Manuscript Description London, British Library MS Harley 2421 | |
| Title: | Boethius |
| Author: | Chaucer |
| Contents: | Boethius |
| 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.               |
| Material: | Parchment |
| No of Folios: | 3 modern flyleaves + ii + 154 + ii + 1(1880) + 4 modern |
| Pagination: | A few earlier arabic numerals in ink are still present. These have been supplemented by modern pencil and each folio is now numbered in top right corner. |
| Quiring: | 8's regularly until quire 14 which is of 10 leaves. The remainder are of 8 leaves. |
| Signatures: | Completely regular and marked with arabic letter on first four folios of each quire from a-t. Upper case letters are used for I, N and O. At the same time, each quire is numbered in Roman numerals i-xix, on the first folio of the quire in dark ink, just above the signature in the bottom right corner of the folio. Both signings would appear to be contemporary with the text. |
| Catchwords: | All present. They are placed below writing box, lining up with right side of frame. Three-sided underline with a loop feature at each side. Ink of text by scribe. |
| Page Size: | 185 x 135 |
| Frame: | 2 x horizontal, 2 x vertical; remnants of grey ruling |
| Writing Space: | 130 x 70 |
| Incipits and Explicits: | Chapter numbers in red ink. These are usually followed by textura explanatory introductions in black ink which begin with a red Lombard capital(?). Thereafter the text begins with a blue letter, mostly unflourished and about three lines in depth. |
| Marginal Headings: | Some chapter numbers in red ink in margin eg ff60v, 85v. |
| Flourished Initials: | Blue initials for major divisions. Only the first one is properly flourished in red. Leaf patterns in infill. Wave pattern flourishing. Some flourishing in blue ink also. Other attempts at small in-fill on eg ff25r, 39v. |
| Other Names (not owners): | On the verso of the first original flyleaf is what seems a possible contemporary signature. The same looping which occurs around the catchwords is present. It may be some kind of monogram with 'fac' or perhaps an abbreviated 'fecit'? |
| Miscellaneous Info: | Red tipping in some upper case letters. |
| Further Information: | Seymour I. 52. |