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Manuscript Description
Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS Bodley 294
 
MS Appellation:SC 2449
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.
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Material:Parchment
No of Folios:2 old parchment leaves + 201 + 2 old parchment leaves
Pagination:Modern by the Bodleian foliator in large arabic numbers in the upper outer corners recto.
Quiring:8
Signatures:Few signatures survive but see Oi, Oij, Oiij on ff105-108
Catchwords:By the scribe under the right column of the verso of the last leaf of a quire; black or red depending on text eg f40v is in red; occasionally with faint box around.
Page Size:393 x 280
Frame:4 x vertical enclosing 2 columns, 4 x horizontal enclosing top and bottom lines of text; ruled within columns with very fine grey lines; pricking in lower margins for vertical lines of frame survive.
Writing Space:265 x 80 each column = 265 x 178
Incipits and Explicits:Red Explicits and Incipits preceded by blue paraph with red penwork.
Marginal Headings:Latin rubrics in red in column space; names of speaker eg 'Confessor' in margin in red sometimes preceded by blue paraphs with minimal red penwork.
Running Titles:'Liber' on versos and Latin number on recto in red but without preceding paraph or other decoration up to f32v and thereafter blue paraph with red penwork.
Borders:Full bar border with central bar in gold, blue, pink, orange with white highlighting.
Illuminated Initials:On f1 a 6-line blue initial with white highlighting, blue, pink on illuminated gold ground.
Flourished Initials:2-line blue lombard initials with red pen-work; 1-line blue initials with red pen-work
Other Names (not owners):Liber Rad[ulphi] [Gol]dewall (?) 15th century; 'Jojn Perrye Elissabeth Dere (?), 16th century, both these according to Summ. Cat.; also says 'Edwarde Fletewoode' in the top margin of f1 was he who presented the manuscript in 1601.
Further Information:Summ. Cat., Madan, Vol. I, p. 370.
Centre for Medieval Studies, University of York, King's Manor, York YO1 7EP