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Manuscript Description
Cambridge, Cambridge University Library MS Hh.4.11
 
Title:De Regimine Principum
Author:Hoccleve
Contents:De Regimine Principum
Language:English
Date Range:1450-1500
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:Combination; parchment outer and inner bifolia, paper otherwise, in 8s, so equal paper and parchment. Seymour notes watermarks are boeuf, Briquet 2783 and fleur, Briquet 6445.
No of Folios:4 new paper when rebound in 1962 + 97 mixed for text block + 4 new paper same
Pagination:Modern foliation in black ink in upper outer corners recto, 1-97.
Quiring:8s, but missing a leaf after 45.
Signatures:No sign of signatures, but a modern hand has written a cross at the bottom outer corner, recto, on the fifth folio of each quire.
Catchwords:By the scribe near lower edge of page beginning about half way across, several words long.
Page Size:205 x 140
Frame:2 x vertical, 4 x horizontal enclosing top and bottom lines, ruled within in drypoint, sometimes shows faint grey; pricking survives on some outer edges and bottom, cropped from top.
Writing Space:c. 140 x 75
Incipits and Explicits:On f97 below end of text, by scribe in enlarged letters attempting textura, 'Explicit liber de Regimine Principum' with red scroll outlined around it.
Marginal Headings:An explicit and occasional glosses in outer margins in smaller writing by the scribe and with red-underline.
Borders:Full bar borders with foliage patterns all along them and animal figures of birds and apes, a scroll winding round base of each full border with rhymed gnomic sayings, eg on f36 'Whanne thu begynnyst a thyng . thynk on the endynge'
Historiated Initials:f1 has a ten-line initial in red and blue with some attempt at incised, on yellow ground with figure of a seated man inside the initial, almost full border around in green, orange, pink blue and yellow, above initial and signature of Roskarrocke.
Illuminated Initials:After this 7-line initials to begin major sections, a crude kind of cut-out work and parti-coloured pink and green, on yellow, blue and orange ground, with foliage patterns inside in this pallette.
Flourished Initials:Smaller divisions have 3-line lombard iInitials in green with red penwork flourishing; each stanza begins in 1-line plain initial in alternating red and green. Some 3-line initials have coats of arms inside, as on f94 where white background with 2 red chevrons pointing upwards.
Other Names (not owners):Other arms illustrated in MS, England and France, f10, f21 and f52 two other coats of arms described by Luard catalogue vol. 3, p. 292. See initials in decorated ascenders, listed below; Nicholas Roscarroke signed bottom f1 and top f96v, also large 'R' bottom f1; Roscarroke of Cornwall, 17th century; also later owned by Bishop Moore, bishop of Ely (d. 1714).
Miscellaneous Info:Provincial production, artwork with several colours, no gold; but definitely not metropolitan work; initials are alternating red and green. LRM says not London, and possibly south-west, which would fit with Roscarroke owning in 17th century.
Further Information:CUL Catalogue; Seymour's list of Regiment MSS. MS. number 946 in Bishop Moore's collection, which was given to CUL in 1715 by George I. Seymour notes Roscarroke also owned Laud Misc. 733, perhaps gave to Sir William Waad (d. 1623) whose son James gave it to Laud. Seymour p. 282. NB Letters are worked into the decoration on ascenders of top lines of at least one leaf of almost every quire, as on 15v where the letter is 'g' 15v g, 16 e, 17 d, 19v r, 20 s, 23 g, 24v g, 34 g, 37 g, 57 e, 59v d, 62v e or arabic 4, 80 a
Centre for Medieval Studies, University of York, King's Manor, York YO1 7EP