Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, fonds français 821

[Part 1]

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General information

Folios290
LanguageLanguage object (48)
Approx. date?1300 to 1325
Date notesBeginning of 14th c. (Jung 1996, 194).
Place(s) of productionNorthern Italy
Jung 1996, 194.
First words of second recto folio[f. 2ra] Zaffir rubins topaz sineraut . /
First words of last recto folio[f. 290ra] estora il qil noma toutes de son non . /
Incipit[f. 1ra] NOS trouons por escripture . / Qe hercules outre nature . /
Explicit[f. 290ra] La grant ystoire (et) la plus maire / De celui roi qe uainqi daire / Ai ci finee an roman . / janus pois le tans adan / non fu ta(n)t larg ne ta(n)t cortois / duc ne p(ri)nce ne co(n)t ne rois . / Ne nen sera iusqe ala fin . / De se serai ge tout deuin. //

Material

Material:Material object (4)
Watermark:
Condition:Medium to high quality vellum, sometimes rigid, some holes and stitches. The manuscript is generally in good condition, some stains, some instances where the ink has faded (e.g. f. 186).

Structure

Collation:

1-308 3110 32-368

Quire structure:36 quires; quaternions, except quire 31 which is a quinion allowing the ending of the Roman de Troie to coincide with the ending of a quire (Jung 1996, 194). Based on the distribution of texts over quires, divergent quire structure and blank folios at the end of quires, the manuscript can be divided in five booklets or libelli: (ff. 1-16, quires 1-2) Hercules, Histoire ancienne (Greeks and Amazons); (ff. 17-80, quires 3-10) Liber Catonis, Regimine familie, Consolation de Philosophie, Passion, Secret des secrets, Dits des sages, History of Kings up to Romulus; (ff. 81-250, quires 11-31) Roman de Troie; (ff. 251-266, quires 32-33) Histoire ancienne (Eneas), Histoire ancienne (Rome I, up to the death of Romulus); (ff. 267r-290r, quires 34-36) Hector et Landomata, Histoire ancienne (Alexandre). This does not mean, however, that the manuscript is not the product of a carefully considered plan.
Quire marks:MSQuiremarkDisposition object (69)
MSQuiremarkDisposition object (74)
Catchwords:
Catchword disposition:MSCatchwordDisposition object (3)

Physical description

General illustration:Numerous historiated initials (height: 2-8 lines). The eye of the letters have been filled with portraits. Some miniatures (e.g. full-height portrait f. 29v
General decoration:Fairly uniform decorative programme alternating between pen-flourished (height: 2-3 lines) and clearly Italian historiated initials (height: 2-8 lines). Paragraph signs in the border (e.g. Liber catonis) or body (e.g. Regimine familie) of some texts. The structuring rationale of decorative elements is particular to each of the texts in the collection. The decoration and rubrication of the Histoire ancienne sections of the manuscript has not been completed, except for the Aeneas/Romulus part (ff. 251r-266v).
Evidence of readership:On f. 190va, a manicula points towards the verselines 'mais au garder ce mest ains . / Pris puet lan tost auoir oqis'. Both lines have been marked by a coloured paragraph sign. On f. 194va, another manicula highlights 'Qi loiaum(en)t san uiaut garder.'
Foliations description:Modern foliation in arabic numerals in the upper right corner of the recto.

Mise en page

Description 1Number of lines varies between 42-45. Changes in layout depend primarily on the text (prose/verse, but also number of lines, column-width and justification). Differences even between prose texts following each other in the same booklet (whether or not they are copied in different quires). Mise en page ff. 1-12v (Hercules)
Page sampled1r
LayoutMSLayout object (4)
Page dimensions364x264 (mm)
Justification280x190 (mm)
Columns2
9mm between columns
Column ruling present in Colours object (4) (RulingMaterials object (3) )
Lines44
Line ruling present in Colours object (4) (RulingMaterials object (3) )
RubricationNo rubricated tituli. Decoration completed.
Writing above top line?False
Sample page layout:

Description 2Mise en page ff. 13r-16r (Histoire ancienne, Greeks and Amazons)
Page sampled13r
LayoutMSLayout object (3)
Page dimensions364x264 (mm)
Justification280x190 (mm)
Columns2
9mm between columns
Column ruling present in Colours object (4) (RulingMaterials object (3) )
Lines44
Line ruling present in Colours object (4) (RulingMaterials object (3) )
RubricationAlthough space has been left for decoration and rubricated tituli, these were not completed.
Writing above top line?False
Sample page layout:

Description 3Mise en page ff. 17r-25v (Liber Catonis)
Page sampled17r
LayoutMSLayout object (4)
Page dimensions364x264 (mm)
Justification280x190 (mm)
Columns2
9mm between columns
Column ruling present in Colours object (4) (RulingMaterials object (3) )
Lines45
Line ruling present in Colours object (4) (RulingMaterials object (3) )
RubricationRubricated titulus at the beginning of the text.
Writing above top line?False
Sample page layout:

Description 4Mise en page ff. 25r-26v (Regimine familie)
Page sampled26r
LayoutMSLayout object (3)
Page dimensions364x264 (mm)
Justification265x190 (mm)
Columns2
17mm between columns
Column ruling present in Colours object (4) (RulingMaterials object (3) )
Lines44
Line ruling present in Colours object (4) (RulingMaterials object (3) )
RubricationRubricated titulus at the beginning of the text.
Writing above top line?False
Sample page layout:

Description 5Mise en page ff. 27r-52r (Consolation de Philosophie)
Page sampled33r
LayoutMSLayout object (3)
Page dimensions364x264 (mm)
Justification275x190 (mm)
Columns2
18mm between columns
Column ruling present in Colours object (4) (RulingMaterials object (3) )
Lines43
Line ruling present in Colours object (4) (RulingMaterials object (3) )
RubricationRubricated tituli throughout.
Writing above top line?False
Sample page layout:

Description 6Mise en page ff. 57r-60v (Passion)
Page sampled53r
LayoutMSLayout object (4)
Page dimensions364x264 (mm)
Justification280x190 (mm)
Columns2
15mm between columns
Column ruling present in Colours object (4) (RulingMaterials object (3) )
Lines43
Line ruling present in Colours object (4) (RulingMaterials object (3) )
RubricationRubricated titulus at the beginning of the text.
Writing above top line?False
Sample page layout:

Description 7Mise en page ff. 61r-66r (Secret des Secrets). The part of the text copied in the following quire has the same number of lines (42) as the Dits des sages which is also in this quire.
Page sampled61r
LayoutMSLayout object (3)
Page dimensions364x264 (mm)
Justification275x185 (mm)
Columns2
13mm between columns
Column ruling present in Colours object (4) (RulingMaterials object (3) )
Lines43
Line ruling present in Colours object (4) (RulingMaterials object (3) )
RubricationSpace has been left before the text and in between paragraphs, potentially for rubrics, which have not been added.
Writing above top line?False
Sample page layout:

Description 8Mise en page ff. 66r-75v (Dits des sages)
Page sampled66r
LayoutMSLayout object (3)
Page dimensions364x264 (mm)
Justification270x180 (mm)
Columns2
18mm between columns
Column ruling present in Colours object (4) (RulingMaterials object (3) )
Lines42
Line ruling present in Colours object (4) (RulingMaterials object (3) )
RubricationSpace has been left before the text and in between paragraphs, potentially for rubrics, which have not been added.
Writing above top line?False
Sample page layout:

Description 9Mise en page 77r-80v (History of Kings up to Romulus)
Page sampled78r
LayoutMSLayout object (3)
Page dimensions364x264 (mm)
Justification275x180 (mm)
Columns2
17mm between columns
Column ruling present in Colours object (4) (RulingMaterials object (3) )
Lines42
Line ruling present in Colours object (4) (RulingMaterials object (3) )
RubricationRubricated tituli throughout.
Writing above top line?False
Sample page layout:

Description 10Mise en page ff. 81r-249v (Roman de Troie)
Page sampled118r
LayoutMSLayout object (4)
Page dimensions364x264 (mm)
Justification280x190 (mm)
Columns2
9mm between columns
Column ruling present in Colours object (4) (RulingMaterials object (3) )
Lines43
Line ruling present in Colours object (4) (RulingMaterials object (3) )
RubricationWithout tituli.
Writing above top line?False
Sample page layout:

Description 11Mise en page ff. 251r-265r (Histoire ancienne, Eneas, Rome I). The second part of the verse section on 'largesce' in Rome I is also copied as verse.
Page sampled265r
LayoutMSLayout object (7)
Page dimensions364x264 (mm)
Justification280x200 (mm)
Columns2
15mm between columns
Column ruling present in Colours object (4) (RulingMaterials object (3) )
Lines44
Line ruling present in Colours object (4) (RulingMaterials object (3) )
RubricationDecoration completed. Not all rubrics have been filled in, directions in the margins.
Writing above top line?False
Sample page layout:

Description 12Mise en page ff. 267r-274v (Hector et Landomata)
Page sampled268r
LayoutMSLayout object (3)
Page dimensions364x264 (mm)
Justification280x196 (mm)
Columns2
14mm between columns
Column ruling present in Colours object (4) (RulingMaterials object (3) )
Lines44
Line ruling present in Colours object (4) (RulingMaterials object (3) )
RubricationSpace has been left for rubricated tituli, which have not been added.
Writing above top line?False
Sample page layout:

Description 13Mise en page ff. 283r-290r (Histoire ancienne, Alexander)
Page sampled285r
LayoutMSLayout object (3)
Page dimensions364x264 (mm)
Justification273x196 (mm)
Columns2
16mm between columns
Column ruling present in Colours object (4) (RulingMaterials object (3) )
Lines44
Line ruling present in Colours object (4) (RulingMaterials object (3) )
RubricationDecorations and rubrics not completed. Directions in the margins (e.g. f. 270r).
Writing above top line?False
Sample page layout:

Hand(s)

Level of Execution:Execution object (4)
ScriptScript object (1)
Folio rangeFrom 1ra to 290ra
Datec. 1300 to 1325
Scribe description:Southern textualis (very round 'h'), praescissus characteristics (especially long 's').
Notes

Provenance

Description'Au f. 290v une inscription, partiellement érasée, et qui paraît être du XVe siècle, signale un ancien possesseur. CROSS, Landomata, p. 22-23, et PALERMO, Hector et Hercule, p. 23, ne font que transcrire Paulin Paris, qui avait lu: Hic liber est Johanely de Mudda poete doctissime parochiae sancte Marie Podiensis. Je lirais plutôt: Iste liber est Johannely de Midda [Medda ?] Vercellana [?] parocie Sancte Marie ...' (Jung: 1996, 196). Jung leaves out one word after 'midda'. The inscription appears to read 'Iste liber est Johanelly de midda . porte v(er)cellane p(ar)ochie s(anc)te marie podens'.
Date?1400 to 1499
PlacePlace object (1)
OwnershipPerson object (8)
Description'Bibliothèque des ducs de Milan au château de Pavie, inventaires de 1426 et 1489. L'entrée de la Consignatio librorum de 1426 est la suivante: GESTA HERCULIS ET PLURIUM ALIORUM AC TROIANI [sic], in gallico rithimo, voluminis satis magni et grossi, coperti corio rubeo veteri. - Incipiunt: Nos trovons per escriture, et finiuntur: la stoire secont (voir A. THOMAS, dans Romania, 40, 1911, 581, numéro 22). On notera que malgré la victoire d'Hector sur Hercule dans le premier texte du manuscrit, l'inventaire ne retient que les 'gesta Herculis', et que seuls les 'Troiani' ont été jugés dignes de figurer dans l'intitulé de l'inventaire.' (Jung: 1996, 196)
Date1426 to 1489
PlacePlace object (6)
OwnershipPerson object (7)