Читать книгу Notes and Queries, Number 06, December 8, 1849 - Various - Страница 5

Mr. Editor,—I have been greatly interested by the two numbers of the "NOTES AND QUERIES" which you have sent me. The work promises to be eminently useful, and if furnished with a good index at the end of each yearly volume, will become a book indispensable to all literary men, and especially to those who, like myself, are in charge of large public libraries.

To testify my good will to the work, and to follow up Mr. Burtt's remarks on ancient libraries published in your second number, I venture to send you the following account of a MS. Catalogue of the Library of the Monastery of the Friars Eremites of the Order of St. Augustine in the City of York.

This MS. is now preserved in the Library of Trinity College, Dublin, amongst the MSS. formerly belonging to the celebrated Archbishop Ussher. It is on vellum, written in the 14th century, and begins thus:—

"Inventarium omnium librorum pertinentium ad commune armariole domus Ebor. ordinis fratrum heremitarum Sancti Augustini, factum in presentia fratrum Johannis de Ergum, Johannis Ketilwell, Ricardi de Thorpe, Johannis de Appilby, Anno domini Mº. CCC lxxij in festo nativitatis virginis gloriose. Fratre Willelmo de Stayntoun tunc existente priore."

The volume consists of forty-five leaves, and contains the titles of a very large and most respectable collection of books in all departments of literature and learning arranged under the following heads:—

Biblie.

Hystorie scholastice.

Textus biblie glosati.

Postille.

Concordancie et interpretaciones nominum hebreorum.

Originalia. [Under this head are included the

works of the Fathers, and medieval writers.]

Historie geneium.

Summe doctorum. Scriptores super sententias.

quodlibet. et questiones.

Tabulæ. [This division contained Indexes to

various authors, the Scriptures, canon law,

&c.]

Logicalia et philosophia cum scriptis et commentis.

Prophecie et supersticiosa.

Astronomia et Astrologia.

Instrumenta astrologica magistri Johannis Erghome

[who appears to have been a great

benefactor to the Library].

Libri divini officii magistri Johannis Erghome.

Jura civilia.

Jura canonica et leges humane: magistri Johannis

Erghome.

Auctores et philosophi extranei. [Under this

head occurs the following entry, "Liber hebraice

scriptus."]

Gramatica.

Rethorica. [Two leaves of the MS. appear to

have been cut out here.]

Medicina.

Hystorie et cronice.

Sermones et materie sermonum.

Summe morales doctorum et sermones.

Arithmetica, Musica, Geometria, Perspectiva,

magistri Johannis Erghome.

Each volume is identified, according to the usual practice, by the words with which its second folio begins: and letters of tha alphabet are added, probably to indicate its place on the shelves of the Library. As a specimen, I shall give the division headed "Biblie":—

BIBLIE

A. Biblia. incipit in 2º. fo. Samuel in1 heli.

B. Biblia. incipit in 2º. fo. Zechieli qui populo.

in duobus voluminibus.

C. Biblia. inc't. in 2º. fo. mea et in crane.

D. Biblia. inc't. in 2º. fo. ego disperdam.

¶ Libri magistri Johannis Erghome

Biblia. 2º. fol ravit quosdam. }

Interpretationes. }—A

E. Biblia incomplet. diversarum scripturarum.

quondam fratris R. Bossal. 2º. fo. me

occidet me etc.

HYSTORIE SCOLASTICE

A. Incipit in 2º. folio. secunda die.

B. inci't. in 2º. fo. emperio sane formatis. ligatus.

C. inci't. in 2º. fo. et celumque celi.

The words printed in Italics are added by a more recent hand. Under the head of "Hystorie Scolastice" are doubtless intended the copies which the Library possessed of the celebrated Historia Scholastica, or abridgement of Scripture history by Peter Comestor.

From the foregoing specimen, I think your readers will agree with me that a Catalogue of such antiquity and interest is well worthy of publication.

But we have another ancient Catalogue of a monastic library equally curious, and even more important from its magnitude, and the numerous works it contains on English history, early romances, &c. I remain, &c.

JAMES H. TODD.

Trin. Coll. Dublin, Nov. 27. 1849.