Manuscript Description Oxford, Bodleian Library MS Fairfax 3 | |
MS Appellation: | SC 3883 |
Title: | Confessio Amantis |
Author: | Gower |
Contents: | Gower, Confessio Amantis |
Language: | English |
Date Range: | 1390-1415 |
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. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Examples of the hand. Click on the link above for full details and images of individual letter forms. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Dialect: | County; Gowerian |
Material: | Parchment |
No of Folios: | 1 flyleaf marbled matches pastedown + 1 heavy paper flyleaf same date + 1 fine pale blank parchment flyleaf with wormholes + text block ff2-194v Confessio + f195 extracted from another 15th century manuscript written in 2 columns + 2 heavy paper flyleaves, the second marbled |
Pagination: | Foliated in modern pencil, upper outer corners recto, beginning '2' on first leaf of text (so counting the fine pale parchment flyleaf as 1). |
Quiring: | 8s |
Signatures: | No signatures, or none survive, possibly cropped. |
Catchwords: | By the scribe, lower margin about ' down current lower margin and running up to right frame line for second column of text (not for gloss). |
Page Size: | 340 x 238 |
Frame: | 8 x vertical to enclose two text columns and two gloss columns outside them, 4 x horizontal enclosing top and bottom lines |
Writing Space: | 2 columns 242 x 75+12+75 (242 x 162) overall |
Incipits and Explicits: | Incipits and explicits and Gower's usual text. |
Marginal Headings: | 'Explicit liber tercius' and 'Incipit liber quartus' sort of headings, by scribe in larger textura script. |
Running Titles: | Running title of 'liber' on verso and number spelled out such as 'Tercius' on recto, sometimes ruled for these, but no embellishment and most of them have been cropped off. |
Borders: | On f2 blue and rose bar border on left side only. Red and blue bar borders also. |
Illuminated Initials: | On f2 a 4-line illuminated initial on blue and rose ground, white highlights, very plain gold; later gold initials that begin books; lesser illuminated initials also 4-line on same ground, following shape of letter. |
Miniatures: | Miniature of Nebuchadnezzar's dream on f2 (first folio of text), in which silver has oxidized so picture quite black. |
Flourished Initials: | Smaller 3-line blue lombard initials with red penwork; smaller one-line initials alternate blue with red penwork or gold with paler blue penwork. |
Other Names (not owners): | On f1r, top, later hand 'Sir Thomas Fairfax of Denton Ringhte / true owner of this booke 1588'. On f1r mid MS Fairfax 3 / (3883). On f2, upper margin above second column of text (miniature runs into upper margin above first column): The Ladie Isabell Fairfax / daughter and hare of Thwate / hir bouk. SC says Sir Thomas was grandson of Lady Isabel, who was grand-daughter and heiress of John Thwaites of Denton (d. 1511). |
Miscellaneous Info: | NB text on folio at end is described as a 14th century Latin moral treatise in SC. |
Further Information: | SC 3883 |