Moore Bede
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The Moore Bede (Cambridge,
University Library An academic library is a library that is attached to a higher education institution and serves two complementary purposes: to support the curriculum and the research of the university faculty and students. It is unknown how many academic librar ...
, Kk. 5. 16) is an early manuscript of
Bede Bede ( ; ang, Bǣda , ; 672/326 May 735), also known as Saint Bede, The Venerable Bede, and Bede the Venerable ( la, Beda Venerabilis), was an English monk at the monastery of St Peter and its companion monastery of St Paul in the Kingdom o ...
's 8th-century ''
Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum The ''Ecclesiastical History of the English People'' ( la, Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum), written by Bede in about AD 731, is a history of the Christian Churches in England, and of England generally; its main focus is on the conflict be ...
'' (''Ecclesiastical History of the English People''). It was formerly owned by Bishop John Moore (1646–1714), whose collection of books and manuscripts was purchased by
George I George I or 1 may refer to: People * Patriarch George I of Alexandria ( fl. 621–631) * George I of Constantinople (d. 686) * George I of Antioch (d. 790) * George I of Abkhazia (ruled 872/3–878/9) * George I of Georgia (d. 1027) * Yuri Dolgoruk ...
and donated to
Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
.


Physical description

The manuscript is written on
parchment Parchment is a writing material made from specially prepared untanned skins of animals—primarily sheep, calves, and goats. It has been used as a writing medium for over two millennia. Vellum is a finer quality parchment made from the skins of ...
. It contains 128
folio The term "folio" (), has three interconnected but distinct meanings in the world of books and printing: first, it is a term for a common method of arranging sheets of paper into book form, folding the sheet only once, and a term for a book ma ...
s. Pages average approximately 293 × 215 mm with a writing surface of 250 × 185 mm (1 column, 30–33 lines in the main text). The manuscript has been copied in a single hand and shows signs of haste.


Contents

The Moore Bede contains (with The
Leningrad Bede Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
) one of the two earliest representatives of the ''m-type'' text of the Latin ''
Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum The ''Ecclesiastical History of the English People'' ( la, Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum), written by Bede in about AD 731, is a history of the Christian Churches in England, and of England generally; its main focus is on the conflict be ...
''. The manuscript contains a copy of the Northumbrian
recension Recension is the practice of editing or revising a text based on critical analysis. When referring to manuscripts, this may be a revision by another author. The term is derived from Latin ''recensio'' ("review, analysis"). In textual criticism (as ...
of
Cædmon's Hymn ''Cædmon's Hymn'' is a short Old English poem attributed to Cædmon, a supposedly illiterate and unmusical cow-herder who was, according to the Northumbrian monk Bede (d. 731), miraculously empowered to sing in honour of God the Creator. The p ...
on the last page of the manuscript, f. 128v. The poem is in the hand of a contemporary
scribe A scribe is a person who serves as a professional copyist, especially one who made copies of manuscripts before the invention of automatic printing. The profession of the scribe, previously widespread across cultures, lost most of its promi ...
, probably to be identified with that responsible for the so-called Memoranda on the same page (written in a larger script, but showing many similarities to the more cramped Cædmon’s Hymn and the main text of ff. 1r-128r).


Dating

The Moore Bede is traditionally dated to 734–737 on the basis of the so-called Moore Memoranda, a series of chronological notes preserved on f. 128v. Although the validity of these (and similar notes in The Leningrad Bede) as evidence for the manuscript’s date has been challenged vigorously, the manuscript can be dated securely to the 8th century on
palaeographic Palaeography ( UK) or paleography ( US; ultimately from grc-gre, , ''palaiós'', "old", and , ''gráphein'', "to write") is the study of historic writing systems and the deciphering and dating of historical manuscripts, including the analysi ...
and
codicological Codicology (; from French ''codicologie;'' from Latin , genitive , "notebook, book" and Greek , ''-logia'') is the study of codices or manuscript books. It is often referred to as "the archaeology of the book," a term coined by François Masai. I ...
grounds. The manuscript is now thought "likely to be English in origin" (Ker 1990). Bischoff has shown that the manuscript was at the Palace School at
Aachen Aachen ( ; ; Aachen dialect: ''Oche'' ; French and traditional English: Aix-la-Chapelle; or ''Aquisgranum''; nl, Aken ; Polish: Akwizgran) is, with around 249,000 inhabitants, the 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, and the 28th- ...
around CE 800. Parkes suggests that it may have been sent to there from
York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
at the request of
Alcuin Alcuin of York (; la, Flaccus Albinus Alcuinus; 735 – 19 May 804) – also called Ealhwine, Alhwin, or Alchoin – was a scholar, clergyman, poet, and teacher from York, Northumbria. He was born around 735 and became the student o ...
.Parkes 1982, 27, n. 35


References


Bibliography

*Blair, Peter Hunter, ed. 1959. ''The Moore Bede: Cambridge University Library Kk. 5. 16''. With a contribution by R. A. B. Mynors. Early English Manuscripts in Facsimile, 9. Copenhagen: Rosenkilde & Bagger *Colgrave, B. & Mynors, R. A. B., eds. 1969, ''Bede’s ecclesiastical history of the English people''. Oxford Medieval Texts. Oxford: Clarendon Press. pp. xliii–xliv; *Dobbie, E. v. K. 1937. ''The manuscripts of ''Cædmon’s Hymn'' and ''Bede’s Death Song'' with a critical text of the ''Epistola Cuthberti de obitu Bedæ''.'' Columbia University Studies in English and Comparative Literature, 128. New York: Columbia University Press. pp. 11–16; * Hardwick C., et al., eds. 856-18671980. ''A Catalogue of the Manuscripts Preserved in the Library of the University of Cambridge''. Munich: Kraus. Reprint by G. Olms. Vol. 3: art. 2058; *Ker, N. R. 1990. ''Catalogue of manuscripts containing Anglo-Saxon''. Oxford: Clarendon Press. Art. 25. *Lowe, E. A. 1934-, ''Codices latini antiquiores: a palaeographical guide to Latin manuscripts prior to the ninth century''. Oxford: Clarendon Press. Art. 139. * Mayor, J. E. B. & Lumby, J. R., eds. 1878. ''Venerabilis Bedae historiae ecclesiasticae gentis anglorum libri IV''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; pp. 413, 431*. *O'Donnell, D. P. 2005. ''Cædmon’s Hymn, a multimedia study, edition, and witness archive.'' SEENET A. 7. Cambridge: D. S. Brewer. §§ 4.29–4.30. *Paleographical Society. 1879. ''Facsimiles of Manuscripts and Inscriptions''. London: W. Clowes & Sons. Vol. 1: pll. 139 and 140 and accompanying letterpress; *Plummer, C., ed.
896 __NOTOC__ Year 896 ( DCCCXCVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * February – King Arnulf of Carinthia invades Italy at the head of an East F ...
1969. ''Venerabilis Baedae Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum, Historia abbatum, Epistola ad Ecgberctum, una cum Historia abbatum auctore anonymo''. Oxford: Clarendon Press. Vol. 1: lxxxix-xci; *Robinson, P. R. 1988. ''Catalogue of Dated and Datable Manuscripts c. 737–1600 in Cambridge Libraries''. Cambridge: D. S. Brewer. Art. 68 (1: 37 and 2: pll. 1 and 2); *Robinson, F. C. & Stanley, E. G. 1991. ''Old English Verse Texts from Many Sources: a comprehensive collection.'' Early English Manuscripts in Facsimile, 23. Copenhagen: Rosenkilde & Bagger. acsimile of f. 128v on pl. 2.1 *Wanley, H., ed.
705 __NOTOC__ Year 705 ( DCCV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 705 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era ...
1970. ''Librorum vett. septentrionalium catalogus. Linguarum veterum septentrionalium thesaurus''. Menston: Scholar Press; p. 287.


External links


Whole manuscript online, from Cambridge Digital Library

More information at Earlier Latin Manuscripts
{{authority control Old English literature English manuscripts Bede manuscripts Manuscripts in Cambridge