CHRONICA. GESTA ALEXANDRI. HENR. HUNTINGDON, ETC.
Vellum, 8.625 x 6.25, ff. 365 + 4, double columns of 41 lines. 14th cent., beautifully written. Wooden boards covered with leather of 16th cent.
Donor, T. C. S. Priced xxxs. 2 fo. ipsum facie.
On f. 1 :
Johannes Parker miles. W. Crashawe 1610
Collation : a4 (1 lining cover, 4 canc.) 18 – 58 62 | 78 – 148 154 | 168 – 198 2012 – 2212 238 – 408 : b2 (2 lining cover). Old foliation incorrect.
On the first flyleaf (lining the cover) is an old list of contents in which each item is entitled ‘Cronica.’
On f. iib the poem :
Pergama flere uolo fato danais data solo.
Ending :
Femina fatalis femina feta malis. Leyser, Hist. Poet. 398-408 ; Migne, P. L. CLXXI.
In another hand, six lines . . . . . f. iii
In nucem dentes dux vane karolus armat
Mollibus introitum saxea testa negat
Marmora non penetrat nec mulcet saxa butirum.
Hunc non ius non uis adiuuat ulla uirum
Obsidet obsessus dicunt sub nube recessit
Non triuit teritur nux manet ille fugit.
iiib blank.
Contents :
1. Gesta Alexandri magni. Ward, Cat. of Rom. 1 120 . . 1
Quippe egiptii scientes mensuram terre.
Letters of Alexander and Dindimus, f. 25 sqq.
Ends f. 38b : Duodecima alexandria est que dicitur egiptus.
Expl. liber Alexandri uictoris tocius orbis in xii annis.
2. Cronica alexandri quomodo iuit ad paradisum . . 38b
Cum igitur alexander nobili et multiformi preda onustus.
Ends 41b. Et veneno superatus atque extinctus occubuit.
Versus. Primus Alexander pillea natus in orbe.
…
Bissenis postquam populos dimicauerat annis.
In another hand : Gesta Alex. magni regis macedonum.
Quicquid in humanis constat uirtutibus altis.
…
Succubuit leto sumpto cum melle ueneno.
f. 42 blank.
3. Galfridi Monumetensis Historia Britonum . . . 43
Inc. primus liber de situ et regibus britannie et qui prius eam
inhabitauerunt.
Capitula of five books, the third headed Uaticinia Merlini.
Versus (II). Gallorum leuitas germanos iustificabit . . 46
Italie grauitas gallos confuse necabit, etc.
Ending Papa scito moritur cesar regnabit ubique
Sub quo tunc uana cessabit gloria cleri.
Prol. Cum mecum multa et de multis . . . 44
-alterum henricum adepta interno gratulatur affectu.
Inc. primus liber de situ, etc. as above.
Britannia insularum optima . . . . 44b
Lib. II f. 54. De bellino et brennio.
Inc. uaticinia Merlini coram uortegirno edita . . . 74b
Sedente itaque uortegirno
-applicuit aurelius ambrosius.
Lib. III. De aduentu aur. ambrosii . . . . 78
-ambrosium regio more humauerunt. Expl. lib. quintus.
Inc. lib. VI. De arthuro filio eius predicti regis uther . . 84b
(Lib. VII.) De missione augustini . . . . “107”
-in latinum sermonem transferre curaui. Expl.
Versus (6). Librum scribendo compleui fine iocundo
Scribere non posco requiescere fessus hanelo
Hec rogere tibi pro posse polita peregi
Mente manu lingua tandemque labore peracta
Me precor indignum reputes ne semper amicum
Promissis precio (?) sum dignus iure peracto. Expl.
4. Hic inc. prophetia aquile Scheftonie . . . “112”b
Arbor fertilis a primo trunco
-qui pacifico regno accedet Expl.
Inc. distinctio aquile Schefton . . . . 113
Arbor fertilis, etc. Sanguis bruti interpretatur.
With rubrics in French on 114, 115
-in patria permanens uilis et uacua reperietur. Expl.
distinctio aquile Scheston.
5. Vindicta Saluatoris . . . . . 116 (109)
In diebus tiberii cesaris anno imperii eius xvo……
In diebus illis erat quidam Titus nomine subregulus…
Exiit homo quidam ex india (!) nomine Nathan
-cauentes usque in hodiernum diem. Expl.
f. 119(112) blank. Tischendorf, Evv. Apocr. p. 471.
6. Henrici de Huntingdon Historia Anglorum . . . 120 (113)
A note by Dr Liebermann is prefixed from which I extract the
following:
“It is the second edition ending a(nno) 12 Stephen, ‘iocunditate
spiraculi.’ There is no table of contents for the whole
history ; but Capitula primi libri are given after the prologue.
After a. 15 Cnut follow the laws of Cnut in a version which is
nearly related to the Colbertina, and then Pseudo-Cnut.
The consecration of Alexander of Lincoln a. 1123 is mentioned
with the words Alex. qui nepos est (he died 1147) Rogeri
Salesburiensis (he was deposed 1138).
In the history of Jerusalem (sub a. 1096) mention is made after
King Baldwin II of ‘Gaufridus (sic) Andegav. et post Gaufrid
filius eius’ which cannot have been written before 1144.
After the end of book VII there follows Stephen’s reign which
in other copies is found in the tenth book.
The miracula Anglorum (as in all MSS.) occupy the 9th book,
while the three letters which here bear the title of the 10th
book are elsewhere called the 8th. The first letter though
professing to have been addressed to Henry I in 1135 tells
that Conrad III now in his second year has not yet been
crowned emperor – a passage the date of which cannot be
before 1138. The succession of bishops in the third letter is
of the same date of edition as in the print (Migne).
The contents of the 11th book agree with T. Wright’s print
(Satirical Poets of cent. xii). The last book contains hymns
to God and Christ and a dialogue between amicus and amica
combining the version of the Cantica Canticorum with remi-
niscences of Horace. It is unprinted and I have taken a
copy of it.
This MS. is doubtless derived from the same draft as Trin. Coll.
R. 5. 42, but they are independent of each other.”
Inc prologus Historie Anglorum contexte ab Henrico Archi-
diaconi ad Alexandrum Lincoln. Ep. Anno ab incarnacione
d. n. I. C. Milleno centesimo xlo. quinto.
Cum omni fere literarum studio
Good initial. Bishop in mitre and pink chasuble receives book
from man in blue gown on R. Gold ground. Partial border.
A bit of the R. lower margin cut off.
The poems in Libb. XI, XII are mostly written as prose.
Lib. XII begins f. 268b. Cur hoc opus et illud in amorem.
Ends 270b. Me rapuit me detinuit blandita libido. Expl.
Expl. historia Anglorum ab henrico huntendoniensi archid.
contexta et decreta ad Alex. Lincoln. ep. Anno ab inc. dom.
m. c. xl. v.
7. De omnibus sibillis et de nominibus earum et de origine et patria
et actibus earum a diebus Alexandri magni . . 270b
Sibille generaliter omnes femine dicuntur prophetantes
-Et regnabit dominus cum sanctis in sec. sec. Amen.
Printed in Bede’s works (XC 1181) and in Opsopoeus Orac.
Sibyll., Alexandre, etc.
8. Principium hystorie magni Alexandri filii Philippi Macedonis . 273b
Mortuo philippo rege grecorum anno ab adam v. dccc. lxxxviii
(from Godfrey of Viterbo).
De eodem uersifice. Regnat alexander super omnia climata
greca . . . . . . . 274b
Verse continues to 275b : Nam si non peteret rex tamen ista
forent.
Epistola Alex. magni ad Aristotilem. Semper memor tui . 275b
Alia. Mense maio rege persarum dario . . . 276
-iudicium nostrum.
De Gog et Magog, etc. Finibus indorum species fuit una
uirorum . . . . . . 281
De Disputacione inter Alex. et regem Bragmanorum Dindimum
nomine . . . . . . 282
Bragmanides uidit nec eos seruire coegit.
Item de Alex. quomodo locuta est ei arbor solis, etc. . . 283
Arboreas uoces solis luneque loquentes.
Ends : Gesta sub antiocho promere musa ueni.
Hystoria romana mortuo Alex. . . . . 283
Post mortem Alex. in diuersis mundi partibus.
Various extracts ending:
Urbs beneuentana nunc edificata putatur.
Utraque romano consule facta suo.
Hystoria anglorum et saxonum sec. mag. Gotifridum Viterbi-
ensium . . . . . . 284
Cronica que perhibent regnasse dioclicianum.
Ends : Viribus et gladiis prefuit esse uiris.
Hystoria de lege et natura saracenorum, etc. . . . 289
Saraceni peruerse. se putant esse ex sara
-et si tunc non peniteat occidatur.
Cronica de doctrina grecorum tripertita ab adam usque ad imp.
fridericum primum sec. mag. Gotifridum Viterbiensem . 292
Adam cum esset annorum ducentorum xxxa. genuit seth.
Hec omnia supradicta ego Gotifridus uiterbiensis d. friderici
imp. capellanus ab adam usque ad tempora mea splendide
lucideque digessi, etc.
-et insuper xlii quibus ipse fridericus regnauit.
9. Inc. tractatus cronicorum de omnibus regibus israel, etc. . 299
Reges quotquot regnauerunt in x tribubus.
High priests, 299b. Patriarchs of Jerusalem, 300b, of Con-
stantinople, of Alexandria, 301, of Antioch, 301b. De con-
secracionibus altarium, 302. De ordine et officio misse, 302b.
Quare tercia. viiia xxxa dies pro mortuis agitur, 303.
On the orders:
Cathologus regum ytalicorum, etc., ending :
pontifices sicut superius in ordine continetur . . . 304
10. Inc. liber methodii ep. de principio seculi . . . 304
In nomine Christi inc. lib. methodii ep. ecclesie (erased)
-b. Jeronimus in opusculis suis collaudauit.
Sciendum namque est uobis fratres karissimi quomodo in
principio creauit deus
-penam pacientur. unde domine (sic) nos eripere dignetur
qui, etc., per infin. sec. sec. Amen.
Printed in Orthodoxographa, etc. Sackur, Sibyllinische Texte,
Halle, 1898.
11. De antichristo inc. . . . . . 305*b
De antichristo scire uolentes (XL 1131).
-subito ueniet subitanius eis interitus.
12. Turpinus ep. de bello Roscidiuallis . . . . 308
Turpinus dei gr. archiep. Remensis
-ualeas et deo placeas. Amen. Expl. epistola.
Inc. hystoria turpini Remensis eccl. Archiep. de famosissimo
rege karolo magno quomodo terram hyspanicam, etc. liberauit.
Capitula (xxxvii).
Text. Gloriosissimus namque Christi apostolus Iacobus . 308b
Ends : b. matheus ap. et ewang. sua predicacione ad dominum
conuertit. Expl. hyst. Roscidiuallis.
See Ward, Catalogue of Romances I 546.
On Kings of France . . . . . 325
Ex genere priami fuit meroueus qui genuit childericum
-Ludowycus genuit philippum qui modo regnat.
On Kings of England . . . . . 325
Anno ab incarn. dom. dccclxxvito Rollo cum suis Normannia
penetrauit
-successit Edwardus (Edw. I) filius qui modo feliciter regnat.
13. Daretis Phrygii Historia Troiana . . . . 325b
Inc. epistola Cornelii ad Crispum Salustium in Troianorum
hystoria que in greco a Darete hystoriographo facta est.
Cornelius Salustio Crispo suo salutem.
Cum multa atthenis studiosissime
-ad pollicitum reuertamus.
Inc. hyst. Daretis troianorum frigii de greco in latinum translata
a Cornelio nepote.
Pelus rex in peloponneso insula
-andramachen et helenum M. CC. Huc usque hystoria
daretis frigii perscripta est.
Quis troianorum quem grecorum de numero occiderit . . 334
Epitaphs of Hector and Achilles . . . . 334
de itinere et aduentu enee in Italiam . . . . 334b
Superius autem excidio troie secundum daretem explicito iter
enee in italiam casusque suos quidam paulus ita prosequitur.
-et cepit albanum ciuitas rome subiecta esse.
14. Narracio ex libro qui grece uocatur Suda quem tempore
theodosii iuuenis composuerunt uiri sapientes isti Hendenius
Rector Eugenius Frigius Zozimus Gazeus Cecilius Siculus
Longinus Cassinus Lupartus Beriricius Justinus Julius
Sophista Pamphilius Zopirion et Polion . . . 345b
Temporibus piissimi imp. iustiniani.
(Grosseteste’s version of the article ’Іησούς in Suidas)
-apud iudeos absconditum secretum propalauit.
Completa est narracio ex lib. qui grece suda uocatur quem
posuerunt uiri sapientes nominati.
15. Testamenta XII patriarcharum filiorum Iacob . . .347
Transcriptum testamenti Ruben, etc.
Ends f. 365b : usque ad diem exitus eorum de terra egipti.
Erasure follows.
On the next leaf a hand of cent. xv has copied Tobit iv and v, I.
There are some erased inscriptions on the flyleaves at end.
I am persuaded by the look of the book that it comes from Peterborough ; but I cannot find it in the old Catalogue.
Fols 1r - 38v contain the so-called Historia de Preliis, recension J3. The interpolations characteristic of this recension occur as follows:
Interpolation 1 : fol. 5v, col. 1 (lower half)
2 : fol. 5v, cols 2 - 6r, col. 1
3 : fol. 6r, cols 1 - 2
4 : fol. 18v, cols 1 - 19r, col. 1
5 : fol. 29v, cols 2 - 30v, col. 2
6 : fol. 31v, cols 1 - 2
7 : fol. 35r, col. 1
8 : fol. 36r, cols 1 - 2
Trinity College MS. cat. no. 946, fols 1 - 24r, is likewise Historia de Preliis, L3. Unfortunately, approximately the first quarter of the text is lacking. The recension is discussed fully by F. Pfister, Münchener Museum 1 (1912), 249, and 'Zum Prolos des Archipresbyters Leo und zu den alten Drucken der Historia de Preliss', Rheinisches Museum für Philologie N. F. Bd. 90 (1941), 273-81.
A. Hilka and F. P. Magoun, 'A List of Manuscripts containing texts of the Historia de Preliis Alexandri Magni, Recensions I1, I2, I3', Speculum, A Journal of Medieval Studies 9:1 (January 1934).
Betty Hill, 'Epitaphia Alexandri in English Medieval Manuscripts', Leeds Studies in English 8 (1975), 96-104.
For part 3 see J. Crick's descriptive catalogue of the Geoffrey of Monmouth MSS.
For part 4 see A. F. Sutton and L. Visser-Fuchs, 'Richard III's books : VIII. Geoffrey of Monmouth's "Historia Regum Britanniae" with "The prophecy of the eagle" and commentary. 2. The prophecy and commentary', The Ricardian 8:107 (1989).
Part 5 is related to the copy in London, BL Royal 9 A.xiv.
Part 8 used by W. W. Boer, Epistola Alexandri ad Aristolelem ad Codicum fidem Edita et Commentario Critico Instructa (Dissertation, Hague, 1953).
Fols 305*v - 307v is a version of Albiunus' rewriting of Adso Deurensis' Tractatus (sive Libellus) de Antichristo, identified as De Antichristo quomodo masci debeat. See D. Verhelst, 'Adso Devensis. De Ortu et Tempore Antichristo mechon et Tractatus qui at eo dependunt', CCCM 45 (1976), 55-89. MS. 184 is C' in Verhelst's conspectus; as such it offers a revised text, without the dedicatory prologue to Bishop Héribert (Verhelst's Group 2). Verhelst further notes the presence of two other texts giving eschatological material in MS. 184: fols 270v - 273 Sibylla Tisturtiva and fols 304 - 305v Pseudo Methodius' Revelationes. See also Ernst Sackur, Sibyllinische Texte und Forschungen (Halle, 1898).
There are three erased inscriptions on the flyleaves at the end (see letter from Neil Ker, 10 Dec. 1950):
a) 'Patricius……………………Exon iio die/mensis aprilis………..nonagesimo tercio legauit/hunc librum vocat' xxiij cronicorum reuerendo domino magistro Thome Austyll'/thesaurario eiusdem ecclesie vt ipse oret pro anima eiusdem patricii nobilium dignitatum(?)……..et sic de vno ad alium in eadem ecclesia vt ipsi orent pro animabus dicti thome et patricii teste manu mea propia'.
b) Immediately below a) in a larger sprawling hand :
'Ego predictus patricius hollynorton fateor…esse'.
c) On the recto facing a) and b) :
'Liber Rolandi Mevryk bangoren ep[iscop]i xiij Iulii 1563'.
a) is in a neat professional hand. It seems inevitable that b) is the attestation of a) referred to in the last four words, but the surname in the first line of a) though illegible is certainly not Hollynorton. Suffice to say, it is certain that Patrick ... gave the book to Thomas Austell in 1493 with directions that it should be passed on in succession to other members of the cathedral clergy.
Patrick Haliburton/Holyburton (d. 1493) is listed in J. Le Neve's Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1300-1541: IX Exeter Diocese (London, 1964) p.58 as a prebendary of Exeter Cathedral. Thomas Austell was Treasurer of Exeter Cathedral ca.1492-1515 (Le Neve p.12). Austell bequeathed this MS to John Veysey, alias Harman, by his will of 1509: 'To the venerable man Master John Veyse Precentor of the cathedral church of Exeter my book of twenty-four chronicles on the condition that after his death it be disposed to another venerable man a canon of the same cathedral, that it may please them to pray for the soul of Master Patrick Holyborton' (F.W. Weaver (ed.), Somerset Medieval Wills 1501-1530 (1903), p.133). For John Veysey see A.B. Emden A Biographical Register of the University of Oxford to A.D. 1500 (Oxford, 1957-9) vol. III, pp.1947-8.
Rowland Meyrick (1504/5-1566) was Bishop of Bangor 1559-1566 (See Oxford Dictionary of National Biography).
S. Strongman, 'John Parker's Manuscripts: an edition of the lists in Lambeth Palace MS. 737', Transactions of the Cambridge Bibliographical Society 7:1 (1977), 1-27.
F. Nuvolone, 'Jésus, 22e prêtre du Temple de Jérusalem dans le Sacerdoce du Christ', Religions & Histoire 15 (juillet-août 2007), 50-52. Reproduces f.345v.
