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Manuscript Description
England, London, British Library MS Harley 614
 
Title:De Proprietatibus Rerum
Author:Trevisa's translation of Bartholomeus
Contents:Trevisa, translation of Bartholomeus De Proprietatibus Rerum
Language:English
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:3 new paper flyleaves match pastedown + 1 older paper flyleaf with 'HARL 614 stamped at top recto + 1-242 + 1 older paper flyleaf + 3 newer paper flyleaves match pastedown
Pagination:Modern pencil in upper outer corners recto, 1-242.
Quiring:8s
Signatures:Signatures almost all survive, first 4 leaves of each quire in lower outer corner, none in first 4 leaves which are the table of contents, f5r begins a.j with the letter above the roman numbers; continues to z which looks like yogh and then tyronian 'et' in next quire (beginning f188) followed by upper case A (f196) and so on to 'ff' over 'iiij' on f239r.
Catchwords:By the scribe below right column of text, with red sleigh under.
Page Size:410 x 290
Frame:4 x vertical for 2 columns, 4 x horizontal enclosing top and bottom lines, ruled within; no ruling for running titles or catchwords; pricking survives on a few leaves for example f181.
Writing Space:2 columns, 313 x 84-88 + 15 + 83-90, in all 313 x 185
Incipits and Explicits:Explicit on f242rb, 'Explicit tractus [sic] qui vocatur Bartholomeus de proprietatibus Rerum' at very bottom of second column on f242, rubric, by scribe.
Marginal Headings:Red chapter headings written into space left at end of previous chapter, a title plus capitula and roman number.
Running Titles:Red running titles giving Liber and number top each page.
Table of Contents:Table of contents in 3 columns by main scribe, giving Libri and then for each item of the book capitula numbers, ff1-4vc.
Borders:On f5r bar border down left side and sprays across top and bottom margins, mushroom flowers and leaves, gold balls and green-washed squiggles, in blue, pink, green, red and a purple-like color possibly oxidized.
Historiated Initials:On f5r a 6-line pink initial with incised edges and white highlighting on gold ground, historiated with picture of St Christopher carrying Christ across stream.
Illuminated Initials:5-line gold initials on blue and rose grounds with white highlights, smaller sprays of opposing green-washed squiggles and gold balls.
Paragraph Marks:Red paraphs and red underlining.
Flourished Initials:2-line blue lombard initials with red penwork in usual postage stamp design.
Other Names (not owners):On f242r right margin, added by later (17th c?) hand, 'Anno 1397 / Thomas Lord Berkley / annorum 47
on f1r, upper margin added by later hand 'P Saunders' (16th c?) and shelf mark 43 B 3 with line under and below that '614' and to right pencil marks shelfmark as 16 over 1 with F to right of it.
Miscellaneous Info:Red for chapter headings sometimes quite washed out, almost salmony-pink, for example on f173.
Further Information:Harley Catalogue
Centre for Medieval Studies, University of York, King's Manor, York YO1 7EP