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Manuscript Description Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS Bodley 294 | |
| MS Appellation: | SC 2449 |
| Title: | Confessio Amantis |
| Author: | Gower |
| Contents: | Confessio Amantis |
| Language: | English and Latin |
| Date Range: | 1400-1425 |
| Scribal Hands: | Examples of the hand. Click on the link above for full details and images of individual letter forms.                 |
| Material: | Parchment |
| No of Folios: | 2 old parchment leaves + 201 + 2 old parchment leaves |
| Pagination: | Modern by the Bodleian foliator in large arabic numbers in the upper outer corners recto. |
| Quiring: | 8 |
| Signatures: | Few signatures survive but see Oi, Oij, Oiij on ff105-108 |
| Catchwords: | By the scribe under the right column of the verso of the last leaf of a quire; black or red depending on text eg f40v is in red; occasionally with faint box around. |
| Page Size: | 393 x 280 |
| Frame: | 4 x vertical enclosing 2 columns, 4 x horizontal enclosing top and bottom lines of text; ruled within columns with very fine grey lines; pricking in lower margins for vertical lines of frame survive. |
| Writing Space: | 265 x 80 each column = 265 x 178 |
| Incipits and Explicits: | Red Explicits and Incipits preceded by blue paraph with red penwork. |
| Marginal Headings: | Latin rubrics in red in column space; names of speaker eg 'Confessor' in margin in red sometimes preceded by blue paraphs with minimal red penwork. |
| Running Titles: | 'Liber' on versos and Latin number on recto in red but without preceding paraph or other decoration up to f32v and thereafter blue paraph with red penwork. |
| Borders: | Full bar border with central bar in gold, blue, pink, orange with white highlighting. |
| Illuminated Initials: | On f1 a 6-line blue initial with white highlighting, blue, pink on illuminated gold ground. |
| Flourished Initials: | 2-line blue lombard initials with red pen-work; 1-line blue initials with red pen-work |
| Other Names (not owners): | Liber Rad[ulphi] [Gol]dewall (?) 15th century; 'Jojn Perrye Elissabeth Dere (?), 16th century, both these according to Summ. Cat.; also says 'Edwarde Fletewoode' in the top margin of f1 was he who presented the manuscript in 1601. |
| Further Information: | Summ. Cat., Madan, Vol. I, p. 370. |