St John’s College Aa.3 (part) (James 504)

Joseph Simons, Zeno and other tragedies. Latin, c. 1626

[Joseph Simons, or Simeon, pseudonym of Emmanuel Lobb, Jesuit theologian and dramatist (1594-1671)]: three Latin verse plays: ‘Fratrum concordia sana sive Zeno tragoedia’ (fo. 1r); ‘Protasis Sanctus Damianus episcopus Ticinensis turbas Italiae divinitus proedicit Anno Domini 1626 Februarii 13’ (fo. 59r); ‘Ludit in humanis divina potentia rebus ultio divina sive Leo Armenus tragoedia’ (fo. 82r). The first and third are also found in Cambridge University Library MS Ii.6.35. Zeno was printed at Rome in 1648, while Leo Armenus first appeared in Simons’ Tragoediae quinque, quarum duae postremae nunc primum lucem vident (Liège, 1657). The present copies possibly predate these published versions. For a modern edition see Richard E. Arnold et al. (transl.), Jesuit theater Englished: five tragedies of Joseph Simons (St Louis, 1989). The second item in this present MS apparently remains unprinted. It ends with the inscription ‘Carmina 9033’.

Manuscript extra information

150x95 mm. I+130 fos (modern, original pagination runs 1-33 only, fos 81, 115-end blank). Small College bookplate inside front cover. No record of accession.

A single hand throughout, a clean copy. Paper, with margins double-ruled top and bottom in red to fo. 109r. Vellum on boards, damaged at spine, traces of two pairs of ties. Spine title (much faded): ‘Zeno Tragadia’.