Advanced Search   *   Manuscripts   *   Scribes   *   Authors   *   Letters
Home   *   About the Project   *   Bibliography
Funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council
Find What? Search by
Manuscript Description
London, British Library, MS Cotton Tiberius A.IV
 
Title:Vox Clamantis and other Latin poems
Author:Gower
Contents:Vox Clamantis and other Latin poems
Language:Latin
Scribal Hands:
Examples of the hand. Click on the link above for full details and images of individual letter forms.
Material:Parchment; mounted onto modern paper frames (damaged in Cotton fire)
No of Folios:3 blank paper + 1 original parchment flyleaf + text block fols 1-177 + 2 blank paper
Pagination:New pencil foliation in arabic numbers on the frames on which each leaf is mounted because of fire damage, in upper outer corners; older but still modern ink foliation in upper outer corners of the parchment leaves themselves, arabic, one number less than the new foliation because newer counts the front flyleaf that precedes start of texts (where Table of Contents added); these older ones on the parchment are now crossed through; old medieval numbering of books as guide to RT(?), as roman numerals in upper outer corners recto, eg iiij on f82.
Quiring:8s
Signatures:Medieval signatures in lower outer corners recto in ink or sharp crayon, rusty-coloured, eg 'k j' on f82, k ij on f83, k iij on f84, k iiij on f85; most survive, eg I j on f74, M j on f98, N j on f107. First is 'b j on f18 since cropped or worn from beginning of volume; so began first quire as cross?
Catchwords:By scribes, lower inner corners of verso last leaf of each quire, near lower edge of page and near lined up with end of line in text above, not running up to right frame line.
Page Size:Parchment mounted on paper frames: parchment now measures c. 230 x 155 but leaves not rectangular and size varies with amount of damage.
Frame:2 x vertical, 3 x horizontal enclosing top line and under bottom line; ruled within, fine grey lines, no pricking survives.
Writing Space:c. 178 x 100 (ruled for, eg f137)
Marginal Headings:By scribes in spaces left for them, same ink as text but more formata or even bastard anglicana; chapter numbers in outer margins also in brown ink but still larger and also formata or bastard, red touching on initials.
Running Titles:In upper margins 'Liber' on verso and number, eg 'Tercius' on recto, same larger more formal script and touched with red.
Table of Contents:Table of contents added to f1 by post-medieval hand, probably during Cotton's ownership.
Borders:Bar borders on left side
Illuminated Initials:Illuminated blue red and gold flourished initials
Miniatures:Miniature of Gower shooting arrow at a globe, f9v at end of first quire which is contents of Vox Clamantis.
Paragraph Marks:Blue and red paraphs, initials each line touched with red.
Flourished Initials:2-5-line blue and red flourished initials, one-line plain initials alternating blue and red.
Other Names (not owners):Robert Cotton signature bottom f2.
Miscellaneous Info:Note first quire begins f2 (2-9), contains a table of contents for Vox Clamantis, so possibly not included in quire numbering at the beginning'but written by scribe. The miniature of Gower on last leaf of this first quire, after end of table of contents, and text of Vox begins f10 with new quire. Note f1 is the later list of contents of the whole volume, probably dating from Cotton's ownership. So also 'Tiberius A.IV' on front parchment flyleaf, both recto and verso from this date.
Further Information:Cotton catalogue
Centre for Medieval Studies, University of York, King's Manor, York YO1 7EP