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Manuscript Description
Cambridge, St John's College MS B.12 (34)
 
MS Appellation:M. R. James catalogue 34
Title:Confessio Amantis
Author:Gower
Contents:Confessio Amantis A version
Language:English and Latin
Date Range:1390-1425; decoration looks early 15th but hand has a later look about it. Quia unusquisque has 'dum tempus instat' rather than 'dum vixit'.
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.
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Dialect:LP No. 7450; County North Herefordshire
Material:Parchment
No of Folios:[original(?) boards cover], front and back pastedowns; no flyleaves; 1-214
Pagination:Modern pencil in upper outer corners of first leaf of each quire only, beginning '1' on f1 and '207' on first leaf of final quire; similar hand writes quire number in lower outer corner of first leaf each quire, eg f159 has '21' in lower corner.
Quiring:8s
Catchwords:By scribe, centred below second column of verso of last leaf, several words, no embellishment.
Page Size:310 x 235
Frame:4 x vertical, 2 x horizontal above top line and below bottom line, ruled within columns.
Writing Space:228 x 180 in 2 cols, 83 + 13 + 83
Marginal Headings:By scribe in same ink and script as text, simply a space of two lines, the first of which has writing 'Explicit Liber ___ Incipit liber ____
Title by Scribe:None except added later (16th?) to front pastedown, 'IHON GOWERS WORKES' with 'WORKES' crossed through and a later hand writing 'his confessio amantis'.
Borders:Full bar border on f1.
Illuminated Initials:One illuminated initial with full bar border on f1.
Flourished Initials:2- to 3-line blue initials with red pen flourishing, smaller divisions marked by one-line plain blue or red initials.
Other Names (not owners):Back pastedown, 16th c. 'I Baynorde' in large decorative lettering in centre of pastedown, 'Thomas Browne
f214v between and below conclusion of text, 'Nicolas Helyfex' and 'nicolas helyfex' in two different scripts; a motto and 'Ricardus moone
and below text which ends near bottom first column, 'John Nicolas oweth this book, 1576
front pastedown: ex libris of William Crashaw, former fellow of the college, who sold the book to Thomas Wriothesley, Earl of Southampton, who then gave the book to St John's in 1635. See also 'Tho. C S' on front pastedown, Thomas Comes Southampton'.
Miscellaneous Info:James notes odd spellings of scribe introduced into this copy of the text: 'ho' for who, 'heo' for she, 'heor' for her, 'whech' for which, and tendency to substitute 'som tyme' for Gower's 'whilom'. Also tendency to put full stop after each line.
Further Information:James catalogue
Centre for Medieval Studies, University of York, King's Manor, York YO1 7EP