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24. Various smaller collections (1)

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There are many further special collections of smaller size not listed under parts 1-23.
64 MSS from some of those, and with texts not fitting into any category, are listed here as examples.


24.1. Architecture

24.2. Books of Hours, Prayerbooks

24.3. Historical and Literary letters

24.4. Legends

24.5. Children's literature and fairy tales

24.6. Library catalogues

24.7. Maps

24.8. Marine life

24.9. Medical texts

24.10. Miracles and lives of Saints

24.11. Peerage genealogies

24.12. Roman military diplomas

24.13. Ships, shipbuilding and seamanship

24.14. Slavery

24.15. Weight and measures

24.16. Wine and beer

24.17. Literature by female authors

24.18. Various texts





24.1. Architecture

MS 3031

ARCHITECT'S DRAWING OF THE GROUND PLAN OF THE PALACE OF NUR ADAD IN LARSA

ms3031

MS on clay, Larsa, Babylonia, 1865-1850 BC, 1 tablet, 12,0x8,8x2,5 cm, detailed drawing with the various halls, rooms and antechambers around the central courtyard.

Context: Other architect's plans are MSS 2992, 2994, 2063 (Tower of Babel stele), 2993 and 3193.

Commentary: Although there is no writing on the tablet, we can be sure of what it depicts. Firstly, it is written on the characteristic purplish Larsa clay. Secondly, the design of the palace and the proportions correspond almost exactly with the building remains of the Nur Adad temple unearthed by a French excavations that started in 1903. So far the only example of an identifiable plan of a known building on a clay tablet.





MS 3194

LABYRINTH OF SQUARE AND SYMMETRIC FORM WITH ENTRANCES AT THE MIDDLE OF OPPOSITE SIDES, ONLY ONE OF THEM LEADING TO THE CENTRE

ms3194

MS in Old Babylonian on clay, Babylonia, 2000-1700 BC, 1 tablet, 11,7x10,3x2,0 cm, labyrinth of square and symmetric form.

Commentary: With MSS 4515-4516 and 3195 the only known illustrations of a labyrinth from Babylonia and the world's oldest dateable labyrinth illustrations. The second oldest are 2 from ca. 13th c. BC, a fragment from a clay vessel from Tell Rifa'at, Syria (Hermann Kern, Through the Labyrinth, no. 102), and a linear B tablet from Pylos (Kern nos. 103-104).





See also MS 2063, The Tower of Babel stele, Babylon, 604-562 BC




MS 2460

ms2460

ARCHITECTURAL PATTERN BOOK, COMBINING COSMOLOGICAL DIAGRAMS WITH A GUIDE FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF TEMPLES AND STUPAS, INCLUDING THE DRAWING OF THE GREAT STUPA IN KATMANDU

MS in Newari on yellow stained paper, Nepal, 18th c., 32 ff. (complete), 29x13 cm, single column, (26x13 cm), 9-11 lines in Newari script, 30 drawings or diagrams in red, blue, green, orange and white.

Binding: Nepal, 18th c., paper covers.

Provenance: 1. Ian Alsop, Arizona (-1997); 2. Sam Fogg cat. 19(1998):107.

Commentary: Nepalese pattern books for iconography are well known, but architectural model books are rare.




MS 2255

KRISTIAN BLYSTAD: PROTOTYPES FOR BIBLIOTHECA ALEXANDRINA: A LATIN "L" AND SUMERIAN PICTOGRAPH SWIMMING SWAN

ms2255a

MS in Latin and Old Sumerian on granite, Oslo, 1995, 4 stone slabs, all together 300x200x7-15 cm, 2,4 tons, 1 sign in Latin capital, 1 sign in Sumerian pictographic script, by the sculptor Kristian Blystad, after designs by Jorunn Sannes.

Provenance: 1. Snøhetta International, Oslo.

ms2255b

Commentary: Prototypes for the great wall of Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Alexandria, which covers 6,000 m2, with 3750 stone slabs, representing the alphabets and scripts of the world of all periods. The granite was taken from Aswan, ca. 1500 km to the south of Alexandria. It is one of the world's oldest quarries, and where the Pharaohs sourced the rock to clad the pyramids. The Norwegian group of architects, Snøhetta, won the architectural contest for the new library in Alexandria in 1989. It is a circular building with a diameter of 160 m., accommodating 4 million books, financed by UNESCO and the Egyptian state, finished in 2001.

Exhibited: "Preservation for access: Originals and copies". On the occasion of the 1st International Memory of the World Conference, organized by the Norwegian Commission for UNESCO and the National Library of Norway, at the Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art, Oslo, 3 June - 14 July 1996.




24.2. Books of Hours, Prayerbooks

MS 007

BOOK OF HOURS, USE OF METZ

ms007

MS in Latin and French on vellum, Metz, France, mid 15th c., 134 ff. (-ca. 5), 17x12 cm, single column, (8x6 cm), 16 lines in a Gothic liturgical book script, 100 three-quarter illuminated borders in a great variety of styles with flowers, birds, grotesques, monkeys, a white panther, etc., over 100 partial borders, 10 half-page illuminated initials with full borders, 1 half-page and 7 full-page miniatures with full borders in burnished gold and colours, one of the miniatures is signed "AH", another with the coat of arms of the original owner, in the style of lower Rheinland, some borders associated with the designs of the "Master of the Playing Cards".

Binding: England, ca. 1800, calf, sewn on 5 cords, using as sewing-guard a document dated 1446, in a wrapper formed of a part of a Spanish 16th c. antiphonal on vellum.

Provenance: 1. B. Funck (1586); 2. James Wadmore, England (1782-1853); 3. Christie's 5.5.1854; 4. Christie's 11.7.1974:16; 5. Sotheby's 24.6.1986:105.




MS 012

ROSARY, PRAYERBOOK MAINLY ON PATER NOSTER AND AVE MARIA

ms012

MS in Latin and French, with Flemish on the flyleaves, on vellum, Tournai, France, 1475-90, 71 ff. (-5), 18x12 cm, single column (14x9 cm), 15 lines in a Gothic liturgical book script, 37 half-page miniatures within full borders in burnished and liquid gold and colours with early forms of the "Ghent/Bruges border style".

Binding: England, 19th c. red morocco gilt, sewn on 3 bands.

Provenance: 1. Adrian and Margaret, Tournai (late 15th c.) patrons of the MS; 2. James Comerford, F.S.A. (until 1881); 3. Sotheby´s 16.11.1881:836; 4. Heligan (from 1881); 5. Sotheby's 2.12.1986:55.

Commentary: At the end are offsets from Flemish pilgrim badges including an upright standing figure from the shrine of St. Adrian at the Benedictine Abbey, Geraardsbergen, Cambrai, Belgium, cf. MSS 006/1, 006/2 and 695.



MS 013

THE CATHERINE DE MEDICI HOURS
BOOK OF HOURS, USE OF PARIS, PRECEDED BY A CALENDAR

ms013

MS in Latin and French on vellum, Paris or Tour, France, ca. 1480, 167 ff. (-8), 16x11 cm, single column (14x8 cm), 18 lines in a Gothic liturgical book script, 340 panel borders in liquid gold and colours, 103 miniatures of which 14 are full-page in liquid gold and colours in the style of Jean Colombe and of Maître François.

Binding: Paris, France, late 16th c., red morocco gilt, sewn on 5 bands, tooled with a semée of the monograms "MA" and the "S fermé" of the quality of work done for the French court.

Provenance: 1. Cathérine de Médici, Queen of France (16th c.); 2. Abbé de Saint-Germain, chaplain of Cathérine de Médici, Paris (16th c.); 3. Saint-Germain family, Paris (until 1980), 4. Sotheby´s 10.12.1980:110; 5. Sotheby's 2.12.1986:65.



24.3. Historical and Literary letters

MS 2199/2

ms2199/2

LETTER TO KING SHULGI FROM A HIGH OFFICIAL NAMED IRMU OR ARADMU HAVING BEEN SENT TO A PROVINCE TO ENSURE THAT THE LOCAL GOVERNOR, ABA-ANDA-SA, WAS ACTING ACCORDING TO INSTRUCTIONS SENT TO HIM, REPORTING BACK THAT THE GOVERNOR WAS ACTING LIKE AN INDEPENDENT KING; AND THE REPLY FROM KING SHULGI TO IRMU, 2095-47 BC, COPY DATED 9TH MONTH, 5TH DAY, YEAR SAMSU-ILUNA THE KING AT THE COMMAND OF ENLIL

MS in Neo Sumerian on clay, Babylonia, 28th regnal year of King Samsu-iluna, 1722 BC, 1 tablet, 10,5x7,1x2,7 cm, single column, 29 lines in cuneiform script by Marduk-mushallim.

Binding: Barking, Essex, 1996, yellow cloth gilt folding case by Aquarius.

Context: A belle lettre to King Iter Pisha of Isin, see MS 2287.

Commentary: This correspondence had become belles-lettres, 8 letters are published. The present one is unpublished.



MS 2048

PSEUDO-ARISTOTELES' LETTERS TO ALEXANDER THE GREAT (SECRETA SECRETORUM)

ms2048

MS in Arabic on paper, Syria, ca. 1250-1275, 79 ff. (complete), 25x19 cm, single column (18x12 cm), 13 lines in Arabic Naskhi script, emphasis and proper names in red and blue, large circular panel in black, red and blue.

Binding: Syria, 19th c., blind-stamped leather, sewn on 5 cords, decorated edges, strips from Arabic MSS as sewing guards.

Context: Paul Sbath had one of the most important collections of Arabic MSS ever formed, ca. 3000 MSS. 2000 MSS are in the Vatican Library, 1000 MSS were destroyed during the war, 2 MSS including the present one came to England.

Provenance: 1. Imad ibn Ahmed, Syria (1441); 2. Georges Fattalla Belit, Aleppo, Syria (1801); 3. Paul Sbath, Aleppo, Syria, MS 884 (1924-1938); 4. Private collection, England (-1995); 5. Jeremy Griffiths, Oxford.

Commentary: The text is said to be translated during the reign of Caliph al-Mansur (654-745 AD). The preface states that al-Batriq searched with great difficulty for a copy of the Greek text before finding one in the great library of the Temple of Abd Shams at Baalbek, which he borrowed and translated into Arabic. Al-Batriq was one of a group of translators who worked for the Caliph el-Mansur. He translated the works of Galen, Hippocrates and Ptolemy into Arabic from Greek, thus contributing to the extraordinary flourishing of science and natural philosophy in the Arab world, which became the foundation of these studies in the West in the later Middle ages.

The Secret of Secrets was an immensely influential text intended as a guide to kings and rulers purporting to have been written by Aristoteles as a guide for Alexander the Great in the form of letters. The origins of the text is uncertain. No Greek original exists, and the treatise was most likely originally written in Arabic around 10th c.

Exhibited: "Preservation for access: Originals and copies". On the occasion of the 1st International Memory of the World Conference, organized by the Norwegian Commission for UNESCO and the National Library of Norway, at the Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art, Oslo, 3 June - 14 July 1996.

See also MS 1954, Petrarch: Epistolae seniles, Italy, late 14th c.

See also MS 612, The Aurispa Cicero, Italy, ca. 1435-40

See also MS 2106, Seneca: Epistolae, Italy, ca. 1440

See also MS 1781, Plinius: Epistolae, Germany, 1478




24.4. Legends

MS 581

JOSEPH LEGEND, THE HISTORY OF JOSEPH AND JACOB

ms581

MS in Arabic on paper, Mt. Sinai, Egypt, 14th-16th c., 71 ff. (complete), 18x13 cm, single column, (15x11 cm), 11 lines in Arabic naskhi script by several scribes.

Binding: Barking, Essex, 1990, green cloth gilt folding case by Aquarius.

Provenance: 1. Monastery of St. Catherine, Mt. Sinai (ca. 16th - 19th c.); 2. Friedrich Grote, Germany (ca. 1900); 3. Walther Adam, Magdeburg and Goslar, S 6 (1918/30-1964); 4. Carl Wilhelm Adam, Goslar (1964-1987); 5. F. Dörling, Hamburg 1.6.1987:35; 6. Wolfgang Görigk, Germany (1989); 7. Sam Fogg Rare Books Ltd., London.

Commentary: The legend of Joseph, son of the patriarch Jacob, is based on the account in Genesis. The present text is a translation into Arabic from one of the many Syriac versions. There are 20 MSS from Mt. Sinai in The Schøyen Collection. Besides the monastery's own famous library (4300 MSS), only British Library (8 MSS) and The National Library of Russia, St. Petersburg (60 MSS, mostly fragments), have comparable holdings.



MS 2468

LEGEND OF THE GRAND MINISTER YURIWAKA, A NARA PICTURE BOOK

ms2468

MS in Japanese on paper, Kyoto, Japan, 17th c., 1 roll (complete), 34x630 cm, 13 scenes, 33x48 cm, in full colours and gold, a descendant of the paintings by the Tosa school for the Imperial Court.

Binding: Kyoto, Japan, 17th c., silk brocade wrapper.

Provenance: 1. Sam Fogg cat. 19(1998):168.

Commentary: The origins of the tale are unclear. One version says Yuriwaka was born in Iki, in today's Yamaguchi prefecture. As a young man, he set out to conquer demons and returned after many years to his home town in Iki, where no one recognized him until he succeeded in taming a horse no one else but Yuriwaka could handle. It is a legend similar to the Greek legend of Ulysses, with the universal theme of the testing of a hero's identity.



MS 2478

PHRA MALAI; THAI BUDDHIST VISIONS OF HEAVEN AND HELL

ms2478

MS in Thai, with some Pali passages, on paper, Thailand, ca. 1800, 102 ff. (complete), 15x65 cm, 1 - 3 columns, (3 columns: text: 28 cm column width), 5 lines in a very fine Old Cambodian book script, 14 coloured miniatures, each 29x20 cm, of high quality, between coloured borders on both sides of text.

ms2478b

Binding: Thailand, ca. 1800, leporello form, outer leaves built up and varnished as covers.

Provenance: 1. Sam Fogg cat. 19(1998):132.

Commentary: This is translation and expansion of a Pali legend about the monk Phra Malai, who has extended meditation and prayer so, that he was able to fly up to the heavens or down to hell and to return to earth.

See also MS 4458/1, Legends and religious myths, China, 18th c.






24.5. Children's literature and fairy tales


See also MS 4481, Schooldays A. Babylonia, ca. 19th c. BC





MS 1776/04

1. HOMILIARY, INCLUDING PART OF ST. GREGORY: HOMILIAE IN EVANGELIA, LIB. II, HOM. 31, AND READING FROM MATTHEW 9:9
2. THOUSAND AND ONE NIGHTS: THE FIRST AND SECOND FROM THE READING ACCORDING TO THE WAZIR FROM THE BAGHARI
ms1776/04

MS in Latin and Arabic (text 2) on vellum, Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem, ca. 1150-1187, 2 partial ff., 19x14 cm, single column, (17x10 cm remaining), 16 lines remaining in Romanesque book script of medium quality; text 2: Palestine/Damascus, 13th c., 5 lines in Arabic naskhi.

Context: The script is extremely close to that of the Psalter of Queen Melisande (B.L. Egerton MS.1139), written in Jerusalem by a European scribe probably in 1131-43. Only 5 other MSS of 12th c. crusader books have hitherto been identified: Cambridge, Fitzwilliam Museum McClean MS.49 (fragment), B.N. mss.lat.9396 and 12056, and Vatican cod.Vat.lat. 5974. All are luxery books, and rescued to the West in the face of the advancing armies of the Mameluks before 2nd October 1187.

Provenance: 1. Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem (ca. 1150-1187); 2. Saracens, Palestine/Damascus (1187-); 3. Private owner, Damascus, Syria (-1993); 4. Sotheby's 6.12.1993:3d.

Commentary: The importance of the Crusades in the history of medieval Europe can hardly be over-estimated. The liberation of the Holy places was looked upon as God's own work. Antioch fell to the Franks in 1098, Jerusalem in July 1099. In 1100, Baldwin, count of Edessa, was crowned king of Jerusalem. By about 1131 Jerusalem stood supreme as the Christian capital on the very edge of the world, principally a French and Genoese kingdom. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre was its cathedral, and followed from 1114, the western Latin liturgy according to the rule of St. Augustine. The Church must have been the leading scriptorium during this period. Jerusalem fell to Saladin on 2nd October 1187, the sacristy of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre was looted and destroyed, and its libraries were destroyed. The leaves in MS 1776 more or less double our knowledge of crusader MSS, and were perhaps the first Latin books ever seen by the Saracens, who, instead of destroying them all, kept some for their vellum. They used the vellum for that most quintessential of Middle Eastern romances and fairy tales, Thousand and One Nights, also known as the Tales of the Arabian nights. They origin from India, Iran, Iraq, Egypt and Turkey, and the tales of Aladdin, Ali Baba and Sindbad the Sailor have almost become part of Western folklore. The earliest known reference to the Thousand and One Nights is a 9th c. fragment, while the present MS is from the 12th c. collection where Egyptian fairy tales were included for the first time.





MS 2120/4

GABRIEL SCOTT: SØLVFAKS SOM REISTE UT I DEN VIDE VERDEN; CHILDREN'S NOVEL

ms2120/4

MS in Norwegian on paper, Brekkestø, Norway, 1912, 61 pp., 28x22 cm, single column, (25x22 cm), 28 lines in Norwegian cursive script, autograph, signed.

Provenance: 1. Gabriel Scott, Brekkestø, Norway (1912); 2. Bjørn Hansson, Oslo (-1995); 3. Arild and Morten Hansson, Oppegård and Hop, Norway (1995-1999); 4. Cappelens antikvariat, auction 31, 25.4.1999:243.

Commentary: Gabriel Scott (1874-1958), Norwegian author. Published: Oslo, Aschehoug, 1912.





MS 2120/1

GABRIEL SCOTT: KARI KVELDSMAT, CHILDREN'S NOVEL

ms2120

MS in Norwegian on paper, Brekkestø, Norway, 1913, 115 pp., 28x22 cm, single column, (25x22 cm), 27 lines in cursive script, autograph, signed, with corrections and notes.

Binding: Oslo, Norway, ca. 1950, quarter morocco gilt spine, marbled paper, sewn on 3 cords.

Provenance: 1. Gabriel Scott, Brekkestø, Norway (1913); 2. Publisher, Oslo (1913); 3. I. Såstad, Norway; 4. Bjørn Hansson, Oslo (-1995); 5. Arild and Morten Hansson, Oppegård and Hop, Norway.

Commentary: Gabriel Scott (1874-1958), Norwegian author.

Published: Oslo, Aschehoug, 1913.





MS 2526/2

KNUT HAMSUN: DYR PAA GAARDEN

ms2526_2

MS in Norwegian on paper, Norway, ca. 1930, 4 pp., 21x14 cm, single column, (19x13 cm), 22 lines in cursive script, autograph, signed.

Provenance: 1. Knut Hamsun, Asker?, Norway (ca. 1930); 2. Norges Dyrebeskyttelsesforbund, Oslo (1930-); 3. Bjørn Hansson, Oslo (-1995); 4. Arild and Morten Hansson, Oppegård and Hop, Norway (1995-1996); 5. Damms Antikvariat cat. 650; 18.4.1996:110; 6. Hans Svenne, Drammen, Norway (1996-1998).

Commentary: Knut Hamsun (1859-1952), Norwegian author, Nobel prize in 1920. Published: Norges Dyrebeskyttelsesforbund's Calendar 1931.






MS 5288

ms2526_2 ms2526_2

ELLA HASSELBERG: PITT OG POTT, EVENTYR FOR DE SMÅ: PITT OG POTT KANINER SMÅ, UT I VERDEN VANDRE MÅ. FOR TENK! AT FAR OG MOR OG ONKEL PATT, NU SEILLER MED EN VELDIG FART, TIL AFRIKA DET FREMMEDE LAND, MED ALL LDEN RARE GULE SAND

MS in Norwegian on paper, Norway, ca. 1930, 12 pp., 34x21 cm (text), 21x16 cm (drawings), single column, (31x17 cm (text), 15x12 cm (drawings)), 35 lines in cursive script, autograph, signed, 51 full-page, pen-drawings in black-and-white.

Binding: Drawings tied together with cord through 2 holes.

Provenance: 1. Ella Hasselberg, Norway (ca. 1930-);  2. Damms Antikvariat, Oslo, Cat. (Oct. 2005):397.

Commentary: Fairytale about 2 rabbits' adventures, including a trip to Egypt carried on the back of a stork. Written as 51 poems accompanying 51 fullpage illustrations.

Published: Seems to be unpublished.




MS 2774

WILLIAM LUNDEN: ASBJØRNSEN AND MOE: NORWEGIAN FOLK TALES; 28 ILLUSTRATIONS WITH CAPTIONS IDENTIFYING THE TALES AND THE SCENES:

ms2774
1. HVITEBJØRN KONG VALEMON
2. ENKESØNNEN
3. BAMSE BRA-KAR
4. SORIA MORIA SLOTT
5. SMØRBUKK
6. DE TRE BUKKENE BRUSE
7. SOMME KJERRINGER ER SLIKE
8. DE TOLV VILLENDER
9. HERREPER
10. FØLGESVENNEN
11. ASKELADDEN SOM KAPPÅT MED TROLLET
12. ASKELADDEN OG DE GODE HJELPERNE
13. PANNEKAKEN
14. MANNEN SOM SKULLE STELLE HJEMME
15. HØNEN SOM SKULLE TIL DOVREFJELL
ms2774b ms2774c

MS in Norwegian on paper, Oslo, 1936, 28 pp., 24x20 - 34x26 cm , 1-3 lines in Norwegian cursive script, autograph, 20 pencil drawings, 8 water colours, signed.

Provenance: 1. William Lunden, Oslo (1936); 2. Cappelens antikvariat, auksjon 31, 25.4.1999:229-230.

Commentary: P.Chr. Asbjørnsen & Jørgen Moe: Norske Folkeeventyr was first published in Christiania (Oslo), Johan Dahl, 1843. Most of the numerous following editions have been illustrated by several of the foremost Norwegian painters around the turn of the century. Published: The present edition was published in 2 vols. in Oslo 1936.





MS 2138

THROND SJURSEN HAUKENES: SIPP, SIPP SILJELAUV OG ANDRE NORSKE FOLKEEVENTYR, VED HALLVARD TVEITEN (22 FOLK TALES)

ms2138a
1. SIPP, SIPP SILJELAUV
2. JENTA SOM HADDE NOK MED EI HALV ERT
3. GUTTEN OG JENTA SOM KOM TIL HUSET MED KRINGLETAKET
4. ASKELADDEN SOM FRELSTE FAR SIN OG SØSKENE SINE FRA TROLLET
5. ASKELADDEN OG TROLLKJERRINGA GYRI BERGE
6. ANNE-MOR I GULLKJOLEN
7. DEN VAKRESTE OG DEN STYGGESTE JENTA I LANDET
8. TOSKETE FOLK
9. KONGEN OG BONDEN
10. SKREDDERDRENGEN SOM FRIDDE KONGSDATTERA FRA BERGTROLLET
11. PRINSESSA MED DEN LANGE NESA
12. GUTTEN SOM VILLE KJØPE FOR TO SKILLING I TOBAKK
13. STUTE-PER
14. SJULINGBRØDRENE
15. GUTTEN SOM DRO TIL TYRKIET FOR Å HENTE KONGSDATTERA HJEM
16. JOMFRU MARIAS GUDMORSGAVE
17. KONGSSØNNENS DRØM
18. TROLLET SOM HADDE ET VONDT ØYE
19. FUGL FØNIKS
20. MANNEN SOM FIKK DØDEN TIL FADDER
21. DEN ALLVITENDE DOKTOREN
22. HAVDRONNINGA
ms2138b

MS in Norwegian on paper, Oslo, Norway, 1945, 139+136 pp., 21x14 cm and 29x20 cm, single column, (16x10 cm and 20x15 cm), 30 lines in typesetting and typescript, with autograph chapter titles by Hallvard Tveiten, 14 original sepia drawings, one water-colour by "fag-".

Binding: Oslo, 1945, paper boards.

Provenance: 1. Hallvard Tveiten, Norway and Skåne, Sweden (-1945); 2. Brage Boklag, Oslo (1945); 3. Bjørn Hansson, Oslo (-1995); 4. Arild and Morten Hansson, Oppegård and Hop, Norway.

Commentary: Hallvard Tveiten states that there is only one copy of this book, the present 3rd proof copy (from Brage forlag), and that it has never been published. Hallvard Tveiten (1902-1976), Norwegian translator and author, living in Sweden 1950-1976. Thrond Sjursen Haukenæs (1840-1922), author and folklore explorer. Publ. from Hardanger: "Natur, folkeliv og folketro i Hardanger", 11 vols. incl. Voss, Røldal etc., 1884-1896, "Norsk eventyrskat", 1888, "Norsk sagnskat" 1905.
We have been unable to find out the name of the illustrator.





MS 4471

1. ANDRE BJERKE: PRINSESSEN SPINNER I BERGET; POEM
2. ANDRE BJERKE: ACCOMPANYING LETTER TO PETER MAGNUS, DATED ABILDSØ 14.7.1953
ms4471

Typescript in Norwegian on paper, Oslo, 1953, 2 ff., 30x21 cm, single column, 17+21 lines typed, both texts signed.

Provenance: 1. Peter Magnus, Oslo (1953-); 2. Cappelens Antikvariat, Auksjon 32, 23.5.2000:44.

Commentary: The letter was glued to the back of the front cover of the first publication (Oslo, Aschehoug, 1953) of the collection of poems by the same title as text 1. Quote from the letter: Jeg har en diktsamling på stabelen. TIttelen blir: "Prinsessen spinner i Berget". Kjernemotivet er hentet fra Asbjørnsens eventyr: prinsessen er bergtatt hos trollet, men spinner en gulltråd på rokken. Jeg vedlegger titteldiktet; det har tidligere stått offentliggjort i Norsk Ukeblads påskenr. Forøvrig er samlingen bygget opp i fire avdelinger - omkring de fire motiver: Barnet - Leken - Eventyret - Kunsten. André Bjerke (1918-1985), Norwegian author and poet.

Published: First published in Norsk Ukeblad's Easter edition, 1953. Oslo, Aschehoug, 1953, cover by Finn Havrevold.





MS 5213

1. JOAN DE HAMEL: TAKE THE LONG PATH
2. JOAN DE HAMEL: HEMI'S PET
3. MURU WALTERS: MAORI PROVERBS
ms5213

MS and typescript in English (texts 1-2) and Maori (texts 1, 3) on paper, Macandrew Bay, Dunedin, New Zealand, 1975-1978, 664+2 pp.+441 pp. typescript (complete), 5 vols., 25x20 cm - 34x20 cm, single column, (24x17 cm - 31x18 cm); texts 1-2: 28-50 lines in cursive script, autograph, signed, 6 drawings of penguins and nests, 2 maps in colours; text 3: 21+12 lines in cursive script, autograph. Typescript with autograph ands signed corrections; extensive notes by the author on how the various versions and parts are related.

ms5213

Binding: Dunedin, New Zealand, ca. 1975, 2 vols.: shirting gilt on boards, sewn on 5 cords for University of Otago; 3 vols.: stitched paper covers.

Provenance: 1. Joan de Hamel, Macandrew Bay, Dunedin, New Zealand (1975-2003).

Commentary: Joan de Hamel (b. 1924). Her first book, "X marks the spot", was a landmark in New Zealand's children's literature. The present extensive materials for Take the Long Path, winner of the New Zealand Library Association's Esther Glen Award, comprise all stages from source materials of Maori history and language, early drafts, the extensive original version (with materials not used here, but later published in the children's picture book: Hemel's Pet) to the printer's copy of final version. The Maori proverbs were not used in Take the Long Path, but there are extensive sections of Maori language and poetry in the various drafts. Included in the final work was "Takahia atu ra, Te ara whahui -", "Take the long path, To the dense dark, To the waiting place of spirits, To the final home of man".

Published: First published by Lutterworth Press, Guilford and London, 1978.





MS 5272/1

ARILD NYQUIST: REISEN TIL DRAMMEN; CHILDREN'S NOVEL

ms5272_1

MS and typescript in Norwegian on paper, Asker, Norway, 1981, 90 pp., 29x21 cm, single column, 30 lines in typescript with numerous autograph corrections and additions.

Provenance: 1. Arild Nyquist, Asker, Norway (1981); 2. Vidar Reinertsen, Porsgrunn, Norway; 3. Cappelens antikvariat, Oslo.

Commentary: Arild Nyquist (1937-2004), Norwegian author and artist. He wrote some 40 novels, children's books, collections of short stories, poetry and songs.





24.6. Library catalogues

See also MS 229, Bibliotheca Sancti Isidori, Germany, 12th c.


MS 2850

1. GOSPELS
2. CATALOGUE OF BOOKS GIVEN BY KING BA'EDA MARYAM TO THE CHURCH OF MESHALA MARYAM, 55 VOLUMES INCLUDING: 3 GOSPELS, 3 OCTATEUCHS, 2 COPIES OF BOOK OF EZRA, 2 COPIES OF BOOK OF ENOCH, ETC.
3. INVENTORY OF A CHURCH TREASURY (GAHAZ)
4. RENEWALS OF FEUDAL LAND HOLDINGS (GWELT) IN THE PARISH OF 'ARATA MARYAM IN THE DISTRICT MANZEH TO TOMAS, SON OF AKROSYA, BY KING ESKENDER, AND BY KING BA'EDA MARYAM, AND MENTIONING LANDS PERTAINING TO THE CHURCH OF MESHALA MARYAM, WITH LIST OF WITNESSES. DATED 1474-1480
ms2850

MS in Ge'ez on vellum, Shoa, Ethiopia, 1425-1450, 128 ff. (-ca. 30), 37x25 cm, 2 columns, (27x19 cm), 27 lines in fine large Ethiopic Ge'ez book script, ornamental haräg in red, green and yellow introducing each gospel, full-page miniature of St. Matthew preceding his gospel.

Binding: Shoa, Ethiopia, ca. 16th c., wooden boards, chain stitches on 4 sewing stations, no spine.

Provenance: 1. King Ba'eda Maryam, Ethiopia (1468-1478); 2. Church of Meshala Maryam, Shoa (ca. 1470-); 3. Sam Fogg Rare Books Ltd., London.

See also 1971, 2. Text 2. Library catalogue and Inventories of treasury of the church of Gefu´ Giyorgis. Ethiopia, 1519/1520





MS 1632

LIBRARY CATALOGUE AND INVENTORY OF PLATE, VESTMENTS AND RELICS OF THE CHURCH OF EAST DEREHAM, NORFOLK

ms1632

MS in Middle English on paper, East Dereham, Norfolk, mid 15th c., 2 ff., 21x14 cm, single column, (18x11 cm), 31+16 lines in a current Anglicana book script.

Binding: London, 1993, cloth boards, sewn on 2 stations, by Celia Alberman.

Provenance: 1. Church of St. Nicholas, East Dereham, Norfolk (ca. 1450-) ; 2. Sir Thomas Phillipps, Cheltenham, ex Ph 25750, (-1872); 3. Katharine, John, Thomas & Alan Fenwick, Cheltenham, (1872-1946); 4. Robinson Bros., London (1946-1971); 5. Sotheby's 15.6.1971:1599; 6. Alan Thomas cat. 33(1975):61; 7. Harry A. Walton Jr., White Oak Dairy Covington, Virginia (-1992); 8. Sam Fogg Rare Books Ltd., London.

Commentary: The library catalogue includes 3 "massbooks" bound in red velvet, doeskin, and deerskin, a breviary in doeskin, a Gospels with the Epistles, a processional with silver clasps, a Gradual with silver clasps, "a book called The Master Stories that the vicar has", and a glossed Psalter. The relics comprise a pyx containing St. Nicholas' rib, and a silver shoe of St. Withburga. Medieval library catalogues of parish churches are scarcely known, and only in public institutions.

Published: Jeremy Griffiths: A Mid-fifteenth-century Book-list and Inventory from East Dereham, Norfolk. In: Norfolk Archaeology 42(1996), pp. 332-339.

See also MS 1971, Text 3. Inventory of the possessions of the church of Gefu´ Giyorgis, received during the period of the office of Qesä Gäbäz Assäggahan, including 1 book of the funeral services, the book of hours sold, Ethiopia, 1519/1520




MS 1397

LIBRARY CATALOGUE OF FRANCISCAN PRIORY OF ST. SEBASTIAN AT MAROSTICA UNTIL 1531

ms1397

MS in Latin on vellum, Marostica, Italy, ca. 1480-1531, 1 f., 29x20 cm, 2 columns, (27x16 cm), 40 lines in humanistic book script. Binding: Venezia, 1480, black leather, sewn of 5 thongs.

Context: Flyleaf in: Astesanus de Ast: Summa de casibus conscientiae, ed. by Bartholomaeus de Bellatis and Gometicus de Ulisipone. Venezia, Leonardus Wild, for Nicolaus de Frankfordia, 28. April 1480. Goff A-1169, BMC V 265, GW 2757.

Provenance: 1. Franciscan Priory of St. Sebastian, Marostica, Italy (1480-); 2. Bernard Quaritch Ltd., London.

Commentary: The catalogue lists over 60 MSS, incunables and printed books, up to 1531, including this incunable containing the library catalogue as flyleaf, representing a good sized normal library of a Franciscan house in the Renaissance.

See also MS 5267, Text 2. Sir Thomas Phillipps: Acquisition list of manuscripts and printed books. England 1860-1866




24.7. Maps

MS 5087/36

CYLCON (YURDA), POSSIBLY WITH MAP OF DARLING RIVER WITH THE TRIBUTARIES WARREGO RIVER AND CULGOA RIVER

ms5087_36

MS on chalk-like stone, Fords Bridge, Bourke, New South Wales, Australia, ca. 20000-3000 BC, 1 oval-conical and cornute form cylcon, flat base, 22x7x7 cm, paired parallel lines, groups of small dashes, longitudinal deep incisions, rows of dashes, heavy weathering on one side.

Provenance: 1. Found in Kerribree, Fords Bridge, Bourke, New South Wales, Australia 1970; 2. H. Gallasch Museum, Australia (1973-); 3. Sam Fogg Rare Books Ltd.

Commentary: The finding spot at Fords Bridge on Warrego River near Bourke, is in the north-west corner of this possible map. A series of small dashes between Fords Bridge and where Clog River meets Darling River, indicates a possible shortcut route, instead of following the river. Present day's river courses have changed directions and are more curved, with several smaller tributaries to the South, than the present map shows. The expected dramatic changes in river courses and climate since 5 000 - 20 000 years ago, makes it impossible to prove with certainty that this is a map and of this area. If this is a map, it is the world's oldest.
The heavy weathering on the side that has been exposed, has entirely extinguished the marks on that side, attesting to the extreme age of this cylcon. Cylcons are earlier than churingas. There is no certain ways to date individual cylcons. The oldest cylcon/message stone found in a dateable archaeological context is about 20,000 years old. The simple line motifs of the oldest cylcons represent the earliest art of the Aborigines, from a very early period of occupation. In Australian nomenclature this is the colonizing period, or early Stone Age, ca. 50,000/40,000-3,000 BC. With the earliest rock-carvings and -paintings, the cylcons represent the oldest form of communication and art; and they represent the oldest religion still observed. Only 2 Aborigines have been able to communicate their name of the cylcons: Yurda, and Wommagnaragnara (Heart of the snake), respectively. Other uses as tallies are possible, such as counting of dead people, warriors, emus, measures of nardo seeds, or mapping purposes counting day-marches in various directions. Later the use could also change to other magic rituals, some involving the chipping off smaller flakes, and the practical use for pounding and crushing. Much more research is needed before the cylcons' real age and significance can be properly understood and appreciated.
The term cylcon is derived from the title of R. Ethridge's publication: The Cylindro-conical and Stone Implements of Western New South Wales and their significance. Ethnological Series No. 2, Memoirs of the Geological Survey of New South Wales, 1916:1-41.




MS 1984

MAP OF FIELDS BELONGING TO ABU-INIM-MA-AN WITH THE SIZE OF 214,2 DA.

ms1984

MS in Neo Sumerian on clay, Umma, Sumer, Ur III dynasty, 2112-2004 BC, 1 tablet, 6,3x7,2x2,3 cm, 5 lines in cuneiform script, map of fields.

Binding: Barking, Essex, 1995, red cloth gilt folding case, by Aquarius.

Commentary: The present map belongs to a small group of the earliest maps extant. See also MSS 1850 and 1938/1.

Published: J.P. Grégoire: Inscriptions et archives administratives Cunéiformes, in Unione Accademica Nazionale: Materiali per il vocobolario Neosumerico, vol. X, Roma 1981, no. 214-S-G 14. Also in RA 12, pp. 47-54.




MS 3196

MAP OF CANALS AND IRRIGATION SYSTEMS TO THE WEST OF EUPHRATES, NAMING BESIDES EUPHRATES, THE NABIUM CANAL, DADI CANAL, AMMAMA CANAL AND MUSAHHIRUM, IN THE NIRU DISTRICT, WITH 7 CAPTIONS GIVING LENGTHS, WIDTHS AND DEPTHS OF THE CANALS AND THE VOLUMES TO BE DREDGED, DATED 26TH DAY IN THE MONTH ABE IN A YEAR OF KING AMMI-DITANA OF BABYLON

ms3196

MS in Old Babylonian on clay, Niru, Babylonia, 1684-1647 BC, 1 tablet, 9,5x12,0x2,8 cm, 22 lines and captions in cuneiform script.

Context: There are known 4 more Babylonian maps of a known place: the map of Nippur in Jena, the world map in British Museum, and the city maps of Babylon and Madakta. All of these are about 1000 years later than the present map.

Commentary: The only known Babylonian working map of a canal irrigation engineer.




MS 1275/18

ms1275_18
1. MAP OF MOSELLE RIVER, THE MILL AND ACCOMPANYING BUILDINGS, INCLUDING A WATER-WHEEL AND TREES
2. MAP OF MOSELLE RIVER, INCLUDING THE MILL AND ACCOMPANYING BUILDINGS

MS in French on vellum(text 1) and paper(text 2), Lorraine, France, 2 ff.; Text 1: ca. 1450, 12x33 cm, single column, (12x33 cm), 2 lines in a rotunda Gothic book script of medium quality, map in brown, green and red. Text 2: ca. 1550, 13x33 cm, single column, (13x33 cm), 1 line in French cursive script, map in grey, black, brown, and red.

Context: Inserted in the Le Moine palaeography handbook, MS 1275/01.

Provenance: 1. Cathedral of Toul, Lorraine (ca. 1450 & 16th c.-1761); 2. Pierre-Camille Le Moine, archivist and secretary of the cathedral of Toul (1761-1789); 3. M. le baron de Tremont, no. 1253; 4. M. Marchant, Saint-Mihiel; 5. François-Jean Baptiste Noël, Nancy, no 6205 (-1856); 6. Bruce Ferrini, Akron, Ohio.




MS 900

ms900
1. AVE MARIA CHE SE DEL CIELO ZARNA, PIENE DE GRATIA TANTE, POEM
2. DOMENICO DI GIOVANNI BURCHIELLO: DI TUTTO EL CENTO CHE LA EUROPA CIGNE, ITALIA NE REINA INCHORONATA, POEM IN TERZA RIMA, MENTIONING COLUCCIO SALUTATI, PIERO D'AREZZO AND ANTONIO CIONI
3. BUONACCORSO PITTI: ANTICHI AMANTI DELLA BUONA ET BELLA, MAGNIFICATA COLLE VOSTRE SPESE, CANZONE
4. GREGORIO DATI: LA SFERA, A COSMOLOGICAL POEM
5. CECCO D'ASCOLI; SENTENTIA DATA PER LO INQUISITORE CONTRO A CIECHO D'ASCHOLI; DECREE BY THE FLORENTINE INQUISITION
6. LUDOVICI GHETTI: INVENTIVA D'UNA IN POSITIONE DI NUOVA GRAVEZZA, A REPORT ON RAISING TAXES TO PROVIDE FOR THE DEFENCE OF STATE SECURITY
7. CHRONICLE OF FIRENZE, EXTRACTS BEGINNING IN 1440, INCLUDING BITS OF POETRY
8. LETTARA MANDATA PER GRAN TURCHO AL PAPA, 14 SEPTEMBER 1454
9. DOMINICO DA PRATO: INVETTIVA FATTA PER SER DOMENICHO DA PRATO E SUOI ADERENTI CONTRO ALL'ACQUATTINO, A TERZA RIMA IN 835 LINES COMMENTING ON VERGIL: THE AENID AND ON ROMAN HISTORY. INCOMPLETE.
10. THEODORIC OF NIEM: LETTERA MANDATA PER LO DIAVOLO AL PAPA
11. DOMINE NE IN FURORE TUO ARGUAS ME, POEM
12. GIOVANNI VILLANI: HISTORIE FIORENTINE, BOOK 12: LA VITA ET EL GOVERNO FECIE MESSER GUALTIERI DUCHA D'ATENA QUANDO FU CHIAMATO SIGNORE DI FIRENZE, 1342-1346
13. TRACTATUS DE PISTOLENTIA. PLAGUE TRACT, A COMPILATION OF SIGNS AND CAUSES OF THE PLAGUE CULLED FROM VARIOUS AUTHORS INCLUDING AVICENNA
14. FRANCESCO FILELFO: ORATIONE DELLE LAUDE DI DANTE ALLEGHIERI POETA FIORENTINO, 29 JUNE 1432
15. GIOVANNI VILLANI: HISTORIE FIORENTINE, PART OF BOOK 12
16. STEFANO PORCARI: RISPOSTA FACTA ... A UNO PRETESTO FATTO PER LA SIGNORIA A RETTORI DI FIRENZE ET ALTRI UFICI, ORATIONE
17. STEFANO PORCARI: RISPOSTA FATTA ... A UNO PRETESTO COME DI SOPRA EXORTATORIO AD VITIA, ORATIONE
18. CHOME ETUONI SI CUCANO ET LE SAETTE; A TREATISE ON THE EFFECTS OF THE SUN AND THE WEATHER ON BEHAVIOUR AND HEALTH
19. LAMENTO DELLA CHASA DE GANBACORTI DI BANGNO, POEM
20. BUCCIO DI RANALLO: CANZONA MORALE D'UNO PRETE ET D'UNA TOMMA DI MONACHE, POEM
21. NOBILISSIMO ET GLORIOSO GIOVANE ALL CUI MONARCHIA LA MIA LIBERTA O SOTTOPESTA, A VERY FLATTERING LETTER TO A PATRON
22. PRAYER, APPARENTLY OBITUARY, DATED 13 APRIL 1466
23. CHE SITA ALUCHA AL PODESTA E IN PRIGIONE, CHA EGLI FACTO EGLIA TOCCHO DENARI, POEM
24. ANTONIO PUCCI: QUI DI SOTTO SI FA MENTIONE DELLA MISERA VITA DELL'UOMO CHE VIENE IN QUESTA MONDO CHE VIENE NELLA ET A DECREPITA, POEM IN QUARTA RIME ON THE INFIRMITIES AND DELIGHTS OF OLD AGE
25. BENE SE NUOVO IN TALE COSA DIMANDI CHE LADOPERI PEGGIO LUNO DI CHE L'ALTRO, AN ANONYMOUS BOOK IN 18 SECTIONS OF ASTROLOGICAL INTERROGATIONS
26. MADRE MIA DAMMI MARITO, FIGLIA MIA DIMMI EL PERCHE, RIBALD POETRY IN THE FORM OF A DIALOGUE BETWEEN MOTHER AND DAUGHTER ON HUSBANDS
27. PERSENTENDO E FIORENTINI 1347 COME EL RE D'UNGHERIA PASSAVA IN ITALIA PER ANDARE IN PUGLA A VENDICIONE LO RE ANDREASSO SUO FRATELLO CHE FU MORTO. ABOUT THE DEEDS OF THE KING OF HUNGARY AMONG THE FLORENTINES, FROM AN UNIDENTIFIED LARGER HISTORICAL WORK
28. LA INBASTIATA E QUESTA RECITATA PER MAGISTRO TOMASO DETTO NEL COSPETTO DEL RE ET DEL DUO CONSIGLIO IN GRAMATICHA CON MOLTI ALTI LATINI ET RIDOTTA IN VOLGARE. ABOUT THE DEEDS OF THE KING OF HUNGARY AMONG THE FLORENTINES, FROM AN UNIDENTIFIED LARGER HISTORICAL WORK
29. GIOVANNI CHERICO: RISPOSTA FATTA IN PRESENZA DELLA MAIESTA REALE AGLI IMBAS FIORENTINI. ABOUT THE DEEDS OF THE KING OF HUNGARY AMONG THE FLORENTINES, FROM AN UNIDENTIFIED LARGER HISTORICAL WORK
30. THE DEEDS OF THE KING OF HUNGARY AMONG THE FLORENTINES. PART OF AN UNIDENTIFIED LARGER HISTORICAL WORK
31. ARTICOLI ET OPPINIONI ET FEDE DEGLI HERETICI, A COMPILATION FROM, NOW LOST, INQUISITORIAL RECORDS IN FIRENZE OF 22 DOCTRINES OF THE FRATICELLI
32. GIOVANNI VILLANI: HISTORIE FIORENTINE, BOOK 12, CH. 108-112, ON THE EXPLOITS OF LOUIS 1, KING OF HUNGARY, IN ITALY
33. QUI DAPPIE VEDERAI LA LEGGIE DI MACHOMETTO ET SUO MIRACOLI, POEM
34. GIOVANNI D'ARRIGUCCIO PEGHOLOTTI: LETTERA MANDATA ... A FRATE GIOVANI DOMENICI CARDINALE E ARCHIVESCOVO DI RAUGIA AL TEMPO DI PAPA GRIGORO XII NELLA CITTA DI LUCHA
35. LETTERA MANDATA PER LO MAESTRO DI SANCTO GIOVANNI DI RODI SIGNIFICANTE DELLA NATIVITA DI ANTICHRISTO ET CHOME EGLE NATO ET INCHE PARTE
36. NICHOLO TINUCCI: EXAMINATIONE FATTA PER L'UFICIO DEGL'OTTO DELLA GUARDIA DELLA CITTA DI FIRENZE DI SR NICHOLO TINUCCI CITTADINO ET NOTATIO FIORENTINO NEL 1433 ET DEL MESE DI SETTEMBRE PER LA CACCIATA DI COSIMO DI GIOVANNI DE' MEDICI
37. BARTOLOMEO DELLA CAPRA: COMMISSIONE FATTA A MESS. FRANCESCHO SPINOLA AMIRAGLO DELLA ARMATA DE GENOVESI CONTRO A VINITIANI ET FIORENTINI NEL ANNO 1431
38. EXCELSA PATRIA MIA PERO CHE AMORE, DITE MISTRINGE TANTO, CHIO NON SAPREI DIRE QUANTO, SFOZZAR PARLANDO MI CONVIENE NEL CORE, POEM
39. LAMENTO DELLA CITTA DI ROMA: QUELLA VIRTU CHELTEZZA CIELO IN FONDE, NE CUORI CHE NASCONO SOTTO LA SUA STELLA, SERVO MISE DI QUELLA
40. DI CERTE TEMPESTE ET FUOCHI CHE FURONO IN FIRENZE IN QUESTI TEMPI, 20 & 22 APRIL 1347, 1 JUNE 1337, 1 JULY 1338
41. D'UNA GRANDE MORTALITA ET CARESTIA CHE FU IN FIRENZE ET DI INTORNO D'UNA COMETA CHE APPARVUE, 31 MARCH 1340
42. O GUIDICIE MAGGIORE VIENI ALLA BANCHA, ET PORTA NELLA BRACCIA LA TUA CROCIE, SONANDO QUELLA VOCIE, POEM
43. NICHOLO CIECHO: DELLA INGRATITUDINE: O MISERA SFACCIATA AL BENE DISPETTA, VOI RADICIE INFERNAL DOGNI MALFRUTTO, POEM
44. BENE FELICIE QUESTA NOSTRA ETATE, DOVA VOLUTO IN TUTTO LA NATURA, MOSTRARE DELLA SUA ARTE UNO PROPRIO SEGNO, POEM
45. RISPOSTA CHE MANO LA CONTESSA DI MIRIGLANO DI BOLOGNA A MESSERE CARLO CAVALCHA BO SIGNORE DI CREMONA
46. FRANCESCO PETRARCHA: O SACRE SANTE MUSA CHE NEL MONTE, DI PERNASO CONTERSE DIMORATE, SU L'ALTO PEGGIO VALICONTE, POEM
47. ADMONITIONE DA EL PADRE ALL FIGLUOLA QUANDO NELLA MANDA A MARITO
48. LIST
49. PINO STROZZI: EPISTOLA A MESS. GIOVANNI BONHAM PORTA FIORENTINO
50. HISTORICAL TEXT, MENTIONING ANTONIUS AND PHILLIPUS
51. STATUTES OF AN ITALIAN TOWN, INCLUDING A LEGAL DOCUMENT DATED 1349

MS palimpsest in Italian and Latin (texts 5, 50-51) on vellum, Firenze, Italy, ca. 1450, 166 ff. (complete), 27x17 cm, single column, (23x11 cm), 39-46 lines in Italian cursive with some side notes and capitals in red, 2 world maps, one in T-form, the other with outlines of the old world, 14 drawings in colours including the celestial spheres, the zodiac, the eclipses, the climate and wind directions. Underlying texts (texts 50-51) in chancery cursive and rounded Gothic book script of medium quality.

Binding: England, 19th c. russia calf gilt, sewn on 5 cords.

Context: Text 9 is also in the Biblioteca Riccardiana, Firenze, Ricc.2254, lacking the same lines at the end. Provenance: 1. Richard Heber, England (until 1836); 2. Heber sale, part II (1836):1465; 3. Sir Thomas Phillipps, Cheltenham, Ph 8334, (1830-1872); 4. Katharine, John, Thomas & Alan Fenwick, Cheltenham, (1872-1946); 5. Robinson Bros., London (1946-1978); 6. Kraus cat. 153(1979):61.

Commentary: At least texts 1, 2, 7, 13, 31 are unique and unpublished. Text 5 is the hitherto lost original and unique Latin text of the Florentine Inquisition's decree against the astrologer-heretic Gecco d'Ascoli (1269-1327), known only in Italian versions from much later MSS. Text 10 is an exceptionally early witness of Reformation history, purporting to be written by the Devil, dating from the period of the Great Schism, ca. 1408. Text 36 is a document of major importance for the history of the Albizzi conspiracy and overthrow of Cosimo I de' Medici in Firenze in September 1433, written by Nicholo Tinucci (1390-1440), an influential notary and poet, under torture on the rack, forced to sign the present text against Cosimo I de' Medici, who after one year's exile in Padua, returned to begin the uninterrupted 300 year domination of Firenze by the Medici family. Text 9 is actually a poem against sodomy. "Acquattino" is the nickname of the most famous man mentioned (as a sodomite): Giovanni Gherardi da Prato, a major character in Florence early Renaissance's litterature. It is important, giving the name of the author: Domenico da Prato, another poet who lived in the same age as Giovanni da Prato.

Published: Text 9: For the first time in 1931 by Domenico Guerri (La corrente popolare nel Rinascimento, Firenze, Sansoni), after Ricc.2254. Mentioned in: Antonio Lanza: La letteratura tardogotica; art e poesia a Firenze e Siena nell'autunno del Medioevo. 1994. Antonio Lanza: L'autore dell'Acquattino: ser Domenico da Prato, in "La Parola del testo". 1998. Antonio Lanza: L'Acquettino di ser Domenico da Prato, in "Letteratura Italiana Antica", II, 2000, on both the present MS and Ricc.2254.
Text 3: Interpres, XX1, Roma 2002, pp. 247-252. Germano Pallini: Una nuova testimonianza del capitolo Antichi amanti della buona e bella (con attribuzion a Bonaccorso Pitti).

See also MS 1981, Portolan map, Italy, late 15th c.




24.8. Marine life

MS 2722

LEXICAL LIST OF SPECIES OF FISH, SUCH AS: FIRE FISH, BITTER FISH, COW FISH, SANDAL FISH, SNAKE FISH; SCHOOL TEXT

ms2722

MS in Neo Sumerian on clay, Babylonia, 2000-1700 BC, 1 tablet, 9,4x9,3x2,5 cm, 3 columns, 22 lines in cuneiform script by a competent scribal student.

Commentary: Lexical lists of fish are known from all periods, except the present Old Babylonian. The fish species on this tablet is, however, so far, not duplicated on any of these.





MS 2088/1

FISH

ms2088

MS in late Assyrian on jasper, Assyria, 900-600 BC, 1 fish-formed bracelet of 10 pieces, 16,0x2,4 cm, 1 sign, meaning "fish", in Late Assyrian cuneiform on the fish-head, on the other pieces: a group of concentric circles in the middle, a cross and a narrow band of very close short vertical strokes, 2 holes for a cord or wire, tail-piece missing.

Context: MS 2088/2 is a very similar bracelet fish, but uninscribed.

Binding: Barking, Essex, 1996, grey cloth gilt folding case, by Aquarius.




MS 2898

NITTOH GUIOFU: GENSEN KANDA, ON JAPANESE FISH

ms2898

MS in Chinese and Japanese on paper, Japan, ca. 1760, 5 vols., 26x19 cm, 11-12 columns, (20x15 cm), 8-17 characters per column in Chinese and Japanese book script, 309 half-page, 1 full-page highly finished paintings in full colours of fish, whales, shells, shrimps, squids, crabs, turtles, lobsters, etc.

Binding: Japan, ca. 1760, light brown paper boards, chitsu stitched on 4 stations (fukorutojibon).

Provenance: 1. Daimyo, Japan; 2. The Isseido Booksellers, Tokyo (-1999); 3. Colin Franklin, Culham, Oxford.




MS 2469

KAJITORIZAKI KUJIRATORI ZU; ILLUSTRATIONS OF WHALING IN KAJITORI BAY

ms2469

MS in Japanese on paper, Japan, 1804-1817, 24 ff. (complete), 20x27 cm, single column, (17x20 cm), captions in Japanese characters, 28 double page illustrations, 3 in colours.

Binding: Japan, 1804-1817, blue paper boards, chitsu stitched on 4 stations (fukorutojibon).

Provenance: 1. Philosophical Research Society, Los Angeles, California; 2. Sam Fogg cat. 19(1998):174.

Commentary: The illustrations include a balaena (bowhead whale), a humpback whale, a sperm whale, dolphins, parasite oysters living on whales, and a scene of Kajitori Bay.




24.9. Medical texts

MS 2670

DIAGNOSES OF MEDICAL CONDITIONS WITH PROGNOSES OF THE OUTCOME, SUCH AS:

ms2670

IF A MAN'S EPIGASTRIUM IS LOOSE, HE IS IN A CRITICAL STATE.
IF A MAN'S EYELIDS THICKEN AND HIS EYES SHED TEARS, IT IS A "BLAST OF THE WIND".
IF A SICK MAN IS RELAXED DURING THE DAY, BUT FROM DUSK HE IS SICK FOR THE NIGHT, IT IS AN ATTACK OF A GHOST.
IF A SICK MAN'S ADAM'S APPLE IS LOOSE, HIS SINEWS ARE DISEASED AND HIS NOSTRILS CLOSED, HE IS IN A CRITICAL STATE

MS in Old Babylonian on clay, Babylonia, ca. 1900-1700 BC, 1 tablet, 10,4x7,8x3,2 cm, 45 lines (originally 66) in cuneiform script.

Commentary: Medical texts of this category are well known from Neo Babylonian literature, while from the over 1000 year older, Old Babylonian period, few survive. Many of the Babylonian diagnoses and prognoses still hold true in modern medicine.



MS 4575

ms4575

IF A YOUTH WHO HAS NOT KNOWN A WOMAN SUFFERS A PROLAPSE OF THE RECTUM, YOU CRUSH A ... AND A ... AND YOU HAVE HIM DRINK IT IN BEER, AND/OR MASSAGE HIM WITH IT IN OIL. IF IT IS NOT RELIEVED BY POTIONS OR SALVES, IF IT IS HIS RIGHT TESTICLE APPLY HEAT TO HIS LEFT SHOULDER BLADE; IF IT IS HIS LEFT TESTICLE, APPLY HEAT TO HIS RIGHT SHOULDER BLADE.

IF A YOUTH WHO HAS NOT KNOWN A WOMAN SUFFERS A PROLAPSE OF THE RECTUM, YOU BOIL UP A LIZARD; HE DRINKS THE FLUID AND HE WILL RECOVER.

IF A YOUTH WHO HAS NOT KNOWN A WOMAN SUFFERS A PROLAPSE OF THE RECTUM, YOU SIT HIM UP TO HIS WAIST IN STALE FINE FLOUR AND WHEAT FLOUR IN A ... OF ... SESAME, AND HE WILL RECOVER.

IF A YOUTH'S TESTICLES ARE INFLAMED, YOU MIX TOGETHER EQUAL QUANTITIES OF POWDERED ROAST BARLEY, AND POWDERED ...; IF IT IS SUMMER YOU KNEAD IT IN KASU-JUICE; IF IT IS WINTER, IN HOT WATER.

IF A YOUTH'S TESTICLES ARE INFLAMED, YOU "IT IS BROKEN" IN HOT WATER WHICH ...; YOU ANOINT HIM WITH OIL; YOU REPEAT THIS FOR 10 DAYS. YOU REPEAT THIS FOR 20 DAYS AS WITH INFLAMMATION OF THE INTESTINES, AND HE WILL RECOVER.

IF A YOUTH SUFFERS FROM PROLAPSE OF THE RECTUM, YOU BOIL UP ... ..., UP TO HIS ANUS; HE SHOULD SQUAT DOWN, AND ... IN FRESH CRESS, YOU WASH IT IN WATER, STEEP IT, AND AFTERWARDS CRUSH FINE, AND MIX IT UP WITH THE CRESS; YOU BANDAGE AS A POULTICE WHEN HOT TO THE ANUS AND "IT IS BROKEN" -.

IF A YOUTH'S HIPS HURT HIM, OR HE SUFFERS FROM STRANGURY, OR HIS KIDNEYS HURT HIM, OR HIS ... ARE INFLAMED, OR HE CANNOT SIT(?) DUE TO HIS ..., OR HE IS BLOATED WITH WIND, OR A TENDON IN HIS HIP, OR TESTICLE, OR HIS -

MS in Babylonian on clay, Uruk, ca. 300 BC, 1 tablet, 7,4x5,8x2,3 cm, 31 lines in cuneiform script by one of the leading Uruk scribes, Anu-Iksur or Iqisha.

Context: Other medical tablets are MSS 2670 and 3277. This tablet is written by a member of the well-known families of leading Uruk scribes, such as Anu-iksur or Iqisha. The excavations at Warka have produced whole archives of medical, magical and scholarly texts in identical script and format. The present tablet must come from one of those archives. All the other texts from this archive are now in international museums. Thus it must represent the work of one of Mesopotamia's leading medical practitioners of the late 4th c. BC.

Commentary: Part of the text is quite new, and part duplicates, restores and even clarifies a medical text from Assurbanipal's library.

The text has some very unusual contents, with both unusual words and interesting ideas. The first recipe treats a problem that appears on one side of the body with an action to the other side. This peculiar Mesopotamian concept first makes its appearance in a pre- Hammurabi medical text that treats toothache, and also in some later cuneiform cures for nose-bleeds, and may be interpreted as illustrating an underlying philosophy. The action in the present instant is the application of heat, which is not known in any other medical tablet, but which we now know, may have therapeutic benefit.

There is also an interesting procedural parallel with certain therapeutic recipes in Aramaic in the Babylonian Talmud. The vehicle prescribed here for applying the medicament varies according to the time of year; i.e. in summer it should be administered cold, in a kind of juice, but in the winter it must be steeped in hot water. Exactly the same point occurs in the Talmud, implying that this, and other curative procedures, have their roots in the more ancient Babylonian praxis.

Twice the scribe has written the signs he-pi in very small script, once on the obverse, and once on the reverse. The literal meaning of this expression is "it is broken", and it serves to indicate that the medical tablet from which he was copying these recipes was itself fragmentary or damaged in certain places, implying that it was, even then, a recovered text of some antiquity. This is a very revealing point. It is clear that in both instances there is a word or two missing in the received text. The first is some element of materia medica, so we cannot be sure what it was, but in the second case, it is quite evident that the missing words at the end of the recipe must have been "... he will get better." It must have been entirely obvious to the scribe himself. Nevertheless, his deep-seated reverence for traditional textual sources and the nature of his training meant that as a copyist, his responsibility was only to transmit the text as received, and not to add to it, or improve it, or even restore it.

There is no clearer sort of evidence available from the tablets themselves than this miniature scribal gloss to highlight this characteristic attitude in ancient Mesopotamian thinking. The scribes were rigorously trained to think in this way: the texts that came down from Antiquity were to be copied and preserved just as they were received. There was no room for individual input, or creative development.



MS 2634/3

HIPPOCRATES: EPIDEMICS II, 6:7 - 10

ms2634/3

MS in Greek on papyrus, Alexandria, Egypt, late 2nd-1st c. BC, 1 fragment of a scroll, 6x4 cm, single column, 15 lines in a small Greek uncial.

Context: The lower part of the column with II, 611-22 is in Princeton University, P. Princ. inv. AM 15960A.

Provenance: 1. Alexandrine Museum or Bibliotheca Alexandrina?, Egypt (late 2nd-1st c. BC); 2. Antiquity dealer, Cairo (1969); 3. Dr. Anton Fackelmann Sr., Wien, Austria, MS 44/3 (1969-1986); 4. Anton Fackelmann Jr., Steyr, Austria (1986-1998).

Commentary: The present papyrus is important because of its extent, its early date and superior text quality. It is the earliest papyrus of the entire Hippocratic corpus yet published. Only the citations from Prorrhetic I 1-2 and Epidemics VI 5:15 & 7:9 in Herculaneum papyrus 1012, offer an earlier version of text. The articulations of the present papyrus, the dividing of the text in order to demonstrate what goes with what, and to prove that this is what Hippocrates really meant, were part of the heated rivalries between the medical parties of Ptolemaic Alexandria. That rivalry continued at Roma in Roman times. Hippocrates saved many early medical treaties from oblivion. Hippocrates, "Father of Medicine", also served as the rubric under which these early texts were collected at the Museum of Ptolemaic Alexandria. Only this papyrus and a few others afford us the opportunity of seeing the corpus of an earlier time, before the edition of Artemidorus Capito began to circulate, and before Galen set his hand to explicating the message of the text.

Published: M. Gronewald in: ZPE 28(1978) pp. 276-277; A.E. Hanson: SAMR 23(1995) pp. 26-27; and A:E: Hanson - T. Gagos: Well Articulated spaces: Hippocrates, Epidemics II 6, 7-22, in Specimina per il Corpus dei Papiri Greci de Medicina, Firenze 1997, pp. 117-140.

Exhibited: Bibelmuseum, Münster, since 1986.

See also MS 1817, Medical recipes, Luxembourg, 2nd half 8th c.



MS 2936

  1. GUILLELMUS TEXTORIS: PRACTICANDE CIRCA AGONIA MORITURIS
  2. INVENTORY OF DONATIONS TO THE CHURCH OF 9 NOVEMBER 1505
ms2936

MS in Latin on vellum, Aachen, Germany, 1501, 82 ff. (complete), 18x12 cm, single column, (14x9 cm), 30 lines in a late Gothic book script by the scribe Theodoric Clocker, headings in red, 2-to 3-line initials in red throughout, 4 4-to 5-line initials in red.

Binding: Aachen, Germany, 1501, blind stamped brown calf, sewn on 5 cords, with booklabels made for Sammlung Ludwig by Pablo Picasso.

Provenance: 1. Monastery of the Canons Regular of St. John the Baptist, Aachen (1501-); 2. Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Paris; 3. H.P. Kraus, New York; 4. Sammlung Ludwig, Aachen and Köln; 5. J. Paul Getty Museum, Malibu and Los Angeles, California, 83.MN.191; 6. Bruce Ferrini, Akron, Ohio.

Commentary: Guillelmus Textoris de Aquisgrano (Wilhelmus Tzewers) was a professor of theology at Erfurt. This text is his treatise on preparing the terminally ill for death.
Theodoric Clocker was procurator of the Collegiate Church of St. John the Baptist, Aachen.

See also MS 2600, Weisheng jieyiao; containing traditional medical information and Daoist methods of meditation. China, 17th-18th c.







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