Described Hardwick & Luard: iii.726–8. Illustrations of ff. 11v, 14, and 17 in L. E. Voigts, ‘Scientific and Medical Books’ in Griffiths & Pearsall pp. 368 and 378.

[1]

f. 1

In sekyng ouʒte of þe sothenes of this crafte þat men callen alkemye 3 maner of condicions þer muste be knowen summe condicions of þem ben callede materialis and sum formales and sum preceptualis condiciones materialis ben all the þynges þat þe wercke standes bye as be bodyes of metals sperytes saltes stonys floures …

f. 15v

… and when it is molton menge wiþ hym crocum ferry and anon it schall be tornede into water or els menge it togeder upon …

The abbreviated form of Jesus, and the sign of the cross, are set in place of a heading on f. 1. Ends defectively due to loss of leaves from MS. With various drawings of alchemical apparatus labelled in English. Albertus Magnus, Mirror of Light. Singer no. 183 ii. Wells Rev. 10:3802 [183] where the foliation is wrongly given as 1–34v. For the drawings see Voigts ‘Scientific’ in Griffiths & Pearsall p. 368 illus. 51, discussion p. 372; for the text see p. 378 illus. 61.

Other texts: Wells Rev. lists 6 MSS of the prose treatise, but only 2 seem clearly related to this MS: BL Sloane 513, ff. 155–68; and a MS already indexed, for which see IMEP 11 indexing Camb. Trinity Col R.14.45 [10]. Copenhagen, Royal Library, Old Royal Collection 248 contains a collection of five alchemical recipes with the heading ‘þe merroure of lyʒte’, see IMEP 10 indexing OC 248 [1]. Two other MSS listed by Wells Rev., Camb. Trinity O.2.33 pt 2 ff. 21–37 and BL Harley 3542 ff. 1–14, seem to contain Latin versions of the text.

[2]

f. 16

Moriene seythe to florydum kepe þou þat i schall schewe the yfe þe werke be of fyr the behovethe to knowe þe quantyte of þe furnes and how it schall be made and firste it is to be seyd of þe philisophers furnes the furnes schall be made by a wall wher it may haue socour of wynde because of refleccion fro þe wall …

f. 29av

… be bouʒte and solde full der þey beth precyous a tyncture ther is called mercury þat transumythe all …