Читать книгу Notes and Queries, Number 71, March 8, 1851 - Various - Страница 5

Some gentleman connected with the cathedral library of Lincoln may possibly be able to give me some information respecting a MS. copy of the Historia Ecclesiastica of Beda in my possession, and of which the following circumstances are therein apparent:—It is plainly a MS. of great antiquity, on paper, and in folio. On a fly-leaf it has an inscription, apparently of contemporaneous date, and which is repeated in a more modern hand on the next page with additions, as follows:

"Hunc librum legavit Willms Dadyngton qu^odam Vicarius de Barton sup humbre ecclie Lincoln ut eēt sub custodia Vicecancellarii."

Then follows:—

"Scriptū p manus Nicōi Belytt Vicecancellarii iiii^to die mēsis Octob^r Anno Dni millesīmo qūicentessimo decimoquīto et Lrā dñicalius G et Anno pp henrici octavi sexto."

In the hand of John, father of the more celebrated Ralph Thoresby, is added:

"Nunc e Libris Joħis Thoresby de Leedes emp. Executor^bus Tho. Dñi Fairfax, 1673."

Through what hands it may have passed since, I have no means of knowing; but it came into mine from Mr. J. Wilson, 19. Great May's Buildings, St. Martin's Lane, London, in whose Catalogue for December, 1831, it appeared, and was purchased by me for 3l. 3s.

There it is conjectured to be of the twelfth century, and from the character there is no reason to doubt that antiquity. It is on paper, and has been ill-used. It proceeds no farther than into lib. v. c. xii., otherwise, from the beginning complete. The different public libraries of the country abound in MSS. of this book. It is probable that, under the civil commotions in the reign of Charles I. the MS. in my possession came into the hands of General Fairfax, and thence into those of John Thoresby: so that no blame can possibly attach to the present, or even some past, generations, of the curators of any library, whether cathedral or private. It is, at all events, desirable to trace the pedigree of existing MSS. of important works, where such information is attainable.

Perhaps some of your correspondents may be able to inform me what became of the library of Ralph Thoresby; for into his possession, there can be little doubt, it came from his father.

J. M.