Manuscript on parchment of Virgil, Aeneis, in an Italian prose abridgement by Andrea Lancia
Description:
In Italian., Script: copied by a single hand writing Southern Gothica Textualis Libraria/Formata (Rotunda). Stroking of the majuscules. 2-line flourished initials with simple penwork at the opening of the chapters. More elaborate flourished initials, 2 to 7 lines, at the opening of the Books. On f. 1r an 8-line littera duplex., and Publius Vergilius Maro (70-19 B.C.), Aeneis, abridgement in Italian prose by Andrea Lancia (c. 1280-c. 1360). This Florentine notary and Dante commentator wrote various Italian translations or adaptations of classical Latin texts. There are occasionally interlinear glosses, more often marginal notes. Pointing hands.
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut and New Haven.
Subject (Name):
Lancia, Andrea, ca. 1280-ca. 1360. and Virgil.
Subject (Topic):
Epic poetry, Latin, Literature, Medieval, and Manuscripts, Medieval
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:
In Italian., Script: Written in an elegant, upright mercantesca script by a single scribe, below top line., Spaces for headings and decorative initials remain unfilled. Initial on f. 1r later addition., and 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.
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut, New Haven., and Egypt
Subject (Name):
Diodorus, Siculus.
Subject (Topic):
History, Ancient, Literature, Medieval, Manuscripts, Medieval, and History
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 of Origen, Commentarius in ad Romanos, translated into Latin by Rufinus. Probably written at the Cistercian abbey of Hautecombe
Description:
In Latin., Script: Written by multiple scribes in well formed early gothic bookhand., Fine painted initials, ff. 1r and 29v, red with simple green penwork designs and pale yellow wash, 8-line; smaller red, green, or dark yellow-brown monochrome initials, 7- to 1-line. On f. 141r red initial, 7-line, with pale yellow wash. Headings in red., and Binding: Between 1800 and 1810, Italy. Half bound in brown sheepskin, gold-tooled, with two green, gold-tooled labels: "Hieronimi/ In Epistol/ ad Romanos/ Manuscrip" and "Saecul XII". Bright pink paper sides and edges spattered blue-green. The spine of the manuscript is back bevelled at head and tail. Rust stains from the nails of four corner bosses of early binding on first two leaves.
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:
In Italian., Script: Written by a single scribe in fere-gothic script, above top line., 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 Binding: 18th-19th centuries, Italy. "Alla rustica" with grey-green paper added over the spine and part of the boards. Edges yellow.
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut, New Haven., and Rome
Subject (Name):
Bruni, Leonardo, 1369-1444. and Cesarini, Giuliano, Cardinal, 1398-1444.
Subject (Topic):
Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, Italian literature, Literature, Medieval, Manuscripts, Medieval, and History
Manuscript fragment on parchment of Ps.-Dionysius Areopagita, De caelesti hierarchia, translated into Latin by Robert Grosseteste (d. 1253), with his commentary
Description:
In Latin., Script: Written in Northern Gothica Textualis Libraria in two sizes. The large script used for the text itself is written every two lines. The cursive r-abbreviation could point to England, the z standing on the line and the occasional use of j instead of i reminds us of Spain, the "horn" at the head of r is especially typical of German scribes., and The decoration consists of plain late Romanesque initials in red (2 lines).
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut and New Haven.
Subject (Name):
Pseudo-Dionysius, the Areopagite. and Franciscans
Subject (Topic):
Manuscripts, Astronomy, Medieval, Literature, Medieval, Manuscripts, Medieval, and Scholia
Manuscript on parchment of Boethius, De consolatione philosophiae, translated into French by Renaut de Louhans. As the translator states in the prologue, his work incorporates material from a commentary on Boethius made by another member of the Dominican order (Nicholas Trevet) as well as his own digressions
Description:
In French., Script: Written in batarde by a single scribe., Two intricate penwork initials, 5-line, on ff. 1r and 2r in red and blue; less detailed penwork initials, 3-line, in same colors throughout text; first letter of each verse stroked in red., and Binding: 17th-18th centuries. Brown spattered calf, with peculiarly striped turn-ins. Title, in gold, on spine: BOECE EN VER FRANC.
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut and New Haven.
Subject (Name):
Boethius, -524., Trivet, Nicholas, 1258?-1328., and Dominicans
Subject (Topic):
Manuscripts, Consolation, French poetry, Literature, Medieval, and Manuscripts, Medieval
Manuscript on parchment (goatskin) of Antonio Beccadelli (Antonius Panormita, 1394-1471), De dictis et factis Alfonsi regis, Ital. translation. With Giovanni Gioviano Pontano (Iohannes Iovianus Pontanus, 1426-1503), De principe, Ital. translation
Description:
In Italian., Script: Written by one hand in a slightly shaky Southern Gothica Textualis Formata (Rotunda), the majuscules partly in Roman Capitals. Headings in clumsily executed Capitals with crossed letter I., Headings in red. 2- or 3-line plain initials alternately red and blue, with guide-letters. Larger initials with some flourishing at the beginning of each work., and Binding: Eighteenth century (?). White parchment over cardboard. On the spine the title is written "Panormit: de' Fatti d'Alfonso, e Pontano del Princip: MS." and at the bottom, partly worn off, the early shelf-mark "Cass. 1 58 an (?) x9".
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut, New Haven., and Italy
Subject (Name):
Beccadelli, Antonio, 1394-1471.
Subject (Topic):
Didactic literature, Italian literature, Literature, Medieval, Manuscripts, Medieval, and Politics and government
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:
In Italian., Script: Copied by one hand in Italian Gothica Hybrida Libraria/Currens., 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 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.".
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut and New Haven.
Subject (Name):
Lawrence Justinian, Saint, 1381-1456.
Subject (Topic):
Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, Literature, Medieval, Manuscripts, Medieval, and Monastic and religious life
