This composite manuscript is composed of two parts. The first part (ff. 1r-82v), dating to the 2nd half of the 12th century, contains two Anglo-Norman works by Philippe de Thaon (fl. 1113-1150), the first Anglo-Norman poet. The first work is his Comput ( Computus )�the oldest extant scientific text in the vernacular�which he composed in 1113. The second work is his Bestiarius (Bestiary)�the oldest bestiary in French�which he composed between 1121 and 1135. Cotton MS Nero A V is one of three manuscripts that contain the Bestiarius and one of six manuscripts that contain the Comput . The manuscript's second part (ff. 83r-118v), dating to the 13th century, contains the Quadrilogus de Vita Sancti Thome Cantuariensis (Tetralogy on the Life of St Thomas of Canterbury) by Elias (fl. c. 1200), a Benedictine monk of the Benedictine abbey of Evesham. The first part originates from and was possibly also produced at the Cistercian abbey of St Mary the Virgin at Holme Cultram in Cumbria. The origin of the second part is unknown, but the two parts were most likely joined together in the library of Sir Robert Bruce Cotton (b. 1571, d. 1631). Contents: ff. 1r-39r: Philippe de Thaon, Comput. ff. 40v-41r: Two short Latin texts on the Computus. ff. � Text continues in the catalogue record
Title
Philippe de Thaon, Comput ; Bestiarius ; Elias of Evesham, Quadrilogus de Vita Sancti Thome Cantuariensis
Date
Mid 12th century-Mid 13th century