A collection of fragments from volumes in Worcester Cathedral library, from manuscripts which were subsequently re-used as flyleaves.Additional fragments are in the Bodleian Library and the British Library.

The original manuscripts were probably broken up in the 1520s; fragments have been recovered from volumes bound c. 1527-31, most surviving in Worcester Cathedral.

Fragments of 57 folios survive: fr. ix (2 leaves); x (2); xi (2); xii (1); xiii (4); xviii (2); xix (6); xx (2); xxviii (4); xxix (4); xxx (6); xxxi (1); xxxii (1); xxxiv (4); xxxv (6); xxxix (2); xl (2); xli (1); xlii (1). These come from 10 different manuscripts.

Fragments x, xi, xiii, xxviii, xxxi, xl, xli & xlii form part of 'Worcester 1' (the 'motet book'); fragments ix & xxxv form part of 'Worcester 2' (the 'large-format book'); and fragments xix & xxxii form part of 'Worcester 3' (the 'conductus book') - qq.v.

The remaining fragments (xii, xviii, xx, xxix, xxx, xxxiv & xxxix/1) are each the remains of different manuscripts. Of these, fr. xii is mostly palimpsest & illegible; fr. xxix is 2 bifolia which, though now sewn together, are not consecutive and may be in the wrong order; fr. xxx, b-recto has the old numeration 'IIII'; fr. xxxivA, which contains fragments of polyphony, was recovered from the same book as fr. xxviii but unlike fr. xxviii does not come from 'Worcester 1' (EECM57 contrary to Thomson 2001); fr. xxxivB is from a different source, and monophonic: and fr. xxxix/1 is in Franconian notation.

longs and breves, and the lozenge-shaped notes of the so-called English mensural notation

9-12 red or brown five-line staves per page

ix (2); x (2); xi (2); xii (1); xiii (4); xviii (2); xix (6); xx (2); xxviii (4); xxix (4); xxx (6); xxxi (1); xxxii (1); xxxiv (4); xxxv (6); xxxix (2); xl (2); xli (1); xlii (1)

red-blue initials

Parchment

RISM B/IV 1: A collection of fragments, mostly polyphonic, which were formerly flyleaves in a number of Worcester manuscripts and are now kept in a plain cloth binder. Fragments ix, x, xi, xiii, xxviii, xxxi and xxxv have been dealt with under the ms Oxford, Bodleian Library, Lat. liturg. d. 20. The remaining fragments are xii, xviii, xix, xx, xxix, xxx, xxxii, and xxxiv, meas. respectively 345 x 230 mm, 305 x 210 mm., 276 x 202 mm., 260 x 197 mm., 228 x 168 mm., 100 x 140 mm., 238 x 206 mm., and 109 x 51 mm. at the maximum. In addition, there are 3 binding strips meas. 212 x 33 mm., 286 x 34 mm., and 141 x 36 mm., which are numbered xxxiv a, b and c. Of these three, c is little use and a is not much better; b is a horizontal strip beg.: "te dicat nova tibi promens cantica" on the recto and "-a resultet plectro laudu leta carmine" on the verso. Fragment xxxiv itself is another binding strip of the late 13th century, like the preceding: only 2 voices are visible on the verso and one on the recto. These pieces alone are not transcribed in DittmerWF, perhaps owing to their fragmentary state. They are in English mensural notation. Fragment xii is early 14th century: the recto contains long-breve notation, the verso has groups of semibreves but no minims. Fragment xviii is from the first half of the 13th century according to Dittmer, but perhaps a date in the second half of that century would be more realistic. The notation is of English mensural type again. Fragment xix is more substantial and consists of 3 bifolios, though only half of f. al, bl and cl remains. It dates from the Ars Nova period c. 1330 or a little earlier, but the notation is mainly of long-breve or Petronian type. There is, however, a faded piece in Ars Nova notation on f. al verso, and f. cl verso and c 2 contain odd minims. Fragment xx dates from c. 1300 and again uses long-breve or, on f. 2, English mensural notation. Fragment xxix, which contains several monodies, could well be as early as the mid-13th century, like fragment xxx. An old folio number XIIII appears at t.m.r. on f. a 2. There are 15 staves per page and the notation is of Notre Dame type, except that English mensural traits appear particularly in no. 4. Fragment xxx may in fact belong to the first half of the 13th century with its undifferentiated longs for single notes and its four-line staves. Fragment xxxii dates from the same period as xix and may be from the same original ms.

RISM Supplement:

WORCESTER, CATHEDRAL LIBRARY, ADD. MS 68, FRAGMENT XXXIX/1

s. xiii/xiv

2 fols, (fragmentary; foliated A and B). Parchment. Now 64 X 275 mm. Written space at least 122 mm wide. Ruling: freely-ruled red five-line staves (16-16.5 mm). Collation: a strip cut from the top of a bifolium; the evidence of the gutter is inconclusive, and although the modern foliation of the leaves has been followed here, it may be that B was originally the first of the two leaves. The bifolium has two original sewing-holes, 32 mm apart. Script: an erratic mixture of gothica textualis quadrata, semi-quadrata and sine pedibus. Notation: unstemmed semibreves, without dot of division, used melismatically. Decoration: capitals in text splashed in red, and a red ornament used to fill the gaps in the text underlay. Written in England, probably at Worcester. Used to bind WOc, MS F. 45, a s. xiv copy of Jacobus de Voragine, Legenda sanctorum, in which it was probably the turnover of the front pastedown (now lost). A fragment of the front flyleaf (frag, xxxix/2) survives, on which some notes and stave lines have been offset, together with some fragments of an account, s. xiii. Both fragments were removed in July 1940, when MS F. 45 was rebound by Baylis, Lewis and Co., and were placed in Add. MS 68 in August 1990. MS F. 45 was bound at Worcester, probably s. xv med., in white whittawed leather over bevelled oak boards (see Floyer and Hamilton), with two clasps; this binding was removed in 1940, although the boards, bearing marks from the clasp-pins, were retained. This manuscript may have been written at Worcester, and was in the possession of the Cathedral Priory by s. xv in; fol. lv, 'Liber ecclesie cathedralis beate Marie Wygorn' quem' [breaks off], s. xiv/xv; the verso of the last written folio bears the words 'Iste liber constat dompno Rogero Leyntall monacho Wigorn' ', followed by a list of payments, s. xv in. Other names scribbled s. xv ex. and s. xvi: 'Dompnus Willel-mus Alson', and 'Michael Dangour' (fol. lv); 'Thomas Bocoke', 'William Louyd', 'Thomas Betoll', 'Johannis Morgan', 'Wyllelmus Flacchere' (rear flyleaves). Other scribbles include: 'Nota quod istud adverbium alterutrum singnificat [sic] societatem sive bona fuerit sive mala, per Ion', s. xiv/xv (fol. lv); 'Putt it to no grefe it ys as mucc as to sae as thall a be in the telche', and 'Quam scripsit hoc carmen sit benedictus. amen', s. xv, and a short narrative of a horse theft [?], 'Will b.e here of this ferely. fare how Johanne Reveil tomyde his mare margarit hyllde be halter ...', s. xiv/xv (rear flyleaves). No. 247 in the catalogue of the Cathedral's books made c. 1622 by Patrick Young. I am grateful to Professor William Summers for drawing my attention to this source.

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