Contains sixteen sermons by John Donne (ff. 53r-171r), which is twice as many Donne sermons as any other extant manuscript. The titles and notes on these sermons contain information not found elsewhere. The Oxford Edition website dates the Donne sermons 1616-1622. Before the Donne sermons are six sermons by other authors (ff. 1r-5r, 20r-37v, 40r-46r, 49r-52v), and notes on Matthew 1:18. Also contains legal papers from a conflict between George Closse (fl. 1571-1621) and Sir Edward Coke (1552-1634) (f. 7). Collier describes a volume resembling this one in his History of Dramatic Poetry and claims that it formerly included sonnets by William Alabaster (1567-1640) and other poetry, but these pages were lost. However, Potter and Simpson doubt that Collier was describing the "Merton" manuscript in his dubious book, since the manuscript appears to be complete: the blank pages at the back have the same red borders as the rest of the volume, suggesting that these pages are supposed to be the end.
A beautiful and carefully written manuscript, 8 1/4 x 12 1/4 inches, xii + 178 leaves. Blank on ff. 171v-176v, but with red ink border. The Donne sermons are not written in his hand; Potter and Simpson note that there are no known extant autograph manuscripts of Donne's sermons. This volume probably written partly by a professional scribe and partly by a rubricator, the latter presumably being the source of the decorative rectangular and circular borders around the text, and other decorative additions, in red ink. The volume was written in the early seventeenth century. The upper cover is made of contemporary calf. The initials of the 17th-century owner, H.F., appear in a large, gilt-tooled lozenge in the centre of the cover, on modern calf binding. The text is written mostly in a single unidentified hand, identified by Potter and Simpson as a "secretary" or "English" hand.
The "Merton" manuscript was owned by Wilfred Merton in the mid-twentieth century. The creator of the manuscript is unknown. The inscription on the inside upper cover reads "Mr. Collyer 3 Bouverie St. Fleet St." This was the address of John Payne Collier from 1818 to 1821. Accordingly, it was referred to as the "Payne-Collier" manuscript by Geoffrey Keynes before Potter and Simpson designated it the "Merton" manuscript. However, it is unclear whether the manuscript was ever owned by Collier, as he never spelled his name "Collyer" and the inscription is not written in his hand.
Donated to the Bodleian in 1960.
Jeanne Shami; Bodleian New Summary Catalogue, vol. 2; Bodleian Online Catalogues of Western Manuscripts; Oxford Edition of the Sermons of John Donne website; George R. Potter and Evelyn M. Simpson, eds., The Sermons of John Donne, vol. 1 (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1953), pp. 33-34
Each of the sermons by Donne in this manuscript was included in George R. Potter and Evelyn M. Simpson, eds., The Sermons of John Donne, 10 vols. (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1953-62). They are also included in Peter McCullough et al., eds., The Oxford Edition of the Sermons of John Donne, 16 vols. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013-). Most volumes of the Oxford Edition have not yet been published, so some of the sermons in this manuscript will appear in later volumes. In addition, except for the sermon on Pslams 38:9 (ff. 95r-101v), each of these sermons was published in at least one seventeenth-century collection of Donne's sermons.
Sermon on Psalms 2:10-12 -- ff. 1r-5r
Sermon on 1 Corinthians 6:7 -- ff. 20r-28r
Sermon on Genesis 2:21-22 -- ff. 29r-33r
Sermon 1 on Genesis 2:18 -- ff. 34r-37v
Sermon on Matthew 1:18 -- ff. 38r-39v
Sermon on Psalms 122:8-9 -- ff. 40r-46r
Sermon on Exodus 15:3 -- ff. 49r-52v
Sermon on Ecclesiastes 12:1 -- ff. 53r-59av
Sermon on Luke 23:34 -- ff. 60r-65r
Sermon on John 5:22 -- ff. 67r-71r
Sermon on John 8:15 -- ff. 73r-77v
Sermon on Psalms 144:15 -- ff. 78r-84v
Sermon on Matthew 21:44 -- ff. 87r-93r
Sermon on Psalms 38:9 -- ff. 95r-101v
Sermon on Colossians 1:24 -- ff. 103r-109r
Sermon on Amos 5:18 -- ff. 110r-115r
Sermon on Proverbs 8:17 -- ff. 116r-122r
Sermon on 1 Timothy 3:16 -- ff. 123r-129r
Sermon on Mark 16:16 -- ff. 130r-137r
Sermon on 1 Corinthians 15:26 -- ff. 139r-145r
Sermon 2 on Genesis 2:18 -- ff. 148r-149v
Sermon on Hosea 2:19 -- ff. 150r-155v
Sermon on 2 Corinthians 4:6 -- ff. 156r-171r