Manuscript on parchment of Nicolaus de Lyra, Postillae on Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, and I-IV Kings
Description:
In Latin., Script: Written by several scribes in gothic bookhand., 19 pen-and-ink drawings with washes in red, green, blue and pale yellow, some inserted into the text column, others up to half-page size dealing with the Tabernacle in the Desert and the Temple of Solomon: the drawings serve to clarify the written text by depicting differences in interpretations between Jewish and Catholic exegesis; contrasting drawings are usually juxtaposed and labelled with the respective source for each., Many fine flourished initials, red and blue divided, 9- to 3-line, with penwork designs in red, blue and/or purple; somewhat smaller less ambitious initials alternate red and blue with designs in the opposite color. The minor decoration appears inconsistently, with running headlines, rubrics, paragraph marks and underlining of Biblical texts, in various colors or totally absent., and Binding: Modern restoration? Limp vellum case with earlier title (mostly illegible) running lengthwise on spine and later title added at top of spine: "Fr. Nicolai de Lyra ord. min. Commentaria in Libro historico Sacrae Scripturae".
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut and New Haven.
Subject (Name):
Nicholas, of Lyra, ca. 1270-1349.
Subject (Topic):
Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, Manuscripts, Medieval, and Scholasticism
Manuscript on paper of a collection of prayers and hymns, compiled in 1518 by the humanistic-minded Benedictine monk Vitalis of Rothenthal (Rubrevallensis) (fols. 1-110).
Description:
In Latin., Script: copied by one hand in Gothica Semihybrida Libraria with Bastarda/Fractura features. Art. 1 is written in s. XVI2 Gothica Semihybrida Currens. Art. 74 is printed in black and red in Gothic Textura., Decoration: Headings and stroking of the majuscules in red. Each prayer opens with a 3-6 line calligraphic initial (cadel) in red; more rarely with a plain initial in the same colour. Guide letters. In Book of Hours, f. 126v (facing f. 1r of the printed foliation), full-page woodcut, hand coloured in green, blue, yellow and red, of the Virgin and Child in the Sun, standing on the Moon., Binding: original blind-tooled brown pigskin over wooden boards; spine with two double raised bands. The covers decorated with a frame of foliage enclosing a central rectangular panel containing three rosettes; the rosettes are repeated in the three compartments of the spine. Two engraved brass clasps attached to the rear cover, with engraved brass catches on the front cover; the corner pieces are missing., Watermark of the manuscript part: perhaps var. Briquet 2172., and Bound with a printed Book of Hours (Vienna, Hieronymus Vietor and Iohannes Singrenius for Leonardus and Lucius Alantse, 1513 September 14).
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut and New Haven.
Subject (Name):
Benedictines. and Catholic Church
Subject (Topic):
Books of hours, Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, Manuscripts, Medieval, and Prayer books
Manuscript on paper (watermarks obscured by binding and trimming) of prayers and hymns to the Virgin Mary
Description:
In Italian and Latin., Script: Written by one scribe in round gothic bookhand., Four poorly executed initials in gold and colors on ff. 1r, 2r (two), and 4r; the last accompanied by green and gold dots. Red initial strokes; rubrics throughout., and Binding: single quire tacketed to a piece of folded vellum.
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut and New Haven.
Subject (Name):
Mary, Blessed Virgin, Saint and Catholic Church
Subject (Topic):
Devotion to., Hymns, Italian, Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, and Manuscripts, Medieval
Manuscript on paper of Prayers to be said at various times during the Mass. Composed by Paul Pellisson-Fontanier (1624-93).
Description:
In French., Script: Written by the master calligrapher Jean Pierre Rousselet, a follower of Nicholas Jarry, active in Paris between 1677 and 1736., Two full-page miniatures and nine historiated headpieces in gouache, all in frames best described as resembling the frames of 18th-century mirrors; the frames blue and purple with white highlights and gold side-pieces decorated with red flowers in diamonds; floral swags at bottom. Tail pieces with swags, as above and filled with gold, on f. 48v with the Holy Spirit as a dove. 3- and 2-line initials, blue with white highlights on gold; 1-line initials in red. Titles in gold, red and blue capitals; running headings and rubrics in red., and Binding: 18th-19th centuries. Black goatskin, gold-tooled. A red label and salmon pink doublures and flyleaves. Gilt edges.
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut and New Haven.
Subject (Name):
Pellisson-Fontanier, Paul, 1624-1693. and Catholic Church
Subject (Topic):
Liturgy, Devotional literature, French, Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, Manuscripts, Medieval, and Missals
In Latin., Script: Copied by one hand in Northern Gothica Textualis Formata. Rubrics in Gothica Hybrida Formata (Bastarda). Music notation in Nota Quadrata., Red rubrics. Heightening of majuscules in yellow. Alternately red and blue1-line plain initials on ff. 176r-177r. Flourished initials (height: 1 stave + 1 text line) alternately red with purple penwork and blue with red penwork. Cadels (same size) in a rectangular frame decorated with foliage on a yellow background. On f. 1r damaged large golden initial (2 staves + 2 lines of text) on a blue background containing coat of arms of Hugo Gontard, a canon in the collegiate church of St. Genesius (St. Genez) at Clermont-Ferrand in 1515 and "abbot" of the said church, 1519-1545., Many pages badly damaged and faded, especially f. 1r., and Binding: Nineteenth century. Marbled leather over cardboard, repaired. Gold-tooled spine with title on red leather label: "LIVRE D'HEURES". Brown marbled paper endpapers.
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut and New Haven.
Subject (Name):
Catholic Church
Subject (Topic):
Liturgy, Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, Manuscripts, Medieval, Music, and Processionals (Liturgical books)
Manuscript on parchment of Books of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Wisdom and Ecclesiasticus, preceded by prologues. With two short prayers
Description:
In Latin., Script: Written in hybrida script by a single scribe. Arts. 2-3 added by later hands., For prologues and beginning of each book partial borders constructed of a thin bar, unburnished gold, pink or green with burnished gold balls, terminating in sprays of stylized foliage, green, pink, and blue with gold accents. One large illuminated initial, f. 1r, 13-line, blue with light blue foliage shading against a red and pink ground; foliage serifs in green. 6 smaller illuminated initials, blue, pink, green or gold against blue or pink ground with white or gold filigree and/or gold crosshatching. Numerous pen-and-ink initials, 2-line, alternate in blue with red penwork designs and gold with blue penwork designs. Running titles in red and blue. Headings in red. Initials touched with yellow., and Binding: Fifteenth century, Bohemia. Sewn on three supports, with two half bands near head and tail, fastened to wooden boards. Yellow edges and kermes pink place marks. Covered in brown calf, blind-tooled with floral designs, with a central and four large corner fittings on each board. Spine: supports defined with double fillets; four leafy flower bud tools pointing inward in the two central panels. Two fastenings, the catches on the upper board and the lower one cut in for tawed skin, cream colored straps (only stubs remain). Small pieces of liturgical manuscript (Northern Italy, 14th century) used for front and rear pastedowns. Head and tail of spine and the upper joint very unobtrusively repaired.
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut and New Haven.
Subject (Topic):
Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, Manuscripts, Medieval, and Wisdom literature
Manuscript on parchment (trimmed) of Hebrew Scripture. Written for Jacob, son of Rabbi Benjamin of Montalcino
Description:
In Hebrew., Script: Written in cursive Italian Hebrew script, with square initial letters., The extremely fine decoration is in the Florentine style of the third quarter of the 15th century. Two full-page miniatures: f. 2v David beheading Goliath (Psalms) and f. 110v Job on the dunghill, with the three tempters. Miniatures accompanied by elegantly illuminated full borders of pink and blue flowers with green stems and yellow fruit issuing from yellow vases; gold dots and hair-spray. Putti and brightly colored birds appear among foliate ornamentation. Polylobed and circular medallions with miniatures in borders. Other borders, without miniatures, contain medallions of busts of prophets, some holding scrolls. One border f. 30v without medallions. Borders of ff. 30v, 80r, 111r are less carefully executed than rest of illumination and may be by another artist. The opening word of Psalms 42, 73, 90 and 107, as well as of Job and Proverbs, occurs in a panel with foliate borders in burnished gold. First letter in each chapter of Psalms, and first word in each chapter of Job and Proverbs framed in red or blue (one in gold, f. 111r) with purple or red penwork flourishes., and Binding: Seventeenth century. Red calf over beech boards, gold-tooled with a floral border and flower vases and arabesques in the center. Gilt, gauffered edges and woodblock paste paper endleaves and pastedowns.
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut and New Haven.
Subject (Topic):
Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval and Manuscripts, Medieval
Manuscript fragment on parchment bifolium of Psalms 113.2-117.1; missing Psalm 113.11.
Description:
In Latin., Script: Written in fine Italian minuscule., Historiated initial containing an imploring figure for Psalm 114, 4-line, on f. 1v, with the hand of God descending from heaven forming the ascender of the uncial d. The fact that Psalm 114 has been signalled by an initial of some ambition is unusual and probably indicates Benedictine usage for the manuscript., Partly mutilated historiated initial containing a naked (?) figure on f. 2v. Decorative initials, gold on maroon or blue ground, ff. 2r and 2v, with white vine-stem ornamentation. Headings for each Psalm in red; red initial letters for each verse, set to the left of text bounding line., Parchment trimmed, with loss of one line of text and lower margin., and Removed from a binding.
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut and New Haven.
Subject (Topic):
Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, Manuscripts, Medieval, and Psalters
Manuscript on parchment of a sumptuously illuminated and exceptionally well preserved manuscript of East Anglian origin
Description:
In Latin., Script: Written in fine gothic bookhand., Eight of the original ten historiated initials survive. The initials are pink and blue with white filigree and dots on f. 7r incorporating intertwining leaves in pink, blue, green and orange; the figures predominantly orange, and purple with some pink, blue and green, on elaborately tooled gold, set against square grounds, quartered blue and red, with diapering. Each initial with a lavishly ornamented full border incorporating spiraling foliage, large oak leaves, flowers, knots, grotesques, and quatrefoils framing additional figures. 2-line initials for Psalms, pink and/or blue, with white filigree and dots, filled with spiraling ivy, large leaves and dots, blue, green and orange, occasionally a fleur-de-lis, flower, or diaper pattern, on gold, against pink and blue grounds, with white filigree and dots, most connected to bar borders, pink, blue, orange and gold with floral, ivy and grotesque terminals. 1-line initials for verses, gold, thickly edged in black, against irregular pink and blue grounds with white filigree and dots. Many varied line fillers in red and blue., Lower right corners of ff. 42 and 85 excised., and Binding: Sixteenth century, perhaps at Oxford. Caught-up sewing on twelve tawed, slit strap supports, only four of them laced into beech boards, the others cut off at the edges of the spine. The spine is square and the bands prominent and defined. Covered in dark brown calf, blind-tooled with two concentric frames of medallion heads and arabesques, with thistles in the outer corners of the inner panel and an ornament with a cherub's head on it in the center. Nails for catches but no marks of them on the leather, stubs of two straps on the upper board.
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut and New Haven.
Subject (Name):
Catholic Church
Subject (Topic):
Liturgy, Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, Manuscripts, Medieval, and Psalters
Manuscript on parchment of 1) Psalter in English, in the 8-part liturgical division, beginning defectively. Text is the later version of the Wycliffite translation of the Psalms. 2-7) Book of Hours, use of Sarum. 8) St. Jerome's Psalter, with introductory prayer and text followed by a suffrage to the Virgin. With Notes on Historia, Alegoria, Anagogia, Tropologia
Description:
In Middle English and Latin., Script: Written in small, well formed gothic bookhand., Five 6- to 5-line initials at the liturgical divisions of the Psalter (Psalms 26, 52, 68, 80, 97; initials for Psalms 1, 38, and 109 missing, offset initials on ff. 35v, 109r, and 156r), pink and blue with white highlights against cusped gold grounds, filled with brown, blue, and pink foliage with curling foliate serifs; pink, blue and gold bar border in outer margin with foliate shoots, terminals and horizontal extensions full across in upper and lower margins. Eleven 5- to 4-line initials (ff. 139v, 158v, 161r, 162r, 163r, 163v, 164r, 165v, 168r, 169v, 176v), gold, edged in black against a cusped ground, quartered in blue and pink, with white highlights and floral hair-spray. 3-line initials, blue with red penwork throughout. Capitals alternating red and blue. Rubrics throughout. Red and blue line-fillers in litany., and Binding: 19th-20th centuries. Brown leather case, blind-tooled. Red edges. Smells like a Middleton binding.
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut and New Haven.
Subject (Name):
Catholic Church
Subject (Topic):
Books of hours, Devotional literature, English (Middle), Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, Manuscripts, Medieval, and Psalters
