Manuscript on parchment of 1-4) Excerpts from an 11th- or early 12th-century supplement to Curtius Rufus, Historia Alexandri Magni. 5) Ps.-Alexander the Great, Oratio. 6) Cicero, De officiis, with annotations in Middle English. 7) Cicero, De oratore.
Description:
Binding: 19th-20th centuries, England. Half bound in dark brown goatskin, gold-tooled, with dark pink cloth sides. Edges spattered red. Title on spine: "Cicero/ De Officiis/ MS./ Saec. XV"., Purchased from C. A. Stonehill in 1948 by Thomas E. Marston., Script: Scribe 1) ff. 2r-4r, sloping humanistic cursive script with gothic features; above top line. Scribe 2) ff. 5r-61v, well spaced and well formed gothic script. Scribe 3) ff. 61v-82r, upright English gothic bookhand; below top line. Scribe 4) ff. 85r-119v, upright English gothic bookhand; below top line. Interlinear and marginal glosses in art. 6 in at least two contemporary or slightly later annotating hands., and Spaces for decorative intials and most headings remain unfilled; remains of guide letters for arts. 1-5.
Subject (Topic):
Latin essays, Manuscripts, Medieval--Connecticut--New Haven, and Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts in Beinecke Library
Manuscript on paper (coarse; remains of deckle edges) of 1) Cicero, De oratore I-III. 2) Cicero, Pro T. Annio Milone. 3) Cicero, Pro Q. Ligario.
Description:
Binding: Fifteenth century, Italy. Stays cut from parchment manuscripts (text washed) inside the quires and also outside the first two. Original sewing on three tawed skin, slit straps attached to wooden boards. Beaded, chevron, natural, pink, and green endbands are sewn on tawed skin cores. Covered in dark brown calf with narrow corner tongues and blind- tooled with two circles and corners of rope interlace in a central panel with concentric frames, one with beaded zigzag ribbon tools similar to those on Marston MSS 38 and 68, and gilt annular dots. Spine: double fillets at head and tail and outlining the bands; panels diapered with double fillets. Two fastenings, the catches on the lower board; the straps and clasps probably later additions., Collection of Sir Thomas Phillipps (no. 2814). Passed from the collection of Giuseppe (Joseph) Martini to H. P. Kraus, who sold it to Thomas E. Marston in 1955., Partial border, f. 1r, white vine-stem ornament on blue, green and pink ground with white and pale yellow dots. At the terminals, gold balls with hair-line extensions. Illuminated initial, 4-line, gold on blue, green and red ground as above joined to the border. In lower margin, wreathed medallion for arms (drawn with a compass), blank. Five smaller initials, 4- and 3-line, gold on blue, green and red rectangular grounds with white or pale yellow filigree and white dots. Headings and colophons in red., Script: Written in a neat upright humanistic cursive by a single scribe., and Watermarks: Briquet Echelle 5904, Briquet Fleur 6306, and similar to Briquet Ciseaux 3668.
Subject (Topic):
Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, Manuscripts, Medieval--Connecticut--New Haven, Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts in Beinecke Library, and Speeches, addresses, etc., Latin
Manuscript on parchment of Ambrose, 1) De paradiso. 2) De Cain et Abel. 3) Exhortatio virginitatis. 4) De institutione virginis. Written perhaps at the Cistercian abbey of Hautecombe to which it belonged.
Description:
Acquired from Maggs Bros. of London in 1957 by L. C. Witten, who sold it the same year to Thomas E. Marston., Binding: 1800-1810, Italy. Half bound with a brown calf spine and goatskin corners, bright pink paper sides and red edges. Three green, gold-tooled labels on the spine: "Manuscri," "S Ambrosi de Cain" and "Seculi XII". Bound in the same distinctive style as Marston MSS 50, 125, 128, 135, 151, 158, 159 and 197, all of Hautecombe provenance., Heavily stained but with no loss of text., Plain red initials, 6- to 4-line, with small "pearls" on the thin strokes of the letters, introduce each text. Headings in red. Instructions to rubricator and guide letters., and Script: Written by two scribes in late caroline minuscule. Scribe 1 (ff. 1r-61r): preference for uncial d, angular abbreviation strokes, and a slightly larger module of script than that used by Scribe 2 (ff. 61r-83r).
Subject (Name):
Cistercians
Subject (Topic):
Celibacy--Christianity, Fathers of the church, Manuscripts, Medieval--Connecticut--New Haven, Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts in Beinecke Library, and Theology--Early works to 1800
Manuscript on parchment (irregularly trimmed pieces) of Jean Gerson, De potestate ecclesiastica.
Description:
Binding: Fifteenth century, Spain (?). Sewn on three tawed skin support, two pink, the central one green, laced into a thick parchment wrapper. Contemporary title written in ink on back cover: "Tractatus de potestate eclesiastica***". Rodent damage at tail., Crude initial, red with an asymmetrical configuration of red and black penwork designs. Floral line-filler at conclusion of prologue. Plain red initials, 3- to 2-line, mark text divisions. Heading, f. 1r, in red. Majuscules stroked with yellow. Contemporary sketches of intertwining snakes on ff. i recto and ii verso., and Script: Written by a single scribe in fere-humanistic script, below top line.
Subject (Name):
Gerson, Jean,--1363-1429
Subject (Topic):
Ecclesiastical law, Manuscripts, Medieval--Connecticut--New Haven, and Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts in Beinecke Library
Manuscript on paper of Sebastian Brant (1457-1521), De praestantia artis impressoriae elogium, a 52-verse poem in praise of the art of printing, addressed to the German priest, humanist, printer and publisher Johann Bergmann von Olpe (ca. 1460-1532).
Description:
Collection of Bernard M. Rosenthal, Booksellers, Berkeley CA (MS 205)., Script: Written in a small vertical Humanistica Cursiva., and Undecorated.
Subject (Topic):
Laudatory poetry, Latin (Medieval and modern), Manuscripts, Medieval--Connecticut--New Haven, Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts in Beinecke Library, and Printing
Manuscript on paper of 1) Leonardo Bruni, La prima guerra punica, in an anonymous Italian translation. 2) Leonardo Bruni, Vita di Dante. 3) Leonardo Bruni, Vita di Francesco Petrarca.
Description:
Binding: Twentieth century, England (?). Hard-grained, brown leather case. Gold-tooled title and date on spine: "L. Bruni Guerra Punica/ Vite di Dante e Petrarca/ MS. Sec. XV". Bright blue marbled edges., Decoration of poor quality: 12-line divided initial in red and blue, f. 1r; 5-line blue initial with red penwork decoration, f. 51v; 5-line divided initial red and blue, f. 51r. Plain red and blue initials, 4- to 3-line, alternate throughout. Headings in bright red., Purchased from H. P. Kraus in 1957 by Thomas E. Marston., Script: Written by two scribes: ff. 1r-51v in humanistic semi-cursive script, above top line; ff. 51v-59v in fere-humanistic script, above top line., and Watermarks: similar to Briquet Monts 11684.
Subject (Name):
Dante Alighieri,--1265-1321 and Petrarca, Francesco,--1304-1374
Subject (Topic):
Biography--Middle Ages, 500-1500, Literature, Medieval--Translations, Manuscripts, Medieval--Connecticut--New Haven, Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts in Beinecke Library, and Punic wars
Manuscript on parchment (poor quality) of Leonardo Bruni, De primo bello punico, compiled largely from Polybius.
Description:
Binding: Nineteenth century, England (?). Quarter bound in red, hard-grained goatskin, gold-tooled, with printed marbled paper sides. Edges spattered yellow and black. Title on spine: "Leonardi Aretini, Commentarii. MS. in membranis"., One large illuminated initial, 4-line, gold on blue, light green and pink ground with white vine-stem ornament. Initial joined to partial border, white vine-stem ornament on blue, light green and pink ground with white dots and gold balls with penwork extensions in brown ink. Two smaller initials on ff. 23v and 38r, 4-line, gold, outlined in yellow on blue grounds with white highlights. Plain initial, f. 1v, and headings in pale red., Purchased from Maggs Bros., London, in 1955 by L. C. Witten, who sold it in the same year in 1954 by Thomas E. Marston., and Script: Text written by a single scribe in humanistic cursive script, above top line. Marginal notes (mostly proper names and events) added by at least two hands, 15th-16th centuries, with one set added throughout in red by a scribe who also placed Roman numerals for each book in upper margin.
Subject (Geographic):
Rome--History, Military--265-30 B.C
Subject (Topic):
Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, Latin literature, Medieval and modern, Manuscripts, Medieval--Connecticut--New Haven, and Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts in Beinecke Library