Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, 45
[Part 2]
General information
| Folios | 178 |
| Folio notes: | The second half of f. 149vb has been left blank, without apparent text-loss. The second half of 149va and 149vb have been copied in a different hand (double-lobe 'a') in lighter ink. Also left blank: second half of 181v., at the end of quire .xij. |
| Language | Language object (3) |
| Approx. date | 1250 to 1300 |
| Date notes | Date suggested by the Lancelot-Graal project. Micha 1963, 41 also dates the MS to the second half of the 13th c. Arthurian Fiction has 1240 to 1260. The writing would support a date in the third quarter of the 13th c. Some folios are written above top line, which is unusual for professionally produced MSS at the end of the 13th c. |
| Place(s) of production | EnglandPlace suggested by the Lancelot-Graal project. Confirmed by Middleton 2003, 223. Micha 1963, 42 notes that particularities in the writing (the form of the letter 't') and decoration (the form of the initial 'C') point towards England. |
| First words of second recto folio | [f. 86ra] Mais dece est il deceus carles portes sont deffermees (et) q(ua)nt / |
| First words of last recto folio | [f. 262ra] pri . pordieu que uos me diez qui uos estes / |
| Incipit | [f. 85ra] EN la marche degaule (et) de la petite bretaigne a / uoit ancienement .ii. rois qui estoient frere g(er) / main . (et) auoient .ii. serors germaines . li uns des / ii . rois auoit non li rois ban de benoyc . (et) li autres / auoit non li rois boorz de gaunes . (et) li rois ban es / toit uielz hom (et) sa feme estoit ioule dame (et) bele / (et) molt estoit bone dame (et) amee detotes gens ne oncq(ue)s de lui na / uoit eu enfans que un tot sol fil . q(ue) ualles estoit . (et) auoit no(n) / lancelos en son non ne p(ar) autre non ne lapeloit nus . Mais / il auoit non enbaptesme galaaz . (et) ce porquoi il fu apeles lan / celos deuisera bien li contes ca auant . |
| Explicit | [f. 262vb] la . mes atant lesse ore licontes apar / ler dels cos . et retorne a lanc(elos). (et) de ses / auentures . (et) coment il fu deliures / de la karole ou il estoit mis . |
Related MS
| RelationshipType object (12) | Manuscript object (181)Manuscript object (261) |
Material
| Material: | Material object (4) |
| Watermark: | |
| Condition: | First folios damaged, affected by damp. Holes and repairs, also in the written space (e.g. ff. 97, 99, 142, 153, 197, 210). Upper margin cropped significantly (e.g. f. 117, f. 257rv, letters on the first line of the outer column cropped). Instances in which the edge of the folio coincides with the edge of the skin (e.g. ff. 118, 147, 153, 185). Smudge f. 208r. Folio 262, outer column damaged and repaired, resulting in text loss. |
Structure
| Collation: | |
| Quire structure: | Quire marks suggest that most gatherings are regular quaternions. Roman numerals, e.g. f. 174r (.xij.), f. 182r (.xiij.), f. 214r (.xvij.), f. 222r (.xviij.), f. 246r (.xxj.), f. 254r (.xxij.) |
| Quire marks: | MSQuiremarkDisposition object (67) |
| Catchwords: | |
| Catchword disposition: | |
Physical description
| General description: | Micha 1963, 41: ends Sommer V, 148 (= Micha, LXXXII). The text ends on f. 262rb, some lines above the end of the page. Given that this is the final page of the quire and similar blanks (admittedly not as extensive) occur elsewhere in the MS, this gives insufficient evidence of the copy originally ending here. Possibly, quires were lost after this folio. |
| General illustration: | No illustration. |
| General decoration: | The 'Lancelot' begins with a puzzle initial (height: 6 lines), red and blue, with flourishings in red ink. Larger subdivisions are marked by initials (height: 3 lines). Paragraphs are marked by initials (height: c. 4 lines), green and red, placed in the margin (guide letters in the margin or in the letter). In-line litterae notabiliores in red and green ink (guide letters in writing ink still visible). Paragraph signs highlighted with red ink. |
| Evidence of readership: | Manicula and nota signs in the margin, some with annotations (14th. c) in Anglo-French (e.g. ff. 87ra, 94va. 'paroules', 95ra 97rb, 115v, with distinct English long-stem 'r', and the form 'artour' for 'artus', 127r, 154r, 154v, 156r 'nota boens', 156v, 157r, 157v, 158r, 161r, 163r, 177r, 180r, 180v, 191v: death of Galehaut, 192r: start of the 'Charette', 193r, 194r, 195r , 211r, Dolorouse Garde, 214r, 214v, 220v, 221v: mixed Latin-French 'nomen castelli qui fuist conquis par Lancelos', 226r: also mixed Latin-French 'nomen castelli etc.', 232r, 233r, 252: conception of Galahad, ) These notes often take the phrasing of rubricated headings ('Comment etc.').On f. 124v, manicula-with-dagger poking a hole in the page. Folio 241r, in the left margin 'hic'. |
| Foliations description: | Modern foliation in arabic numerals in the upper right corner of the recto. Separate foliation for the 'Lancelot' in arabic numerals (crayon) in the upper right corner of the recto. |
Mise en page
| Description 1 | Measurements taken from Parker Library on the web. The number of lines varies. Parker Library notes '75, 73, etc. lines'. Micha 1963, 41 has 74 to 77 lines. Writing above top line (uncommon for MSS copied at the end of the 13th c.). Double horizontal throughlines at the top, middle and bottom of the justification. Intercolumn space divided in half. Prickings visible in the inner margin. |
| Page sampled | f. 177r |
| Layout | MSLayout object (3) |
| Page dimensions | 335x235 (mm) |
| Justification | 285x175 (mm) |
| Columns | 216mm between columns Column ruling present in Colours object (4) (RulingMaterials object (3) ) |
| Lines | 74Line ruling present in Colours object (4) (RulingMaterials object (3) ) |
| Rubrication | No rubricated tituli. |
| Writing above top line? | False |
| Sample page layout: | |
Hand(s)
| Level of Execution: | Execution object (4) |
| Script | Script object (4) |
| Folio range | From f. 85ra to f. 262vb |
| Date | c. 1250 to 1300 |
| Scribe description: | Micha 1963, 41: dense and irregular writing. Parker Library: 'clear black hand, very closely written'.Northern textualis with two-compartment 'a' with open upper compartement, uncial 'd', 'e' without tongue, diacritic on 'i' in minim group, minims of 'm' and 'n' end on the baseline, straight 's' in final position, also trailing 's' in this position and at the end of the line, vertical stroke of 't' does not ascend above the headstroke. Abbreviations include crossed tironian note, 'p' with crossed descender, 'com'-abbreviation, superscript vowels, s-like apostrophe, but also, and quite frequently, the less common 'est' abbreviation. Ligatures: 'll' and 'st'. Fusion of 'do', 'o' and round 'r', 'co'. Punctuation: punctus, punctus elevatus. Modest litterae elongatae (descenders) at the end of the column. Word-separation marked by dash. |
| Notes | Corrections in the margins. Multiple hands (e.g. 149 cf. above folio notes; also f. 191v?). |