Manuscript on paper (trimmed), with parchment bifolios interspersed, of Julius Caesar, Commentary on the Gallic Wars, translated into French by Jean Duchesne. Written for Jacques Donche, counselor of Charles the Bold of Burgundy
Description:
In French., Watermarks: similar to Briquet Armoires: Trois fleurs de lis 1741., Script: Written in neat batarde script by Hellin de Burchgrave., Ten half-page miniatures, each in an arched frame composed of two thin bands, gold and red highlighted with white, edged in black, the arch with tiny cusps; beneath, initials, 6-, 4-, or 3-line, blue or blue and red with white highlights on a gold ground of irregular shape conforming to the letter, edged in black, with serifs protruding into the left margin; filled with green and/or red and crimson trilobe leaves on curling stems with white and/or yellow highlights, or with a blue, green, crimson, and gold diapered ground with white highlights. Three smaller miniatures, 12- or 14-line, occasionally cut off at the upper edge so as to fill only part of a line of text; frames rectilinear, otherwise identical to those described above, Beneath, 2-line initials, blue, with white highlights, filled with trilobe leaves, as above, once (f. 25r) with one leaf of spiky acanthus added, and once (f. 256r) with a pink ground with gold filigree. There is a blank space on f. 27r for another miniature of this type. Other decoration consists of 2-line calligraphic initials, paragraph marks, line fillers (spirals and heraldic dragons), page and chapter headings, all executed in red. The first one or two lines of some books (as well as occasional lines within the text) are underlined in red., A few folios have tears in the margins., and Binding: Eighteenth century. Spattered and gilt edges. Red goatskin, gold-tooled, with the arms of Eugene of Savoy on cover and his monogram on spine.
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut, New Haven., and Gaul
Subject (Name):
Caesar, Julius.
Subject (Topic):
French literature, Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, Literature, Medieval, Manuscripts, Medieval, and History
Manuscript on parchment (trimmed) in two volumes of Petrus Comestor, Historia Scholastica, translated into French by Guyart des Moulins. Missing the beginning of Numbers (v. 1, one folio following f. 115), the beginning of 3 Kings (v. 1, one folio following f. 236), and part of Luke (v. 2, one folio following f. 260).
Alternative Title:
Historia scholastica
Description:
In French., Script: Written in a formal batarde with some loops by one scribe. Marginal glosses in a similar but smaller script by the same hand. Corrections by a later hand (15th century) in brown ink., One large, 2-column miniature, 18-lines, f. 3r, of three scribes, set in a wide (25 mm.) frame, brown, decorated with a continuous garland of flowers in gold, green and white, outlined on both inner and outer edges with bands of pink, gold and blue, highlighted in white. Text surrounded by a 3/4 band of pink and gold with white highlights, edged in black. Full border: curling sprouts of blue, gold and some red and light blue acanthus on green stems, largely confined to the corners and centers of the border, with blossoms containing animals, devils, knights; the intervening spaces filled with trailing vines of green and gold leaves with varied flowers in red, blue, light blue, strawberries, grapes and beans as well as denser vines in black ink with leaves in gold and green, with flowers, as above; the entire border densely filled with pen flecks, black, with gold dots., Historiated initials (one column, 8-line), for the Seven Days of Creation (ff. 4v, 5r, 5v, 6v, 7v, 8v and 10r), roundels, with circular frames, brown with garlands as above, in some cases with the top and bottom of the roundel lopped off, set against a field of acanthus and/or flowers, as above, and set between two thin gold bands, edged in black. Short, thin borders of acanthus, vines, and flowers as above, divided from text by gold and pink bands, edged in black. Each miniature with a 5-, 4- or 3-line initial, blue with white highlights, filled with strapwork and blue and pink ivy with white highlights, on irregular gold ground. 2-line initials throughout, gold filled with red set against a blue ground or vice versa, trailing black hairspray with gold, red and blue dots. Initials cruder in v. 2. Line-fillers in both text and glosses in similar fashion. Running headings (in v. 1 only), and keys for glosses in red throughout. Traces of tabs in outer margins., and Binding: 1981. Bound in a brown, linen buckram case in the Yale Library Conservation Studio to replace an 18th century brown calf binding. One board of this binding retained in box.
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut and New Haven.
Subject (Name):
Petrus, Comestor, 12th cent.
Subject (Topic):
History Bibles, French literature, Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, Literature, Medieval, and Manuscripts, Medieval
Manuscript on parchment. and Written in Bruges in the third quarter of the 15th century; belonged to Count Axel von Kalckreuth and Alva B. (Mrs. Bernard F.) Gimbel (bookplates). Given to Yale by Mrs. Gimbel in 1956 and often referred to as the "Gimbel Hours".
Description:
Binding: ca. 16th century
Subject (Name):
Catholic Church--Prayers and devotions
Subject (Topic):
Books of hours, Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, Manuscripts, Medieval--Connecticut--New Haven, and Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts in Beinecke Library
Manuscript on parchment. One of a number of Books of Hours almost certainly made in Flanders for the English market. During the 16th century, some references to Thomas of Canterbury were erased or altered, and the word "pape" in the Calendar was changed to "ape".
Description:
In Latin., Script: Written in liturgical gothic bookhand., Decoration: Twenty-three fine miniatures (originally twenty-five) tipped in, in red, blue and gold frames, with gold quatrefoils in the corners; each with a 3/4 bar border, red and blue, with a full border of English-style acanthus, red, blue, pink and gold against cusped gold grounds, especially at corners and centers, surrounded by green, red, blue and pink flowers and berries, and ivy in black pen with gold and blue leaves, some with birds, in red bounding lines. Twenty-three historiated initials, 6-line, pink and blue with white highlights on gold grounds with black cusping. 6-line initials, pink and blue, with white highlights, filled with acanthus on gold, against pink and blue grounds, framed in gold and edged with black cusping. 3-line initials, gold, edged in black, on pink and blue grounds with white filigree. 1-line initials and line endings in the same manner. Calendar with 3-line KL monograms, as above, with hair-spray extensions and bar border, outer margin, and with hair-spray terminals. Kalends, Ides in blue and gold; important feasts in red., Shows signs of use (water stains, rubbing), but no serious damage to text or illumination., and Binding: 16th-17th centuries. Wound sewing on five large, tawed-skin supports, the backs of the gatherings cut in about 3 mm. on either side of the supports and at the kettle stitches. Dull gilt edges and traces of blue endband tie-downs. Covered in gold, striped velvet with two ribbon ties.
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut and New Haven.
Subject (Name):
Catholic Church
Subject (Topic):
Books of hours, Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, and Manuscripts, Medieval
Manuscript on parchment (extremely fine; trimmed).
Description:
In Latin., Script: Written in round gothic script by one scribe., Miniatures, borders, and initials of very high quality, executed by an artist of the Ghent-Bruges school. In the calendar, 24 miniatures, painted so that the written space appears to be superimposed on a full-page picture; the sign of the zodiac for each month is set in a small gold or grey oval above the second page for each month. Each calendar page enclosed in a gold and brown frame., Six miniatures with full borders, in frames. The manuscript almost certainly contained 16 more full-page miniatures that are now missing (see MS 287A). Twelve illuminated initials, 5-line, letters formed of curling acanthus on pink and/or blue, brown and green, or blue and green grounds; borders of flowers or architectural elements. Border decoration on every page without a full border: one bird, flower, grotesque, piece of jewelry, insect, or, occasionally, a household utensil, in each of the three outer margins, traced and painted on the following verso. 2- and 1-line initials in the same style as 5-line initials, with blue or pink grounds. Ribbon line fillers in the same style. Rubrication in pale crimson: in calendar, for months, dates, and important feasts., Water has caused ink to run in the upper left of f. 151r; no loss of text., and Binding: Nineteenth century (?). Gilt, gauffered edges. Previously bound in brick colored velvet, over wooden boards; remains of velvet on turn-ins. An elaborate clasp with round blue sapphire and the initials "V. M." joined by a love knot on the inner side. Rebacked.
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut and New Haven.
Subject (Name):
Catholic Church
Subject (Topic):
Books of hours, Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, and Manuscripts, Medieval
Manuscript of Honore Bonet, L'Arbre des Batailles. With Diego de Valera, Espejo de verdadera nobleza, translated into French by Hugues de Salve; and other treatises on arms
Description:
In French., Script: Written in formal batarde script. Folios 7r-9r, also in formal batarde, but in a different hand., The fine miniatures, by the Master of Bruges of 1482, are in arched frames composed of thin gold and pink bands. Between ff. 147r and 152r there are sixty-three painted armorial bearings, perhaps a later addition (16th century?) as indicated by the type of pigment, the occasional lack of correspondence with the original preparatory drawings, and the fact that some drawings were never overpainted. 5-, 4-, 3-, and 2-line initials, gold, edged in black, against irregular blue and red grounds with white highlights. 1-line initials in the table of contents, red and blue, with guide-letters to illuminator; ff. 7r-9r (the section for the L'Arbre des batailles) in darker shades and without notes, suggesting, as does the change of hand, that this section of the table as well as the portion of the text to which it refers were added to the manuscript in a second stage of its production. Paragraph marks, 1-line, red and blue. Pages foliated in red, upper right recto. Headings in red throughout., and Binding: Nineteenth century. Edges gilt. Purple goatskin case with brilliant gold tooling and elaborate doublures.
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut, New Haven., Burgundy (France), and France
Subject (Name):
Bonet, Honoré, fl. 1378-1398.
Subject (Topic):
Chivalry, Heraldry, Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, Manuscripts, Medieval, and History
f. 221r-221v: Apostles' Creed and the Confiteor; the latter incomplete, ending with "consensu tactu uisu". The phrase "ego infelix peccatrix" in the Confiteor indicates that the book was written for use by a woman. and Manuscript on parchment (trimmed) of a Book of Hours, with Calendar and prayers in Flemish.
Description:
Binding: Nineteenth century. Brown, originally black, sheepskin; stamped in gold on the spine: "Psaterium." Red edges., Script: Written in liturgical gothic bookhand by one scribe., and Three full-page miniatures of mediocre quality. Each miniature set in a narrow frame of gold, black, pink, and white; full border of blue and gold acanthus leaves, red, pink, and blue flowers and strawberries, and black pen flecks. One 7-line historiated initial on f. 216r (Flemish Prayers): Pieta, pink with white highlights on gold; full border as above; text separated from border by a narrow band attached to initial of gold and pink, edged in black. Illuminated 5-line initials with full borders (eg. ff. 13r, 18r, 28r), pink or blue with white highlights on gold, filled with blue or pink trilobe leaves. 2-line initials, gold on pink and blue with white highlights, one on f. 92r (Advent Office) with a band attached, as above, and small sections of border, as above; one 3-line initial on f. 179r (Obsecro te) in similar manner. 1-line initials, blue with red penwork and gold with black penwork; initials within text washed in yellow. KL monograms as 2-line initials; Latin names of months and important feasts in red. Line fillers: oblique lines with dots attached, stylized plant motifs, dots, etc., in blue or gold. Rubrics in faded red.
Subject (Name):
Catholic Church--Prayers and devotions
Subject (Topic):
Books of hours, Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, Manuscripts, Medieval--Connecticut--New Haven, and Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts in Beinecke Library
Manuscript on parchment (trimmed) in two volumes of Petrus Comestor, Historia Scholastica, translated into French by Guyart des Moulins. Missing the beginning of Numbers (v. 1, one folio following f. 115), the beginning of 3 Kings (v. 1, one folio following f. 236), and part of Luke (v. 2, one folio following f. 260).
Alternative Title:
Historia scholastica
Description:
In French., Script: Written in a formal batarde with some loops by one scribe. Marginal glosses in a similar but smaller script by the same hand. Corrections by a later hand (15th century) in brown ink., One large, 2-column miniature, 18-lines, f. 3r, of three scribes, set in a wide (25 mm.) frame, brown, decorated with a continuous garland of flowers in gold, green and white, outlined on both inner and outer edges with bands of pink, gold and blue, highlighted in white. Text surrounded by a 3/4 band of pink and gold with white highlights, edged in black. Full border: curling sprouts of blue, gold and some red and light blue acanthus on green stems, largely confined to the corners and centers of the border, with blossoms containing animals, devils, knights; the intervening spaces filled with trailing vines of green and gold leaves with varied flowers in red, blue, light blue, strawberries, grapes and beans as well as denser vines in black ink with leaves in gold and green, with flowers, as above; the entire border densely filled with pen flecks, black, with gold dots., Historiated initials (one column, 8-line), for the Seven Days of Creation (ff. 4v, 5r, 5v, 6v, 7v, 8v and 10r), roundels, with circular frames, brown with garlands as above, in some cases with the top and bottom of the roundel lopped off, set against a field of acanthus and/or flowers, as above, and set between two thin gold bands, edged in black. Short, thin borders of acanthus, vines, and flowers as above, divided from text by gold and pink bands, edged in black. Each miniature with a 5-, 4- or 3-line initial, blue with white highlights, filled with strapwork and blue and pink ivy with white highlights, on irregular gold ground. 2-line initials throughout, gold filled with red set against a blue ground or vice versa, trailing black hairspray with gold, red and blue dots. Initials cruder in v. 2. Line-fillers in both text and glosses in similar fashion. Running headings (in v. 1 only), and keys for glosses in red throughout. Traces of tabs in outer margins., and Binding: 1981. Bound in a brown, linen buckram case in the Yale Library Conservation Studio to replace an 18th century brown calf binding. One board of this binding retained in box.
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut and New Haven.
Subject (Name):
Petrus, Comestor, 12th cent.
Subject (Topic):
History Bibles, French literature, Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, Literature, Medieval, and Manuscripts, Medieval
In Low German., Script: Written in a neat batarde by two scribes: Scribe 1, ff. 1r-17v; Scribe 2, ff. 19r-186r., Fourteen good full-page miniatures of typical Southern Netherlandish production of the late 15th century. The miniatures (except those on ff. 1v, 18v, 159r) are painted over ruling for a normal text page and are set in wide arched frames of gold and black, within a full border of blue, gold, pink, and pale orange acanthus leaves, with red, purple, and blue flowers. Illuminated initials, 7-, 5-, or 4-line, with full borders on ff. 1r, 96r, 127r, 146r, 158r, 166r, and 177r: blue with white highlights filled with red, blue, and green trilobe leaves on a gold ground, borders as for miniatures. The text is set off from the border by a narrow black, gold, white, and red frame not joined to the initial. Nine illuminated initials, 5- or 4-line, with three-quarter borders: gold on pink and blue, with white highlights, borders as for miniatures. 6-, 5-, 3-, and 2-line initials in gold on pink and blue, with white highlights; black ink hair-spray, with gold trilobe leaves and flowers, attached. 1-line initials in blue with red penwork or gold with black penwork; within the text, a black initial occasionally marked with a red stroke. Line-fillers in Litany only; leaves, cables, oblique lines with dots attached, etc., in blue or gold. Rubrics in orange-tinted red or crimson., and Binding: Seventeenth century. Resewn on three twisted vegetable fiber cores laced into wooden boards. The colored, beaded endbands are embroidered on a piece of material, probably parchment, which extends to the outside of the boards. The spine is round and lined with parchment; the edges gilt and with a faintly discernable honeycomb pattern. Covered in light brown calf, extensively gold-tooled. There are two fastenings, the catches on the upper board, brass clasps attached to leather straps which are nailed to the lower board through metal plates. The lower joint has cracked and all the spine leather is detached from the bookblock, giving the effect of a case binding.
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut and New Haven.
Subject (Name):
Catholic Church
Subject (Topic):
Books of hours, Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, and Manuscripts, Medieval