Extent: 45 leaves (originally 48, but 3 leaves have been lost) : parchment ; 227 x 162 (175 x 115) mm. bound to 230 x 164 mm.
Note:
Ms. codex. The central bifolium of the first quire (ff. 4-5) has been lost, so the codex lacks the text for Rhetorica ad Herennium 1.9.16-1.14.24 (i.e., "parum fuisse...recte factum"; pp. 28.4-44.2 in Harry Caplan's edition). A note in a modern hand on f. 3v observes the hiatus, and the foliation takes into account the absence of ff. 4-5. Fols. 1-3 were mutilated and subsequently repaired with parchment; the affected text was skillfully restored in a neat humanistic hand of the 15th century. The folios of the first quire were once incorrectly bound, but were rebound ca. 1986 and are now set in the correct order. The modern notes in pencil on ff. 1v, 7v, and 8v which were intended to guide the reader through the confusion of the misbound folios are now obsolete. The manuscript is heavily glossed throughout in a 14th-century Gothic cursive hand (both interlinear and marginal glosses). Annotations include outlines of the subject-matter in schematic diagrams, which appear in some of the bottom margins. Layout: Written in 27-38 long lines; irregularly ruled. Script: Written in Gothic textual script of the 14th century (two hands, of which the second begins on f. 46r); ff. 1-3 contain several lines of humanistic round script of the 15th century where mutilated text has been restored. Decoration: Large rubricated initials. There are crude drawings of clenched hands on f. 47v. Binding: 14th (?) cent.; wooden boards, rebacked; remains of a clasp. The quires are stitched together, yet are not attached to the binding. The first quire was once misbound, but was corrected ca. 1986. The spine reads "Ciceronis / Rhetorica / Manoscritt[o] / in / Pergamen.", and a label on the cover reads "No. 41". Origin: Written in Italy, mid-14th century; restoration of mutilated text on ff. 1-3 dates to the mid-15th century. Provenance: Guglielmo Libri sale (London, 28 March 1859, n. 255) to Sir T. Phillipps (n. 16298). Sotheby sale (15 June 1908, Lot No. 183) to Steppe. Added to the Library's collection on 7 July 1913. Former shelfmark: MSS Bd. Rare P R47 Related shelfmark: MS B.28 (De Ricci)
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