England.- Two leaves from a manuscript of the works of Arator, including the whole Epistola ad Florianum, and part of the Historia Apostolica, decorated manuscript on vellum, in Latin verse, a complete single leaf, and another with its outer vertical margins trimmed away, text in single column of 53 lines in a tiny university script, capitals set off in margin in common medieval fashion (one line of these heightened with a single red line drawn through them), red running titles at head of complete leaf between clusters of dots arranged like red flowerheads, red or green paragraph marks in margin and a line of ‘Note bene’ marks joined with a black penline edged in green, 3- or 4-line initials in red or green with scalloping foliate red penwork, numerous marginal notes in a series of medieval or later hands (two substantial examples in an English hand), some small spots and stains, slight cockling, else good condition, 175 by 105mm. and 175 by 77mm, probably England, [thirteenth century] (2)

*** Arator (c. 490-after 544) was an early Christian poet, who began as a lawyer in Milan and then Ravenna (where in the latter he was under the protection of Cassiodorus). On the death of Theodoric, he fled to Rome, where Pope Vigilius made him subdeacon of the Roman Church. While in that office he wrote his magnum opus, the Historia Apostolica, a versification of the Acts of the Apostles. It was popular throughout the Middle Ages.