File 76 - Computus or Accounts

GC/BUR/F/76

1 volume

Computus: first account book (1423-1455), general accounts of the College, appears mainly to be expenses. Not continuous (CNLB).

There are 3 early books entitled on the fly-leaf as
(i.) “Liber Rationalis 1581 - 93”
(ii.) “Liber Rationalis 1594 - 1608”
(iii.) “Liber Rationalis 1609 - 28”
They contain the Bursars’ ½ yearly accounts at Lady Day and Michaelmas. N.B. The word “Compotus” appears at the head of each ½ year account. Vols. (i.) (ii.) (iii.) are then followed by a volume of the same character and series entitled. (iv.) “Compotus 1629 - 1661”as well as at the beginning of each ½ year account. It has been bound as “Compotus”.
Vol. (iv.) is followed by later volumes similarly bound as “Compotus”. The title “Liber Rationalis” does not re-appear until much later (? 19th Century). Confusingly there is a volume bound as “Compotus 1582 - 1625”, but this vol. (v) is a collection of individual sections (bound up in reverse order) of the working copies presented at the ½ yearly accounts meeting and then (according to a note dated 13th April 1624) “Transcribed in Lib. Rat. ejus…”. The entries correspond faithfully with the Liber Rationalis. Some sections are entitled “Prototyp-“ (??) and another section is entitled “The Prototyrons of Liber Rationalis”. N.B. This volume is clearly not a different series from the Libri Rationales, but an incomplete collection of drafts or prototypes – the years from c.1608 to c.1619 are missing. [MJP]