The Schoyen Collection: Palaeography -- 4.3. Latin book scripts

4.3.4. Romanesque book scripts

MS 1554 England, mid 12th c.
MS 639 England(?), late 12th c.
MS 095 Belgium, 2nd half of 12th c.
MS 4480 France, late 12th c.
MS 696 Germany or Switzerland, mid 13th c.
MS 2857 Italy, 2nd quarter 12th c.

MS 1554

SULPITIUS SEVERUS: DE BEATI MARTINI VITA, CH. XIII & XVI

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 639
1. BIBLE: 1 THESSALONIANS 4:14 - 5:28, WITH PETRUS LOMBARDUS: THE GREAT GLOSS
2. BIBLE: ROMANS, WITH PETRUS LOMBARDUS: THE GREAT GLOSS
3. BIBLE: 1 CORINTHIANS 1:1 -15:56, WITH PETRUS LOMBARDUS: THE GREAT GLOSS

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.

Provenance: 1. Thomas Becket, Benedictine Priory of Christ Church Canterbury, Canterbury (12^th c.); 2. Benedictine Priory of Christ Church Canterbury (12th c.-1524?); 3. Sir Thomas Phillipps, Cheltenham (-1872); 4. Katharine, John, Thomas & Alan Fenwick, Cheltenham (1872-1946); 5. Robinson Bros, London (1946-1977); 6. H.P. Kraus, New York (1977); 7. Bernard Rosenthal Collection, San Francisco, I/277 (1977-1989); 8. Bernard Quaritch Ltd., Cat. 1147(1991):94.

Commentary: From an early MS, almost contemporary with Peter Lombard, who died in 1160. The 4 points forming a rhomb in the margin are distinctive for the Canterbury scriptorium in this period, according to Dr. Christopher de Hamel, who also made the attribution to the library of Thomas Becket.

Published: Christopher de Hamel: The dispersal of the library of Christ Church, Canterbury. In Books and Collectors 1200-1700, essays presented to Andrew Watson, ed. J.P. Carley and C.G.C. Tite, British Library, 1997, pp. 268-269.

MS 095

ALULFUS OF TOURNAI: GREGORIALIS (GREGORIUS MAGNUS), BOOK X, CAP. 13 -BOOK XI, CAP 13: MORALIA IN JOB 10 & 11. & BOOK X, CAP. 8-10; BOOK XI, CAP 14-17; AND BOOK XII, CAP. 2-4: HOMILIES ON EZEKIEL

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 4480

GRATIANUS: DECRETUM: CAUSA XI, QUESTIO 1

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 696
1. PASSION OF AGAPIUS, SECUNDINUS, MARIANUS, IACOBUS, AND ASSOCIATES IN NUMIDIA
2. PASSION OF ST. GEORGE

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 2857
1. BIBLE: JOEL 2:5 - END
2. BIBLE: AMOS 6:11 - END, AND PROLOGUE
3. BIBLE: PROLOGUE TO OBADIAH, OPENING

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 16^th 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.

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