MS 230: Sermons

Archive Unit
  • This material is held at
  • Reference
      GB 473 MS230
  • Dates of Creation
      England, 18th c.; ca. 1790?
  • Language of Material
      English
  • Physical Description
      Support (paper) 157 x 91 mm. Text area: typically 150 x 87 mm. Fol. i + 122 + i leaves. (1 later pencil sequence of foliation in top right of each recto from fol. 1: 122 leaves; also an apparently integral series of foliations on the top left verso of fols 2-42: 2-31 leaves 32-33 pages 34-35 [2] 1-2 2-3 [1] 5 leaves). Binding: Contemporary dark calf over pasteboard. Double blind fillet border, and similar panel, with interior ornament, and exterior foliate corner ornaments Spine divided into 5 compartments by 4 raised bands, with shelfmark stamped in gilt in top compartment. Heavily repaired in dark calf. Binding dimensions 162 x 112 mm.

Scope and Content

Book of sermons, apparently compiled in the 18th c.

1. Fols 1r-122v: Sermons. English. Chiefly in two 18th c. hands: the first, larger, hand appearing on 1v-2v, and then only on versos to 42v, most versos remaining blank after this point, except at 32r where it also appears on the recto; the second, smaller, hand appearing on 1r, then only on rectos until 114r, after which most pages are blank, except at fols 73-74 and fols 109-113, where it also appears on the versos. Written in long lines with ca. 12 lines to a page for hand 1, and ca. 33-35 lines to a page for hand 2. Divisions from captions as follows:

  • a. Fol.1. Prayers in three hands. Of the two prayers on 1r, the first is in hand 2, the second in a hand that appears nowhere else. The prayer on 1v is in hand 1.
  • b. Fols 2r-35v, from fol. 3 only on versos. Sermon on Psalms 16, v. 9. [fol. 36v blank].
  • c. Fols 3r-32r, rectos only. "Of Obedience. Serm. 3d.", James 2, v. 14.
  • d. Fols 33r-49r, rectos only. Sermon on Exodus 20, v. 13-15.
  • e. Fols 37v-42v, versos only. Sermon on 2 Corinthians Bk 5, v. 10.
  • f. Fols 50r-62r, rectos only. Sermon on Exodus 20, v. 16-17.
  • g. Fols 63r-76r, rectos only. Sermon on Exodus 20, v. 17, with additional notes/insert? on fols 73v & 74v.
  • h. Fols 63r-76r, rectos only. Sermon on Exodus 20, v. 17, with additional notes/insert? on fols 73v & 74v.
  • i. Fols 77r-91r, rectos only. Sermon on Matthew 6, v. 9.
  • j. Fols 92r-100r, rectos only. Sermon on Matthew 6, v. 11-12.
  • k. Fols 101r-114r, rectos only until 109v. Sermon on Matthew 6, v. 12-13. [fols 114v-122v blank].

Access Information

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Acquisition Information

20th c. bookplate of St John's College, Oxford, on front pastedown, with black-inked shelfmark.

Conditions Governing Use

This catalogue entry derives from Stewart Tiley's unpublished descriptive catalogue of the post-1500 western manuscripts at St John's College, Oxford (2018). This entry was uploaded to ArchivesHub in April 2023 as part of the St John's College Library digitization project. To learn more about the project and to find digital resources, please visit the Digital Library

Custodial History

Inscription top right corner of front pastedown: "G.H. Dec. 6. 1790". Previous shelf mark? top left "A/F[?]". Scribbles, flourishes and fragments on fols 1r and 122v.