Arras, Bibliotheque Municipale, cod. 764 (739(A)) Hrabanus Maurus, "In Judith;' "In Hester"; Compilation of commentaries on Pauline epistles; Isidore, "Allegoriae sacrae Scripturae:' "Prooemia Veteris et Novi Testamenti;' "De ortu et obitu patrum"

Abstract

6. Arras, Bibliotheque Municipale, cod. 764 {739(A))

Hrabanus Maurus, "In Judith;' "In Hester";

Compilation of commentaries on Pauline epistles;

Isidore, "Allegoriae sacrae Scripturae:' "Prooemia Veteris

et Novi Testamenti;' "De ortu et obitu patrum"

[Ker 4/5; Gneuss 779 /780; Lowe 6.714]

HISTORY: Three separate items have been brought together in this manuscript after they all came to the abbey of St-Vaast, Arras.

Part A (ff. 1-93, Ker 4, Gneuss 779, Lowe 6.714), written probably in northern France (?St-Bertin) at the end of the 9c, probably came to Bath in 944 with the monks installed there from St-Bertin by King Edmund, and was almost certainly the "liber rabbani super iudith et hester;' one of thirtythree given by Seewald (abbot of Bath 1065 x 1066) when or after he emigrated to the abbey of St-Vaast, Arras (Grierson 1940a: 111, no. 32; Lapidge 1985: 60-62, no. 32); for some account of manuscript movement between England and the near continent at this time see Gameson 2002: 176-77. As reported by Grierson (1940b: 132, no. 154), it is recorded as present in St-Vaast in the 12c catalogue of books there (Arras, BM cod. 323, f. 71 v). The last leaf of this part, f. 93, is much darkened by the application of a reagent as well as by exposure or dirt. There is an addition in Latin on f. 93v and scribbles in OE on ff. 89v, 90r, 93v (see Ker, Cat. 4), but otherwise there are no annotations. Together with B and Cit was still in St-Vaast in 1628, as is recorded on f.1r 'Bibliotheca monasterii S. Vedasti Atrebatensis 1628'.

Part B (ff. 94-133) was probably written on the continent in the llc, and perhaps because it begins with an item by (or drawn from) Hrabanus Maurus, was thought suitable to be added to A.

Part C (ff. 134-181, Ker 5, Gneuss 780, Lowe 6.714) was written by more than one hand in an A-S minuscule (with majuscule elements) in England, perhaps Winchester, probably in the first half of the 9c (Lowe 1953 says s.viii; Gneuss says s.ix). Once in St-Vaast it seems to have been hardly used, if the lack of annotations is anything to go by. It has a couple of apparently contemporary OE glosses.

The present binding is of white vellum from the 17 c. The transfer from St-Vaast to the Bibliotheque Municipale in Arras (the same building) was in effect an administrative one and took place formally with the opening of the Bibliotheque Municipale in 1795. OE in the manuscript was first noticed by Mone 1838. On f.181r in the bottom margin there is a 19c note that it contains 181 folios, '11 reste 181 feuillets'.