Historia Del Manuscrito

There are three manuscript witnesses for the Historia, now in Oxford, Cambridge and London, none of which attribute the text to any author. The earliest witness is believed to be the version in the Oxford manuscript, folios 203r to 206v of Oxford's Bodleian Library, MS "Bodley 596".[1] The text is incomplete, beginning only in chapter 8, as the first folio has disappeared (along with the laterfolios of the text that preceded it in the manuscript, Bede's metrical Life of St Cuthbert).[2] The handwriting is early Gothic, showing continental influences typical of the contemporary Anglo-Norman script. Palaeographer Michael Gullick has identified the scribe as Symeon of Durham (fl. 1093–1129), an identification accepted by the Historia's recent editor Ted Johnson South.[3] Bodley 596 itselfis a compilation bound together in the early 17th century, but folios 174 to 214 are from the late 11th or early 12th century, containing Bede's prose Life of St Cuthbert (175r–200v), his metrical Life of St Cuthbert (201r–202v), this Historia and finally a Life and Office of St Julian of Le Mans (206v–214v).[4] The codicological details indicate that these works were part of one original volume,though it has been claimed that the Julian text is in a different hand.[5]
The Cambridge version, in the manuscript known as Cambridge University Library, Ff. 1.27 ("Ff. 1.27"), is slightly later. Like the Oxford version, it is incomplete, missing chapters 29 to 34.[6] The style of handwriting suggests that the text of the Cambridge Historia dates to the mid-12th century, though it may be as lateas the early 13th century.[7] It is written in a single hand classified as English early Gothic, typical of the period 1140–1170.[6] Ff. 1.27 as a whole came together in the 15th century or later, but pages 1 to 236 are earlier and palaographic evidence suggests that, with the exception of a continuation of Gildas' De excidio Britanniae dating to the 14th century, share the same origin.[8] Thesame kind of evidence implies that Ff. 1.27 1–236 had a common origin with half of the contents of another Cambridge manuscript, Corpus Christi College Cambridge MS. 66 ("CCCC 66"), also largely composed of Northumbrian material.[9] It probably had a common origin with Corpus Christi College Cambridge MS. 139 ("CCCC 139") as well: the Historia of Ff. 1.27 is written in the same hand as part of CCCC139's version of the Historia Regum (a Durham-based history of the English).[10] This scribes behind this material may have been based at Sawley, though this is uncertain and Durham too is a possibility.[11]
The London version is the most complete of the three, containing all chapters known in the others as well as one extra chapter, a colophon, chapter 34.[12] It is written on folios 153r–159r ofthe manuscript classified as Lincoln's Inn London Hale 114 ("Hale 114"), the manuscript otherwise known as the "Red Book of Durham", which Durham lost possession of during the episcopate of Thomas Morton (1632–47).[13] It probably comes from Durham, and is the latest of the three.[14] Ted Johnson South described its style as "English Secretary Hand with Anglicana affinities"; it probably comesfrom the 15th century.[15] The Historia comes after a second metrical Life of St Cuthbert (and the history of the bishopric) and before a chronicle of the bishopric of Lindisfarne from 625 to 847.[16]
In the manuscript known as the British Library Cotton Claudius D. iv, there is a copy of the Libellus de exordio et Statu Cathedralis Dunelmensis, a history of the bishopric of Durham, with anappended selection of quotes from older texts, probably written by John Wessington, prior of Durham (1416–46).[17] In both the body of the Libellus and as well as its appendix, passages identical to text of the Historia appear, on both occasions accompanied by marginal notes claiming that the text in question comes from the "prior's book".[17] This may well be a fourth version of the text that is now...