Manuscript Description Oxford, Bodleian Library MS Bodley 902 | |
| MS Appellation: | SC 27573 |
| Title: | Confessio Amantis |
| Author: | Gower |
| Contents: | Confessio Amantis |
| Language: | English and Latin |
| Date Range: | 1400-1425 |
| Scribal Hands: | Examples of the hand. Click on the link above for full details and images of individual letter forms.                 Examples of the hand. Click on the link above for full details and images of individual letter forms.                 |
| Material: | Parchment |
| No of Folios: | iv paper flyleaves + 2 non-original parchment leaves with 17th century text of first folio (now missing) + 183 (foliated 2-184) + 4 newer paper flyleaves |
| Pagination: | Modern pencil arabic outer upper corner recto 1-184. |
| Quiring: | 8 |
| Catchwords: | By scribe roughly centred below second column contained in faint small box. |
| Page Size: | 340 x 228 |
| Frame: | 8 x vertical enclosing two columns with column each on left and right sides for glosses; 4 x horizontal enclosing top and bottom lines; ruled within two main text columns only; very fine grey-black lines; no pricking survives. |
| Writing Space: | 237 x 73 per column = 237 x 160 |
| Incipits and Explicits: | By the scribe in black ink and preceded by decorated paraphs. |
| Marginal Headings: | Latin glosses in margin in the hand of the scribe in black ink. |
| Title by Scribe: | Title added to top margin, post-medieval 'Confessio amantis a Gowero'. |
| Borders: | On f46 bar border in gold, blue, orange, rose with white highlights; sprays extending over whole top and bottom margins with gold balls and tendrils washed with green. |
| Illuminated Initials: | On f46 is a 3-line blue initial with white highlighting, with rose colour on gold ground. 3-line gold initials on parti-coloured blue and rose grounds with white highlighting, short sprays into margin with gold and green. |
| Paragraph Marks: | Paraphs precede marginal glosses and are the same alternating blue with red pen-work and gold with dark blue. |
| Flourished Initials: | One-line alternating blue initials with red pen-work and gold with dark blue pen-work. |
| Other Names (not owners): | 2 Latin couplets added to blank space on f184rb, possibly 17th century, attributed to 'Spencerus English verses added on f184va-vb signed 'Quod m the name '(John) Browghton' several times as pen-trials on f184vb. |
| Miscellaneous Info: | |
| Further Information: | Summ. Cat. 27573: Madan vol. V, pp. 290-291 |