Manuscript on parchment of Virgil, Aeneis, in an Italian prose abridgement by Andrea Lancia
Description:
In Italian., Script: copied by a single hand writing Southern Gothica Textualis Libraria/Formata (Rotunda). Stroking of the majuscules. 2-line flourished initials with simple penwork at the opening of the chapters. More elaborate flourished initials, 2 to 7 lines, at the opening of the Books. On f. 1r an 8-line littera duplex., and Publius Vergilius Maro (70-19 B.C.), Aeneis, abridgement in Italian prose by Andrea Lancia (c. 1280-c. 1360). This Florentine notary and Dante commentator wrote various Italian translations or adaptations of classical Latin texts. There are occasionally interlinear glosses, more often marginal notes. Pointing hands.
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut and New Haven.
Subject (Name):
Lancia, Andrea, ca. 1280-ca. 1360. and Virgil.
Subject (Topic):
Epic poetry, Latin, Literature, Medieval, and Manuscripts, Medieval
Manuscript on parchment (goatskin) of Publius Vergilius Maro (70-19 B.C.), Aeneis, with the Argumenta of Books 1-12 ascribed to Ovid. Including Summary of Aeneis ascribed to Basilius, one of the Twelve Wise Men; Ps.-Vergilius, prologue to Aeneis; Six verses in praise of Mapheus Vegius (Maffeo Vegio, 1406-1458); Mapheus Vegius (Maffeo Vegio, 1406/7-1458), Book 13 of Aeneis; and Ps.-Octavianus Augustus, Poem in praise of Virgil's Aeneis
Description:
In Latin., Script: Copied by a single scribe writing a careful but somewhat unusual Humanistica Textualis Formata, with lengthened descenders at the bottom line., Very pale red rubrics and running numbering of the Books (on rectos, in Roman numerals); blue paragraph-marks; blue plain initials (2-3 lines) for the Argumenta; white vinestem initials (6 lines) with marginal extensions; on f. 5r (Book 1) 10-line white vinestem initial and full white vinestem border augmented with groups of three gold balls in the outer and lower margins; in the lower section a damaged coat of arms in a wreath, identified as argent, a fess azure., The lower margins of ff. 149, 181 and 192 have been cut and were replaced; in the first case this was done before writing; the upper and lower corners of the leaves are cut; ff. 1-14 have been repaired by pasting pieces of parchment to the damaged edges or corners. There is a triangular incision in the lower part of the outer edges in the large central section of the codex., and Binding: 1904 by Katharine Adams for Sydney Cockerell. Green pigskin over pasteboard; spine with five raised bands and the gold-tooled inscriptions "VERGILI / AENEIS / MS." and "NORTH ITALIAN / 1450". White parchment endleaves. Gilt edges. The preceding binding was purple morocco by Zaehnsdorf.
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut and New Haven.
Subject (Name):
Virgil.
Subject (Topic):
Epic poetry, Classical, Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, Latin poetry, Medieval and modern, and Manuscripts, Medieval
Manuscript on parchment of 1) Conditions agreed between Bianca Bentivoglio, Lady of Spilimbergo (d. 1519), and the Jew Daniel, son of Abraham of Modena, for the establishment of a bank by the latter in the castle of Spilimbergo, 15 July 1506. 2) Renewal for a second period of fifteen years, by Bianca Bentivoglio, widow of Niccolo Count Rangoni (d. 1500), of the agreement made at the time between her husband and Daniel, son of Abraham, allowing the latter to establish a bank in the castle of Spilimbergo, 13 Dec. 1507, subscribed by the chancellor Franco Correggi
Description:
In Latin., Script: Art. 1 is written by one scribe in Gothica Hybrida Currens (Mercantesca); art. 2, by Franco Correggi, is in Humanistica Currens., and Binding: Original light blue paper.
Subject (Geographic):
Italy., Connecticut, New Haven., and Pordenone (Italy : Province)
Subject (Topic):
Banks and banking, Charters, and Manuscripts, Medieval
Manuscript on parchment of 1) Bible in the usual order with some prologues. 2) Index of Hebrew names generally attributed to Stephen Langton. 3) Chapters 25-29 of the Testament of the 12 Patriarchs. Written for Cardinal Niccolo Albergati
Description:
In Latin., Script: Written in rounded gothic bookhand., The Bible is a splendid example of the Italian late gothic illuminated manuscript. The decoration consists of two very richly illuminated pages (f. 5r, Genesis; f. 272r, Psalms), thirteen small miniatures (ff. 1r, 570v-576v), and 79 historiated initials, 7 to 10-line (not including ascenders or descenders) at the beginning of every book of the Bible, the sections of the Psalter, and a few prologues. The miniatures are in thin gold or yellow frames. The historiated initials are composed of acanthus, mauve, blue, pink, orange, and/or green. At least four artists collaborated in the illustration and decoration of the codex. On virtually every folio, recto and verso, are elaborate bar borders, in margins and/or between text columns, full or half-length, gold, blue, green, pink, and/or orange with white filigree, some with curling acanthus, leafy midpoints and terminals with acanthus and hair-spray extension. On folios with miniatures or initials, more elaborate borders (full borders on ff. 1r, 5r): curling hair-spray with gold dots and trefoil leaves, spikey ivy, pink, blue, orange and green flowers, putti, insects, birds, grotesques and, on f. 348v, a marginal scene, lower left corner, a fowler chasing rabbits., Ornamental initials (5 to 6-line) at the beginning of the prologues in red, blue, orange, and/or green, acanthus infilled red with white filigree against irregular gold grounds; gold against cusped pink and blue backgrounds with white filigree; some rinceaux initials in Franco-Flemish style, pink or blue with white highlights against cusped gold grounds. 2 and 1-line initials, gold on red and blue grounds with white filigree. Running titles in alternating red and blue letters or in gold against red and blue rectangular grounds with white filigree. Line fillers (ff. 617r-682r) in red, blue and/or gold. Chapter numbers in red or blue. Rubrics throughout., First two leaves slightly creased., and Binding: 19th-20th centuries. A painted design under the gilt fore edge. Red velvet binding.
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut and New Haven.
Subject (Name):
Langton, Stephen, -1228.
Subject (Topic):
Versions, Vulgate, Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, and Manuscripts, Medieval
Manuscript on paper of 1) John of Rupescissa, De consideratione quinte essentie. 2) Arnold of Villanova, Epistola de sanguine humano ad magistrum Iacobum de Toleto. 3) Alchemical procedures. 4) Francesco Petrarca, Epistola ad Marcum Tullium Ciceronem. 5) Pier Paolo Vergerio, Epistola in nomine Ciceronis ad Franciscum Petrarcham. 6) Johannes Obrist, Super confectionem auri potabilis. 7) Nicolaus Claudii, Opus super aurum potabile
Description:
In Latin., Script: Written by a single scribe using a clear and regular gothic bookhand without strong nationalistic traits., Headings in red, rubricated., and Binding: Modern parchment over pasteboards, parchment pastedowns and guards, back gilt-lettered: "DE QVINTA ESSENTIA".
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut and New Haven.
Subject (Name):
Cicero, Marcus Tullius and Petrarca, Francesco, 1304-1374.
Subject (Topic):
Alchemy, Formulas, recipes, etc, Latin letters, Medieval and modern, and Manuscripts, Medieval
Manuscript on paper of a private compilation. The two well known works entered into the codex deal with magical properties ascribed to certain gems and the supernatural significance of the carving of stones. Together with these formal texts are found other extremely varied materials: procedures for restoring wine which has suffered various accidents, for making glass of different colors, for the early ripening of grapes, for making an ass bray loudly, for frightening dogs, and so forth
Description:
In Latin and Italian., Watermark: unidentified flower-petal., Script: Probably written by a single hand, employing a Gothico antiqua on ff. 1-11r, with a less formal treatment of the same elsewhere, and more cursive writing for the passages in Italian; the writing relatively careful at the beginning, progressively less so until the end., Red ink for most headings, red capitals and paragraph marks, except on f. 11v-12r and 16v-17r, which are without color., Lower margins affected by damp throughout and partly repaired with blank paper., and Binding: Nineteenth century. Paper boards, more recent gilt-stamped label on backstrip.
Manuscript on paper of a group of shorter works by Christopher of Paris (pseudonym), probably a Venetian alchemist. With John of Rupescissa, De consideratione quinte essentie. Also includes recipes for making blue pigments and a procedure for etching a design on an iron surface
Description:
In Italian and Latin., Watermarks: 1) anchor with ring atop the shank, all within a circle; 2) plain and ill-drawn anchor with thick flukes, the top of the shank forming a small, neat cross with the short stock. Both probably Italian papers, not directly comparable to the varieties illustrated by Briquet., Script: Written by a single scribe in a late humanistic cursive hand sloping slightly to the right., No headlines, headings and some capitals in pale red., and Binding: Sixteenth century. Brown calf, the covers blind-ruled to a rectangular pattern, the large center rectangle diagonally ruled to a lozenge pattern, a single quatrefoil impressed in blind in each of the rectangles and lozenges so formed, edges partly renewed and rebacked in the style of the period of the binding with compartments formed by three double raised bands, a gold stamped title label in the second compartment from top reading: "CHRISTOPHE | DE PARIS | - | RUPESCISSA | MANUSCRIPTS | ITALY | 15TH C". The endpapers are modern insertions, though of old paper, and the binding, while of the period of the manuscript, probably had no original connection with this codex.
Manuscript on parchment and paper, written in two parts. Part I (parchment, written ca. 1490): 1) John of Rupescissa, De consideratione quinte essentie. 2) Descriptions of various herbs. Part II (paper, added ca. 1800): 3) Alchemy. 4) Recipes for making Prussian Blue, in Italian
Description:
In Latin and Italian., Script: Part I (ff. 1-40): Written by one hand in a neat, minute humanistic cursive. Part II (ff. 41-52): In an Italian hand., Part I: Headings in red throughout, that on f. 1r overwritten in an intense red ink covering earlier writing in pale red ink, the intense ink then used for the remainder of the headings in this portion of the codex, and the overwriting probably by the original scribe. Plain, small, roman capitals at beginnings of sections of the text in blue or green; a large initial "D" and a full border no f. 1r, as well as a smaller initial "L" at the beginning of the second book of text, foot of f. 25r, all finely illuminated in gold and colors in the "white-vine" style, the lower part of the border on f. 1r with a coat of arms consisting of a shield azure, a bear rampant or. Part II: Undecorated., and Binding: Late eighteenth century, probably French. Speckled calf, the sides undecorated, the repaired back in compartments with gilt tooling, the original title-stamping defective, speckled edges; restored by Carolyn Horton, November 1955.
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut and New Haven.
Subject (Topic):
Alchemy, Formulas, recipes, etc, Herbs, Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, Manuscripts, Medieval, and Prussian blue
Manuscript on paper of a collection of alchemical texts, including works by Rasis, Roger Bacon, and Hermes. Though the Bacon text and one other are early practical alchemies, the contents are mainly speculative in character
Description:
In Latin., Script: Written by one scribe in a very neat and regular prehumanistic hand., Book and chapter headings in red, rubrication, capitals stroked yellow, larger initials painted in red or blue with tracery ornament in the contrasting color (all decoration probably by the scribe; red headings in the scribe's hand, all other red decoration with ink of apparently identical composition)., and Binding: Modern. Parchment, cut from a leaf of a very large manuscript, probably a lectionary, written in a Rotunda antiquior hand, Italian, 12th century; writing on outer surface erased, printed paper label on backstrip.
Manuscript on paper of a miscellany of alchemical texts including corrupt copies (which are typical of the compiler) of traditional Latin alchemies with practical procedures and vernacular poems on alchemy. Compiled by one Johannes Baptista F., along with Mellon MSS 34 and 35.
Description:
In Latin, Italian, and Spanish., Script: Written by one, perhaps two, hands in mid-16th-century italic, sometimes of excellent, professional quality, but often ranging from fairly good to extremely bad and careless., Extensive series of small ink drawings of alchemical vessels and equipment on the front flyleaves, mostly flasks and other glasswork on the left page, with similar equipment, as well as a "Bain-Marie" and a large furnace on the facing right page, each drawing labeled., and Binding: Original parchment over pasteboards with remains of thong ties; probably a home-made binding utilizing used parchment (show-through of writing and earlier folding visible) from a document; plain edges. Labeled in ink in the hand of the compiler on the backstrip: "Lapis philosophalis". Loose in cover and badly wormed.
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut and New Haven.
Subject (Topic):
Alchemy, Drawing, Italian poetry, and Manuscripts, Medieval
