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Or 6953, ff 41v-71r "A note for one who is not aware of the Mukhtaṣar al-Akhḍarī", an explanation of the Mukhtaṣar of Al-Akhḍārī perhaps produced locally, as the colophon says: "I wrote this explanation for myself and for whosoever wishes to read it from amongst the sons of Muslims. My name is Umar Ibn ʿUthmān."
Or 4942, ff. 228-229 ‘A letter in Malay giving an account of a conversion to Christianity’, in Malay in Jawi script.Autobiographical statement by a Malay living in Kampung Boyan (Singapore) on his conversion, seemingly written at the behest of a missionary (addressed as ‘tuan’). Begins: Bahwa ini peringatan sahaya awal mula sahaya mendengar pelajaran tuan.
 Arundel MS 57, ff 1r-12v 1. A fragment of Aristotle's De anima with glosses added in the late 13th century (ff. 1r-12v);On the lower half of the pages and in spaces in the Aristotle text have been added:(i) Inscription (see below, item 2), verses (f. 2: Boffey 539.5, 1227, 1961.3, 3238.5) and a list of contents of the Ayenbite written in the hand of Michael of Northgate (ff. 2r-4r);(ii) Miscellaneous prophecies in Latin, French and English: 'Versus Gylde de p[ro]ph[et]ia Aq[ui]le' (f. 4v); 'Versus Northmannie' (Walther 1026: ff. 4v-5r); Eleven hexameters beginning 'Gallorum levitas' (Walther 7015: f. 5r); 'Expo[siti]o v[er]suu[m] gylde de p[ro]ph[ec]ia aq[ui]le et heremit[e]' (ff. 5r-8v); Thomas de Erseldoune's prophecy of Edward II (Boffey 3762: f. 8v); Prophecies of Merlin, in Anglo-Norman French (ff. 8v-10v); 'Anno mille....destante perito (Walther 1139: f. 10v); Lines in the margin beginning 'E' ssel vordo..' (f. 11r);
Arundel MS 57, ff 13r-96v 1. Ayenbite of Inwyt ('Prick of Conscience'), a translation into the Kentish dialect of the French treatise on morality, Somme le roi. This is thought to be an autograph copy by the translator, Michael of Northgate, and is the only surviving example of the text in Middle English. A verse on f. 94r states: 'Nou ich wille that ye ywite. hou hit is ywent, þet þis boc is ywrite. mid Engliss of Kent. þis boc is ymad vor lewede men, vor uader, and vor moder, and uor other ken, ..... þet þis boc made, God him yeve þet bread Of angles of hevene, and þereto his red, And ondervong his zaule, huanne thet he is dyad. Amen' (Boffey 2331). The following verses in Middle English have been identified within the text: Boffey 3579: f. 13, l.6, 'þis boc is ywrite...'; 2070: f. 51v, l.16, 'Mon man longe lyves wene...' (opening stanza only); 3578.5: f. 94, l.16, 'þis boc is come to the ende...'. (ff. 13r-94r);2. The Lord's Prayer, Ave Maria and the Creed in English (f. 94r);3. Pseudo-Anselm, De custodia interioris hominis in English (ff. 94v-96v);4. Treatise on the difference between men and beasts, 'Namore ne is betuene ane manne and ane beste...'(f. 96v);5. Two prayers to the Virgin Mary in English, the second in verse form (Boffey 2034) (f. 96v).
Or 6473, ff 257v-260r A book on iʿrāb (Arabic case endings). A point of interest is that instead of the basmala there is "b-ism jār wa majrūr" (in the name of the genitive case). Copied in a fine Sudanic hand.
Or 4897, ff 60r-76v A book on tawḥīd by Muḥammad Ibn Yūsuf al-Sanūsī (1435/6-1490). Fine geometric drawings on f 68v-69v. Small text on f 69 running vertically and horizontally that has been filled in with ink in a spider's web pattern, to form a border for present work. The work was "copied by its owner, Fodio Ibn Jāmiʿu Fūfar (Fofana)". Extensive note by later hand on f 76v.
Or 4897, ff 45r-59v A book on tawḥīd written (or copied) by Muḥammad Kata Dramé for his brother, Abu Bakr Suwaré. On f59v: small personalised sketch of the flames of hell and personal note calling Abu Bark to take care of his spiritual and physical health and stay close to his family and tribe. Note diagram on f 52v.
Or 6880, ff 276v-277v A book outlining the five different types of jūr (Hausa: goro, kola nut) and the benefits of eating it. Each type has a different colour and different benefits including strengthening the mental faculties, sweetening the breath, etc.
Harley MS 532, ff 61r-64v A breefe Discourse touching the happy Union of the Kingdoms of Engand and Scotland. composed by Francis Bacon in 1603.
Or 6559, ff 164r-170v A chapter of the Qur'an written without ornamentation and with simply decorated colophon.
Or 6880, f 297v A charm for memory and understanding. Mention of cow and goat tongue.
Or 6880, ff 294r A charm for memory and understanding: "whoever writes it out and imbibes it will remember everything they hear". Underneath is a talismanic device resembling a diagram or map, perhaps a representation of the charm.
Harley MS 532, ff 45r-48r A chronicle entitled: The History of the reigne of King Henry the 8th, King Edward, Queen Mary and part of Queen Elizabeth, incipit: 'The books which are written doo in their kinds...'
Harley MS 3353, ff 160r-177v A chronicle relating to the year 1291 and possibly referring to the death of Jeanne of Chatillon, Countess of Blois and Chartres; incipit: 'En lan de grace mil cc quatre vins et onze le rendi devant la commision saint pol'.Decoration: Initials and paraphs in red.
Add MS 15743, f 1 A coastal view in landscape orientation, made in ink, wash and watercolour, depicting the town of Horta with several sail boats upon the water in the foreground, at Faial Island, Portugal, created July 1775.Inscribed in ink, 'FAYALL' (l.c.), (Faial).
Or 4897, ff 209r-214r A collection of 39 Ḥadīth written "by grace of our Sheikh Fūdī (teacher), the Imam Sīl, I wrote it from our Sheikh, and I write nothing except from my Sheikh".
Harley MS 3017, ff 42v-51r A collection of computistical formulas. The formulas on ff. 42v-50r given for the years 861-864 were altered by a second hand for the years 864 and 899.
Or 11967, ff 52r-58v A collection of hymns to the sun, Gushtasp and other works in Persian, Avestan, and a mixture of other languages
Or 11967, ff. 1v-51v A collection of invocations to 16 pre-Islamic prophets, including Zoroaster, which were composed in a unique celestial language (overlined in red) accompanied by a Persian translation and comments
Harley MS 3234, ff 110r-147v A collection of lives of philosophers, Liber de vita et moribus philosophorum, by Walter Burley (b.1274/5, d. in or after 1344), an English philosopher and fellow of Merton College, Oxford, incipit: 'Thales philosopus asianus ut ait Laertius...'Decoration:Initial in red with pen-flourished decoration in brown, at the beginning of the text. Initial in red with penwork decoration in red. Paraphs in red and first letters of sentences highlighted in red.From f. 132v the text is continued by a different scribe with spaces with guide letters left blank for initials.
Harley MS 6046, ff 146r-203v A commentary on Aristotle, De anima, entitled In libros tres Aristotelis de anima disputatium cum ea proemialis de scientia animastica, incipit: 'Quanti facienda sit tractatio de anima...'
Harley MS 6046, ff 3r-144v A commentary on Aristotle, Physica,entitled Commentarius in octo libros physicorum, incipit 'In primum librum proemium Aristoteles...'
Harley MS 625, ff 132r-136v A commentary on Ptolemy's Almagest, book 5, incipit: 'Diametrum epicicli...'. A note added in the margin reads 'hec questiones de libro 5to Almagesti Albramati (?)' (f. 132r).Decoration: Initials and paraphs in red.Numerous geometrical diagrams in the margins.
Harley MS 625, ff 173r-174r A commentary on Ptolemy's Almagest, incipit: 'Liber Almagesti ex precepto Maymonis regis Arabum...'.Decoration: Initials and paraphs in red.
Or 6559, ff 110r-125v A compendium of Sufi works, presumably put together by a member of the Qādirīyah namely: 1. An anonymous work in praise of the Prophet 2. The Kanz al-Aʿẓam of ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Jīlānī (1077–1166), which the author says he heard from his master, Muḥammad al-Ghazālī 3. The prayer of Muḥammad Ibn ʿArāj. The work has been nicely copied with prefaces to each work in a smaller, ornate hand. Extensive colophon somewhat faded.
Or 6559, ff 171v-173v A compendium of the 73 angels with an introduction outlining the benefit of reciting them and endnote outlining the method for the preparation of amulets with these names including writing them on a Magarya tree (Hausa for the jujube/lote (ziziphus)). On 173v is a Qur’anic verse copied out twice, both in different hands to main text.
Harley MS 3017, ff. 113v-132v A computistical text entitled 'Incipit calculatio quomodo reperiri possit quota feria singulis annis XIIIIa vel Pasche ocurrat', incipit: 'Primo anno circuli decennovenali XXX est luna in kalendis aprilis'; with other excerpts.Includes a digram of the wind rota (f. 128v).
Harley MS 3814 A, ff 3v-10r A computistical treatise, incipit: 'Ad inveniendam quantitatem annii solaris...'.Decoration: Initial in red ink (f. 3v).
Stowe MS 944, ff 54v-55r A continuation of the list of lay-brethren 'Nomina fratrum laicorum' from ff. 28r-29r. The list was arranged at first in columns and numbered from i. to xviii., afterwards not numbered or regularly entered, but written in various hands of different periods down to the suppression of the abbey. The list is continued on four leaves added at the end of the book, ff. 65r-68r. On f. 55r is an entry that Richard 'Palmarius' gave a silver box (cassula) for relics, in return for which his name was to be entered in the martyrology and his anniversary commemorated.
Harley MS 4346, ff 1r-54r A copy of a Latin poem in hexameters describing the medical virtues of herbs written under the pseudonym of Macer (with reference to the Roman poet Aemilius Macer, d. 15 BC). The author is now generally identified with the French physician Odo de Meung-sur-Loire whose name is mentioned in another 12th-century copy of the text (Dresden, Sächsische Landesbibliothek, MS Dc. 160). Rubric (f. 1r): 'Incipit Macer in primis de artemesia', incipit: 'Herbarum quasdam dicturus carmine vires / herbarum matrem dedit artemisia nomen', explicit (f. 54r) '['De aloe' rubric f. 53r] … Una diagredij sic apta solutio fiet;'. Includes notabilia and occasional glosses by later hands. For the text see L. Choulant, Macer Floridus de viribus herbarum una cum Walafridi Strabonis, Othonis Cremonensis et Ioannis Folcz carminibus similis argumenti secundum codices manuscriptos et veteres editiones … recensuit (Leipzig, 1832). The present manuscript is not listed in L. Thorndike and P. Kibre, Catalogue of Incipits of Medieval Scientific Writings in Latin, rev. edn. (London, 1963; The Mediaeval Academy of America Publication, 29; with supplements in 1965 and 1968); Der deutsche 'Macer'. Vulgatfassung. Mit einem Abdruck des lateinischen Macer Floridus 'De viribus herbarum', ed. by Bernhard Schnell in and William Crossgrove, Texte und Textgeschichte, 50 (Tübingen, 2003). For Odo of Meung or Magdunensis see E. Wickersheimer, Dictionnaire biographique des médecins en France au moyen âge. Réimpression de l'édition de 1936, Hautes Études Médiévales et Modernes, 34(Geneva, 1979; ), II, p. 584; D. Jacquart, Supplément au E. Wickersheimer, Dictionnaire biographique des médecins en France au moyen âge. Nouvelle édition sous la direction de Guy Beaujouan (Geneva, 1979; Hautes Études Médiévales et Modernes, 35), p. 218.
Or 6953, ff 1-22 v A copy of a work on fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) by ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Akhḍarī (1514 – 1546)
Or 6953, ff 23r-40v A copy of a work on fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) by ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Akhḍarī (1514 – 1546). Perhaps a student copy of the previous manuscript. The work commences with a number table containing names of God, and on f. 40 there is a colophon followed by an 18-line work detailing a magic practice in a less accomplished hand written vertically across the bottom of the page.
Or 6473, ff 281r-282v A copy of the "mother of truths", the creed of Muḥammad Ibn Yūsuf al-Sanūsī (1435/6-1490) in an extremely untidy hand. Many crossings-out. At f. 282r in the margins are attempts at elaborate chapter headings. Incomplete.
Or 6880, f 320v A curse beseeching God to bring ruin and death upon an unnamed family
Or 6559, ff 150r-153r A devotional poem by the founder of the Qādirīyah Sufi order, ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Jīlānī (1077–1166 ), written in fine calligraphic script with a neat double-edged border.
Or 6559, ff 53r-56r A devotional prayer accredited in the colophon to Saʿd Ibn Saliyā, but different from the supplication accredited to him in this volume at ff. 1v-27v and 91r-109v. A note in the colophon states that Uthmān Ibn Ṣlm is the owner.
Or 6953, f 250r A didactic tale about a lion, a wolf and a hyrax who go hunting. Perhaps copied from an earlier work
Harley MS 532, ff 11r-44r A Discourse of the Buisines of Ambyona in Anno Domini 1624,relates to the Ambyona massacre of 1623 in which ten Englishmen in the service of the British East India Company were tortured and executed by agents of the Dutch East India Company on Ambon Island (now Indonesia).
Harley MS 6046, f 204r A document entitled Breviarium philosophiae lists subjects in logic, physics and metaphysics.
Or 6880, ff 190v-203r A famous versified treatise on Arabic grammar by Muḥammad Ibn ʿAbd Allāh Ibn Mālik al-Ṭāʾī al-Jiyānī , known as ibn Mālik (c. 1204-1274 AD), traditionally used in the education of students in the Arabic language. In fine Sahrawi script, with extensive notation in the same hand. No biographical details of copyist in colophon.
Or 6880, f 313r- 313v A fine small Sudanic hand with rubricated vowel signs and yellow and red trefoils for marking of verses.
Add MS 39588, ff 44r-46v A fragment beginning with the heading κοντάκιον τῆς θεοτόκου. ἦχος πλ β', ff 44r-v, followed by an addition in a later (14th-century?) hand, Λευιτικου τὸ ἀνάγνωσμα (Leviticus 26:3-33), ff 44v-46v.
Harley MS 7656, ff 14r-17v A fragment of a text with a late-14th-century running title reading 'Liber quartus philosophie monachorum', incipit: '...sum tu vile habes balsaniam tuum...'Ff. 8r-13v and 14r-17v are probably parts of the same manuscript: the running titles in both sections were added by the same hand.
Harley MS 7656, ff 8r-13v A fragment of a text with a late-14th-century running title reading 'Liber secundus philosophie monachorum', incipit: 'Cum interogaret aliquin abbas Arsenius...' Ff. 8r-13v and 14r-17v are probably parts of the same manuscript: the running titles in both sections were added by the same hand.
Add MS 37472, f 7 A framed miniature of the Death of the Virgin in colours with gold, with prayers on the verso.
Cotton MS Galba A XVIII, f 2r A frontispiece composed of fragments excised from two manuscripts:A miniature of David at prayer probably from the Breviary of Margaret of York (c. 1475-1480), now Cambridge, St John’s College, MS. H.13. Further fragments excised from this volume and reused in other Cotton manuscripts include: Cotton MS Tiberius A II, f. 1r, Cotton MS Vespasian A I, f. 160v, and Cotton MS Titus C XV. A scattered border with flowers and birds from a manuscript, probably a book of Hours (last quarter of the 15th century), part of which is now in Cotton MS Nero A II.
Harley MS 3271, ff 1r-6r A grammatical text on the genre of nouns and pronouns, formation of verbs and the first and second declination.
Harley MS 3271, ff 93r-113v A grammatical treatise entitled 'Dialogus de VIII partibus orationis', incipit: 'Beatus quid est? Oratio est. Et quae pars orationis? Nomen.' An interpolation (?) on f. 102v includes a table of lucky and unlucky days of the moon, entitled 'De sanguine minuere.'Decoration: Large initial in red at the beginning of the text.
Harley MS 5425, ff 141r-174r A Latin paraphrase of the first three books (lacking Book 4) of the treatise on general precepts of medical pathology by Hippocrates of Kos (460-375 BC), accompanied by a commentary attributed to Galen (c. 130-200). In the upper and lower margins, alongside the paraphrase and the commentary, a later hand has copied the translation of the original from Arabic sources that is variously attributed to Constantinus Africanus (c. 1020-1098/9) and therefore to the late 11th century, or to Gerard of Cremona (c. 1114-1187) and therefore to the mid-12th century: see Kibre 1985, pp. 5-7 and O'Boyle 1998, pp. 103-104. Rubric (f. 141r): 'Incipit commenta Galieni supra regimine acutorum'; paraphrase of text by Hippocrates, incipit (f. 141r): 'Illi qui sententias de Absidis relatas scripserunt in esse quod / scripserunt', explicit (f. 173v): 'uti ea in istis tantum. gratia'; Galen's commentary incipit (f. 141r): 'Galienus: Non solum scripserunt reme/morationem', explicit (f. 174r): 'eas omnis preter quod infirmus / ipsas ei dicat', followed by colophon written by a different hand 'Explicit commentum Galeni super liber de toto […] / egritudinum gloriosissimi Ypocratis […/ ] / fallacia sensus que super fluv[….] / medici sententie sunt arct[....]'. The beginning of each particula or book is marked by a marginal note of a contemporary reader (ff. 150v, 162v); original text added in the margin, incipit (f. 141r): 'Qui de egrotancium accidentibus in singulis egritu[dini]bus tractantes', explicit (f. 173v): 'sed illis aliquando conveniens est'.For the translation of the main text, see also L. Thorndike and P. Kibre, Catalogue of Incipits of Medieval Scientific Writings in Latin, The Mediaeval Academy of America Publication, 29 (London, 1963; with supplements in 1965 and 1968), pp. 1205k, 1215n, 1695k, and its electronic version on CD-ROM (Ann Arbor, MI, 2000), nos. 1205K, 1215N, and 1695K; for Gerard's paraphrase of the main text see Thorndike and Kibre 1963;1965 and 1968, p. 660a, and the electronic version on CD-ROM, 2000, no. 660A; for Galen's commentary, see Thorndike and Kibre 1965, 1968, p. 922i, and the electronic version on CD-ROM, 2000, no. 922I; see also R. J. Durling, 'Corrigenda and Addenda to Diels' Galenica', I, Traditio, 23 (1967), 461-76 (p. 476), and II, Traditio, 37 (1981), 373-81 (p. 381). First printed at Padua by Nicolaus Petri circa 1476: for references to the edition see item 1 above, and Richard J. Durling, 'A Chronological Census of Renaissance Editions and Translations of Galen', Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, 24 (1961), 230-305 (p. 295 no. 160a). For Hippocrates's original Greek text with English translation, see Hippocrates, ed. by W. H. S. Jones, Loeb Classical Library, 150 (Cambridge, Mass., 1931), II, pp. 57-125; for Galen's commentary, see K. G. Kühn, Claudii Galeni Opera Omnia (Leipzig, 1821; repr. Hildesheim 1964), XIX, pp. 182-221.
Add MS 39583, ff 13v-14v A leaf from a manuscript containing Ephraem the Syrian, Sermo Compunctorius (CPG 3908), corresponding to pp. 37C8 - 38E3 of Volume I of Asseman 1732. Inc. καὶ ἐυρύχωρων ὁδὸν, expl. μακάριος ὁ τὴν στε[νὴ]ν ὁδὸν, ff 14r-v, preceded by a note in the hand of Curzon on f. 13v: 'Found in the binding of a manuscript of a more recent date in the library of the monastery of Caracallou on Mount Athos.'
Cotton MS Tiberius A II, ff 1r-1v A leaf from the Breviary of Margaret of York, duchess of Burgundy (now Cambridge, St John's College, ms H. 13), used as a frontispiece. The original border includes an image of King David praying, painted by the Vienna Master of Mary of Burgundy, the coat of arms of Margaret of York impaling those of her husband Charles the Bold, duke of Burgundy, the initials 'C M' of the duke and the duchess, and Margaret of York's motto 'Bien en aviengne'. The border was altered by an addition of royal coats of arms and an inscription, and adapted to frame a miniature of the prince praying before Christ from the Psalter of Henry VI (Cotton MS Domitian A XVII, f. 98r). This miniature was restored to the original manuscript by Sir Frederic Madden (d. 1873), Keeper of manuscripts at the British Museum. Other fragments of the same manuscript were inserted by Robert Cotton in Cotton MS Vespasian A I, Cotton MS Galba A XVIII, and Cotton Titus C XV (see Brown 1998).
Add MS 73525, ff 7r-v A leaf in a unknown script, in red, blue, and black ink, possibly liturgical in nature.
Or 6559, f 248v A letter from ʿAbd Allāh Ibn Maḥmūd, Imam of Gmbāg (غمباغ) to Muʿallim Bāba Ibn al-Imām Gmbāg. He pays his respects to the Imam and to "the ruler of the country of Asay (اسَيْى)". Below it is a Fāʾidah for one whose wife will not heed his words.
Or 6473, f 190r A letter from Muḥammad al-Amīn Suwaré in Touba to his son in Medina Suwaré Kunda, that he was to give to one Fūdī ʿUmar Sāma requesting the return of his book, Nafḥ al-Ṭayyib, a praise work. He lent it to the latter so that he could copy it, but he had not returned the book after repeated letters and was now apparently asking for payment for its return. The writer then gives a quote of "al-Sheikh Mukhtār" (probably al-Mukhtār al-Kuntī (d.1811)), saying of him that "of all God's holy men there is not another like him on the face of the earth".
Harley MS 208, f 112r (item 2) A letter, incipit: 'Praeconio eximiae sanctitatis recolendo Domino R episcoporum sanctissimo divina miseratione Wilelmus devotus episcopus'.
Add MS 27268, ff 1-77 A life of Zoroaster in Persian verse, written in Iran in the 13th century. For another version see Reg.16.B.8This copy is dated Sūrat, Ardībihisht in the year 1046 of Yazdigird, which is AD 1677
Add MS 39600, ff ii verso-iii recto A line-engraving of the Monastery of Simonopetra, above which are the Monastery's patron saints, Simon the Myrrh-Bearer (on the left), the Nativity Scene (at the centre), and St Mary Magdalene (on the right). Inscription (dated 1836) at the bottom: Αὕτη ἡ Ἱερὰ Μονὴ ὑπάρχει τοῦ Σίμωνος Πέτ<ρ>ας ὀνομαζομένη. τιμομένη ἐπ’όνόματι τῶν τοῦ Χριστοῦ γενεθλίων./ Κειμένη ἐν τω Ἁγίῳ Ὄρει τοῦ Ἄθω. Ἐχαράχθη δὲ δαπάνῃ καὶ προτροπῇ τοῦ Πανοσιωτάτου Ἁγίου Καθηγουμένου τῆς αὐτῆς Μονῆς. Κυρίου/ Ἀμβροσίου ἐν τῇ σκήτῃ τῶν Καρεῶν ἐν ἔτει ᾳωλς΄. The image is reproduced in Papastratos 1990, II, pp. 467-68 (no. 498).
Harley MS 978, ff 160v-162r A list of contents of a collection of polyphonic music (untraced) in a 14th-century hand, headed 'Ordo libri W. de Wint[onia]' and comprising the textual incipits of eight Marian tropes under the heading 'R[esponsorium] R. de Burg[ate]', 37 alleluia settings under the heading 'Postea R[esponsoria] W. de Wic[umbe]', 38 'cund[uctus]', 13 'Moteti cum duplici nota' and 48 'Item cum duplici littera'. See Ludwig 1910 (including transcription); L. A. Dittmer, 'An English Discantuum Volumen', Musica Disciplina, 8 (1954), pp. 19-58, esp. pp. 38-45; and Dean and Boulton, Anglo-Norman Literature 1999, no. 176.Also contains various notes and pen-trials including a note by Edward Lapworth (b. 1574, d. 1636) refering to the new foliation: '5 martii 1595 sunt in hoc libro folia conscripta 182' (f. 162r).
Or 6880, ff 298r-304v A list of judicial rulings on inheritance by Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad al-Raḥabī (1103- 1181), copied with hemstitches like a poem but in prose. The colophon mentions the lineage of the copyist.
Harley MS 5201, ff 53r-73v A list of Latin verbs divided according to their conjugations, incipit: 'Verba primi coniugationis...'. Decoration: Capitals highlighted in red; cadels, some decorated with human faces.
Harley MS 1687, f 1v A list of letters of the Hebrew alphabet in Latin transliteration with Latin translations.
Stowe MS 944, ff 56r-56v A list of Old Testament personages, patriarchs, saints, prophets, popes, apostles, and others, beginning with Adam, Abel, and Melchisedech, and ending imperfectly with Donatus, Agapitus (perhaps Agapetus II, Pope, 946-956, or Agapetus, the deacon, of Constantinople), and Magnus (perhaps Magnus the Good, King of Norway 1036-1047, but there are several saints of this name); incipit: 'Incipiunt nomina sanctorum qui regnant feliciter in regno caelorum'.
Or 6559, ff 39r-40v A list of 'pious sheikhs' starting with Abdul Qādir al-Jīlānī. Probably a list of key figures in the Qādirīyah Sufi brotherhood. Seems to be the work of an experienced hand. On f. 41v there is a Qur’anic quote in a less accomplished hand: ‘Take this, my shirt, and cast it over the face of my father; he will become seeing’ (12:93)
Or 6559, f 237r-237v A list of problems (عقدة) presumably cured by the talisman, including the problems of men, women, rulers, lions and the night. The talisman is marked as "tested" (mujarrab). The verso has another Fāʾidah to remove a state of ritual impurity by asking God to ‘rid me of my ritual impurity like Iblīs was rid from paradise’.
Harley MS 532, ff 73r-82r A list of provinces subjected to Isabella-Clara-Eugenia, Infante of Spain, and Archduke Albert of Austria.The list includes provinces of the Spanish Netherlands subjected to Isabella-Clara-Eugenia (r. 1598-1621), Infante of Spain, and Archduke Albert of Austria, granted by Philip II of Spain and confirmed by Philip III of Spain and ratified by the States by particular provinces.
Harley MS 532, f 82v A list of the Knights of the Golden Fleece, beginning with Archduke Albert of Austria.
Or 6473, f 275v A list of the ten companions of Prophet Muḥammad, stating after each that they encompassed both the hidden and the manifest knowledge (a Sufi-derived concept). The writer states that "we heard it from our sheikh al-Ḥajj Gasama". This is presumably the same figure referred to at other points of this volume as al-Ḥajj Sālim al-Zaghāwī al-Gasamī.
Or 6880, f 316r-316v A list of tyrants and evil figures from the Abrahamic writings (Goliath, Gog and Magog etc). Verso: list of magical names or words, followed by strings of repeated letters.
Royal MS 15 D II, ff 211r and 215v A list of woods sales mentioning John, viscount Welles's property in Well (now Welle Park, Lincolnshire) and other places in the proximity of his properties in Well and Belleau, including a reference to a personal property 'a nacur in my nawn manour in modurwode [Motherwood, near Alferd]', (f. 215v).A list of books in Middle English, written probably in the same hand, including the present manuscript: 'In primus a boke in France clakld pokelypse / A boke of knghte hode / A boke of Caunturbere tlase / A boke of Charlman / A boke þe lyfe of our ladys lyfe / A boke the sheys of Thebes / A boke cald vita mixta / A boke cald þe vii poyntes of true love / A boke cald þe sheys of Jherusalem / A boke cald mort Arthro / A boke cald dyuys et paupar / A boke cald cronackols / A boke cald legend aure / A boke cald facekelus temporum [perhaps a text by the Carthusian Rolevink, printed in 1475]', end of the 15th century (f. 211r).
Harley MS 2320 ff 31r-52r A lunar prognostication in verse; edited from the present manuscript in Means 1993, pp. 112-147; listed in L. E. Voigts and P. D. Kurtz, Scientific and Medical Writings in Old and Middle English: An Electronic Reference, CD-ROM, 2nd edn (Ann Arbor, MI, 2006), nos. 2119.00 and 6735.00, and in New Index, nos. 1171/2 and 4264/5.
Harley MS 2320, ff 31r-52r A lunar prognostication in verse; edited from the present manuscript in Means 1993, pp. 112-147; listed in L. E. Voigts and P. D. Kurtz, Scientific and Medical Writings in Old and Middle English: An Electronic Reference, CD-ROM, 2nd edn (Ann Arbor, MI, 2006), nos. 2119.00 and 6735.00, and in New Index, nos. 1171/2 and 4264/5.
Or 6953, ff 255r-278v A major work on Arabic grammar by the Moroccan Ibn Ājurrūm al-Ṣanhājī (1273-1323), who put the principles of Arabic grammar into verse form. The copy has copious and erudite notation no doubt added locally, perhaps a commentary or extended explanation.
Harley MS 3595, ff 68r-73v A mathematical text incipit: 'Si quis vero de controversus et de qualitatibus...'Decoration: Initials in red.A note reading 'auri pigmenti pro... aureus iste color', inscribed in golden/yellow colour (perhaps auripigment) in the space left blank by the scribe (f. 73v).
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