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Manuscript Description
Cambridge, St John's College, MS H.1 (204)
 
MS Appellation:J (Waldron); M. R. James Catalogue, numbered 204
Title:Polychronicon
Author:Trevisa
Contents: 1) Dialogus inter clericum et militem trans Trevisa from Latin of Ockham; 2) sermo domini Archiepiscopi Armachani (trans Trevisa); 3) Trevisa, Polychronicon
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.
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Material:Parchment
No of Folios:1 heavy blank parchment flyleaf + 280 parchment folios + 1 heavy blank parchment flyleaf
Pagination:Modern pencil, upper outer corner on first folio of quires only; modern signatures in pencil lower outer corner of first folio of quires only, lettering 'a' through 'z' and 'A' through 'M'.
Quiring:8
Catchwords:By scribe, below right column, running up to right frame line, no decoration, except f184v where catchword is 'þen þe abbay' and a crown (with a crozier out of top?) is drawn around it in red.
Page Size:395 x 288
Frame:4 x vertical creating two columns, 4 x horizontal enclosing top and bottom lines, ruled within; grey-black ink; no pricking remains.
Writing Space:286 x 92 per column. 286 x 195 overall.
Index:Table / index ff9-33va.
Marginal Headings:Rubric headings (liber on verso pages, a number written out on recto pages). Rubric capitulo indications in margins. Rubric sub-headings in spaces left for them in text, all by scribe.
Running Titles:Rubric running titles to name the book.
Table of Contents:Rubric numbering of books in table of contents. Table / index ff9-33va.
Borders:f1r has full blue, rose and gold bar border around, bosses in blue, rose and gold, sprays extending from bosses in same colours but also with green wash on black pen spirals extending from gold balls. On f34r also.
Historiated Initials:9-line historiated initial on f1r, blue and rose, gold ground.
Illuminated Initials:Initial and full bar border on first folio of text, f34r. 6-line gold initials with balls on parti-coloured blue and rose grounds, white highlights, incised at corners with green filling the incisions, sprays extending from corners with same green spirals and gold balls, also gold trefoils.
Paragraph Marks:Alternating blue with red penwork paraphs and gold with dark blue penwork paraphs, but the blue penwork around gold paraphs stops from 10-15 except for occasionally filled in.
Other Names (not owners):Given to college in 1674 by 'Mr _____ Baile de Newington in agro, Middlesex (verso of first flyleaf, 17th century).
Further Information:James's catalogue for St John's, 235-6; Ronald Waldron, John Trevisa's Translation of the Polychronicon of Ranulph Higden, Book VI, Middle English Texts 35 (2004), p. xxxvii
Centre for Medieval Studies, University of York, King's Manor, York YO1 7EP