Context: The script is reminiscent of Charlemagne's court school scribe Godescalc, similar to, if not identical with, Vatican pal. lat. 170.

Provenance: 1. Benedictine Abbey of Lorsch; 2. Hauswedell Cat. 212(1976):491; 3. Bernard Rosenthal Collection, San Francisco, I/240; 4.Bernard Quaritch Ltd., Cat. 1147(1991):1.

Commentary: Probably the only survival of an early Lorsch pandect.

Exhibited: Comité International de Palaéographie Latin (CIPL) at Senate House, University of London , 3 September 2008.

MS in Latin on vellum, Kochel, Germany, ca. 800, 4 ff., 31x22 cm, 2 columns, (25x18 cm), 29 lines in Carolingian minuscule by a nun.

Context: Other codices from 750 to around 800, written by 8 nuns at Kochel, are München: Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Clm 4549 group.

Provenance: 1. Benedictine Nunnery, Kochel, Germany (ca. 800-955); 2. Bernard Quaritch Ltd., London.

Commentary: Kochel is a small and insufficiently known or appreciated scriptorium of nuns, whose community was associated with Benedictbeuren. Like Pfalzel near Trier and several French nunneries, it was a common resting place for English nuns on their pilgrimage to Roma. It was founded in 750 and destroyed by the Hungarians in 955.

MSin Latin on vellum, Fulda, Germany, 825-850, 1 f., 31x23 cm, single column, (26x20 cm), 35 lines in a strikingly even, heavy round Carolingian minuscule, reminiscent of 6th c. half-uncial, suggesting an ancient exemplar, headings in a fine half-uncial.

Provenance: Provenance: 1. Benedictine Abbey of Fulda, Germany (ca. 840-); 2. Collection von Bülow(?); 3. Internationaal Antiquariaat Menno Hertzberger & Co., Amsterdam 22.6.1966:1120; 4. Ludwig Rosenthal, Hilversum, Netherlands; 5. Bernard Rosenthal Collection, San Francisco, I/202 (until 1987); 6. Bernard Quaritch Ltd., Cat. 1088(1988):10.

Commentary: The text survives in 2 MSS of 7th c. and 6 MSS of 8th and 9th c. only, all in public libraries. The present leaf is a valuable witness to the production of the key texts, useful to such an important monastery as Fulda in the first part of 9th c. Our information about Fulda's library is extremely patchy in this period, and it thus fills a considerable gap in our knowledge.

Published: Fuldische Handschriften aus Hessen, mit weiteren Leihgaben aus Basel, Oslo, dem Vatikan und Wolfenbüttel. Hartmut Broszinski und Sirka Heyne: Katalog zur Ausstellung anlässlich des Jubiläums "1250 Jahre Fulda" Hessische Landesbibliothek Fulda, 19. April bis 31 Mai 1994, Fulda, Hessische Landesbibliothek, 1994, no. 20, p.60.

Klaus Gugel: Aus fuldischen Handschriften. Ein bisher unbekanntes Fragment aus einer Fuldaer Handschrift des früher 9. Jahrhunderts; in Fuldaer Geschichtsblätter, Jahrgang 67, 1991, pp. 65-79.

Exhibited: "1250 Jahre Fulda" Hessische Landesbibliothek Fulda, 19. April bis 31 Mai 1994, Fulda, Hessische Landesbibliothek, 1994, no. 20, p.60. Comité International de Palaéographie Latin (CIPL) at Senate House, University of London , 3 September 2008.

MS in Latin on vellum, Germany, ca. 900, 1 f., 31x21 cm, originally ca. 38x33 cm, 2 columns, (30x20 cm remaining), 31-32 lines (originally 33 lines), in a late uneven Carolingian minuscule with insular tendencies, 4 lines of opening text in red rustic capitals, 5-line initial "B" in an entwined ropework and leafy design with red, blue, and yellow wash (the colours perhaps added 11th c).

Provenance: 1. Bernard Quaritch Ltd., Cat. 1088(1988):3.

Commentary: Of the 159 extant MSS and fragments recorded, 6 are of the 8th c., and 11 are of the 9th or 9th/10th c. Probably written by an insular scribe in a Germano-Saxon scriptorium, or copied after an insular exemplar.

Exhibited: Comité International de Palaéographie Latin (CIPL) at Senate House, University of London , 3 September 2008.

MS in Latin on vellum, St. Martin's Tour, France, early 9^th c., 1 f., ca. 30x21 cm, 2 columns, (27x18 cm), 33 lines in Carolingian minuscule, 5-line decorated initial H.

Provenance: 1. Benedictine Abbey of St. Martin, Tour (early 9^th c. -); 2. Bernard Quaritch Ltd., London.

MS in Latin on vellum, North France, mid 9^th c., 2 partial ff., 15x18 cm, originally 22x22 cm, single column, (13x17 cm, originally 17x18 cm), 25 lines (originally 26-29 lines) in a small, compact Carolingian minuscule by an Anglo-Saxon or Irish scribe.

Context: 2 partial ff., forming the outer bifolium of Tokyo, The International Christian University, MS 110.

Provenance: 1. Philip Bliss, Oxford (1787-1857); 2. Sotheby's 21.8.1858:119; 3. Sir Thomas Phillipps, Cheltenham, Ph 15659 (1858-1872); 4. Katharine, John, Thomas & Alan Fenwick, Cheltenham, (1872-1911); 5. Sotheby's 24.4.1911:390(or 391); 6. Edmund Hunt Dring, London (1911-1928); 7. Edmund Maxwell Dring, London (1928-1984); 8. Quaritch Cat. 1036(1984):78; 9. Bruce Ferrini Cat. 2(1989):2.

Commentary: From a previously unidentified and unrecorded Carolingian commentary on Matthew, written by an insular scribe in a Franco-Saxon scriptorium under the influence of the scriptorium of St. Martin's Tour.

Exhibited: Comité International de Palaéographie Latin (CIPL) at Senate House, University of London , 3 September 2008.

MS in Latin on vellum, Milano area, Italy, 2^nd half 9^th c., 2 partial ff. (upper part of a bifolium), 23x19 cm, originally 36x26 cm, single column, (23?x20 cm), 19 lines (originally 28 lines), gloss in one margin only, in a fine clear, firm Carolingian minuscule, title in red half-uncial with 5 lines in red rustic capitals, the gloss in a slightly less formal and smaller script by the same scribe, set out to form elegant triangular shapes.

Context: Another fragment from the same MS in Dillingen, Kreis- und Studien-Bibliothek (Fragm. V), containing illustrations. The parent MS has been of high quality and elegance in term of script, layout and design.

Provenance: 1. Mr. Neuss, München area; 2. Robert Wölfle, München (until 1979); 3. Bernard Rosenthal Collection, San Francisco, I/244 (1979-1987); 4. Bernard Quaritch Ltd., Cat. 1088(1988):56.

Commentary: The Carolingian gloss is hitherto unknown and the two fragments are the only witnesses to it. The layout was specifically designed to accommodate the gloss.

Published: R. McKitterick: Carolingian Book Production; The Library, 6th series, vol., no. 1, Oxford 1990, pp. 23-25.

MS in Latin on vellum, Bobbio, Italy, 10^th c., 1 f., 29x20 cm, single column, (24x16 cm), 27 lines in a very distinctive forward-sloping Carolingian minuscule with insular letter forms, large decorated initial of the opening page of the text in dark brown, elaborate scrolling leafy and petal design, infilled with dark brown and red wash in insular style.

Provenance: 1. Benedictine Abbey of SS. Peter and Paul, Bobbio, Italy (10th c.-); 2. Sotheby's 22.6.1993:3.

Commentary: The monastery of Bobbio was one of the most important of the early Irish communities, founded by St. Columban in 612, and finally suppressed ca. 1789. The 10th c. library catalogue of Bobbio includes a single volume called "Libros de passione apostolorum Petri & Pauli I". It is very possible that this is a contemporary record of the present MS.

Published: Mentioned in: The Monastery of Bobbio library catalogue, Bobbio 10th century; in: G. Becker: Catalogi Bibliothecarum Antiqui. 1885, p. 69, no 319.

Exhibited: Comité International de Palaéographie Latin (CIPL) at Senate House, University of London , 3 September 2008.

MS in Latin on vellum, Roma or Umbria-Roman region, Italy, ca. 1125-1130, 1 partial f., 24x22 cm, originally ca. 55x40 cm, 1 of 2 columns, (column width 11 cm), 26 lines (originally ca. 50 lines) in a late rounded Italian Carolingian minuscule of very high quality, 4 lines of the text and all initials in an expert uncial, 23-line hollow shafted transitional geometrical initial "I", 20x4 cm, of an interlaced design in a strong bright blue, the shaft filled with four-petalled rosettes in red and blue, knotwork at top and ending in a feather-like ornament in black red and green, expertly done by an unidentified master.

Provenance: 1. Rodrigues Collection; 2. Paul Graupe Antiquariat, Berlin, Auction 76, 12.12.1927:26; 3. Georg Swarzenski (1927-1974); 4. H.P. Kraus, New York (1974-1975); 5. Professor H. Bober (1975-); 6. J. Bober (-1989); 7. Bruce Ferrini collection, Akron, Ohio (1989-1991).

Commentary: The outer lower quarter of a leaf from an Atlante (Giant) Bible. "The beauty of this initial lies in its simplicity, and clarity of detail, features that are all the more enhanced by its remarkable state of preservation", Usha M. Subrahmanyam: Twelfth century initial styles in Central Italy. Institute of Fine Arts, New York University, February 1983.

MS in Latin on vellum, England, 1st half of 11th c., 1 partial f., 27x9 cm, originally 27xca.22 cm, 1 of 2 columns, (25x7 cm remaining, column width 8 cm), 32 lines in Carolingian minuscule, 5 lines in red uncials, 4 red 2- to 3-line capitals.

Provenance: 1. Peter Croft, England (1929-1979); 2. Dr. George Salt, Cambridge (1979-1991); 3. Sotheby's 17.12.1991:4.

Commentary: Very few liturgical MSS from the Anglo-Saxon period have survived.

MS in Latin on vellum, England, mid 11th c., 2 partial ff., 10x15 cm remaining, single column, (8x13 cm), 13+9 lines in an expert calligraphic English Carolingian minuscule, with 6 lines of marginal notes.

Context: Pastedown in a copy of Aeschylus: Works (in Greek), Paris, A. Turnebus, 1552, Adams A264; in a slightly later Oxford binding of blindstamped calf.

Provenance: 1. Binder, Oxford (before 1641); 2. Private owner (1641); 3. G.H.R. Denham (1836); 4. G. Thielton (1844); 5. A. Faustini, Brooklyn, New York (1925); 6. Bernard Quaritch Ltd., London.

Commentary: The script is an outstanding example of calligraphic beauty. For comparable hands see T.A.M. Bishop, English Caroline minuscule, 1971, nos. 26-28.

MS in Latin on vellum, England(?), ca. 1100, 1 f., 27x18 cm, single column, (19x11 cm), 29 lines in a small round late Carolingian minuscule (recto), and a more spiky script (verso), incipit leaf with a large initial "L" extending the entire length of the text in red, green, brown and yellow, entwining leafy design with a knotted finial at top and a lion's head at bottom.

Context: Only 3 more Bede fragments with English provenance are known: 2 recorded by N. Ker, and MS 127 in The Schøyen Collection.

Provenance: 1. Bernard Quaritch Ltd., Cat. 1088(1988):4.

Commentary: The incipit leaf, hitherto unrecorded, clearly Norman in style.

Exhibited: Comité International de Palaéographie Latin (CIPL) at Senate House, University of London , 3 September 2008.

MS in Latin on vellum, St. Albans Abbey, Hertfordshire, England, mid 12^th c., 1 partial f., 9x12 cm, 1 of originally 2 columns, (column width 9 cm), 12 lines remaining in Romanesque book script of very fine quality by scribe "B" of St. Albans Abbey.

Provenance: 1. Benedictine Abbey of St. Albans, Hertfordshire (ca. 1150- ca. 1537); 2. Dr. George Salt, Cambridge, MS 8 (-1991); 3. Sotheby's 17.12.1991:8a.

Commentary: Scribe "B" was the chief scribe of the St. Albans' scriptorium during the abbacy of Ralph Gubiun, 1146-51. He wrote several MSS, now in Cambridge, Oxford, London, and St. Petersburg. He is distinguished by the elegance and flamboyance of his script. Cfr. R.M. Thomson: Manuscripts from St. Albans Abbey 1066-1235. Publ. for the University of Tasmania, pp. 29-30.

MS in Latin on vellum, Canterbury, England, late 12^th c., 3 ff., 32x24 cm, 2 columns, (26x18 cm), 43 lines in a transitional late Romanesque to early Gothic book script, small initials and authorities' names in margins in red.

Context: The present ff. may have belonged to Eastry cat. no. 803 : "Epistole Pauli secundum Longobardum" from the library of Thomas Becket (James: Ancient Libraries, 1903, p. 83).

MSS owned by saints: MSS 260/36, 620, 639, 1000 and 1751. For other early Peter Lombard MSS, see MSS 94 and 1821.

MS in Latin on vellum, Villers, Belgium, 2nd half of 12th c., 12 ff., 36x27 cm, 2 columns, (25x17 cm), 35 lines in Romanesque book script of good quality, headings in red, calligraphic initials in green and red with contrasting penwork.

Context: Other ff. from the same MS: 1 f. : 1 f. Prof. Takamiya, Japan, MS 45, no. 30; 1 f. University of Indiana, Bloomington, Lilly Library, Poole MS 98-28; 2 ff. Christopher de Hamel collection MS 334; 1 f. Stanford University Library M.299/4/2/118; 2 ff. Keio University Library, 1204998132. All ff. are detached from the end of Phillipps MS 322, now Brussels, Bibliothèque royale, ms II.930.

Provenance: 1. Cistercian Abbey of Villers, Duchy of Brabant, Belgium, (2nd half of 12th c.-); 2. Sir Thomas Phillipps, Cheltenham, MS 322 (-1872); 3. Katharine, John, Thomas & Alan Fenwick, Cheltenham (1872-1946); 4. Robinson Bros, London (1946-1978); 5. H.P. Kraus, New York (1978); 6. Bernard Rosenthal Collection, San Francisco, I/276 (1978-1987); 7. (8 ff.:) Bernard Quaritch Ltd., Cat. 1088(1988):24, acquired June 1988; 8. (4 ff.:) Bernard Quaritch Ltd., Cat. 1147(1991):93.

Commentary: 8 ff. form a complete gathering still retaining the original stitching.

MS in Latin on vellum, Northern France, late 12th c., 1 f., 36x27 cm, 2 columns, (28 x16 cm), 55 lines in Romanesque book script, 17 2-10-line initials in alternate red and blue, some with flourishing, 1 large historiated initial of two clerics disputing, in gold and colours by the Simon Master.

Context: Another leaf from the same volume is Bruce Ferrini: Medieval & Renaissance Miniature Paintings, Catalogue 3(1995):2. For another Gratianus leaf, see MS 1651.

Provenance: 1. Sotheby's 6.7.2000:12.

Commentary: The 12th c. Camaldolese monk Gratianus, father of canon law, is the author of the Concordance of Discordant Canons, later known as the Decretum Gratiani. Dealing with the inconsistencies of nearly 4,000 citations from papal decretals (letters) and other writings, Gratianus designed a logical framework for these disparate sources. His work remained the foundation of canon law until the promulgation of the Church's new Codex iuris canonici in 1917. The 2nd part of Gratianus' work consists of 36 causae, that is, difficult juridical cases.

Exhibited: Oslo Katedralskole 850 år, Jubileumsutstilling 10. - 14. March 2003

MS in Latin on vellum, Germany or Switzerland, mid 13^th c., 1 f., 43x32 cm, 2 columns, (36x24 cm), 48 lines in a large late Romanesque book script of high quality, a very large 13-line historiated initial of St. George in silver and colours.

Provenance: 1. Sam Fogg Rare Books Ltd., London.

Commentary: Originally f. 161 of a large format Passionale of the type intended for reading in the refectories of religious houses.

MS in Latin on vellum, Toscana, Italy, 2^nd quarter of 12^th c., 2 ff., 54x37 cm, 2 columns, (38x24 cm), 50 lines in a large rounded Romanesque book script, opening and closing words of each book and headings in uncials, headings in red, a 6-lines decorated initial in bright yellow turning into planstems, an 11-lines initial in red decorative panels surrounded by bright yellow threaded through with scrolling plantstems, both heightened with wash in brown and khaki on a blue and purple ground.

Context: Possibly by the same scribe as 2 MSS from San Salvatore, now Roma: Bibl.Naz., Sessor. cod. 5 and 6.

Provenance: 1. Cistercian Monastery of San Salvatore a Settimo, near Firenze (until 16th c.); 2. Italian archive (1570); 3. Sotheby's 22.6.1999:7.

Commentary: From a giant Bible used for display and textreading. The monastery of San Salvatore a Settimo eventually became the most influential Cistercian house in Tuscany, with an important library that was dispersed during the 16th c.

Exhibited: Comité International de Palaéographie Latin (CIPL) at Senate House, University of London , 3 September 2008.