Manuscript Description London, British Library, MS Harley 7184 | |
| Title: | Confessio Amantis |
| Author: | Gower |
| Contents: | Confessio Amantis incomplete, ending in Book VII. |
| Language: | English and Latin |
| Date Range: | 1450-1475 |
| Scribal Hands: | Examples of the hand. Click on the link above for full details and images of individual letter forms.                 |
| Dialect: | County; Gowerian/colourless |
| Material: | Parchment |
| No of Folios: | 134 |
| Pagination: | Modern pencil upper outer corners recto count folios. |
| Quiring: | 12s and at least one 14. |
| Signatures: | No signatures. |
| Catchwords: | By the scribe, centre lower margin, closer to text than to edge; early in volume introduced by gold paraph with purple sawtooth decor around it. |
| Page Size: | 545 x 380 ca. |
| Frame: | 4 x vertical enclosing two columns, 4 x horizontal enclosing top and bottom lines; ladder inside columns only, not between; purplish ink, each column ruled within. |
| Writing Space: | 400 x 95 + 30 + 95 = 220 |
| Incipits and Explicits: | None other than usual in Confessio Amantis (but ends incomplete (in Book VII), so none of the usual at end). |
| Marginal Headings: | Written in red with blue initials with red penwork postage-stamp squares around them. |
| Running Titles: | Running titles of 'Liber Primus' etc with large blue initial 'L' with red penwork and large gold 'P' etc with purple penwork; sometimes gold penwork around gold letters instead of purple in text and running title. |
| Borders: | On f1 3/4 border with foliage pattern in red, gold, green, blue. |
| Illuminated Initials: | 8-line illuminated initial on f1; 2-line gold initials with purple penwork in postage-stamp square, to very elaborate sawtooth and blue foliage pattern inside letters. |
| Other Names (not owners): | None. |
| Miscellaneous Info: | Possibly this scribe, writing at different time or slightly different style? |