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Manuscript Description
Tokyo, Senshu University Library, MS 1
 
MS Appellation:olim London and Oslo, Schøyen Collection, MS 194
Title:Polychronicon
Author:Trevisa's translation of Higden
Contents:Polychronicon:,Trevisa's translation of Ranulf Higden, with most of the index preceding. See Waldron for texts that would have preceded in the MS, in missing first quire.
Language:English
Date Range:1400-1425
Scribal Hands:
Examples of the hand. Click on the link above for full details and images of individual letter forms.
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Material:Parchment
No of Folios:1 parchment flyleaf matches pastedown, ff1-214 + blank flyleaf matches pastedown. Text ends 212vb near top of column, ''secounde after the conquest of Engelond'
Pagination:Pencil foliation, modern, every twentieth folio in lower margin left against gutter on rectos; also modern pencil upper case letters counting the quires in lower margin of first folio recto, on left against gutter, A through, except not written in for quire K, just left blank.
Quiring:Quires of 8s, hair facing hair and flesh facing flesh with flesh outermost (1r and 8v of each quire), hair on 1v-2r of each quire: note these are NOT folio numbers of the MS, though since first quire is complete 8, should apply. a8 b6 (A B) c-z8 (C D E F G H I [quire K does not have the quire letter on its first folio] L M N O P Q R S T V X Y Z, aa-dd8 (AA BB CC DD) so last leaf of dd is 214; note 212v, 213 and 214 ruled though blank except for signatures. There is a quire Y but not a J, so 27 quires. See Ron Waldron for incompleteness at beginning: one full quire of 8 followed by quire of 6 before new quire begins for start of text on f15r; then complete 8s through the MS.
Signatures:Most leaves have suffered damage from damp to outer edges so have been repaired with modern parchment filled especially the lower half of outer edges, so most signatures have been lost, but a few survive toward back of volume, Z (or lower parts of it) plus bits of the roman numbers on ff160-161 which are Zii and Ziii; Xii and Xiii on ff168 and 169; tyronian 'et': &i, &ii, &iij, &iiij on ff175, 176, 177, 178.
Catchwords:By the scribe in lower margin of verso of each quire, except none on last leaf of second quire, before start of the text itself (text begins f15ra); catchword preceding the illustration of boats on 55r (Noah's ark) is ''Navis' even though text does not begin with this word. Catchwords in same script as text and by the scribe, same ink, in lower margin running up to the right frame line, and surrounded by a scroll drawn in fine ink lines rising at right and falling at the left, more decorated at right into gutter, sometimes with faces or grotesques.
Page Size:420 x 280
Frame:4 x vertical, 4 x horizontal enclosing top and bottom lines, ruled within columns; no ruling for running titles, glosses or catchwords; in very fine grey ink. No pricking on sides, but most bottoms have it well above the edge and some tops have just at the edge.
Writing Space:287 x 190 in two columns of ca. 85-90 each and a blank space between columns.
Incipits and Explicits:Rubric explicits.
Index:Index at front, ff1-14rb, blank 14v, start of text on f15ra; only have end of text for identification where says when written. In the index itself the liber number is in red and the chapter number in black, and all these in arabics.
Marginal Headings:Rubric headings, rubric references to authorities/texts within the text sometimes with book numbers as well. Rubric Anno notations and chapter numbers and glosses in outer margins preceded by same decorated paraphs. Chapter numbers are there from the beginning but from quire I, headings at top of the outer margins of each page in red, preceded by same alternating paraphs, recording year, eg 'Anno Constantini gre[with macron over]
'Anno gre[with macron over] Marcus'. In quires preceding I, there are glosses in smaller script, secretary, in outer margins, possibly by scribe indicating where rubric intended to be added (same colour ink, similar script to extent that one can tell with difference of style of writing).
Running Titles:Rubric running titles preceded by alternating blue (with red flourishing) and gold (with blue flourishing) paraphs in some quires purple flourishing substituted for the blue. Running titles begin at beginning of quire I (letter I), ie f63r, in upper margins of rectos and versos, just letter 'L' or 'Lib' plus roman number. In first two quires (index), titles have 'Li' in black and 'Ca[superscript m]' in red, only the 'Li' preceded by paraph, and again on both verso and recto.
Borders:On f15r, full bar border with bosses and sprays in gold, blue, rose, red, and green wash and tendrils extending from gold balls, painted in workshop of Hermann Scheerer; other ' bar borders with 5-line illuminated (not historiated) initials at beginnings of each book, so borders on 15r (Book I), 50v (Book II), 74r (Book III), 105v (Book IV), 129v (Book V), 157v (Book VI), 179r (Book VII).
Historiated Initials:On f15r historiated initial showing Higden(?) seated on a bench writing a book.
Illuminated Initials:5-line illuminated (not historiated) initials at beginnings of each book. 3-line champe initials frequently throughout text, at beginning of each chapter.
Paragraph Marks:Alternating blue (with red flourishing) and gold (with blue flourishing) paraphs at beginnings of each sentence within text.
Other Names (not owners):On f3r right margin 'William
On f4r right margin,, 'roger morgan' and to right of chapter nos., 'of The'.' / Cisisen / am and / Willam [ ] / of Hihtote[ ] / in the Same [or 'Some'? beginning Somerset] / of ['gov' crossed out] goo[d?]'' On f6r right margin, Mr Johns I haue me commendid vnto you trustinge in god that you be ine good healthe [and to right at edge of page 'After'] f9r, same placement between item and chap no, 'longius longior longissimus' and further down the page 'Thomas Longmore'. On f159r drypoint inscription in engrossed capitals at bottom margin of first folio quire X: memorare radissima Be mete[rmi?] m[???] On f213v (penultimate ruled folio): Quytlame for monye in the queens nam On f214v Nouere ?vnivere per presentes nose Willelme Smithe et Iohanne Roper ville de taunton in comitate Somerst (16th century). master gabryell Barwyke Alys Jeaycotte (late 15th/early 16th). 19th c. binding. Inside back cover, bookplate of John Smart, book restorer and binder. England SN15 5AD.
Miscellaneous Info:19th century brown leather binding, stamped both front and back covers, and spine with gold lettering 'Polychronicon' and 'Script ao 1387', and small round sticker at bottom of spine '194' which represents the number of the MS 194 in Sch'yen collection. Inside front cover pastedown has signature 'Foster W Bond May MCMxlvii' in upper left corner; Sch'yen collection bookplate, with number 194; Ex libris Boies Penrose II bookplate with handwritten 'Nettlecomb Taunton' below 'Boies Penrose II' but on the white bookplate, far left lowest corner 'MS 194' in pencil. Note in pencil on right upper corner on flyleaf '214 ll / 47 lines/page; Inside back cover pastedown upper right in pencil 'The Sch'yen collection / MS 194' and well below that near bottom of page '211 leaves
at very bottom centred, pasted in a tiny bookplate 'John Smart / book restorer and binder / England SN15 5AD / Tel 0666-41-517'.
Further Information:Sale catalogue; Schøyen Catalogue. Illustrations besides the historiated initial on f15ra, are the two Noah's arks on f55r, and a diagram on f79r, a rectangle drawn in red ink with double-lined 'X' in centre, and writing on all four sides and down the crosses of X, top 'double', right and left sides each have 'al and the þridde', bottom 'al & þe eiȝteþe dele; and on each cross line 'Other half
at the corners the arabic numbers 6, 12, 9 and 8 (clockwise beginning upper left), relating to Pythagoras and the musical notes of a scale, the story of the smiths and a 3-line staff with 6 ?musical notes of varying length on it (see illus. vol. 3, p. 209 of Rerum Britannicarum Medii Aevi Scriptores (Rolls Series) 41: Ranulf Higden, Polychronicon, ed. Joseph Rawson Lumby ( Kraus Reprint 1964), 9 vols.
Centre for Medieval Studies, University of York, King's Manor, York YO1 7EP