The Digital Ark: Early Modern Collections of Curiosities in England and Scotland, 1580-1700
Sloane 1873
British Library, London, England, Europe
Date:13th to 17th century Previous ownerThomas Browne (19 Nov 1605-19 Oct 1682) Previous ownerHans Sloane (1660-1753) Annotation:Contents (British Library Catalogue)ff. 1r–85v: Sixteenth-century copy of Thomas Norton's The Ordinal of Alchemy, written in secretary hand, with a poem by Walter Haddon (f. 84v) in praise of Norton. At the beginning and end (ff. 1r–v, 85r–v) are fragments from Chapter 2 of Book 8 of the Interpretatio Topicorum Aristotelis by Boethius, copied in the 2nd half of the 13th century
f. 2r: Three poems and a riddle written in two italic hands.
Seven-line poem entitled 'Thomas Nortons Credit Me and learned Ordinall.' Begins 'But how may i well credit hym that hath not uttered all'.
Couplet: 'Desyre not thyss booke to shew thinges all/ For this booke is but an ordinall'.
'A Riddell.' Begins: 'A thing of small pryce which all men knowe.'.
Pasted from another manuscript, and in a different italic hand to the former three items, is the couplet 'For Bacon I long whom long I haue sought/ Beg borrowe or stele hym yf he may not be bought.'.
ff. 3r–84r: Norton's The Ordinall of Alchymy (1477). Printed in Elias Ashmole (ed.), Theatrum chemicum Britannicum (1652), pp. 1–106
f. 84v: An eight-line poem by Walter Haddon, entitled 'Gualteri Haddonis carmen in laudem Thomae Nortoni.' Begins 'Maximus ingenio scribendi maximus arte.' In the same italic hand as the material on f. 2r.