Marston MS 156     Germany, s. XIV 1
Ps.-John Chrysostom; Martinus Strepus. etc.

1. ff. 1r-52r, 57r-86v  [Prologue:]  Sicut referunt mathaeum conscribere
euuangelium causa compulit talis.  Cum facta fuisset persecutio grauis in
palestina ita ut periclitarentur...hec commutatio dextere excelsi [Ps. 76.11].
Capitulum primum.  [table of contents:]  liber generationis ihesu christi
filii dauid filii abraheo/ Cum natus esset ihesus in bethleem iude/...Ideo
ecce ego mitto ad uos prophetas et sapientes et scribas et ipsos occidetis.
[Sermo I, f. 1v:]  Liber generationis ihesus christi fili dauid. filii abrahe.
Liber quasi apotheca gratiarum.  Sicut in apotheca diuitis alicuius omnis homo
quod desiderat inuenit...[concludes imperfectly:]  putat impletum qui in
actibus apostolorum leguntur//  ff. 54v-56v ruled, but blank

Ps.-John Chrysostom, Opus imperfectum in Mathaeum; the sermons, labelled
in the manuscript according to Biblical chapters 1-8 (ff. 1r-54r) and 19-23
(ff. 57r-86v), correspond to sermons nos. 1-22 and 32-46 in PG 56.611-754,
798-897.  One leaf, with text in Sermons 44-45, missing between ff. 83-84
("...lauanda sunt aquis sed conscientie precibus // uestrorum prophetat illis
uenturum...").  See Stegmueller, v. 3, no. 4350, for manuscripts, early
printed editions and bibliography.  The scribe left blank ff. 52-56 to
accomodate the missing sermons; a slightly later hand added arts. 2-3 on
some of these leaves.

2. ff. 52r-53  [Instructions to rubricator in inner margin:]  De cordis
stabilitate.  [text:]  [P]ost tractatum de apericione [sic] cordis sub
multiplici diuisione diffusum ad tractandum de ipsius cordis stabilitate
accedamus.  Cordis stabilitatem commendat apostolus dicens...[text missing
since lower half of f. 53 has been excised].

Hugo de Sancto Caro, De doctrina cordis; see G. Hendrix, "Hugh of St. 
Cher OP Author of Two Texts attributed to the 13th-century Cistercian Gerard of
Liege," Citeaux 31 (1980) pp. 343-56 (A. Wilmart, "Gerard de Liege: un 
traite inedit de l'amour de Dieu," Revue d'ascetique et de mystique 12 
[1931] pp. 370-73).  It is possible that arts. 2 and 3 are parts of the
same text.

3. ff. 53-54r  [Beginning missing?]  //hec sunt puncta fidei tue detur o 
christiane qui puncta cridenciorum [?] in ictu oculi bene scis numerare
puncta vero fidei tue si nosti etiam inplitice [?] numerare.  Expliciunt
articuli fidei.

Unidentified articuli fidei; see art. 2 above.

4. ff. 86v-123v  Incipit cronica fratris martini penitenciarii domini pape et
capellani.  [prologue:]  Quoniam scire tempora summorum pontificum romanorum
ac imperatorum...Quinto de rectoribus et regimine quo profecit.  [text:]
De iiij#o#r regnis maioribus regibus de quibus romanum ultimus fuit.  Sicut
ergo dicit orosius ad beatum augustinum scribens a mundi creacione usque ad
urbem conditam...qui infirmus de affrica processerat in syciliam veniens est
defunctus.  Explicit.

Martinus Strepus, Chronicon pontificum et imperatorum, concluding with
"Ludovicus rex francie" in 1270; Kaeppeli, SOPMA no. 2974, citing Marston
MS 248 [156]).  L. Wieland, ed., MGH Scriptores (1872) v. 22, pp. 397-474;
Marston MS 156 conflates the pope and emperor lists, includes the narration
for the four reigns after the prologue, but lacks the interpolation for
St. Joan.

Parchment (thick), ff. ii (paper) + i (early parchment reinforced with
paper on recto) + 127 + i (f. 128, early parchment reinforced with paper on
verso) + iii (paper), 346 x 250 (272 x 196) mm.  2 columns, 45-46 lines.
Single vertical and single (sometimes double) horizontal lines, full across.
Ruled in lead before folding since text rulings extend through gutter.  Remains
of prickings in upper, lower and outer margins.
I-IV 12, V 8 (lower half of 5 excised), VI-VII 12, VIII 12 (-4), IX-XI 12.
Catchwords, enclosed in rectangular frame and flourishes, center of lower
margin, verso.
Written in good quality gothic bookhand.
Red and blue divided initials, f. 1r (10-line) and f. 86v (9-line), with
floral and linear motifs in parchment.  Running titles, headings in red.
Plain initials, 3- to 2-line, alternate red and blue.  Red and blue 1-line
initials alternate in table of contents.  Majuscules stroked with yellow.
Remains of notes for rubricator.
Binding:  U. S. A., s. xx.  Half-bound in red goatskin with gold-tooled
title on spine ("Martinus Polonus/ Chronicon/ MS c. 1300") and marbled
paper sides.  By the same binder as Marston MS 152.

Written in Germany in the first half of the 14th century to judge from the
script; early provenance unknown.  Folio references added, s. xvi, to the table
in art. 1 and the corresponding sermon numbers and folio references added
in the upper margin on ff. 1-51 (14 and 24 bis); table of contents in
French, s. xix, on f. iv verso.  Purchased from E. P. Goldschmidt of London in
1957 by L. C. Witten (inv. no. 810), who sold it the same year to Thomas
E. Marston (bookplate).

secundo folio:  quicumque

Bibliography:  Faye and Bond, p. 82, no. 156.

Barbara A. Shailor