Hugh of St Victor

30 leaves (plus 4 modern vellum endleaves), 290mm. by 205mm., complete, collation: i-ii¹², ii⁶, double column, 50 lines in light brown ink in a number of textura hands, rubrics in metallic red, simple initials in same, some small marginalia erased, vellum cockled and slightly discoloured in places, some tears to edges of a few leaves, last with border cut away and repaired later, else good condition, red morocco with simple gilt fillet over pasteboards by Charles Lewis (an inscription by Henry Drury on the front endleaf recording this), some small scuffs, fitted cloth case

Most probably produced for a monastery in England in the late fourteenth century; Henry Drury (1778-1841), classical scholar, master at Harrow from 1801-41 and tutor to Lord Byron: his inscription on front endleaf, “MS. pervetustus in Membranis ex reliquiis Heathianis. C. E. 3”, most probably acquired from the library of his great-grandfather, Benjamin Heath (1704-1766). Heath's vast library of nearly 5000 books was sold privately after his death, and dispersed in two sales in London on 5 April and 2 May 1810 by Jeffrey of Pall Mall (this book has not been found in the catalogue). Dibdin noted of this sale, “Never did the bibliomaniac’s eye alight upon sweeter copies; and never did the bibliographical barometer rise higher than at this sale”.

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The manuscript opens with the Didascalion of Hugh of St-Victor (c.1096-1141), an early encyclopedia of Christian learning, which has been rightly called the ‘guide to the twelfth-century renaissance’. The author was one of the foremost theologians and philosophers of the twelfth century. He taught in the monastic school at St-Victor, Paris, from 1133 until his death, inspiring a generation of students and followers such as Herbert of Bosham and Richard of St-Victor. Amongst the many subjects encompassed within this work, it is of great importance for revolutionising the understanding of reading, and makes for the first time the important distinction between reading aloud for prayer and spiritual development and silent reading in the pursuit of knowledge. It contains chapters on theology, mathematics and geometry (fols.4r-5r here), astronomy (fol.5r), navigation, agriculture and medicine (fol.6v), grammar (fol.7r), memory (fol.9r), libraries (fol.11v), allegory (fol.17v) and magic (fols.19v-20r), as well as numerous others.

This is followed by several pages of notes on leccionis integritas, eloquencia and Quod scienciis philosophicis uti debemus, primarily quoting Augustine, De doctrina christiana (fols.20v-22r), and excerpts from patristic writers (fols.23r-24v). The book ends with Hugh of St-Victor’s instructional manual for novitiates entering monastic orders, the De institutione novitiorum (fols.25r-30v).