Copenhagen, Rigsarkivet, Middelalersamlingen Aftagne Frag. Nr. 637-698 Ælfric, "Catholic Homilies" (binding fragments) with 135. The Hague, Koninklijke Bibliotheek 133 D 22 and 150. Copenhagen, Kongelike Biblioteket Acc. 1996/12

Abstract

152a. Copenhagen, Rigsarkivet,

Middelaldersamlingen Aftagne Frag. Nr. 637-698

Ælfric, "Catholic Homilies" (binding fragments)

with 135. The Hague, Koninklijke Bibliotheek 133 D 22 and

150. Copenhagen, Kongelike Biblioteket Acc. 1996/12

[Ker -, Gneuss 816.6; Blockley 424]

HISTORY: Binding strips cut from an early llc OE homiliary, consisting of fragments from three separate quires of a manuscript containing homilies from Ælfric's first series of "Catholic Homilies''. Item 4 is textually close to Oxford, Bodleian, Hatton 116 [386], s. xii1 , prov. Worcester (Godden 1988: 530). The total of 62 fragments are neatly-cut oblong strips, some cut horizontally across the page, some cut vertically, used to reinforce the spines of volumes of papers of Peder Charisius, Danish resident minister at The Hague 1651-1659; these volumes "are believed to have been bound at The Hague (in about 1657)" (Fausbøll 1986: 9, but the latest papers are dated 1659) and therefore, despite Fausb0ll's doubts that they were from the same original manuscript, they are generally connected with the Hague .IElfric fragments [135]. Occasional marginal additions and corrections in an early modern hand, sometimes imitating insular letter-forms, suggest that the manuscript was in use by an antiquarian as late as the 17c; several fragments have 17c Dutch writing in blank spaces. The strips were discovered in 1980 by Michael H. Gelting of the Rigsarkiv staff (Keeper of Manuscripts 1981-1990) and published with facsimiles by Else Fausb0ll in 1986. They are now boxed as a set of thirteen folders, corresponding to the volumes of Charisius' papers from which they were abstracted, and arranged in slip-holders in each folder according to their former positions on the respective spines. These fragments are undoubtedly from the same original manuscript as scraps from a Hague binding subsequently found in the Arnamagnrean Institute (now Copenhagen, Kongelike Biblioteket Ace 1996/12 (150]).