Beinecke MS 598
England, s. XIII 2
Dares Phrygius, Geoffrey of Monmouth, etc.

1. ff. 1r-14r	Incipit epistola Cornelii Nepotis ad Salustium Crispum.  Cornelius Nepos Salustio 
Crispo suo salutem. Cum multa Athenis curiose ago, inveni historiam Daretis Frigii ipsius manu 
scriptam, ut titulus indicat, que de Grecis et Troianis memorie commendavit ... Incipit 
**************.  Pelias rex in Peloponense fratrem Hesonem habuit. Hesonis filius erat Iason ... 
quem omnis etas circiter MMM CCCC secuta est hominum. Anthenorem secuti sunt MM D, 
Andromagem M CC. Huc usque Daretis historia perscripta fuit. [f. 13v :] Quis Troianorum quem 
Grecorum occiderit : Hector Prothesilaum, Patroclum, Merionem ... Diomedes Xantippum, 
Nestem, Ptenorem, Horcomeneum, Palamonem, Epistropum, Scidium.

Dares Phrygius, De excidio Troiae historia, in the Latin translation ascribed to Cornelius Nepos. 
F. Meister, ed., Teubner (Leipzig, 1873), pp. 1-52, followed by the lists of those killed by the 
heroes on both sides, ed. in a somewhat different version ibid., pp. IX-X.

2. ff. 14r-101v		Incipit prefatio Gaufridi Monemutensis in hystoriam Britonum. Dum 
mecum multa et de multis sepius animo revolvens in historiam regum Britannie inciderem, in 
mirum contuli quod infra mentionem, quam de eis Gildas et Beda luculento tractatu fecerant, 
nichil de regibus qui ante Incarnationem Christi inhabitaverant, nichil etiam de Arturo ceterisque 
quampluribus qui post Incarnationem successerunt, repperissem ... [f. 14v :] Opusculo igitur meo, 
Roberte, dux Claudiocestrie, faveas ... [text, heading illegible:] Britannia insularum optima in 
Occidentali Occeano inter Galliam et Hyberniam sita, DCCC milia in longum, CC vero in latum 
continens, quidquid mortalium usui congruit indeficienti fertilitate ministrat ... cum non habeant 
librum Britannici sermonis, quem Walterus Oxenefordensis archidiaconus ex Britannia advexit, 
quem de historia eorum veraciter editum in honore predictorum principum hoc modo in Latinum 
sermonem transferre curavi. Explicit historia de regibus *******  a Galfrido Monemutensi *****.

Geoffrey of Monmouth (Galfredus Monemutensis, d. 1154), Historia regum Britanniae, A.  
Griscom, ed. (London, New York, Toronto, 1929), pp. 219-535??; E. Faral, ed.,
La legende 
arthurienne. Etudes et documents, v. 3. Bibliotheque de l'Ecole des Hautes Etudes. Sciences 
historiques et philologiques, v. 257 (Paris, 1929), pp. 71-303. Our manuscript is mentioned in  
J.C. Crick, The Historia regum Britannie of  Geoffrey of Monmouth. A Summary Catalogue of the 
Manuscripts (Cambridge, 1989), pp. 211-212, no. 129. 

3. f. 102r	Incipit genealogia Normannorum [heading on f. 101v]. Normanni origine Dani 
DCCCø LXXXø VIø ab Incarnatione Domini anno duce quodam Rollone nomine a Scithia 
Inferiori egressi atque per Occeanum vecti  ... Willelmus Nothus filius eius. Hic Angliam 
conquisivit. Willelmus filius eius. Heinricus frater eius. Explicit genealogia Normannorum.

The running title is De origine Normannorum. Short history of Normandy up to Henry I, King of 
England and Duke of Normandy (d. 1135). The main part of this text derives from Hugh of 
Saint-Victor (Hugo de Sancto Victore, d. 1141), Excerptiones allegoricae, X, 10 (PL 177.284) 
and is followed by a short list of  Dukes of Normandy.

4. ff. 102v-105v	Incipiunt quedam miracula venerabilis patris nostri Benedicti a quodam 
huius monasterii monacho in richtmate edita, ut, si quis patris eiusdem vitam et miracula, que 
omni monacho debent esse notissima, per compendium vult recolere, hec studeat frequenter legere 
et ad incitamentum spiritualis exercitii tenaci memorie commendare. Nam non decet filium patris 
vitam ignorare [heading on f. 102r]. Totus orbis gratuletur, sed precipue letetur monachorum 
contio, festa patris precellentis Benedicti pure mentis agens cum tripudio ... ut in celi regione 
gaudeamus, pastor bone, post occasum obitus. Amen. [f. 103r:] Item de eodem venerabili patre. 
Benedicat omni die Benedictum qui se pie per hunc gaudet vivere ... Benedic nos, Benedicte, 
ductor fortis et invicte, in extremo exitu. Amen. [f. 103v:] Item de eodem venerabili patre. Omni 
benedictione spiritali, Ihesu bone, ditas in celestibus Benedictum, fortem ducem, benedictionis 
lucem, per quem fundis pluribus ... et in vite termino non descendat ad infernum, sed te duce in 
eternum benedicat Domino. Amen. [f. 104r:] Si quis corpus beati Benedicti, quod apud Floriacum 
adoratur, visitaverit et caput eiusdem venerabilis patris, quod ibidem in parte nudum ostenditur, 
**** deosculatus fuerit, potest plates (?) de eodem venerabili patre memoriam sic agere. Laudo 
nomen Salvatoris, qui me mei preceptoris caput dedit cernere ... [f. 104v:] Antiphona. O solari 
radio maius luminare, quod nox nulla vicii potuit fuscare ... Versiculus. Sapientis oculi in capite 
eius [Ecclesiasticus 2:14]. Collecta. Tocius ecclesie caput et rector misericors Deus, qui michi 
indigno benedictissimi patris nostri Benedicti corpus adorare et caput ipsius nudum cernere et 
deosculari concessisti ... Ad altare Dei dum accedis, dicere potes si placet. Benedicte, dux 
preclare, Dei mei ad altare mecum nunc introeas ... Item alia oratio. Benedicte, pater, veni, et nos 
in extremis leni sacre precis unguine ... ut ab hoste liberetur angelisque societur per te noster 
spiritus. Amen. [f. 105r:] Benedictus Dominus, dator gratiarum, / Qui te nobis contulit speculum 
preclarum, / Cuius in intuitu maculas culparum / Emundemus fluvio iugi lacrimarum ... Que per te 
plurium solvit maledicta / Tue sacre regule exequi edicta, / Adiuvet nos Trinitas summe benedicta. 
Amen. **************** [explicit formula illegible]

Three poems on the miracles of St. Benedict, followed by rimed liturgical prayers to be said in 
the presence of the relics of the saint, and another poem on St. Benedict. All seem unrecorded. 
Except the last text, all are written as prose. The relics in question were  preserved in Fleury-sur-
Loire.


Parchment, ff. I + 105 + I , 270 x 185 mm. Irregular lower edges; a large hole at the outer top 
corner of f. 21.

I-XII 8 (ff. 1-96), XIII 8 (+ 1 singleton, f. 105; ff. 97-105). Horizontal catchwords at right.

Pricked in the four margins and ruled with lead for two columns of  29 lines below top line. 
Ruling type 43, but all horizontal lines cross the intercolumnar space and many of them extend 
far into the margins, 190 x 120 mm., intercolumnar space 17 mm.

Carefully copied by one hand in Northern Gothica Textualis Libraria.

Headings and running titles in red, many now poorly legible. Heightening of majuscules in red. 
Large decorated Romanesque initials, red or green,  at the head of artt. 1 and 2; 2- or 3-line plain 
initials alternately in red and blue and 1-line initials in the same colours in the middle of the text 
in art. 2; on f. 91r, at the beginning of Book XI, there is a 3-line flourished initial in blue with red 
penwork, which may be added later. 3-line red plain initial at the beginning of art. 3. 2-line 
initials in art. 4, of the same kind as in artt. 1-2.

Binding s. XVIII: sprinkled calf over cardboard; the covers have gilt edges.

This manuscript, which from the beginning contained all four texts described above, was copied 
in a Benedictine abbey (see art. 4), which as appears from the handwriting was situated in 
England. On the front fly-leaf r the s. XVIII inscription "John Barwick" and the number "62". 
Bookplate of Sir Edward Cholmondeley Dering. The Cholmondeley library was sold at 
Sotheby's 3 Dec.  1811. The manuscript was offered for sale by Maggs Brothers in 1952. 
Collection of Norman Holmes Pearson, Yale 1932, MS 268. Bequest of Norman Holmes 
Pearson, 1976.

Albert Derolez

R 04.06.08