Chapter LVIII: Appendix: I

MANUSCRIPTS OF THE EXPERIMENTS OR SECRETS

_In the British Museum_

Sloane 342, 13th century, fols. 130-131, Experimenta fratris
Alberti de ordine Praedicatorum. Text incomplete.

Sloane 3281, end of 13-14th century, fols. 17r-21v.
Expliciunt secreta fratris Alberti coloniensis de ordine
fratrum predicatorum.

Additional 32622, early 14th century, fols. 84v-95r,
Experimenta Alberti.

Arundel 251, 14th century, fols. 25r-35v, Expliciunt
experimenta Alberti magni. This Explicit, written in
enormous letters, is misplaced, as the _Experiments_ of
Albert really end at fol. 35r and fol. 35v is devoted to
the twelve experiments with snake-skin translated by John
Paulinus or John of Spain.

Egerton 2852, mid 14th century, fol. 67-, Experimenta
Alberti.

Sloane 3564, end of 14th century, fols. 34-38, Jocalia
Salamonis, is really part of our _Experiments_, covering
twelve herbs.

Sloane 3545, 15th century, also contains a passage on twelve
herbs which seems to be a portion of our _Experiments_.

Royal 12-B-XXV, 15th century, fol. 248r-, Incipiunt
experimenta naturalia fratris Alberti que dicta sunt
secreta philosophorum et primo de herbis. Text incomplete.

Sloane 351, 15th and 13th centuries, fols. 25r-38r,
Incipit liber Alberti de diversis experimentis ... / ...
Expliciunt experimenta Alberti.

Additional 30351, later 15th century, fol. 69-, Experimenta
Alberti de herbis.

Sloane 2320, 16th century, fols. 65-69, what the catalogue
describes as “De arte magicali tractatus” turns out to be
Albert’s experiments with herbs.

For the contents of the treatise I have not had time to use all these MSS, but have checked the printed editions to a considerable extent by Sloane 342, 351, and 3281, Arundel 251, and Royal 12-B-XXV; and have also examined the three following Digby MSS at the Bodleian.

_At Oxford and Cambridge_

Digby 37, 14th century, fols. 46-55r, “Expliciunt Secreta
fratris Alberti de Colonia, ordinis fratrum praedicatorum,
super naturis quarundam herbarum lapidum, et animalium.”

Digby 147, 14th century, fols. 107-113v, “Secreta fratris
Alberti de Colonia, ordinis fratrum Predicatorum super
naturis quorundam herbarum et lapidum et animalium
efficacia in diversis libris philosophorum reperta et in
unum collecta.”

Digby 153, 14th century, fols. 175-179, “Secreta fratris
Alberti ordinis fratrum Predicatorum.”

Bodleian 177 (Bernard 2072), late 14th century, fol.
30r-32v, an incomplete text.

CU Trinity 1351, late 15th century, fols. 33-39 (unfinished).

_In Continental Libraries_

Berlin 968, 14th century, from England, fol. 298-,
“Incipiunt secreta Alberti Coloniensis de ordine
predicatorum.... Expliciunt secreta Alberti Coloniensis de
ordine predicatorum.”

Bologna University Library, MS 135, 14th century, fols.
25r-31r, “Albertus Magnus, Liber aggregationis seu liber
secretorum.”

Library of the Dukes of Burgundy, 5275, 14th century,
Alberti Teutonici, De tredecim herbis, “Sicut dicit
philosophus ...”; 10872, 16th century, Alberti Magni
Secreta, “Occurrit ante mihi ...” which is not the usual
Incipit.

Wolfenbüttel 2650, 14-15th century, fols. 202 (or more
likely 206, as a portion of the de plantatione arborum
seems to have been confused in the catalogue of Heinemann
with the Secreta)-213, “Expliciunt secreta Alberti de
Colonia super naturis quorundam animalium, herbarum et
lapidum in diversis libris philosophorum respersa. Deo
gratias.”

Clermont-Ferrand 171, 13th century, 129 double column
leaves, following fol. 1, de sensu et sensato, fol. 24, de
morte et vita, and fol. 29v-116, “Explicit septimus liber
vegetabilium,” comes at fols. 116-19, “Secreta fratris
Alberti Coloniensis (seu de Saxonia, adds the modern
catalogue) de ordine Fratrum Predicatorum. Sicut dicit
philosophus in pluribus locis/aliquid utilitatis inveniat.
Expliciunt secreta.” Then follows Albert’s Meteorology.

CLM 453, fol. 197, Alberti Magni experimenta de herbis
lapidibus et animalibus expliciunt quae a graeco et
arabico in latinum transtulit.

CLM 444, 14-15th century, fol. 197-, Alberti Magni
experimenta de herbis, lapidibus et animalibus.