Manuscript on parchment (hairside yellow and speckled) of Cicero, Epistolae ad familiares. With Extract from Aulus Gellius, Noctes Atticae III.8.8: Epistula Fabricii et Aemilii consulum ad Pyrrhum regem. The text was copied ca. 1400 and the border decoration added between ca. 1415 and 1431.
Description:
14 elegant illuminated initials and partial borders at the beginning of each of the 16 books (the opening pages of Books XII and XV have been excised). Initials, 5- to 3-line, blue with white filigree or red with gold filigree on cusped grounds of gold. Most of the illuminated initials filled with bust-length portraits, presumably of Cicero's correspondents, on red, blue or diapered ground. Some initials filled with vine scrolls with trilobe leaves in red with white highlights against gold ground. Partial borders, scrolling vine with trilobe leaves or acanthus in blue, pink, red and gold with white highlights and green, red and blue with gold highlights. Small figures of angels, dressed in green with gold wings in borders or margins, some playing musical instruments, one holding an open book, one holding the cloth of Veronica. Other marginal figures include the "Agnus Dei" and a pelican piercing its breast. The figures are all characterized by white faces, small angled black eyes, and a preference for green and gold, the green with contour lines in gold. Plain initials alternate red and blue. Rubrics throughout., Binding: Nineteenth century, France (?). Red velvet case with a dark green gold-tooled label: "M. T. Ciceronis Epistolae Ad Familiares MS. in Membranis". Gilt edges., Imperfect: incomplete, some leaves wanting with loss of text., and Script: Written in a neat fere-humanistic hand by a single scribe, below top line.
Subject (Topic):
Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, Manuscripts, Medieval--Connecticut--New Haven, and Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts in Beinecke Library
Ambrose, Saint, Bishop of Milan, d. 397 Jerome, Saint, d. 419 or 20
Published / Created:
1439-1440.
Call Number:
Beinecke MS 766
Image Count:
620
Resource Type:
Archives or Manuscripts
Abstract:
Manuscript on parchment of St. Jermone, Epistulae et tractatus. With Ambrosius Mediolanensis (St. Ambrose, 339-397), De excessu fratris.
Description:
Binding: Sixteenth century. Brown leather over cardboard boards, the covers blind-tooled with a triple fillet lozenge inside a floral roll frame, the center and the corners gold-tooled with two different floral tools. Spine with four raised bands and remnants of gold-tooled lilies in the compartments. Edges painted blue. Marks of two pairs of ties., Headings in red. Red heightening (stroking) of the majuscules. 2-3-line flourished initials (with guide letters) in red with penwork varying from pale red to purple. A large (10 lines) decorated flourished initial in red, with developed purple penwork (“R” instead of “D”) in littera duplex style on f. 229v. Two Gothic historiated initials on gold background with floral marginal extensions: f. 1r: St. Jerome with lion and boy holding open a book (damaged); f. 25v: a monk copying., Script: Apparently four scribes: A, Iohannes de Carnago, is the main scribe and copied ff. 1r-260v (with the exception of 8 lines at the bottom) in Gothico-Humanistica Semitextualis Libraria; B copied from the bottom lines of f. 260v to f. 270v, in Humanistica Textualis Libraria; C copied ff. 271r-275v in Gothico-Humanistica Textualis Libraria; and D copied ff. 276r-304v in Gothico-Humanistica Semitextualis Libraria., and The codex belonged to the Diocesan Library of Dunedin, New Zealand. Sotheby sale, London, 27 March 1950 (catalogue, no. 35).
Subject (Name):
Jerome,--Saint,--d. 419 or 20
Subject (Topic):
Christian literature, Latin, Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, Latin letters, Manuscripts, Medieval--Connecticut--New Haven, and Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts in Beinecke Library
Manuscript on parchment of 1) Anonymous grammatical treatise in prose (Grammatica Latina secundum Donatum). 2) Disticha Catonis.
Description:
1-line red versals and 2-line red plain initials. Two large initials: f. 1r, at the beginning of the text of art. 1, historiated 10- line initial in pink on a blue background, containing a half-length profile of a poet or teacher in outline with a yellow dress; f. 10r, at the beginning of art. 2, decorated 9-line initial in pinkon a blue background, filled with red, yellow and green leaves., Binding: Original half brown leather binding over heavy bevelled wooden boards; sewn on two split leather thongs; the spine damaged. Remnants of one strap attached to the front cover, with iron pin on the rear cover., Due to intensive use the pages are badly rubbed and the legibility is impaired; whole passages have been rewritten by a later hand. The corners of the leaves are worn off. Holes and sewings., and Script: Copied by one hand in large Southern Gothica Textualis Formata (Rotunda). The opening majuscule of each verse set off in a separate column.
Subject (Topic):
Didactic poetry, Latin, Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, Latin language--Grammar, Manuscripts, Medieval--Connecticut--New Haven, and Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts in Beinecke Library
Manuscript on parchment of 1) Curtius Rufus, Historia Alexandri Magni, translated into Italian and supplemented with material from Plutarch by Pier Candido Decembrio. 2) Pier Candido Decembrio, Comparazione di Cesare e d'Alessandro Magno.
Description:
Binding: 15th-16th centuries, Italy. Sewn on four tawed skin, slit straps laid in channels on the outside of wooden boards and pegged. Gilt edges. Covered in brown goatskin with corner tongues, and blind-tooled with a ropework star inside painted (red) and blind-tooled circles inside a floral border, all with metallic annular dots. There are traces of four leaf-shaped fastenings, the catches on the lower board, the upper one cut in for fabric straps attached with star-headed nails. Rebacked twice., One illuminated intial, 6-line, gold against blue, green and pink ground with white vine-stem ornament, extending into inner margin to form a partial border; terminating at top and bottom in pen inkspray with buds in green and pink and gold balls with hair-line extensions. Plain initials, 3- to 2-line, in blue, mark text divisions; headings in pale red., Purchased from Lathrop C. Harper in 1949 by Thomas E. Marston., and Script: Written by a single scribe in a slightly rounded humanistic bookhand with many cursive elements, below top line.
Subject (Name):
Caesar, Julius, Decembrio, Pier Candido,--1399-1477, Plutarch, and Rufus, Curtius
Subject (Topic):
Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, Italian literature--15th century, Literature, Medieval--Translations, Manuscripts, Medieval--Connecticut--New Haven, and Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts in Beinecke Library
Manuscript on parchment of a Book of Hours for the use of a convent.
Description:
Binding: Seventeenth century. Damaged brownish pigskin over bevelled wooden boards, the covers blind-tooled with frames of fillets and rolls; the central rectangle on the front cover, otherwise free, is decorated with a large oval stamp, heavily worn but probably picturing the Virgin in the Sun. Spine with three raised bands. Remnants of two brass clasps attached to the rear cover. Marks of a chain attachment at the bottom of the rear cover. Red edges., Headings and rubrics in red. Heightening of majuscules in red. 1-line red versals; 2-line plain initials (sometimes slightly decorated) in red. Intricate large flourished cadels in black filled with red in the texts accompanying musical notation. Art. 4 opens with a 6-line littera duplex in red and brownish red with red penwork. Guide letters for all initials. On f. 29v full-page picture of the crowned Virgin and Child, Mary presenting a flower to the Child, on a flowery pink background in a green and red rectangular frame., On some pages the ink is very faded., and Script: Copied mainly by one hand writing Northern Textualis Formata in two sizes with Central European features. A second less formal hand copied ff. 29r, lines 11-18 and 30r-31v, i.e. the beginning of art. 2. Musical notation in Nota Quadrata.
Subject (Name):
Catholic Church--Prayers and devotions
Subject (Topic):
Books of hours, Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, Manuscripts, Medieval--Connecticut--New Haven, Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts in Beinecke Library, and Monasticism and religious orders
Manuscript on parchment of 1) Unidentified Greek-Latin lexicon. 2) Anonymous treatise on breathing marks in Greek. 3) De formationibus temporum uerborum graecorum. 4) De praepositionum significatione et constructione. 4) De numeris.
Description:
Belonged to Sir Thomas Phillipps (no. 3384). Purchased in 1956 from L. C. Witten by Thomas E. Marston., Binding: ca. 1500, Italy. Original sewing on three tawed skin, slit straps laid in channels on the outside of wooden boards. Gilt edges. The secondary, beaded endband is cream and green. Covered in reddish brown goatskin, blind-tooled with a floral border and fleurons in a central panel. Name of owner is gold-tooled on side in Roman letters that have been modified to form Greek letters. Spine: triple fillets at head and tail; single fillet diapering in the panels. Gold tooling added later. Traces of two fastenings, the catches on the lower board; the upper board heavily cut in for clasps. Modern title on spine: "Guarini Lexicon Ineditum. MS. in membranis"., and The decoration consists of an illuminated title page, with full border, thin white vine-stem ornament with stylized foliage in red, pink, blue against blue, green and pink ground with white dots and gold balls. In outer border two vases, blue with white highlights, and three roundels framed in red, green or pink with Roman profile heads wearing fillets against blue or gold ground. In inner border foliage curling around a thin gold bar. The upper border consists of a garland, green with gold highlights, tied with red ribbons against a blue and gold ground with two masks, one spouting water. Unidentified arms (palm? tree on red ground) in center of lower border. Large illuminated initial, 12-line, gold against a predominately blue ground with some green, pink, red and gold, and sprouting vine-stem ornament, white with pale brown shading and stylized foliage in red, pink and light brown. 25 illuminated initials for letters of Greek alphabet, 6- to 5-line, gold, against blue, green and dark pink grounds with stylized white vine-stem ornament or white stylized foliage. 2 small illuminated initials (ff. 205v and 206r), 3-line, gold against blue, red and green ground with pale yellow and white dots and white filigree. Heading on f. 1r in blue; others in red. Plain initials in red.
Subject (Topic):
Greek language--Dictionaries--Latin--Early works to 1800, Greek language--Grammar, Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, Manuscripts, Medieval--Connecticut--New Haven, and Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts in Beinecke Library
Binding: Original blind-tooled brown leather over unbevelled oak boards, bound on four double cords. The two covers are decorated by means of triple fillets with different patterns: on the front cover a double rectangular frame divided into small lozenges decorated with lozenge-shaped hand-tools: griffon, unicorn (?), undetermined, ad two small flowerets; on the rear cover a double rectangular frame divided into six triangles decorated with only a few lozzenge-shaped hand-tools. Both covers protected by four engraved brass corner-pieces (three lost). Remnants of two clasps attached to the rear cover. Spine reinforcement consisting of four fragments from a missal (see below). Spine (damaged) with four raised bands and plaited headbands. Brown leather spine label with gold-tooled title and shelf-mark: VEN. BEDAE / SCINTILLA ETC. / I. XXII. B. V. (now detached). Five red leather tabs or traces of tabs, one at the beginning of each part. Front paste-down of blank parchment., Cite as: Mariological, Mystical and Ascetical Treatises. General Collection, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Libra, Consecutive rear fly-leaf and paste-down cut from the same missal as the binding reinforcements, Germany, 14th century. Final part of the Ordinary of the Mass, containing corrections and changes. The Pater noster has neumatic notation on 4-line staves in black, red and yellow. Parchment. Copied by one hand in Gothica Textualis Formata, the corrections in smaller Textualis Libraria (ca. 1400). Red stroking of majuscules, red rubrics and plain initials., f. 142 loose. Originally tipped in and tab bound., In Latin., Manuscript on paper in five parts, each with its own very partial foliation (ca. 1800); they seem to have had the same history. The handwriting, by various scribes sometimes difficult to discern, is generally very uneven. The paper at places damaged by the acidity of the ink. Part I (ff. 1-84, art. 1): Copied by four Gothic hands: A (ff. 1r-29v): Hybrida Formata; B (ff. 30r-39va): Semihybrida Currens; C (ff. 39vb-56r): Hybrida Libraria; D (ff. 56v-77r): small Hybrida Libraria. Part II (ff. 85-215, art. 2): Copied by various scribes, writing Hybrida Formata, Hybrida Libraria, Cursiva Libraria (ff. 153v-157v) and Semihybrida Currens (f. 210r-v, 212v). The headings are in diverse types of script, often slovenly written. Part III (ff. 216-273, art. 3): Copied by three hands. A (ff. 216r-230v): large, bold Hybrida Formata; B (ff. 231r-272ra): Hybrida Libraria; C = friar Rudolphus Deyrdynck (f. 272rb-v): Hybrida Libraria. Part IV (ff. 274-343, artt. 4-19): Copied by one hand writing Hybrida or Semihybrida Libraria/Currens. Part V (ff. 344-388, art. 20): Copied by three hands. A (ff. 344r-352ra, 14): bold Hybrida Formata/Libraria; B (ff. 352ra, 14-354va): bold Semihybrida Libraria; C (ff. 354vb-388r): linear Hybrida Libraria/Currens sloping to the left., Note in the lower margin of f. 1r suggests that the manuscript was produced in the Benedictine abbey of Huysburg, north of Halberstadt. The scribe Rudolf Deyerdynck may have been a member of this community. Gift of the Library Associates of Yale University Library., Part I: Headings in red. The majuscules are stroked in red. Plain initials of various sizes in red, generally with the simplest form of penwork; they are all executed by the same hand., Part II: Plain initials in red of various styles and sizes, often with some flourishing; they are missing on ff. 206r-207v., Part III: Headings in red. The majuscules are stroked in red. 2-3 line plain initials in red., Part IV: Headings in red. Red stroking of majuscules and red paragraph-marks. Plain initials in red of mediocre execution; on ff. 279r-284r cadels with fancy forms; a face in the initial on f. 312r; some initials (ff. 324r-341v) apparently by the same hand as those in Part I., and Part V: Headings in red. Stroking of initials in red. 2-3-line plain initials in red at the opening of the chapters. A human face in the initials on ff. 351r, 352r, 375v. The names of the authorities quoted are in red.
Subject (Name):
Abbot of St. Mihiel, Smaragdus, fl. 809-819, Bishop of Brandenburg, Stephan Bodeker, 1383-1459, and Blessed Virgin, Saint, Mary
Subject (Topic):
Christian literature, Latin (Medieval and modern), Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, Manuscripts, Medieval -- Connecticut -- New Haven, and Sermons
Manuscript on parchment of Pauline Epistles (Epistola ad Romanos 2.27 through Epistola ad Hebreos 11.34), with commentary of Gilbert de la Porree. With Argumenta, later additions, all attributed to Hugo de Sancto Caro or Peter Lombard.
Description:
Binding: Twentieth century, United States (?). Half bound in dark red goatskin with gold-tooled lettering on the spine ("St. Paul/ Epistulae cum commento/ MS. 12th Cent."), marbled paper sides, and yellow edges., Script: Written in fine early gothic bookhand in two sizes of script, above top line., and Three illuminated initials at beginning of first three Epistles of excellent quality, ff. 34v, 69v, 86v, 8- to 5-line, with descenders extending into margins, red, blue, green and beige against gold ground. Bodies of initials filled with stylized scrolling foliage, bright blue, red, green, orange, silver and yellow with white highlights against gold ground. Descenders serve as a trellis for similar scrolls, some ending in biting animal's heads or fantastic birds. Scrolling foliage, f. 86v, inhabited by beasts of a canine variety, white with red shading. The decoration of manuscript is unfinished; f. 99r pen and ink underdrawing for an initial as above, with only touches of red added; blank spaces left for initals for remaining Epistles. Small initials, 3-line, gold with red penwork, for beginning of commentary for each Epistle. Headings in red or alternating red and blue majuscules. Plain initials touched with red. Running titles, later addition, in red.
Subject (Name):
Gilbert, de La Porrée, Bishop, ca. 1075-1154, Hugh, of Saint-Cher, Cardinal, ca. 1200-1263, Paul, the Apostle, Saint, and Peter Lombard, Bishop of Paris, ca. 1100-1160
Subject (Topic):
Bible.--N.T.--Epistles of Paul, Bible--Commentaries, Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, Manuscripts, Medieval--Connecticut--New Haven, and Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts in Beinecke Library
Manuscript on parchment of a collection of anonymous sermons, mostly drawn from the Italian Homiliary.
Description:
Attractive pen-and-ink drawings throughout the manuscript, in red, though much of manuscript now stained. Folio 1r with a partial border formed of fantastic beasts, dragons and grotesques. Other drawings in margins include a fantastic bird, f. 9r; a dragon with a human head issuing forth stylized scrolls, f. 40v; a scroll inhabited by a fantastic bird, f. 49r; a lizard-like creature, its tail forming a partial border, f. 53r; a grotesque, f. 73v. Several drawings in the lower margin have been trimmed. Plain initials in red, some with penwork scrolls or simple flourishing. Headings and underlining of Biblical passages in red., Binding: Nineteenth century (?), Italy (?). Brown leather case with title, in ink, on spine: "Homil. in Evangel". Fragment of an unidentified 13th-century Latin document (monastic register?) bound in as second front flyleaf., and Script: Written in a nice large early gothic script, above top line.
Subject (Topic):
Homiliaries, Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, Manuscripts, Medieval--Connecticut--New Haven, Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts in Beinecke Library, Sermons, Latin, and Sermons--Early works to 1800