Marston MS 192     Belgium, s. XII med-3/4
Gregory the Great, Homiliae XL in Evangelia

ff. 1r-167v In nomine domini nostri ihesu christi atque salvatoris. in 
hoc uolumine continentur omelie sancti gregorii.  numero. xl. in christi
nomine incipit epistola domini gregorii pape ad episcopum tauromenitanum.
[preface:]  Reuerentissimo et sanctissimo fratri secundino episcopo,
Gregorius seruus seruorum dei.  Inter sacra missarum sollempnia ex his 
que diebus certis in hac ecclesia legi ex more solent,  sancti euangelij
quadraginta lectiones exposui...unde in his que emendate sunt certiores 
fiant. Explicit epistola.  [table of contents, f. 1v:]  Incipiunt capitula
omeliarum.  Omelia sancti euuangelij secundum Lucam.  In illo tempore,  
Dixit ihesus...xx.  Omelia sancti euuangelii secundum Lucam.  Anno xv. 
imperij tyberij cesaris procurante pontio pilato iudeam.  Expliciunt.
[f. 2r:] Lectio sancti euuangelii secundum Lucam.  capitula.  
Capitulum. .i. In illo tempore,  Dixit Ihesus discipulis suis.  Erunt 
signa in sole et luna et stellis...[Luc. 21.25].  Omelia lectionis 
eiusdem beati Gregorij pape.  habita ad populum in basilica sancti Petri 
apostoli.  Dominus ac redemptor noster paratos nos inuenire desiderans.  
senescentem mundum que mala sequantur denuntiat...[f. 72v:]  quam superne
misericordie pignus tenemus. Expliciunt omelie euangelorum numero.  xx.  
in prima parte.  [table:] Incipiunt capitula secunda.  Omelia sancti 
euangelii secundum Marcum.  xxi. In illo tempore.  Maria magdalene.  
et maria iacobi...xl.  Dixit ihesus discipulis suis.  Homo quidam erat 
diues et induebatur purpura et. Secundum Lucam.  [f. 73r:]  Incipiunt 
omelie que maiores uocantur.  numero uiginti.  dominica sancta in pascha.
Lectio sancti euangelij,  secundum marcum.  capitulum  .i. In illo 
tempore,  Maria magdalene.  et maria iacobi...[Mark 16.1].  Omelia 
lectionis eiusdem beati Gregorii pape, habita ad populum in basilica 
sancte marie die sancto pasche.  Multis uobis lectionibus fratres 
karissimi per  dictatum loqui consueui,  sed quia lassescente stomacho...
[concludes in  Sermo XL:]  Sed hec omnipotens deus que per me in 
uestris auribus  loquitur.  per se in uestris mentibus loquatur,//  
A later hand,  s. xvii-xviii, has completed the text by adding the 
formulaic ending: qui uiuit et regnat cum patre in vnitate spiritus 
sancti deus. per omnia secula seculorum amen.  Explicit omelia.

	Gregory the Great, Homeliae XL in Evangelia, ending imperfectly
and missing text in Sermo XXVI (between ff. 138-139):  "...quia
nonumquam ipsi qui ei per fidem sub- // perceperat.  prodige expendit,
postquam esurire cepit..."; PL 76.1075-1312.
	
	Parchment, ff. v (paper) + 167 + v (paper), 291 x 187 (214 x 130) 
mm. Written in 27 long lines.  Single vertical and double horizontal 
(for lines 1, 3, 25, 27) bounding lines.  Ruled in lead.  Prickings in 
lower margin.
	I-XVII 8, XVIII 8 (-3, 4 between ff. 138-139), XIX-XXI 8, XXII 2 
(-2, with loss of text). Quires signed with Roman numerals surrounded 
by dots and with abbreviation stroke for -us, center of lower margin, 
verso.
	Written in an elegant late caroline minuscule script.
	One large initial, f. 1r, 8-line, in red ink, filled with stylized 
scrolls issuing from the mouth of a fantastic bird.  5-line incipit, 
f. 1r, in rows of majuscules:  red, red, black, green, red.  Numerous 
other initials, 7- to 4-line, in blue, red or green, some with stylized 
leaf terminals and interior arabesque designs on parchment ground.  
Small initials, 1-line, alternate blue, red, and green for tables of 
contents.  Headings (often crowded into inadequate space left by scribe) 
and running headlines in red.
	Upper corner of f. 75 torn affecting text; many leaves neatly 
repaired.
	Binding:  Broadway, Worcestershire, England, 1911, by Katherine 
Adams (fl. 1901-45; note of Sir Sydney Cockerell on back pastedown).
Green goatskin with gold-tooling on the turn-ins and gold-tooled title 
on spine:  "Gregorii/ Magni/ Homiliae/ XL de/ Diuersis/ Evangelii/ 
Lectionibus" and "MS. Saec. XII."

Written in the middle to third-quarter of the 12th century at the 
Cistercian abbey of Villars, founded in 1146 in the diocese of Liege; 
although the manuscript was rebound while in the possession of Sir 
Sydney Cockerell, inscriptions from its earlier binding have been pasted
inside the back cover: "Villarie" (s. xvi); "Ad Villarium [remainder 
illegible]" (s. xvii-xviii); "462" (s. xviii-xix).  Marston MS 192 can
perhaps be identified with the "Omelie beati Gregorii pape" listed in 
an early 14th-century catalogue of the abbey published by H. Schuermans, 
"Bibliotheque de l'Abbaye de Villers," Annales de la Societe 
archeologique et folklorique de Nivelles... 6 (1898) p. 202.  The 
manuscript was still being used during the 15th-16th centuries when 
certain passages were marked in the margin "In refectorio" and accents
were added to the text to aid pronunciation (e.g., f. 20r).  Belonged to 
Sir Thomas Phillipps (no. 6932); Phillipps sale (Sotheby's, 30 April 1903)
to Quaritch from whom it was acquired in September 1907 by Sir Sydney 
Cockerell who then signed and dated it after it was rebound:  
"Sydney C. Cockerell/Cambridge/ Aug. 20 1911."  When Cockerell bought the
volume the Gregory text was bound with Ps.-Origen, Homilia de lectione
Maria stabat  monumentum (6 ff.), in what Cockerell described as a 
"shabby brown calf of the 18th century with brass rim and clasp 
lettered HOMELIA D. Gregory" [note on front pastedown]; for a 
description of the Ps-Origen manuscript see H. P. Kraus, Cat. 165 
Cimelia, 1983, no. 36.  Sold privately by Cockerell on 21 February 
1957 to Dawson's. For more information on Cockerell's collection see 
C. de Hamel, "Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts from the Library 
of Sir Sydney Cockerell (1867-1962)," The British Library Journal 
13.2 (1987) pp. 186-210 (Marston MS 192 listed on p. 201, no. 53). 
Purchased in 1958 from C. A. Stonehill (inv. no. 10498) by Thomas E. 
Marston (bookplate).

secundo folio:  In illo

Bibliography:  Faye and Bond, p. 86, no. 192.
	Leclercq, 1961, pp. 163-64.

Barbara A. Shailor