Manuscript on parchment of Caesar, Bellum Gallicum, translated into Italian by Pier Candido Decembrio in 1438. With Dedication of the translation to Filippo Maria Visconti, Duke of Milan.
Description:
Binding: Date? Italy. Vellum case with title in ink on spine: "Cesare Comment". Gilt, gauffered edges and gold and cream silk endbands. Fragments of a printed service book with musical notation partially visible under pastedowns., Elegant illuminated title page (f. 2v) with the title, written in blue over an erasure, in a circular wreath, green with gold flowers, and framed by narrow gold bands with fillets and inkspray issuing from the top and bottom with blue and deep red flowers, green leaves and gold balls. Full border, f. 1r, white vine-stem ornament on blue, green, deep red and gold ground between thin gold frames. In lower border, medallion, blank, framed by wreath, green with yellow highlights and narrow deep red frame. Partial border, f. 3r, white vine-stem ornament on blue, green and deep red ground between narrow gold frames, enlarged to elongated dots at terminals; white vine-stem ornament extends into upper (trimmed) and lower margins, with single gold balls with hair-line strokes. 8 large initials, 11- to 3-line, gold on blue, green, gold and deep red ground with white vine-stem ornament shaded with pale pink. First few words of each book in gold; incipits, explicits and marginalia in red., and Script: Written below top line in a bold round humanistic hand by a single scribe who added extra rulings in outer margins for headings, annotations, etc., in red. Additional annotations in humanistic cursive, in a brighter shade of red.
Subject (Geographic):
Rome--History, Military--265-30 B.C
Subject (Name):
Caesar, Julius
Subject (Topic):
Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, Literature, Medieval--Translations, Manuscripts, Medieval--Connecticut--New Haven, and Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts in Beinecke Library
Manuscript on parchment of Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica, Books I (parts 1 and 2)-II, in an unidentified and freely adapted Italian translation (e.g., the opening portion of Book II is greatly abbreviated).
Description:
Binding: Fifteenth century, Italy. Sewn on four tawed skin, slit straps nailed in channels on the outside of wooden boards. Yellow edges. Pink, green and cream endbands sewn on five cores. Covered in dark red goatskin with corner tongues, blind-tooled with a central ornament in a panel bordered with rope interlace in concentric frames. Two fastenings, leaf-shaped catches on the lower board and the upper board cut in for the clasp straps. Rebacked twice., Purchased from L. C. Witten in 1955 by Thomas E. Marston., Script: Written in an elegant, upright mercantesca script by a single scribe, below top line., and Spaces for headings and decorative initials remain unfilled. Initial on f. 1r later addition.
Subject (Geographic):
Egypt--History--To 640 A.D
Subject (Name):
Diodorus,--Siculus
Subject (Topic):
History, Ancient, Literature, Medieval--Translations, Manuscripts, Medieval--Connecticut--New Haven, and Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts in Beinecke Library
Manuscript on parchment of Leonardo Bruni, De bello italico adversus gothos, in the Italian version by Ludovico Petroni made in 1456. Preceded by the letter of Leonardo Bruni to Giuliano Cardinal Cesarini (1398-1444).
Description:
Binding: 18th-19th centuries, Italy. "Alla rustica" with grey-green paper added over the spine and part of the boards. Edges yellow., Partial border in inner margin of white vine-stem ornament, f. 1r, on blue, green and pink ground with white and blue dots. In lower border terminals extending in ink hair spray with green, pink and blue flowers and gold balls frame central medallion with a crude outline drawing of a head in profile (later addition?). Two decorated initials, 4- to 3-line, gold on blue, pink and green grounds with white vine-stem ornament. On f. 1r initial joined to partial border. Heading on f. 1r in red., and Script: Written by a single scribe in fere-gothic script, above top line.
Subject (Geographic):
Rome--History
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
Lawrence Justinian, Saint, 1381-1456 Tavelli, Giovanni, 1386-1446
Published / Created:
[between 1450 and 1500]
Call Number:
Beinecke MS 796
Image Count:
466
Resource Type:
Archives or Manuscripts
Abstract:
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:
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."., Collection of Bernard M. Rosenthal, Berkeley (MS 136). Purchased from him in 1994 on the Edwin J. Beinecke Fund., 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 Script: Copied by one hand in Italian Gothica Hybrida Libraria/Currens.
Subject (Name):
Lawrence Justinian,--Saint,--1381-1456
Subject (Topic):
Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, Literature, Medieval--Translations, Manuscripts, Medieval--Connecticut--New Haven, Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts in Beinecke Library, and Monastic and religious life
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 (hair side yellow and speckled) of Walter Burley, De vita et moribus philosophorum; an abridged translation that contains only 77 lives.
Description:
Belonged to Giuseppe (Joseph) Martini from whom it was acquired by H. P. Kraus, who sold it in 1956 to Thomas E. Marston., Binding: Nineteenth century, Italy. Tan calf, blind- and gold-tooled. Head and fore edge bluish green; lettering on tail edge. In panels on spine: "Detti de' filosofi/ MSS. in Perg./ Sec. XV"., Script: Written in a humanistic hand both above and below top line by Johannes Nydenna de Confluentia, who would sometimes complete the final word of the final line of text (recto only) by writing the letters down between the outer vertical bounding lines., and Space left for decorative initial on f. 1r later filled with plain initial and a stylized sprig of flowers, in turquoise. Plain intials throughout text alternate in red and blue.
Subject (Topic):
Biography--Middle Ages, 500-1500, Literature, Medieval--Translations, Manuscripts, Medieval--Connecticut--New Haven, Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts in Beinecke Library, and Philosophy, Ancient
Manuscript on paper of Jerome, Epistolae, etc., translated into Italian by Ser Nicolaus Berti Martini de Gentiluzis de Sanctogeminiano, a notary in Florence (ca. 1388-1468). With Ps.-Augustine, Epistula ad Cyrillum, concerning the death of St. Jerome.
Description:
Binding: ca. 1500, Florence. Sewn on three tawed skin, slit straps attached to oak boards, with brown and natural color endbands (later additions?) sewn on tawed skin cores laid in grooves on the outside of the boards. Covered in orange/brown sheepskin neatly blind-tooled with rope interlace in concentric frames. Spine: double fillets at head and tail and outlining the supports on the spine; fine diapering with double fillets in the panels. Four flower-shaped catches on the lower board, two wanting. Remains of vellum label (worm eaten) on the spine and pieces of string used as place marks. Off-set impressions of medieval liturgical manuscript on front and back pastedowns. Orange edges. Sticky from excessive oiling., One illuminated initial, f. 4r, 6-line, gold, filled with red and blue penwork in geometric patterns. The penwork extends the whole length of the text column to form a partial border, terminating in the upper and lower margins in a scroll of blue penwork with small flowers, heart-shaped leaves and red dots. Numerous penwork initials of good quality, 5- to 2-line, alternate in red and blue with purple and red penwork respectively, often extending into the margins. Headings in red. Majuscules and display script touched with yellow., Script: Written by a single scribe in a small upright gothic script with both notarial and humanistic influence, above top line., and Watermarks: similar to Piccard Schere III.710, Briquet Chapeau 3387; unidentified eagle.
Subject (Name):
Jerome,--Saint,--d. 419 or 20
Subject (Topic):
Christian legends, Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, Latin letters, Literature, Medieval--Translations, Manuscripts, Medieval--Connecticut--New Haven, and Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts in Beinecke Library