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Manuscript Description
USA, Princeton, NJ, Princeton University Library, Department of Rare Books and Special Collections MS Taylor 6
 
MS Appellation:T (Waldron)
Title:Polychronicon
Author:Trevisa
Contents:Polychronicon (version A 1450-1475) Waldron
Language:English
Date Range:1450-1475
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:1 marbled, 1 paper flyleaves + 1 original parchment flyleaf + 1-225 folios + 2 parchment flyleaves + 1 paper and 1 marbled paper flyleaves
Pagination:Modern pencil in upper outer corners recto, 1-225.
Quiring:8s
Catchwords:By the scribe, centred on last leaf, verso, of each quire; preceded by tiny red paraph and this extends to red underlining under the full length of catchword.
Page Size:454 x 308
Frame:4 x vertical and 4 x horizontal enclosing top and bottom lines, ruled within columns, purple ink; pricking survives on extreme edges of a very few leaves, eg outer edge of f201
Writing Space:321 x 181 in 2 columns, 74 + 20 + 87 (f172)
Incipits and Explicits:Explicits for each book (except quintus) but no incipits: eg f67rb '[E]xplicit liber secundus'.
Index:Alphabetical index, headed 'Tabula' on f1ra, by original scribe on ff1ra-8ra, to which are added by a later hand notes on the years when each king began his reign.
Running Titles:Running titles are large bold and vertical letters, 'Liber' on versos and number on rectos, letters touched with red.
Illuminated Initials:8-line red, pink and green initial on f9 (first folio of text) with white highlighting on gold ground; each book (except quintus) begins with a similar initial only smaller, 6-line.
Paragraph Marks:Tiny red paraphs before initials of sentences which extend to underlining the first word or so, other references to authorities are underlined in red, red touching on any upper case letters and at initial of running titles.
Flourished Initials:Lesser breaks marked by 3-line blue initials with red penwork flourishing.
Other Names (not owners):Parchment flyleaf at front, verso, has a round circle patching a defect in leaf, with inscription 'To the worshipful / mr thomas heton / [monogram of J T?] ['m' in circle like @] / London' in 16th c hand? Text of Trevisa's dedication to Thomas Lord Berkeley on f8vb, begins 'Welth & wurship to my / worthy & wurshipfull / lord sire Thomas lord / of Barkeleie. I John / Treuisa your prest & your bede / man obedient & buxum to worch / your wille'
text of Polychronicon itself begins top f9ra 'After solempne and wise''
Further Information:De Ricci; Ronald Waldron, John Trevisa's Translation of the Polychronicon of Ranulph Higden, Book VI, Middle English Texts 35(2004), pp. xxvi-xxvii.
Centre for Medieval Studies, University of York, King's Manor, York YO1 7EP