Manuscript on parchment (trimmed) of Augustine, De civitate Dei, translated into French by Raoul de Presles. Composed of 4 volumes, originally bound as 2.
Description:
In French., Script: Written in an informal batarde by one scribe who also added proper names in the margins., The miniatures are dry and unoriginal copies of rather average quality. One large 2-column miniature of the Two Cities at the beginning of Bk. 1 (f. 5r) in a thin gold frame; on 3 sides a bar-border with pink, orange, and blue plant scrolls on a gold ground, surrounded by a full border of dense ivy in pink, red, orange, blue, and gold, with white highlights; interspersed with gold balls with hairsprays. Before the Prologue and all the remaining books, miniatures, 19- to 18-line (vols. 1-2) or 16- to 15-line (vols. 3-4), in thin frames, pink and blue, with white highlights, set within a gold band, with 3/4 bar borders in red, blue, and gold, highlighted in white, and a full ivy border, as described above (no orange)., Beneath each miniature there is a large initial, 7- to 5-line, blue or pink with scrolls and geometric forms in white highlighting, on blue or pink grounds respectively, set within thin gold frames, or blue and/or pink on a gold ground; both types filled with red and/or blue ivy scrolls with white highlights (in one case, v. 4, f. 74r, there is also a dragon terminal). Initials, 3- to 2-line, at the head of each chapter, gold edged in black, on pink and blue grounds with white highlights. Paragraph marks and book numbers, top center of each folio, recto and verso (which in v. 4, ff. 152r-54r read XXII instead of XXI) in the same manner. Ribbon line-fillers (in v. 3-4 only) red and blue, with gold dots or lozenges and white highlights, edged in black. Chapter headings and numeration in red (orange occasionally)., There are some stains, abrasions, and irregularities in the parchment throughout; none obscure text or miniatures., and Binding: Nineteenth century. Marbled and gilt edges. Blue goatskin heavily gold-tooled. Bound for Count Justin MacCarthy-Reagh. Spines mislabelled: II labelled IV, III labelled II, IV labelled III, I labelled correctly.
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut and New Haven.
Subject (Name):
Augustine, of Hippo, Saint, 354-430.
Subject (Topic):
Fathers of the church, French literature, Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, Literature, Medieval, and Manuscripts, Medieval
Manuscript on parchment (trimmed) of Augustine, De civitate Dei, translated into French by Raoul de Presles. Composed of 4 volumes, originally bound as 2.
Description:
In French., Script: Written in an informal batarde by one scribe who also added proper names in the margins., The miniatures are dry and unoriginal copies of rather average quality. One large 2-column miniature of the Two Cities at the beginning of Bk. 1 (f. 5r) in a thin gold frame; on 3 sides a bar-border with pink, orange, and blue plant scrolls on a gold ground, surrounded by a full border of dense ivy in pink, red, orange, blue, and gold, with white highlights; interspersed with gold balls with hairsprays. Before the Prologue and all the remaining books, miniatures, 19- to 18-line (vols. 1-2) or 16- to 15-line (vols. 3-4), in thin frames, pink and blue, with white highlights, set within a gold band, with 3/4 bar borders in red, blue, and gold, highlighted in white, and a full ivy border, as described above (no orange)., Beneath each miniature there is a large initial, 7- to 5-line, blue or pink with scrolls and geometric forms in white highlighting, on blue or pink grounds respectively, set within thin gold frames, or blue and/or pink on a gold ground; both types filled with red and/or blue ivy scrolls with white highlights (in one case, v. 4, f. 74r, there is also a dragon terminal). Initials, 3- to 2-line, at the head of each chapter, gold edged in black, on pink and blue grounds with white highlights. Paragraph marks and book numbers, top center of each folio, recto and verso (which in v. 4, ff. 152r-54r read XXII instead of XXI) in the same manner. Ribbon line-fillers (in v. 3-4 only) red and blue, with gold dots or lozenges and white highlights, edged in black. Chapter headings and numeration in red (orange occasionally)., There are some stains, abrasions, and irregularities in the parchment throughout; none obscure text or miniatures., and Binding: Nineteenth century. Marbled and gilt edges. Blue goatskin heavily gold-tooled. Bound for Count Justin MacCarthy-Reagh. Spines mislabelled: II labelled IV, III labelled II, IV labelled III, I labelled correctly.
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut and New Haven.
Subject (Name):
Augustine, of Hippo, Saint, 354-430.
Subject (Topic):
Fathers of the church, French literature, Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, Literature, Medieval, and Manuscripts, Medieval
Manuscript on parchment (trimmed) of Augustine, De civitate Dei, translated into French by Raoul de Presles. Composed of 4 volumes, originally bound as 2.
Description:
In French., Script: Written in an informal batarde by one scribe who also added proper names in the margins., The miniatures are dry and unoriginal copies of rather average quality. One large 2-column miniature of the Two Cities at the beginning of Bk. 1 (f. 5r) in a thin gold frame; on 3 sides a bar-border with pink, orange, and blue plant scrolls on a gold ground, surrounded by a full border of dense ivy in pink, red, orange, blue, and gold, with white highlights; interspersed with gold balls with hairsprays. Before the Prologue and all the remaining books, miniatures, 19- to 18-line (vols. 1-2) or 16- to 15-line (vols. 3-4), in thin frames, pink and blue, with white highlights, set within a gold band, with 3/4 bar borders in red, blue, and gold, highlighted in white, and a full ivy border, as described above (no orange)., Beneath each miniature there is a large initial, 7- to 5-line, blue or pink with scrolls and geometric forms in white highlighting, on blue or pink grounds respectively, set within thin gold frames, or blue and/or pink on a gold ground; both types filled with red and/or blue ivy scrolls with white highlights (in one case, v. 4, f. 74r, there is also a dragon terminal). Initials, 3- to 2-line, at the head of each chapter, gold edged in black, on pink and blue grounds with white highlights. Paragraph marks and book numbers, top center of each folio, recto and verso (which in v. 4, ff. 152r-54r read XXII instead of XXI) in the same manner. Ribbon line-fillers (in v. 3-4 only) red and blue, with gold dots or lozenges and white highlights, edged in black. Chapter headings and numeration in red (orange occasionally)., There are some stains, abrasions, and irregularities in the parchment throughout; none obscure text or miniatures., and Binding: Nineteenth century. Marbled and gilt edges. Blue goatskin heavily gold-tooled. Bound for Count Justin MacCarthy-Reagh. Spines mislabelled: II labelled IV, III labelled II, IV labelled III, I labelled correctly.
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut and New Haven.
Subject (Name):
Augustine, of Hippo, Saint, 354-430.
Subject (Topic):
Fathers of the church, French literature, Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, Literature, Medieval, and Manuscripts, Medieval
Manuscript on paper (watermarks: unidentified mountain) and parchment (inner and outer bifolios, of poor quality) of Boccaccio, De claris mulieribus; translated into Italian by Donato degli Albanzani
Description:
In Italian., Script: Written by three persons in round gothic script: Scribe 1, ff. 1r-33v (except f. 8, replaced in 16th century); Scribe 2, ff. 33v-36v; Scribe 3; ff. 37r-74r. In portions written by Scribes 1 and 2 some elaborate ascenders and descenders in upper and lower margins, touched with red., Initials, 3- to 2-line, in red or blue, sometimes with red penwork. Rubrics throughout. Initial added [date?], f. 2v, to replace one removed: blue, with leafy filler in green outline, and foliage extending down margin and across top and bottom of column, drawn in green, red, and blue., Initial removed from f. 2v; leaf was then reinforced with paper covering f. 2r, col. b (blank). Lower margins of ff. 1, 33 and 37 cut off., and Binding: 19th-20th centuries. Vellum spine and fore-edge strip with marbled paper sides. Label on spine: "Donne Illust. del Boccacc. MS".
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut and New Haven.
Subject (Name):
Boccaccio, Giovanni, 1313-1375.
Subject (Topic):
Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, Latin literature, Medieval and modern, and Manuscripts, Medieval
Manuscript on parchment of Nonius Marcellus, De compendiosa doctrina
Description:
In Latin., Script: Written in a small upright humanistic cursive script by a single scribe who began copying the text with a single line of majuscules; written below top line., Folio 1r with partial border in upper and inner margins; white vine-stem ornament on blue, green and pink ground with grey and pale yellow dots, terminating in penwork with gold balls. At the left upper corner vine-stem ornament is inhabited by a red-winged putto being attacked by a bird. Historiated initial, 9-line, gold, against a blue, green and pink ground with white vine-stem ornament, and a medallion with the profile of a man, dressed in a red and green cap and red robes against blue ground. Numerous small initials, 4-line, gold on blue, pink and green or blue and pink rectangular grounds with white and pale yellow filigree., and Binding: Twentieth century, after 1926, England. Dark green pigskin, gold-tooled with the arms of C. H. St. John Hornby on the upper side; title on spine. Edges gilt.
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut and New Haven.
Subject (Name):
Nonius Marcellus, active 4th century.
Subject (Topic):
Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, Manuscripts, Medieval, and Theology
Manuscript on parchment of Boethius, De consolatione philosophiae. With Excerpts from the commentary of Nicolas Trevet (in margins) on Boethius, Book I.1.1 - II.5.34.
Description:
In Latin., Script: Written by two scribes in an ornate and elegant gothic bookhand. 1) ff. 1v-154v; 2) ff. 155r-210v. The marginal commentary is in a neat informal batarde (ink paler than that used for text)., Plain initial, 3-line, in blue at beginning of text; other initials, 2-line, in red throughout text to mark the beginning of poetry and prose sections. Title page (f. 1v): alternating lines of blue and gold., Grease stain in margins at end of codex; bottom of f. 81 trimmed., and Binding: Nineteenth century. Brown sheepskin, blind-tooled. Repaired.
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut and New Haven.
Subject (Name):
Boethius, -524. and Trivet, Nicholas, 1258?-1328.
Subject (Topic):
Consolation, Dialogues, Latin, Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, Manuscripts, Medieval, and Scholia
Manuscript on parchment of Boethius, De consolatione philosophiae
Description:
In Latin., Script: Written in round gothic bookhand by one scribe., Historiated initial with partial border contains the portrait of Boethius (f. 14r); four illuminated initials of similar design and colors (dark red, red-orange, green, blue, gold) on ff. 6r, 12v, 22r, 29v (beginning of Books II-V). Small initials and paragraph marks in red throughout., and Binding: Date? Original sewing on two thick, slit leather straps, the endbands sewn on leather cores. Flush beech boards with straps laced through tunnels in the edge to channels slanted up to the outer face. The ends of the straps therefore protrude well above the face. Straps nailed and endband cores laid in V shaped grooves and nailed. The spine and about one quarter of the boards covered by brown calf with a nailed parchment strip at the edge, fragments only remaining. No adhesive on the spine. Channels for straps cut in the upper board. Holes for pins in the lower, but no marks of pin plates. This binding could be contemporary or 19th-20th century. It is interesting to note that the manuscript was bought because of the binding and not because of the text.
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut and New Haven.
Subject (Name):
Boethius, -524.
Subject (Topic):
Consolation, Dialogues, Latin, Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, and Manuscripts, Medieval
Manuscript on paper (sturdy) of Laurentius Iustinianus (Lorenzo Giustiniani, 1381-1456), De disciplina et spirituali perfectione monasticae conversationis (De disciplina spiritualium), Italian translation by Iohannes de Tossignano (Giovanni Tavelli da Tossignano, 1386-1446, bishop of Ferrara 1431-1446).
Description:
In Italian., Script: Copied by one hand in Italian Gothica Hybrida Libraria/Currens., Headings in red ink of various darkness. On f. 1r the Prologue opens with an 8-line Gothic foliate initial L in purple and blue, heightened with white penwork, on a square golden background, containing a stylized flower in purple and yellow with green foliage and ending in blue, purple and green acanthus leaves; on the same page a full floral border in blue, purple and green with a multitude of hairy gold balls. On all the remaining pages the decoration was not executed: the rectangular spaces with guide letters for initials are blank. A 4-line initial was planned f. 5r at the beginning of the text, a 3-line initial at the beginning of chapter 2 (f. 10r), and 2-line initials at the beginning of the other chapters., and Binding: Of the original binding the wooden boards (and the gilt and gauffered edges) survive. The boards are now covered with brown 19th-century marbled paper and the spine with cloth-reinforced beige marbled paper. On the latter (now detached) a paper label with handwritten 19th-century inscription: "146. / Anonimo. / Della disciplina et perfectione / de la monastica conversatione. / Cartaceo. / secolo XV.".
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut and New Haven.
Subject (Name):
Lawrence Justinian, Saint, 1381-1456.
Subject (Topic):
Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, Literature, Medieval, Manuscripts, Medieval, and Monastic and religious life
Manuscript on parchment (warped and stained by moisture) of Cicero, De divinatione
Description:
In Latin., Script: Written in a small humanistic bookhand by a single scribe, above top line. Marginalia added in a contemporary hand., One illuminated initial, 6-line, on f. 28r, gold against blue, green and deep red ground with white vine-stem ornament, joined to a partial border, white vine-stem ornament curling around a thin gold bar on blue, green and deep red ground with white dots on blue, grey on red and pale yellow on green. Headings and running titles in red., and Binding: Nineteenth century, Italy. Brick red goatskin, blind-tooled. Bound in the same bindery for the Guarnieri-Balleani library (Iesi) as MS 450 and Marston MSS 72, 86, 182, 212.
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut and New Haven.
Subject (Name):
Cicero, Marcus Tullius.
Subject (Topic):
Divination, Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, Latin essays, and Manuscripts, Medieval
