Polychronicon, 1375 - 1400

The book has suffered considerable water damage, and has some repair work done to the final leaves. Although some of the red ink and occasionally the blue has either smeared or faded, there is no loss of text except for f. 175 where the top outside corner of the leaf has been torn or worn away with the loss of about 15 lines of the index.

Parchment support, ff. ii (modern paper bifolium, i=front pastedown) + i (parchment) + 182 + ii (modern paper bifolium, ii=back pastedown)

England, nineteenth century, bound in brown russia, blind tooled with the arms of the Marquis of Blandford centered on the front and back. The spine is rebacked with blind-stamped, olive morocco; in gold: "POLYCHRONICON/ M.S./ MCCCLII."

283 x 225 (leaves vary from 210-230 x 145-165) mm

Article 2: written in c. 40-50 ruled lines with single horizontal and vertical bounding lines in ink. Prickings for bounding lines occasionally visible in all three outer margins. Article 3: written in two columns of 50 ruled lines, each column has been divided with 5 vertical bounding lines in ink into three smaller columns for subject, book, and chapter. Articles 4 and 5 are long lines and without ruling. I-XIII12; subsequent leaves have been tipped in in four groups of 4 leaves and two groups of 5 leaves.

English cursive and 16th-century Gothic curisve script written by several scribes; marginal notes have been made throughout in later hands.

A full page diagram on f. 3r depicts the solar system as a series of circles with the earth in the center. Several other smaller diagrams or charts appear throughout; note the genealogy from Adam to Iaphet in which each name is enclosed in a small circle, the whole linked by double lines. This diagram fills the lower margin of ff. 30v and 31r. From f. 34v to the end of article 2 a double column outlined in red recording monarchs and dates fills the outer margin. Each book begins with a large initial varying from a slim 21-line initial "I" which begins Book 4 to the more square 8- to 12-line initials in most of the other books. These initials are either red and blue or plain blue with beautiful red penwork grounds, small extensions, and infilling; the grounds include a trace of purple penwork added as an accent. Book 2 is the exception beginning with a modest 6-line initial which resembles the initials used for the chapters. These initials are similar to the larger initials but more simple: 2- to 6-lines with finely drawn red penwork grounds and infillings which often depict flowers or leaves. Other 1-line plain, red and blue initials throughout. Running heads in upper right margin, recto, sometimes trimmed off. Rubrication, paragraph markers, sentence strokes in red. Guide letters for rubricator are visible underneath the penwork in each initial. Article 5 is without decoration.

Modern foliation