Nowell Codex
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Cotton Vitellius A. xv is one of the four major Anglo-Saxon poetic codices. It is most famous as the manuscript containing the unique copy of the epic poem Beowulf; in addition to this it contains the poem Judith and several prose works.
It is held by the British Library with the rest of the Cotton collection.
Contents |
[edit] Name and date
The current codex is a composite of at least two manuscripts. The main division is into two totally distinct books which were apparently not bound together until the 17th century. The first of these dates from the 12th century and contains four works of prose. It is the second, older manuscript that is famous.
This second MS is popularly known as the Nowell codex, after Laurence Nowell, whose name is inscribed on its first page; he was apparently its owner in the mid-16th century. It was then acquired by Sir Robert Cotton, from whom its current designation comes. Due to the fame of Beowulf, it is also sometimes known simply as the Beowulf manuscript.
The Nowell codex is generally dated around the turn of the first millennium; it has usually been assigned to the late 10th century, though some recent editions have preferred the very early 11th century instead.
[edit] Damage
Vitellius A. xv was heavily damaged in 1731 when a fire partially destroyed the Cotton library. While the volume itself survived, the edges of the pages were badly scorched; no serious attempt at restoration was made until the 19th century, by which time the margins had crumbled irreparably, and the edges of many pages are now illegible.
[edit] Contents
[edit] First codex
The first codex contains four works of Old English prose: a copy of Alfred's translation of Augustine's Soliloquies, a translation of the Gospel of Nicodemus, the prose Solomon and Saturn, and a fragment of a life of Saint Quentin.
[edit] Second codex
The second codex begins with three prose works: a life of Saint Christopher, Marvels of the East (a description of various far-off lands and their fantastic inhabitants), and a translation of a letter of Alexander to Aristotle.
These are followed by Beowulf, which takes up the bulk of the volume, and Judith, a poetic retelling of part of the book of Judith; this latter work appears to be a later addition to the manuscript.
The somewhat eclectic contents of this codex have led to much critical debate over why these particular works were chosen for inclusion. One theory which has gained considerable currency is that the compiler(s) saw a thematic link: all five works deal to some extent with monsters or monstrous behaviour.
[edit] See also
[edit] Further reading
Kiernan, Kevin. Beowulf and the Beowulf Manuscript. Revised edition. Ann Arbor, U of Michigan P. 1996. Originally published by Rutgers, State University of New Jersey Press, 1981.
