Corpus Christi College : Natural Philosophy

Corpus Christi College

<p style='text-align: justify;'>Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, MS 456 is a composite manuscript, with all of its parts probably deriving from manuscripts written in England in the late 14th century. A miscellany with a focus on the natural sciences, mathematics, and reading and research, the manuscript contains several widely-known medieval texts, including Iohannes de Sacro Bosco's <i>Treatise on the Sphere</i>, a popular text on computus known as the <i>Compotus manualis</i>, Alexander de Villa Dei's <i>Algorismus</i>, a previously unidentified copy of Simon Bredon's <i>Theorica planetarum</i>, an anoymous treatise on the planets, Richard de Bury's <i>Philobiblon</i>, and pseudo-Aristotle, <i>Secreta secretorum</i>. It also contains a short poem on music theory on p. <a href='' onclick='store.loadPage(209);return false;'>203</a> and a medical recipe for stomach problems on the same leaf. </p><p style='text-align: justify;'> It is not clear when all of the originally separate parts of this manuscript were brought together, but they must all have been together by the late 16th century, since the contents list on p. <a href='' onclick='store.loadPage(8);return false;'>2</a> written by Archbishop Parker or one of his circle refers to texts in each of the originally separate parts of the volume.</p><p style='text-align: justify;'>Dr Sarah Gilbert<br /> Project Cataloguer for the Curious Cures Project<br /> Cambridge University Library</p>