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Manuscript 507 is an intriguing collection of texts. The first text (ff. 001r-036v) called by Carolus de Visch Liber Policratici in dogmate philosophorum is actually known as the Moralium dogma philosophorum, a 12th-century compilation of statements on morality by philosophers. The sources are primarily classical (especially Cicero), while ecclesiastical authorities are rarely found. The authorship of the text has been debated, with William of Conches, Walter of Châtillon and Hildebert of Lavardin all put forward as candidates. Why De Visch used the name Policraticus, which is used for a mid-12th-century work by John of Salisbury on political theory, is unknown. The second text (ff. 36v-85v) is in fact not a single work, but rather a collection of no less than 97 sermons and excerpts. Only a few of these have been identified: they are taken from the works of Bernard of Clairvaux, Gregory the Great, Hildebert of Lavardin and the Glossa Ordinaria. As most excerpts are introduced by rubrics, this might be a compendium used by clerics for inspiration when preparing their own sermons. Similarly, the third text (f. 85v) is a collection of four unknown excerpts. The latter two have been attributed to Hugh of St.-Victor as some of his miscellaneous works, but already in the nineteenth century this authorship was deemed uncertain. The final text (ff. 85v-88r) is the so-called De sex alis Cherubim. It discusses contemplative virtues through the metaphor of a seraphim (curiously no cherubim) mentioned by the prophet Isaiah. This angel has six wings with five feathers each. Each wing symbolizes a specific order of virtues, with each feather being a specific virtue within that order. The work has traditionally been attributed to Alan of Lille (d. 1203), but current consensus is that it was excerpted from Hugh of St.-Victor's De arca Noe morali. This text was a popular one in medieval monasteries. The manuscript is dated to the first quarter of the thirteenth century. It displays several of the characteristics of that era. The text is written in a protogothic script and several letters on the final line of the folia have decorated descenders into the lower margin. Decoration consists of penwork initials in red and green ink, lombards in the same colours, and intensive use of rubrics and red ink for majuscules and chapter numbers in the index to the first work. The final text has been written consecutively by three different hands; the last has neglected to continue the addition of decoration. The texts are organized in a single column per page. The codex is bound in medieval blind stamped leather over wooden boards. Traces of clamps are still visible. The fenestra has survived and is attached to the back board. The codex was owned by Ten Duinen abbey. The cross-shaped stamp of the abbey is found on the first and final leaves. [Summary by Dr. Mark Vermeer] |
