On this page, you can learn more about the various medieval legal manuscripts in St John’s College LIbrary. You may also be interested in the Law section of our western post-1500 manuscripts collection.
MS 24
MS 24 is a copy of Justinian’s Digest, a Roman law compendium. This manuscript was produced in England in the thirteenth century. MS 24 has extensive marginal annotations, as you can see on the folio shown here.
MS 53
MS 53 contains a copy of Bartholomew of Pisa’s Summa de casibus, a canon law text. Bartholomew of Pisa, also known as Bartolomeo de San Concordia, was a Dominican canon lawyer (d.1347). MS 53 was produced in England in the mid-fifteenth century.
MS 80
MS 80 is a student notebook produced at the turn of the sixteenth century, possibly in Paris. It includes texts on logic, ethics, law, and mathematics. MS 80 was donated to the college by Thomas Paynell, who is notable for his translations of Erasmus.
MS 125
MS 125 principally contains a copy of Ivo of Chartres’ Panormia, a canon law collection. The manuscript also includes canons of the legatine council of Westminster (1138), London (?1143), and Westminster (1125). MS 125 was produced in England at the end of the twelfth century.
MS 176
MS 176 is a legal miscellany. It comprises seven originally separate manuscripts, variously made in England between the thirteenth and the fourteenth centuries. The sixth manuscript unit contains a register of writs in Anglo-Norman.
MS 256
MS 256, a register of writs, was produced in England in the middle of the fifteenth century. The head of the text, shown here, is impressively decorated. It is preceded by two indexes.
MS 257
MS 257 contains statutes of England, with fully illuminated pages at the head of each reign. The start of the Statutes of Edward IV is shown here. This manuscript was produced in England at the turn of the sixteenth century.
MS 320
MS 320 is an indenture from Immingham, Lincolnshire. This manuscript was produced in the middle of the twelfth century. It has an intact seal, apparently connected with Alice St Quentin.
MS 346
MS 346 is an indenture from twelfth-century England. It was cut with two vellum tags for seals, but the seals themselves are no longer present.