ASTRONOMICA, ETC.

MRJ number
162
College classmark
F.25

    Vellum, 8.875 x 6.375, ff. 93 + 5, double columns of 29 lines, single of 43, etc. 13th, 14th cent., well written, in many hands.

    Old binding, red skin over boards.  Title written on 2nd cover.

    Donor, T. C. S.

    Collation: 4 flyleaves, 112 - 312 (wants 10-12) | 48 58 | 68 - 88 | 912 | 108, 1 flyleaf.

    The pads are partly composed of paper accounts of the 15th cent.   The binding resembles that of No. 145.

    On f. 1: 40.  Tho. Hewett and 'Sum t(or e) lend (?).'

    Part of the book belonged to the famous musician John Dunstable:

see on f. 74.

 

    Contents:

  I.       1.   Compotus domini Lincoln .               .               .               .               f.  1

                  Capitula.

                  Text.  Compotus est scientia numeracionis et diuisionis tem-

                    porum.

                  Ends f. 29b: patriarum consuetudinibus est permissa.  Expl.

                  f. 30a blank.  On 30b (later hand) beginning of a Carol.

                  Procedenti puero Eya nouus annus est.

                  Tables illustrating the Compotus    .               .               .               .                 31

                  f. 33 blank.

 II.       2.   Kalendar in black, blue and red: with Cicli naturales    .                 34

                  Jan.    5.   S. Edwardi regis .

                  Feb.    1.   Brigide V.

                            13.  Transl. S. Edwardi reg. et m.

                            25.  Athelberti regis, in red.

                            28.  Oswaldi archiep.

                  Mar.   1.    Albini Ep.

                             2.    Cedde ep. et C., in red. 

                  Ap.      8.    Sexburge V.

                            24.    Melliti Ep.

                            26.    Richarii C.

                            30.    Erkenwaldi Ep.

                  May    7.     Iohannis de beuerlaco. 

                              9.    Transl . SS. Nicholai et Andree.

                            20.    Adelberti reg. et m., in blue.

              26.    Augustini Anglorum Ep., in red.

                  June   17.    Botulph.    21.  Leufred.    22. Alban.

                             23.    Etheldrida.

                  July     2.     Swithin.      7.    Transl. S. Thome M., in red.

                            11.    Transl. S. Benedicti, in red.       17.    Kenelm.

                            26.    Anne added.

                  Sept.   4.     Octave of Augustine.

                  Oct.    11.    Transl. S. Aug. Ep.

                             12.    late xv.  exequie.

                             13.        "         Transl. S. Edwardi.

                             20.        "         Dedicacio ecclesie b. marie magdalene.

                  Nov.    3.     Wenefrede V. added.

                             16.    Edmundi  Archiep., in red.  Edmund King not present.

                             26.    Amatoris Ep.

                  Dec.    4.    late xv.  S. Osmundi.    

                            23.    Victorie V. M.

                            30.    Ebulphi abb., in red.

                                   

                  This last saint is Ebrulphus, or Evroul, abbot of Ouche.  The

                      prominence given to St Ethelbert, coupled with the entry

                      of Ebrulf, suggests a cell to the Abbey of Ouche, situated in

                      the sphere of Ethelbert's influence (i.e. Herefordshire), as

                      the home of this Kalendar: but I can find no such place. 

                      There were very few cells of Ouche in England: the

                      principal one was Ware in  Herts. 

                  One leaf of notes on Kalendar.        .               .               .               .               40

                  Sciendum est quod in anno domini 1273 fuimus in primo anno

                      quarti cicli, etc.

                  f. 41 blank.

           3.   Tables.    1.  Tabula quinque terminorum, etc.                .               .               42

                                    2.  Tab. principalis compoti garlandi.

                  Hic inc. doctrina tabularum compoti et primo de tabula 5

                      festorum mobilium         .               .               .               .               .               44b

                  Tabula prima que hic post kalendarium ponitur

                        -per ordinem inueniuntur.

                  Further notes      .               .               .               .               .               .               46

                  Further tables     .               .               .               .               .               .               46b

                  49b blank.

III.             Closely written with very neat diagrams.

           4.    De astrolabio.

                  Scito quod astrolabium sit nomen grecum.

                  Apparently ends with a section on Propositions, f. 61b:

                  ut omnes pariter fiant 36.

           5.   Another tract on the astrolabe         .               .               .               .               61b            

                  Capitula (40).

                  Primum capitulum astrolabii in inuencione nominum super

                      illud cadencium.

                  Text.  Primum horum est armilla per quam suspenditur astro-

                      labium.

                  Ends 69b: Scitus quantum transierit de annis Christi ex annis

                      arabum si deus uoluerit.                  

                  Tables, e.g. :

                  Tabula solis inuenta anno Chr. 1220               .               .               .              70

                  Tabula stellarum fixarum.

                  Nomina stellarum fixarum, 70b.

                  Tabula longitudinum regionum, 71.

                  Table of winds, with heads roughly pencilled, 71b.

                  Tractatus patris asseci (?) fillii chore the(bit?) in motu ac-

                       cessionis et recessionis               .               .               .               .               72

                  Only a paragraph.

                  Another: Sciendum quod in a. d. mo 244o primus in ciclo

                       secundo, etc.

                  Ponam quasi principium    (or angles)             .               .               .               72b

                  Tabula stellarum fixarum verificata per instrumentum con-

                     sideracionis a. d. mo cco lxio, etc.   .               .               .               73    

                  De quadrante      .               .               .               .               .               .               73b

                  Inuestigantibus quadrantis compositionem 

                     -et sic terminatur hoc opus.

IV.    6.     Introductorium Zaelis         .               .               .               .               .               74

                  Scito quod signa sunt 12 et eis 6 masculina.

                  At the top is: Iste libellus pertinebat Johanni Dunstable

                     cum (?) [perhaps quondam is meant] duci Bedfordie musico.

                  Ends imperfectly f. 85b.

 V.             Double columns; in a foreign perhaps Italian hand.

           7.    De planetis.

                  Saturnus, Jupiter, etc.  Cupientes multiplicem planetarum cursum.

                  Ends imperfectly f. 93b.

Manuscript extra information

Negative microfilm in St John's College Library.

 

Iordanus Nemorarius, Planispherium (printed Basel 1536, Venice 1558)
Incipit f.58r line 21: Spera in quolibet polorum planum contingente, in cuius superficie descriptus sit circulus.
Explicit f.60r line 8: Ergo sectione ipsius, et circuli POJ, hoc est in O, erit situs illius quod proponebatur.
The treatise is very complete, except for the introduction, which is generally missing in all MSS.
See R. B. Thomson, 'Jordanus de Nemore: Opera', Medieval Studies 38 (1976), 97-144.

 

For item IV, see Dr Manfred Bukofyer, 'Heber Leben und Werke von Dunstable', Acta Musicologica VIII (Copenhagen, 1936).

 

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