The Works of Samuel Presbiter

An in-progress collection of the writings of Samuel Presbiter (fl. 1200), a student of Master William de Montibus in Lincoln, encoded using EpiDoc, from two manuscripts of the Benedictine abbey of Bury St Edmunds (Cambridge, Pembroke College, MS 115 and Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS Bodley 860). This material supports a forthcoming edition of Collecta ex diuersis auditis in scola magistri Willelmi de Monte (Notes from the School of Master William de Montibus).

The texts here are working editions, and are still being checked. They have been made public on the grounds that, while imperfect, they are more accessible than anything else currently available. Corrections and other contributions are most welcome.

A transcription of Hugh of St Victor's De quinque septenis is also provided to provide a reference for De oratione dominica, which is based on it.

Material may be freely reused under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International Licence (CC BY-SA).

Cambridge, Pembroke College, MS 115

• Collecta ex speculo beati Gregorii cum uersibus (fols. 1r–41v), verses with a formal prose commentary in the style of Collecta ex diuersis auditis
  • tit. Hec collecta sunt ex speculo beati Gregorii.
  • prose inc. De inani gloria in obedientia
  • verse inc. Ex septem uiciis capitalibus exoriuntur
  • prose exp. nec ortum iam nec occasum solis agnosco.
  • verse exp. Occasum solis in se prospicit ortum.
  • exp. tit. Expliciunt collecta ex speculo beati Gregorii cum uersibus.
• De oratione dominica (fols. 41v–44v), a versification of Hugh of St Victor's De quinque septenis (verses interspersed with extracts from the work). Followed in the manuscript by a repetition of the opening prose of Collecta ex speculo beati Gregorii cum uersibus on 44v–45r, later cancelled.
  • tit. De oratione dominica, silicet Pater noster.
  • prose inc. Septem sunt uicia capitalia siue principalia
  • verse inc. Quam Cristus docuit oratio quinque petitiis
  • prose exp. sanitates beatitudines felicitatis gaudium
  • verse exp. Et bene sonato felicia gaudia confert.
• four short compositions (fols. 45r–46r) consisting of verses with a formal prose commentary in the style of Collecta ex diuersis auditis
  1. Est proprium domini mentem bene pacificare (8 lines)
  2. Est uagus hic cuius animus non recta cupiscit (2 lines)
  3. Flos bonus est actus hoc est spes fulgor odorque (12 lines)
  4. Multiplex hominis pacientia dicitur esse, tit. ‘De patientia’ (2 lines)
• Collecta ex speculo beati Gregorii sine uersibus (fols. 47r–77r), in prose
  • tit. Hec sunt collecta ex speculo beati Gregorii sine uersibus.
  • inc. Deum timere est nulla que facienda sunt bona preterire
  • exp. nec terrore pene sed amore iusticie.
  • exp. tit. Expliciunt collecta Samuelis Presbiteri

Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS Bodley 860

• A verse paraphrase of Psalm 1 (fols. 1r–8v), written with informal glosses. Previously discussed with a partial edition by Greti Dinkova-Bruun, ‘Samuel Presbyter and the Glosses to his Versification of Psalm 1: An Anti-Church Invective?’, in Florilegium mediaevale: Études offertes à Jacqueline Hamesse à l’occasion de son éméritat, ed. José Francisco Meirinhos and Olga Weijers, Textes et études du moyen âge 50 (Louvain-la-Neuve: Fédération Internationale des Instituts d’Études Médiévales, 2009), 155–74.
  • title Beatus uir qui non abiit in consilio impiorum.
  • incipit Qui non consiliis abiit que suasit iniquus
  • explicit Pena feretur ei delectari cupienti.
• Collecta ex auditis super psalmos in scola magistri Willelmi de Monte (fols. 9r–93v), an incomplete prose commentary on the Psalms. The text of fol. 9r is printed by Joseph Goering, William de Montibus (c. 1140–1213): The Schools and the Literature of Pastoral Care, Studies and Texts 108 (Toronto: Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, 1992), 501–3.
  • tit. Hec collecta sunt ex auditis super psalmos in scola magistri Willelmi de Monte.
  • inc. Non sic impii. Dicendo bis ‘non sic’, duo superius attributa beato
  • exp. Ecclesia semper est (catchword: inter malleum et incudem)
• Collecta ex diuersis auditis in scola magistri Willelmi de Monte (fols. 94r–107v), a collection of verses with a formal prose commentary. Excerpts from this text were previously printed by Goering, William de Montibus, 508–14.
  • tit. Hec collecta sunt ex diuersis auditis in scola magistri Willelmi de Monte.
  • prose inc. Duo necessaria sunt ad hoc ut aliquid uideatur usu corporeo
  • verse inc. Nulli cernentur oculis que subicientur
  • prose exp. Fidelitate, Accelerat⟨i⟩o⟨n⟩e, Caritate
  • verse exp. Redditioque notent circum ueho demo cauefac
• Collecta ad habendam memoriam quorumdam utilium in sacra scriptura (fols. 108r–206v), a collection of verses with informal glosses in the same style as the paraphrase of Psalm 1
  • tit. Hec collecta sunt ad habendam memoriam quorumdam utilium in sacra scriptura. Et eorum quedam sumpta sunt a uerbis expositionum ewangeliorum, et quedam ab ipsis uerbis ewangelicis, et quedam ab aliis uerbis necessariis ad salutem anime. Et hec composita sunt post dicessum a scola.
  • inc. Leprosum tetigit Cristus sic omnia munda
  • exp. Migrent a mundo translati fine beato.
  • exp. tit. Expliciunt collecta Samuelis Presbiteri.