A copy of Astesanus de Ast, Summa de Casibus Conscientiae, in a contemporary named binding by Johannes Meigfoge, active in Ellwangen or Tübingen (Baden-Württemberg) in 1475-1513. The binding contains two large ninth-century manuscript fragments as pastedowns, taken from a manuscript of Bede's In librum Genesim, making it one of the oldest witnesses to In Genesim.
This book is a significant one and the acquisition of the manuscript fragments of In Genesim represents an important addition to Durham Cathedral Library. The front pastedown comprises three columns of text on a bifolium (missing the fourth column, ie, one and a half leaves) and the rear pastedown is a complete single leaf with a stub of the conjugate leaf. Bede’s tomb is of course in Durham Cathedral’s Galilee Chapel.
Representing a very early copy of one of Bede works, the manuscript fragments neatly illustrate his early ‘international’ reputation and his circulation on the Continent.
This grant was awarded from FNL's B. H. Breslauer Fund, thanks to the generosity of the President and Officers of the B. H. Breslauer Foundation.