Aftagne Frag. Nr. 637-698

136. The Hague, Koninklijke Bibliotheek 133 D 22 Ælfric, "Catholic Homilies" I (fragments from three homilies) with 150. Copenhagen, Kongelige Biblioteket Acc. 1996/12 152a. Copenhagen, Rigsarkivet Middelaldersamlingen Aftagne Frag. Nr. 637-698 [Ker 118, Gneuss 830] HISTORY: Nine strips of parchment cut from the leaves of an A-S manuscript dating from the first half of the 11c, containing Ælfric's "Catholic Homilies:' The strips derive from three homilies which "only occur together elsewhere in the four complete copies of the first series" (Ker, Cat., p. 155; cf. Ker nos. 15, 43, 220, 257). This copy is Clemoes' "fe' On a paper wrapping it is written that Ph. L. van den Bergh, Archivist-General of the Netherlands, donated the strips to the Royal Library on 24 October 1861. Paleographical and codicological evidence has strongly favored the claim that a collection of 62 similar fragments from the Copenhagen State Archive, plus seven more recently noticed fragments from a single leaf now in the Royal Library, Copenhagen (Copenhagen, Rigsarkivet binding fragments 637-698 [152a], + Copenhagen, Kongelige Biblioteket Acc. 1996/12 [ISO], edited and published by Fausbøll 1986 + 1995), are from the same manuscript (Dumville 1989: 132-34). The Copenhagen Rigsarkiv fragments were taken from bindings of the collected papers of Peder Charisius, Danish resident minister in The Hague from 1651 to 1669. It is very likely that the Hague fragments were used by the same binder who bound the papers of Peder Charisius, presumably in 1657. The manuscript would therefore have been in The Hague in the 1650s. A few marginalia in the Copenhagen fragments, most likely dating from the 17c, indicate that before they were made into binding strips they had been in the possession of an antiquarian. For further information on these fragments and their context consult the descriptions of 150 and 152a

London, Lambeth Palace Library MS 173: Ps.-Hegesippus, "Historiae"; Saints' Lives and Visions; Homilies

312. London, Lambeth Palace Library MS 173 Ps.-Hegesippus, "Historiae"; Saints' Lives and Visions; Homilies [Ker 276, Gneuss 507/508/508.5] HISTORY: Lambeth 173 is a composite manuscript consisting of three parts. All parts date from the 11 c/ 12c, and all three probably originate from the Augustinian priory of Lanthony Secunda in Gloucester. OE glosses have been added on ff. 212v and 214r. Part 1 (Gneuss, no. 507, s. xi/xii; Gameson 1999: no. 588, s. xiii"-1) contains the "Historiae;' attributed in the Middle Ages to Hegesippus, which is a Latin adaptation of Titus Flavius Josephus's De be/lo Judaico et excidio urbis Hierosolymitanae. Several manuscripts, however, mention St. Ambrose as the translator of the "Historiae': while Cassiodorus stated in his De institutione diuinarum literarum 1.17 that some hold Jerome to be the translator, others Ambrose, and yet others Rufinus (Mras in Ussani 1960: 2.xxv). The Lambeth manuscript, which is not among the witnesses used by Ussani for his edition, provides no incipit stating the translator. It originates presumably from Lanthony as is shown by entry 131 in their catalogue from 1355-1360, now London, British Library, MS Harley 460 (James and Jenkins 1932: 272). After the dissolution of the monasteries the books from Lanthony presumably remained with Richard Hart, the last prior of Lanthony, from whose collection Archbishop Richard Bancroft (1544-1610) acquired a substantial number of books (Webber and Watson 1998: 34, 51). The name 'Eu(er)ard' on f. 1 is presumably an early owner's mark. Part 2 (Gneuss, no. 508, s. xi/xii; Gameson 1999: no. 589, s. xii1 ) contains a collection of lives and visions of saints, starting with the Lives of St. Abraham the Hermit and his niece Maria by Ephraem the Syrian, the earliest evidence of this work in England (Whatley 2001: 41). It is followed by two other saints' lives: pseudo-James the Deacon's Life of St. Pelagia, the penitent prostitute from Jerusalem (Whatley 2001: 382-83), and the Life of the Irish St. Furseus (Whatley 2001: 222), which is accompanied by a scribal comment referring to Bede's extract of Furseus's life in the Historia ecclesiastica 3.19. Subsequently, there are the visions of Fulrad (anonymous), and ofBarontus and Wetti (ascribed to Heito of Reichenau [d. 836]), which are followed by the vision of Drihthelm, from Bede's Hist. eccl. 5.12, which includes two OE glosses. The series of visions and saints' lives concludes with two visions of anonymous characters, from Bede's Hist. eccl. 5.13-14, and the anonymous Life of St. Euphraxia (Whatley 2001: 200-1). This volume also originates from Lanthony and was already together with Part 1 in the Middle Ages (Ganz et al. 2007: 50). Part 3 (Gneuss, no. 508.5, s. xi ex; Gameson 1999: no. 590, s. xi/xii) contains two homilies on All Saints' Day belonging to a group of homilies wrongly attributed to Bede. The first of the two, "Legimus in ecclesiasticis historiis;' was one of the sources for Ælfric's sermon on All Saints' Day, and was therefore edited in 1977 by James Cross, who did not include this manuscript among his witnesses. This volume is probably also from Lanthony (Ganz et al. 2007: 50). At the beginning of the 17c, Lambeth 173 belonged to Archbishop Richard Bancroft ( 1544-1610 ), the founder of the archiepiscopal library, as is shown by the catalogue of his manuscripts, compiled in 1612 (Ker, Cat., p. 341). Originally distinct volumes, Parts 1 and 2 were "probably bound together in the Middle Ages" (Ker, Cat., p. 341). Part 3 must also have been added at an early date, for Lambeth 173 is not one of the manuscripts rearranged by Archbishop William Sancroft (1617-1693, elected 1677, deprived 1690) in his extensive reorganization of the Library in 1664. In 1647 the Lambeth Palace Library manuscripts had been transferred by Parliament to the University Library of Cambridge, where they were given Cambridge shelfmarks (Ker 1972: 1-3). The Cambridge shelfmark of this manuscript was#. G. μ. 10., visible on f. Ilr. The pre-1647 Lambeth press mark 'N. 8:, written in the bottom right corner of f. iii recto, marks the original place of the book in the Lambeth Palace library before the Civil War, as can be seen in a catalogue made up after Archbishop George Abbot's death in 1633 (Ker 1972: 2). In 1664 the collection was returned to Lambeth Palace and reorganized by Archbishop Sancroft, who reduced 203 of the old volumes to 93 new ones (Ker 1972: 4-5)

Brussels, Bibliotheque Royale 1828-30: Arator; "Hermeneumata Pseudo- Dositheana" and other glossaries, Jerome, "Liber Interpretationis Hebraicorum Nominum': five Latin-Old English glossaries

19. Brussels, Bibliotheque Royale 1828-30 (185) Arator; "Hermeneumata Pseudo- Dositheana" and other glossaries, Jerome, "Liber Interpretationis Hebraicorum Nominum': five Latin-Old English glossaries [Ker 9, Gneuss 807] HISTORY: A composite manuscript of two parts, of which the older part (ff. 36-109) was presumably made in England in the first half of the llc. It contains collections of glosses, some of which were derived from the "Hermeneumata Pseudo-Dositheana" (type b [Gneuss 2003: 304)) and the "Liber Glossarum;' an early medieval monastic encyclopedia based mainly on the works of Isidore of Seville, and completed with material from other authors (Goetz 1891; 1892: xxvi-xxvii). A 12c copy of Arator's "Historia apostolica" (text ofClassis III, codices deteriores [McKinlay 1951: xiv-xv)) was added later, but before 1574 when, according to an inscription on f. 1 'Ex bibliotheca Aquicinctensi 1574', the entire manuscript belonged to the Abbey of Anchin, near Douai. Later the manuscript formed part of the collection of the Bollandists ('+ ms. 64: f. lr), from where it passed to the Bibliotheque de Bourgogne, Brussels, in 1773. In 1837 this collection came to form part of the Royal Library. In 1833, tracings of the Old English glossaries on ff. 50, 94, 95 were made for the Record Commission and were given to the British Museum in 1834 (now BL, MS Add. 9386). The manuscript was rebound and restored in 1979 by M. J. Marchand

London, British Library, Additional 32246: "Excerptiones de Prisciano': Antwerp-London Glossary (with Antwerp, Plantin-Moretus Museum MS 16.2 [4])

164. London, British Library, Additional 32246 "Excerptiones de Prisciano': Antwerp-London Glossary (with Antwerp, Plantin-Moretus Museum MS 16.2 (4]) [Ker 2, Gneuss 775] HISTORY: For the history and the complete disposition of the original manuscript, see the description of [4]. On second modern paper front fly, 'Purch'd of J. H. Sullivan | 23 Feb. 1884

Leiden, Universiteitsbibliotheek Vossianus Lat. F. 24: "Abavus maior" and other glossaries

156. Leiden, Universiteitsbibliotheek Vossianus Lat. F. 24 "Abavus maior" and other glossaries [Ker, App. 17; Gneuss -] HISTORY: The manuscript dates from the late 9c or early 10c and according to Bischoff, on the basis of the dotted 'Z' on f. 103v/8d, originates from western France or Brittany (Bischoff 1974: 233, n. 1), a conclusion indicated also by about a dozen l lc marginal glosses in Old Breton (Fleuriot 1964: 5), but there are no other clues as to its exact provenance. In the early 17c it belonged to the Paris scholar Paul Petau, whose son Alexander sold his father's enormous library to Queen Christina of Sweden in 1650. The Dutch philologist Isaac Vossius, who had concluded this transaction for the queen, became the next owner of the book after he received a selection of Christina's library by way of remuneration for her debts. After Vossius's death in 1689, the curators of Leiden University purchased his library, by then in Windsor, and shipped it to its present location. Old shelfmark Vossius 38 (f. lr)