David Laing, eminent historian, antiquary and bibliographer, was the second son of the Edinburgh bookseller William Laing (1764-1832) and his wife Helen Kirk, and was born on 20 April 1793. He was educated at the Canongate Grammar School and later on attended Greek classes at the University of Edinburgh. At the age of fourteen, he became apprenticed to his father who, at the time, was the only bookseller in Edinburgh dealing in foreign literature. Laing was able, occasionally, to travel abroad in search of rare or curious books. In 1821, he became a partner in his father's business and throughout his life he was an avid collector of manuscripts and rescued many from destruction. The first published work of his own was Auctarium Bibliothecae Edinburgenae sive Catalogus Librorum quos Gulielmus Drummondus ab Hawthornden D.D.Q. Anno 1627 (1815). Among other works, Laing also reprinted Thomas Craig's Epithalamium on the marriage of Darnley and Mary Stuart (1821). When Sir Walter Scott founded the Bannatyne Club in 1823 for the printing of material and tracts relating to Scottish history and literature, Laing - a friend of Scott's - became Secretary of the Club and chief organiser until its dissolution in the 1860s. Laing was also associated with the Abbotsford Club, the Spalding Club, and the Wodrow Society, each of which had been set up for the publication of manuscripts and for the revival of old texts. When the keepership of the Advocates' Library fell vacant in 1818, Laing was a candidate but was not elected. He became Keeper of the Library to the Society of Writers to Her Majesty's Signet, a post which he occupied from 1837 until his death. On his appointment to the post, he gave up his business as a bookseller and disposed of the stock in a public sale. Laing died at Portobello, in Edinburgh, on 18 October 1878.
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MS 180 contains a part of the Alexandreis, an epic poem by twelfth-century author, Walter of Châtillon. Walter's epic of Alexander the Great is written in hexameter verse and became a popular text in the Middle Ages. Written in the 1180s after Walter returned to France following his degree in law at the university of Bologna, the Alexandreis was requested by William, Archbishop of Rheims. This connection is explicit in the...
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The manuscript is an antiphoner, a liturgical book intended for use in the liturgical choir. It is written in Latin, dates from the 15th-16th century, and is of Italian origin. The use is that of Rome.Starting on f.1v, the manuscript mostly consists of noted Anthems and Psalms for the year, beginning in Advent (Roman Use)Hymns start on f.204v. They include First Saturday in Advent at Vespers; Vigil of the Nativity at Vespers,...
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This 15th century manuscript is a copy of an astronomical text known as the Theorica Planetarum, which was incredibly popular in the medieval period, and survives in over 200 manuscript copies. There has been much debate on the authorship of this text, and it has been attributed to Robert Grosseteste, and also Gerard of Cremona. However, it seems most likely that this text, of which MS 128 is a copy, is the work of an anonymous teacher of astronomy from about...
Scope and Contents
This two-volume bible contains the complete text of the Vulgate, except Psalms. There is no prologue to Wisdom.The first volume contains the books from Genesis to Isaiah 65:3 and ends with the words ad iracundiam pravocat me ante faciem meam. The second volume begins from Isaiah 65:3 with the words semper qui immolant in hortis et sacrificant super...
Scope and Contents
The manuscript contains the complete text of the Vulgate. The order of books of the Old Testament is unusual: chapter 15 of Leviticus is found at the end of the book of Esther with an explanatory
rubric; Lamentations and Baruch precede Jeremiah instead of coming after it; the Letter of Jeremiah,...
Scope and Contents
Book of Hours in Latin from the 15th century, of French origin. The Use is not identified, but is not Besançon or Clermont. It may be peculiar to the Abbey of S. Claude, Condat, to which both Kalendar and Litany particularly belong (see the local saints reported under their respective headings).Golden Numbers: on fly-leaf. These are numbers assigned to each year in sequence in a 19-years cycle and are used in order to calculate the date of Easter. Each number...
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The manuscript is a Book of Hours and Prayer Book from the 15th century. It originated in Germany, possibly in Schleswig. All the prayers are for a masculine owner.The Kalendar starts on f.1r. Some entries in the Kalendar that may reflect the manuscript’s provenance are as follows. 30 January: Aldegonde, Virgin; 17 March: Gertrude, Virgin; 3 June: Erasmus, Martyr; 4 July, Odalrici (Ulrich), Martyr; 8 July: Kilian, Martyr; 11 July: Ketillus, Confessor (of...
Scope and Contents
Book of Hours in Latin from the 16th century, of Italian provenance. The Use is that of Rome. It was probably copied in Bologna and the Kalendar also seems to support this origin (see local saints reported).The scribe has written the Greek word telos ('end') at the end of the Hours of the Virgin (f. 119v), Penitential Psalms (f. 122v) and Office of the...
Scope and Contents
Book of Hours in Latin from the 15th century following the Use of Sarum.Kalendar with Astronomical Tables: the months of the Kalendar start on f. 1r and always appear on the recto, the tables start on f. 1v and always appear on the verso.Additions to the Kalendar are all by one 15th century hand and show a connection with Yorkshire in this period. They are: 8 April Matrimonium factum fuit inter Johannem filium Briani...
Scope and Contents
Book of Hours in Latin from the 15th century following the Use of Sarum. It was probably written for use in the diocese of Lincoln, but the illumination is French, and possibly the hand also (see local saints in the Kalendar for the connection with Lincoln).Kalendar: starts on f. 1r. Contains commemorations of Saints and Martyr, and other festivities (the most important are written in red). Miniatures illustrate activities linked to the season.The...
