The antiquary Robert Finch (1783-1830) graduated from Balliol College, Oxford, and was ordained in 1807. In 1814 he went abroad to Europe and the Holy Land, and for several years before his death he lived in Rome. He bequeathed his library, pictures, coins and medals to the Ashmolean Museum. In 1918 it was agreed that his books and manuscripts should come to the Bodleian Library, with the exception of certain books in foreign languages and dealing with archaeology and the fine arts. The manuscripts were transferred to the Bodleian in 1921. The post-medieval manuscripts and personal papers are described as nos. 46792 - 46872 in the New Summary Catalogue.
| Shelfmark | MS. Finch e. 25 |
| Summary Catalogue no. | 46848 (brief notice); full description unpublished, only available in Library |
| Summary of contents | New Testament. |
| Language | Latin |
| Origin | English, St. Albans (?) |
| Date | c. 1200 |
| Material | parchment |
| Decoration | |
| Good borders, initials. (P&A iii. 284) | |
| Provenance | Anathema of Fabian, sub-prior of St. Albans; Henry Georges Dobyns Yate, St. John's Coll., Cambridge (bookplate), signed & dated 1774; bequeathed to the Taylorian by Robert Finch in 1830; transferred to the Bodleian in 1918. |
| Images | |
| Manuscript image | fol. 77r Text page with red, green and blue initials. |
| Bibliography | |
| 1994 | |
| Josef Riedmaier, Die "Lambeth-Bibel": Struktur und Bildaussage einer englischen Bibelhandschrift des 12. Jahrhunderts (Europäische Hochschulschriften, Reihe XXVIII, Kunstgeschichte, Bd. 218), Frankfurt am Main, etc.: Peter Lang, 1994, p. 342 | |
| 1982 | |
| R. M. Thomson, Manuscripts from St. Albans Abbey 1066-1235, 1982, I, 32, 54, 60-61, 63, 104 no. 45; II, pls. 208-211 | |
| Shelfmark | MS. Finch g. 1 |
| Summary Catalogue no. | 46849 (brief notice); full description unpublished, only available in Library |
| Summary of contents | Book of Hours. Use of Rome. |
| Language | Latin |
| Origin | Italian, Florence |
| Date | 15th century, middle |
| Material | parchment |
| Decoration | |
| Fine miniature, borders, historiated and other initials. (P&A ii. 243, pl. XXII). | |
| Gold KL monograms with red and blue penwork in the calendar. 3- to 5-line historiated initials and borders (see below). 3- to 6-line initials with gold backgrounds, decorated with floral designs, and borders with floral designs and gold disks. 2-line gold initials with coloured backgrounds, with geometric and floral designs. 2-line initials with penwork. | |
| fol. 17r | |
| Title | The Office of the Virgin. Matins. |
| Type | initial D; full border |
| Subject | Initial: Virgin and Child. Border: acanthus leaves, floral designs, gold disks, bird. Lower margin: a wreath with a coat of arms (azure three goats argent placed two and one, Orlandini, Florence (?), dimidiating Vettori of Florence). |
| fol. 156r | |
| Title | Penetential Psalms. |
| Type | initial D; full border |
| Subject | Crowned King David, playing psaltery. Border: acanthus leaves, floral designs, gold disks, bird, putto. |
| fol. 194r | |
| Title | The Office of the Dead. Vespers. |
| Type | initial D; full border |
| Subject | Death (skull and shoulders). Border: acanthus leaves, floral designs, gold disks, bird. |
| fol. 266v | |
| Title | The Office of the Passion. Vespers. |
| Type | full border |
| Subject | Christ with cruciform halo, right hand blessing, left hand holding cross-staff with banner, standing in the tomb. |
| fol. 267r | |
| Title | The Office of the Passion. Vespers. |
| Type | initial D; full border |
| Subject | The Man of Sorrows. Half-figure of Christ with cruciform halo, crown of thorns, and wounds. Border: acanthus leaves, floral designs, gold disks. |
| fol. 318v | |
| Title | The Office of the Cross. Matins. |
| Type | initial P; border, upper, left and lower margins |
| Subject | The loop of the initial frames a gold cross on dark-red background with arabesque designs. Border: acanthus leaves, floral designs, gold disks, bird. |
| Provenance | Arms of Orlandini (?), dimidiating Vettori, both of Florence. |
| Images | |
| Manuscript image | fol. 17r Text page with floral border, initial and arms. Initial 'D' with Virgin and Child. Arms: azure three goats argent placed two and one, Orlandi, Florence(?), dimidiating Vettori of Florence. |
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