Durham University Library Archives & Special Collections Catalogue
Two gatherings now bound containing an unfinished copy of Jacobus de Cessolis' Liber de ludo scaccorum. Early provenance unknown, given to Bishop Cosin's Library by George Davenport around 1670.
Parchment, some natural edges and flaws (stitched up, f.12); quires with flesh-side outermost.
pencil foliation 7-9 on ff. 13-15, suggesting that the second quire was at one time misbound in the centre of the first quire.
126, 26
Pricking in outer margin. Written space 180-190 x 111-116; ruled in soft brown. 47 long lines.
Written in anglicana, somewhat leftwards leaning, by one hand, apparently the same as in Cathedral MS. B.IV.30.
Paraphs in text and to side notes, red or blue. Initials, to chapters (except I,2 and 3), 3 line, alternately red with infilling and flourishing in mauve, and blue with infilling and flourishing in red.
Rust mark on f.18 as if from fastenings of former binding. Now early 20th century, plain brown morocco by Bramhall & Menzies of Manchester, titled in gold with name of R. Holcot.
Written in England ?, mid 14th century.
The mid 14th century contents list of Cosin MS V.ii.5 ends with “Quidam tractatus de Scaccario”, crossed out later in pencil, and not included in the 17th century list completed by George Davenport, but there is no evidence that this manuscript was ever bound with Cosin MS V.ii.5, which is significantly larger in its dimensions. Given to Cosin's Library presumably by George Davenport, although not in his catalogue: his notes of content, f.ir, iiv, 1r, the first two with attribution to “Robertus Holcoth”, on whom Davenport added notes from Thos. James, Pits and Bale, f. 18r. Ex-libris and shelf numbers, f.1r, by Thomas Rud.
Books i-iii, left unfinished. This copy is closest to MS A in its opening, and the additional passages, p.9, n.40; 10, n.21; 15, n. 22 which begins here “vicarius dauid Ioab filius Saruie cum rabach ciuitatem filiorum amon” (f.9v), 23, n.31 and 25, n.47; II,4 ends here (f.8r) with a reference to “mathanas et filii eius ut ... secundi libri machabeorum narrat historia” not in the edition (p.12). The details of the chapters in the three tracts occur not at the start of the work but at the beginning of each tract (f.1r, 2r, 10v). The text is copied by the same hand, with initials of the same size and similar flourishing as in Durham Cathedral Library MS. B.IV.30 f.157r-175v, of which the text fails on f.173v at the same point as Cosin but has nearly five lines in another hand completing the sentence before the main hand resumes and runs to the foot of f.175r with a catchword. The Cathedral volume belonged to the monks of Durham by the mid 15th century. The original side notes, are as in DCL MS B.IV.30. f.18v blank ruled.
Bloomfield, Morton W., Guyot, Bertrand-Georges, Howard, Donald R. and Kabealo, Thyra B., Incipits of Latin works on the virtues and vices, 1100-1500 A.D. Including a section of incipits of works on the Pater noster 
(Cambridge, Mass.: Mediaeval Academy of America, 1979)
Catalogi veteres librorum Ecclesiae cathedralis
dunelm. Catalogues of the library of Durham cathedral, at
various periods, from the conquest to the dissolution, including
catalogues of the library of the abbey of Hulne, and of the mss.
,
Surtees Society 7, (London: J.B. Nichols and Son, [1838]).
Köpke, E., Jacobus de Cessolis Mitteilungen aus den Handschriften der Ritter-Akademie 2 (Brandenburg an der Havel, 1879)
Newhauser, R. and Bejzcy, I., A supplement to Morton W. Bloomfield et al. Incipits of Latin works on the virtues and vices, 1100-1500 A.D. (Turnhout: Brepols, 2008)