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THE VICH CATHEDRAL BIBLE

MS	262
MS Short Title	THE VICH CATHEDRAL BIBLE
Text	BIBLE WITH ST. HIERONYMUS PROLOGUES AND HEBREW NAMES NOTE DESCRIBING EARTHQUAKES IN 1395 NOTE CONCERNING SECTIONS OF THE BIBLE RECENTLY TRANSLATED BY ROBERT GROSSETESTE, BISHOP OF LINCOLN
Description	MS in Latin and Spanish (texts 2-3) on vellum, Northeast? Spain, ca. 1250 (text 1) and ca. 1400 (texts 2-3), 433 ff. (-13), 22x17 cm, 2 columns, (17x10 cm), 49-51 lines in an early Gothic book script by several scribes, chapter numbers and running-titles in alternately red and blue letters, capitals in red or blue, 2-to 7-line initials in red or blue with penwork in blue or red, ca. 77 large illuminated initials in raised burnished gold on blue and pale red grounds with white tracery.
Binding	Madrid, Spain, 18th c., blue-green morocco gilt, sewn on 5 cords, dentelle borders, central armorial? replaced by red morocco with floral sprays, spine in compartments gilt.
Provenance	1. Vich Cathedral, Spain (13th c.); 2. Capuchin Convent, Vich, Spain (16th c.); 3. King Charles IV of Spain (1788-1808); 4. King Joseph Bonaparte (1808-1813); 5. Artur Wellesley, first Duke of Wellington (1813-1852); 6. The Dukes of Wellington, Apsley House and Stratfield Saye (1852-1979); 7. Sotheby's 19.6.1979:41; 8. Sotheby's 7.12.1982:50; 9. Sotheby's 20.6.1989:35.
Commentary	Joseph Bonaparte (1768-1844), brother of Napoleon, King of Spain (1808-1813), acquired this MS together with 9 other MSS, 220 paintings and a Sevres breakfast service from the Spanish Royal collections in the Palacio de Oriente. He was engaged and defeated by the Spanish and English armies under the command of Arthur Wellesley (created first Duke of Wellington in 1814) at the battle of Vitoria on 21 June 1813. In the confusion, two British officers overtook the coach of King Joseph and fired shots through the window. Joseph leapt from the far side of the coach and escaped on horseback leaving his treasure behind. After the war the Duke of Wellington wrote to the Spanish king and asked whether he should return the MSS. The king, however, wrote back and said Wellington should keep them as a symbol of the newly established peaceful relations between Spain and England. With a 16th c. note against stealing the Bible which is described as being of great value, "No se atreva nadie a s... ninguna oja desta Biblia por ser de mucha estimación".
Place of origin	Spain
Dates	ca 1250 AD