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Edinburgh, National Library of Scotland, Advocates 19.1.3

La grant ystoire de monsignor Tristan (incipit)

General information

Folios196
1 backend papers
Folio notes:4 folios wanting between ff. 172 and 173.
LanguageLanguage object (46)
Approx. date?1275 to 1325
Date notes'Fin du XIIIe siècle' (Pickford 1960, 131). Late-13th c. or early 14th c. on palaeographical grounds; the former perhaps more likely.
Place(s) of productionLorraine
'The manuscript was written, apparently from dictation, by a scribe accustomed to the forms of Old French prevalent in Lorraine' (Johnson 1942, xxii). 'Francia o Italia?' (Cigni 2012, 262).
First words of second recto folio[f. 2ra] retornet aroí pelyas . et a Sadoc :
First words of last recto folio[f. 196ra] vne ??...?? ois ne li faldrai míes . Sí
Incipit[f. 1ra] [C]I Comancet / la grant / ystoire de / mon signor / Tristan ke / mes sires / luces dou / gat . Et / mes sires helíns de boron trans / laterent dou latin en romans .
Explicit[f. 196vc] aue(n)ture m(er)vílleuse ??...?? / vne plai(n)gne pas ??...?? / tes armes //

Material

Material:Material object (4)
Watermark:
Condition:Fair parchment, with occasional small holes. The text, however, is sometimes illegible due to humidity damage, tears and significant creasing.

Structure

Collation:

1-212223-258

Quire structure:Regular quaternions, with the exception of quire 22, which is a quaternion whose 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th leaves are wanting.
Quire marks:MSQuiremarkDisposition object (10)
Catchwords:
Catchword disposition:MSCatchwordDisposition object (4)

Physical description

General illustration:
General decoration:Paragraphs are marked by plain initials (height: 2 lines), alternating red and blue, with marginal guide letters. On f. 189r some of these smaller initials are flourished. Space was left for major initials that were never executed, typically 8 lines, but Hand #3 leaves up to 12 lines. There is some elongation and decoration of top-line ascenders and bottom-line ascenders by Hand #1.
Evidence of readership:Pen trials and doodles, e.g. ff. 88r and 152v.
Foliations description:Modern pencil in centre of lower margin of recto sides.

Mise en page

Description 1Triple spacing for lai sections.
Page sampledf. 44r
LayoutMSLayout object (3)
Page dimensions342x266 (mm)
Justification292x210 (mm)
Columns3
12mm between columns
Lines60
Rubricationnone
Writing above top line?False
Sample page layout:

Hand(s)

Level of Execution:Execution object (4)
ScriptScript object (4)
Folio rangeFrom f. 1ra to f. 144vc
Date?1275 to 1325
Scribe description:A small bookhand, featuring two-compartment 'a' (open upper bow), some bifurcated ascenders, both tall and round 's' in final position (though mostly the latter), both 'u' and 'v' in initial position, dotted 'y', and tironian 'et' with a bar.
Notes

Level of Execution:Execution object (4)
ScriptScript object (4)
Folio rangeFrom f. 145ra to f. 152va
Date?1275 to 1325
Scribe description:Less neat than Hand #1. The upper compartment of 'a' is sometimes barely visible. Cursive influence on occasional loops to 'd', and 'f' and tall 's', which can descend slightly below the baseline.
Notes

Level of Execution:Execution object (4)
ScriptScript object (4)
Folio rangeFrom f. 153ra to f. 196vb
Date?1275 to 1325
Scribe description:A more regular textualis, with two-compartment 'a', rücken 'g', round 's' consistently used in final position, initial 'v', and 'y' without a dot.
Notes