Manuscript on parchment of Guarino of Verona, 1) Regulae grammaticales. 2) De orthographia. 3) Carmina differentialia.
Description:
Binding: Nineteenth century (?). Rigid vellum case. Remains of a brick red label., Bookplate of Thomas E. Marston; the date and source of acquisition unknown., One illuminated initial of poor quality, f. 1r, 11-line, purple with white filigree on gold and blue ground; filled with a stylized flower red and green with white filigree, upper terminal extending into pen-and-ink inkspray with gold balls and a mauve flower in upper border; pen-and-ink flourish with gold balls, ending in a bird's head, mauve, green and blue. Plain initials and paragraph marks alternate in blue and red; headings in red. Arms of the Valaresso family of Venice in lower border (azure, 3 bars gemelles or); partially effaced arms of Cardinal Bessarion in outer margin (azure, a cross botonny gules, a chief or; crest, cardinal's hat and crozier)., and Script: Written in humanistic bookhand, below top line; marginal annotations in humanistic cursive.
Early ex-libris on f. 52v in light ink: "iste liber est de fontibus geradi [sic]. and Manuscript on parchment of Arnald, abbot of Bonneval, 1) Tractatus de septem verbis domini in cruce. 2) Libellus de laudibus de B. Mariae virginis.
Description:
Binding: 13th-14th centuries (?), France. Original sewing on four tawed skin, slit straps laced from out to inside the boards and wedged at an angle. Pastedowns sewn with book. The upper board is beech, the lower oak. The grooves on the inside of the boards have been burned as well as gouged out. A blue and natural color endband is sewn in a chevron pattern. The primary core is laced into grooves parallel to the edges of the boards but not fastened and the endband is sewn through the cover. Fragment of an unidentified text (France, 1125-ca. 1150) used for front pastedown; portion of a document dated 1225 (?) involving Theobaldus, abp. of Rouen (1221-29) and the Cistercian nunnery of Fontaine-Guerard (Fontes Guerardi) for rear pastedown. Covered in very thick tawed skin, neatly patched and pieced out. The turn-ins are nailed near the corners. There are two strap-and-pin fastenings, the pins on the lower board and the kermes pink, tawed skin strap ending in a catch with a twisted, tawed skin cord and tassel attached, later additions (?). Remains of later title, in ink, on spine., Red initial, 4-line, with red and green arabesque designs on f. 1r; red monochrome initials with simple decorative designs, ff. 2v, 9r, 14r; less elaborate red initials, ff. 18v, 23r, 29v, 47r. Heading in red for art. 1 only. Initials stroked with red., and Script: Written in a neat late caroline minuscule that is written above the text ruling, not on it.
Manuscript on paper (thick, coarse) of the Life of Saint Birgitta, in two books.
Description:
Belonged to comte Paul Riant (1836-88) whose Scandinavian library was presented to Yale by Mrs. Henry Farnam, in 1896., Binding: Nineteenth century (?). Vellum case with stubs of two ties. Title, in ink, on spine and front cover: "Vita Sancta [sic] matris nostrae Birgittae". Red edges., Folio 16 cut in half, with loss of text., Hand-colored engraving of St. Birgitta, standing with open book in left hand and crucifix in right, pasted to f. 11v. Same engraving (but uncolored) of St. Birgitta pasted to f. 106v., and Script: Written in quasi-italic by a single scribe.
Manuscript on parchment (trimmed) of what appears to be the second of a two-volume Bible.
Description:
Binding: Nineteenth century. Red velvet case. Leather placemarks on fore edge., Script: Written in an elegant French minuscule, chapter divisions added in margins by a later hand., and Twenty-seven fine aniconic initials, 20- to 7-lines. The initials are drawn in black pen, filled with yellow, brown or blue, most with interlace knots at midpoints and terminals, some with dragon heads, infilled with intertwining palmette foliage against irregular red, blue, green, and yellow panelled grounds. Prologues open with 10- to 4-line initials, red and blue with terminals in a leafy "arabesque" design. Chapters with 3-line initials in red. 1-line initials, running headings, and rubrics throughout. Marginalia sometimes outlined in red.
Manuscript on parchment (trimmed). and On fol. 260v: historiated initial of King David and a carillon of three bells and clappers.
Description:
Evidence of heavy use in the 14th through 16th centuries includes marginal notes of an early corrector (e. g. "hunc prologum non correxi quia non inueni correctum" on f. 182r and "Quidam non hunc istum uersum" on f. 539v).
Manuscript on paper (polished) of Gasparino Barzizza, Commentary on Epistolae morales ad Lucilium, 65-124 only.
Description:
Binding: Fifteenth century, Italy. Parchment stays are adhered to inner and outer conjugate leaves of quires. Original wound sewing on three tawed skin, slit straps laid in channels on the outside of beech boards. The endbands, which are wanting, were sewn on tawed skin cores laid in grooves and nailed or held in place by the bosses; they were tied down through a tawed skin spine lining. Covered in sheepskin, originally brick red, with the surface now badly rubbed and shedding. Corner tongues. Blind-tooled with an X in concentric frames. Four leaf-shaped catches with three flowers on each on the lower board, one wanting; the upper board cut in for two kermes pink straps attached with star-headed nails. Five flower-shaped bosses on each board and the trace of a chain attachment at the tail of the lower one., Illuminated initial, f. 1r, 8-line, blue with white highlights and burnished gold on gold ground with stylized foliage in green and dark red with yellow highlights. Terminals ending in foliage serifs, red, green with yellow highlights, and gold balls with hairline extensions. Numerous pen and ink initials, 3-line, alternate red and bright blue with penwork designs of the other color extending along margin., Purchased from Enzo Ferrajoli through Nicolas Rauch of Geneva in 1958 by L. C. Witten, who sold it the same year to Thomas E. Marston., Script: Written in gothic cursive with humanistic features by a single scribe, above top line., and Watermarks: similar to Briquet Tour 15909 and Piccard Turm II.617.
Manuscript on parchment of Valerius Maximus, Dictorum factorum memorabilium ad tiberium cesarem.
Description:
Binding: 18th-19th centuries. Mottled calf case, gold-tooled., Borders cut out on ff. 1r, 45r, and 79r, replaced with parchment, with initials and borders partially restored., Illuminated by Cristoforo Cortese, ca. 1420. Fine historiated initial (12-line) on f. 1r, the author seated at a lectern, pink, purple, green, red, and blue foliage on a gold ground, edged in black, with delicate white highlights; an exuberant vine and foliage border in three margins; the upper margin with a bar, gold and blue, with white highlights. Eight illuminated initials (9- or 8-line) on ff. 14v, 29v, 45r, 61r, 79r, 98v, 115r, 132r in the same style, borders in outer margin. Fine penwork initials throughout, blue with red penwork or vice versa (7- to 4-line). Several lines following initials written in ornate majuscules widely spaced on every other line, filled in with sepia penwork (some left unfinished, especially near end of manuscript). 2-line initials, blue with red or red with blue penwork, less ornate than above. Rubrics missing for major text divisions; paragraph marks in red or blue., and Script: Written by a single scribe in a precise round gothic bookhand.