Parchment · 13 ff. · 33-33.5 × 24.5-25.5 cm · England · first half of the 8th century
Isidorus iunior Hispalensis, De natura rerum cum additamento De XII signis caeli
One of the Isidore codices from the Monastery of Fulda; the codex escaped destruction because it reached Basel during the 16th century, before the abduction and destruction of the library during the Thirty Years' War. There it apparently was to serve as a textual source for a planned edition of Isidore’s works. The codex originated in England in the 8th century and retains its binding from the 8th or 9th century in a parchment cover. It is considered one of the most important textual witnesses of Isidore’s De natura rerum. (stb)
Parchment · 66 ff. · 27-27.5 × 19-19.5 cm · Fulda · first third of the 9th century
Isidorus Hispalensis, Sententiae (liber I-II)
One of the Isidore codices from the Monastery of Fulda; the codex escaped destruction because it reached Basel during the 16th century, before the abduction and destruction of the library during the Thirty Years' War.
There it apparently served as a possible textual source for a planned edition of Isidore’s works. The codex was produced in Fulda in the first third of the 9th century and clearly still retains its Carolingian binding of wooden boards covered in brown leather with scudding decoration. (stb)
Parchment · 20 ff. · 29,5-30 × 22-23 cm · Anglo-Saxon center (on the continent? in England?) · first half of the 8th century
Isidorus Hispalensis, Differentiarum liber . Gennadius Massiliensis, Definitio ecclesiasticarum dogmatum
One of the Isidore codices from the Monastery of Fulda; the codex escaped destruction because it reached Basel during the 16th century, before the abduction and destruction of the library during the Thirty Years' War. There it apparently served as a possible textual source for a planned edition of Isidore’s works. The codex was produced in the first half of the 8th century in England or in an Anglo-Saxon center on the continent. It retains its 8th or 9th century binding in a parchment cover and is considered one of the most important textual witnesses of Isidore’s Differentiarum liber. (stb)
Parchment · 148 ff. · 23.5 x 16.5 cm · Basel, Dominican convent · 14th century
Commenta super logicam veterem
This manuscript of collected works consists of four originally independent parts: Part I contains the writing of Hervaeus Natalis, Part II super sex principia originally written by Albert the Great, Part III texts by Peter of Auvergne and Part IV two anonymous texts - which may only transmitted in this manuscript - and the tract De medio demonstrationis by Aegidius Romanus. The manuscript was produced at the Dominican convent in Basel. (mit)
Parchment · 51 ff. · 23.5-25.5 x 16-17 cm · 13th-14th century
Composite manuscript (Astronomy)
This composite manuscript of content related to astronomy consists of three independently created parts with leaves of different sizes and varying layouts. They were produced by several scribes in the 13th and 14th centuries. The texts describe instruments for observing the sky and treat the planetary orbits, which are also represented in astronomical drawings. This composite manuscript belonged to the chained library of the Dominican Convent of Basel. (gam/flr)
This volume was written in the 13th century, probably by two alternating hands from France; it contains various astrological writings of Hellenistic-Arabic origin in the Latin translation of John of Seville, such as the Centiloquium Ptolemaei, as well as texts by Māšā'allāh, Alfraganus and Albumasar. This manuscript was part of the chained library of the Dominican Convent of Basel. (gam/flr)
Parchment · 90 ff. · 25.5 x 17.5 cm · 13th century
Composite manuscript (natural science and theology)
This manuscript, written in a 13th century textura, was the property of the cleric and historian Dietrich von Niem (1340-1418), who provided it with numerous marginal notes. The volume, which was passed on to the Carthusian Monastery of Basel, contains, among others, Seneca’s Naturales quaestiones, the discussion Cur deus homo? by Anselm of Canterbury, and the astrological work De radiis stellarum by the Arab philosopher and scientist Alkindi. It also contains the article De probatione virginitatis beatae Mariae from the so-called "Suda", a Byzantine encyclopedia widely used in the Latin translation by Roberto Grosseteste. (flr)
Paper · 279 ff. · 31 x 21 cm · Middle of the 15th century
Vokabular des alten Schulmeisters
This volume contains the so-called Wörterbuch des alten Schulmeisters (old schoolmaster’s dictionary). This is an independent adaptation of the more widely used Vocabularius ex quo. In contrast to the more original version, in the old schoolmaster's edition the German explanations take a back seat to the purely Latin ones. The original pastedowns, which were detached from the cover during a restoration in 1974, also contain excerpts from a Latin translation of Aristotle's De anima and other pieces of related content. The fact that the text on the rear pastedown directly continues the text from the front pastedown shows that, in their original context, the pastedowns must have been two successive pages of one manuscript. (fis)
Paper · 268 ff. · 28.5 x 20.5 cm · Schongau · third quarter of the 15th century
Vocabularius Ex quo latino-germanicus
Probably written in Schongau and later acquired by the Carthusian Monastery of Basel, this volume is part of the vast tradition in manuscript and in print form of the so-called Vocabularius Ex quo. This alphabetically ordered dictionary was intended as a resource for users with limited knowledge of Latin and remained enormously popular in the German-speaking region until the end of the 16th century. (mue)
This manuscript transmits various Latin-German vocabularies, among them the Mammotrectus by the Italian Franciscan John Marchesinus, which was written around 1300. This manuscript, written around 1400 by a certain Ulrich Wachter, was purchased for the Carthusian monastery of Basel in 1430. (stu)
Paper · 180 ff. · 29 x 21 cm · [Paris] · third quarter of the 15th century
Nonius Marcellus; Varro
This French manuscript from the third quarter of the 15th century contains two works from ancient times. Nonius Marcellus (4th/5th century) offers linguistic and factual explanations on Latin authors mainly from the time of the Republic, partly in alphabetically-ordered lemmas; M. Terentius Varro († 27 BC) addresses linguistic questions concerning the Latin language. (gam/flr)
Parchment · 109 ff. · 15.5 x 10.5 cm · first half of the 13th century
Aristoteles, Boethius
Various Aristotelian writings in the Latin translation of Boethius as well as treatises by Boethius, written in a small 13th century script; they were bound together with two 15th century additions, probably for the scholar Johannes Heynlin from Basel, who bequeathed the volume to the Carthusian Monastery of Basel. Noteworthy for codicological reasons are the back pastedown and flyleaf, a parchment leaf that had been prepared for a prayer book. It consists of two bifolios with upside down text that should have been folded before binding, as was usual for printed sheets. However, the two bifolios were excluded and were not used in the prayer book; therefore there are no pinholes in the fold. (gam/flr)
Parchment · 76 ff. · ca. 16 x 13.5 cm · 14th century
Ovidio Naso, Heroides, cum glossa Guilelmi Aurelianensis
This small-format, almost square 14th century Ovid manuscript contains the Heroides accompanied by the commentary of William of Orléans (Guilelmus Aurelianensis, around 1200). An older erased note of ownership suggests a French origin; Johannes Heynlin bequeathed this manuscript to the Carthusian Monastery of Basel. (gam/flr)
Parchment and paper · 100 ff. · 20.5 x 15 cm · France · second quarter of the 15th century
Petrus de Alliaco, Imago mundi
Pierre d’Ailly (Latin: Petrus de Alliaco) was a scholar, church politician and productive writer. His geographic work Imago mundi became famous; Christopher Columbus used it in order to plan his voyages of discovery. This Basel exemplar belonged to the city physician of Basel, Heinrich Amici († 1451), who bequeathed it to his city’s Carthusian monastery. (gam/flr)
Parchment and paper · 280 ff. · 20.5 x 14.5 cm · 14th/15th century
Composite manuscript (grammar)
This volume contains texts that are related to late medieval, early humanistic school practice; i.e. on the one hand, works intended for school practice (grammars, word lists) and on the other hand, theoretical treatises of didactic-pedagogical content. This volume, bound at the Carthusian monastery of Basel, brings together several originally independent parts. The first part, the prose version of Alexander of Villedieu’s versified grammar, is from the Carthusian monastery of Mainz and was donated to the Carthusian monastery of Basel. The last part, the grammar of Giovanni Sulpizio, here in a version printed by Johannes Amerbach, came to the monastery library as a gift from the printer. (fis)
Johannes von Rheinfelden, Tractatus de moribus et disciplina humanae conversationis: id est ludus cartularum moralisatus
In his extensive Tractatus de moribus et disciplina humanae conversationis, the oldest description of playing cards known in Europe, Johannes von Rheinfelden explains not only the rules of play, but in addition he explicates the characters of the figures as well as the entire social order, based on the relation of the cards to one another. Konrad Schlatter, since 1428 confessor and later prior of the cloister of the Dominican nuns St. Maria Magdalena “in den Steinen”, left this treatise to the sisters for their moral edification. (gam/flr)
This manuscript contains the French text of the heroic epic (chanson de geste) Ami et Amile. The scribe gives the period of the creation of this copy (from 16 May to 23 June 1425) in a colophon. The text is written in a Gothic cursive and is punctuated by numerous rubricated initials that mark the beginning of each verse. The modern cardboard binding is covered by a parchment fragment from a 15th century missal. An inscription on the flyleaf indicates that this volume was a gift to the writer Anne de Graville (1490-1540). Later it was part of the collection belonging to her son-in-law, the bibliophile Claude d'Urfé (1501-1558). In the 19th century, the work came into the possession of the philologist Wilhelm Wackernagel (1806-1869), who donated it to the University Library Basel in 1843. (mal)
Parchment · a + 40 + b ff. · 33.5 x 22.5-24 cm · 11th century
Martianus Capella, De nuptiis Philologiae et Mercurii, lib. 1-2
This large-format 11th century manuscript by Martianus Capella transmits the first two books of his work De nuptiis Philologiae et Mercurii, one of the most widely-read books of the Middle Ages, together with Remigius of Auxerre’s commentary, which was written for instruction. Noteworthy is the contemporaneous original binding: the quires are attached to the parchment cover with thin strips of parchment (cf. Szirmai). (gam/flr)
The surviving parts of Diodorus Siculus’ universal history were translated from Greek into Latin in the 15th century. This manuscript containing Books 11 to 13 was written in 1453; probably it is the autograph of the translator Iacobus de Sancto Cassiano Cremonensis, in fact, a revised fair copy which transitions into a working manuscript towards the end. (gam/flr)
Parchment · 44 ff. · 28 x ca. 25 cm · Fulda · third third - end of the 9th century
Sedulius Scottus, Explanationes in praefationes ad evangelia
The oldest manuscript of Sedulius Scottus' commentaries on the common introductions to the Gospels. In the 16th century, the manuscript apparently came from Fulda to Basel, a center for printing. This brief work, which has survived in only a handful of codices, is still awaiting a critical edition. (stb)
Paper · 306 ff. · 21 x 14.5 cm · first half of the 15th century
Aristotelica
This volume contains two commentaries on Aristotle’s Libri physicorum; the authors are Friedrich von Nürnberg and Johannes Buridanus. They were copied in 1439 by Albrecht Löffler from Rheinfelden during his studies at the University of Heidelberg. Later he joined the Dominican Order and left this manuscript to the Dominican Convent of Basel, where it became part of the chained library. (gam/flr)
Paper · 284 ff. · 21-22 x 15-15.5 cm · 3rd quarter of the 15th century
Johannes Rucherath de Wesalia
This manuscript contains exercises and Quaestiones on Aristotle’s works De anima and De physica by the reform theologian Johann von Wesel (1425-1481). This volume is from the Carthusian monastery of Basel; based on a comparative study of the script, it can be assumed that the scribe of the first part is Jakob Louber. Numerous annotations in the margins and on slips of paper attest that the manuscript was heavily used. (flr)
Paper · 153 ff. · 20.5 x 14 cm · second quarter of the 15th century (1439, 1438)
Tractatus rhetorici
Albertus Löffler was the most productive scribe of the Dominican Monastery of Basel. The only manuscript of rhetorical content in his hand contains the so-called Summa Iovis and works by Nikolaus de Dybin. Löffler copied them during his studies in Heidelberg in 1438 and 1439. This composite manuscript became part of the chained library of the Dominican Convent of Basel. (gam/flr)
As its main part, this manuscript, completed in 1474 by Henricus de Bacharach, contains a copy of the widely transmitted Latin-German Vocabularius Ex quo, which was very popular through the end of the 16th century; in addition, it contains a calendar, an astrological table and several short texts by other hands. The main text was decorated by the scribe himself with naive but partly very imaginative initials and drawings. This paper codex came to the UB (Basel University Library) along with the holdings of the Carthusian Monastery of Basel. (mue)
Paper · 185 ff. · 21 x 14.5 cm · third quarter of the 15th century
Commentarii super Parvulum philosophiae naturalis
Composite manuscript of philosophical content, owned by Jakob Lauber and even partially written by him. Jakob Lauber from Lindau studied at the then newly founded University of Basel from 1466 until 1475, first in the Faculty of Arts, then canon law in the Faculty of Law. After serving as rector for a short period, he entered the Carthusian Monastery of Basel in 1477; as its prior from 1480 on, he expanded it significantly and reorganized its library. When he entered the monastery, Lauber’s library became the property of the monastery. (gam/flr)
Paper · 231 ff. · 20.5-21 x 14-14.5 cm · 1st half of the 15th century
Composite manuscript of, among others, computistic content
This worn paper manuscript from the Carthusian Monastery of Basel contains several treatises (in part with commentaries) for calculating the annual calendar, in particular for determining the movable holidays, such as the Computus chirometralis of Johannes of Erfurt or the Computus Nerembergensis. In addition, the volume contains a series of Old Frisian and Low German texts: sermons for weddings, recipes, a Latin-German glossary, as well as a short version of the “niederdeutsche Apokalypse”. (flr)
Composite manuscript of scholastic content Sammelband
This manuscript, which was written in part by Johannes Heynlin de Lapide and which came to the Carthusian Monastery of Basel with him, contains Johannes de Fonte’s florilegium Auctoritates Aristotelis, a collection of quotations in alphabetical order, two anonymous treatises, as well as treatises by the Franciscan Francis of Meyronnes, by the pseudo John Duns Scotus and by Johannes Breslauer de Braunsberg. A print (5 leaves) of the Tractatus de memoria augenda by Matheolus Perusinus is also bound into this volume. (mue)
Paper · 165 ff. · 14.5 x 21.5 cm · third quarter of the 15th century
Marius Victorinus Gaius, Explanationum in Rhetoricam Ciceronis libri duo; De attributis personae et negotio
In the 4th century AD, the rhetoric teacher Gaius Marius Victorinus wrote explanatory notes on Cicero’s De inventione. In the third quarter of the 15th century, these were copied in a completely uniform script, probably in Frace. The scholar Johannes Heynlin from Basel bequeathed this manuscript, together with the other books in his vast library, to the Carthusian Monastery of Basel. The manuscript shows no signs of use. (gam/flr)
This Lucretius manuscript with the long didactic poem De rerum natura is, based on its content, a descendant of the manuscript which Poggio Braccolini discovered in a German monastery in 1417. This manuscript was written in 1468-69, a few years before the text appeared in print, by Antonius Septimuleius Campanus — according to a note at the end of the text — while he was in prison in Rome. At the latest by 1513, the manuscript was in the possession of the humanist Bonifacius Amerbach from Basel. (gam/flr)
Parchment and paper · 77 ff. · 14.5 x 21 cm · Italy · second half of the 15th century
Composite manuscript (Humanistica)
This 15th century composite manuscript was produced in Italy and contains humanist occasional poems and short treatises. The various parts, written in humanist minuscule and humanist cursive, are written by different scribes. This volume belonged to the Basel book printer Johann Oporin († 1568); after his death it remained in the possession of scholars in Basel, until it was given to the library in the 17th/18th century. (gam/flr)
Paper · 32 ff. · 20 x 14 cm · Alemannic speaking region, possibly Basel · first halft of the 15th century
Laurin or Der kleine Rosengarten (King Laurin, the Rosengarten Group)
This manuscript with the Middle High German epic poem "Laurin" about Dietrich of Bern came to the Basel University Library in a truly adventurous manner. As the head librarian Ludwig Sieber (1833-1891) himself notes in the manuscript, the codex was found on the banks of the Rhine in Basel in 1878. It was then donated to the university library by Ludwig Sieber and his predecessor Wilhelm Vischer (head librarian 1867-1871). The place of discovery left its mark on the manuscript: In parts, the paper and binding are very damaged and fragile and show water damage in various places, especially at the edges of the leaves. The text, however, is still very legible, although incompletely preserved. Fragments of documents in the binding and the pen-and-ink drawing of a flag with a Basel staff make a reference to Basel as a possible place of origin. (stu)
Parchment · 105 ff. · 14 x 10.5 cm · middle of the 15th century
Hans and Peter Roth, Pilgrimages to Jerusalem 1440 and 1453
This small-format manuscript contains accounts written by Hans Rot († 1452) and his son Peter Rot († 1487) about their pilgrimages to the Holy Land in 1440 and 1453. It is possible that the notes are in their own handwriting. (gam/flr)
Parchment and paper · 238 ff. · 21 x 14.5 cm · around 1470
Rhetorica ad Herennium
The extensively glossed Rhetorica ad Herennium in the front part of this composite manuscript was copied by Johannes Heynlin, who also brought this book with him to the Carthusian Monastery of Basel. The text from the 1st century BC represents the oldest surviving theory of rhetoric in Latin; it was very popular during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, as attested by a vast tradition of more than 100 manuscripts as well as translations into numerous European languages. The volume transmits principles of rhetoric that have remained valid until to this day. (mue)
Parchment · 2 ff. · 9 × 18 cm · Fulda · about second quarter of the 9th century
Paulinus Mediolanensis, Vita Ambrosii (Fragment)
Fragment with hagiographic content from a Carolingian manuscript that originated in Fulda and was used as manuscript waste in the Basel area in the last quarter of the 16th century. (stb)
Information about the conscription of troops. It names several cities along the Nile (among them Elephantine, Herakleion, Oxyrhynchus) that had to supply soldiers for the Persian commander Šērag. This document, written in Middle Persian (Pahlavi) on parchment, dates from between 619 and 629 AD, the time of the Sassanid occupation of Egypt. (wur)
Paper · 130 pp. · 21 x 16 cm · 17th century (before 1682)
Avicenna, Manẓūma fī ăṭ-ṭibb
Didactic poem in Arabic by Avicenna (d. 1037) about the art of healing. The manuscript was written in the 17th century on paper of European provenance and came to the university library in 1682 as a gift from Konrad Harber. According to the canon, the Urǧūza (or Manẓūma) fī ṭ-ṭibb is the Persian scholar’s greatest contribution to medicine. Armengaud Blaise translated it into Latin in Montpellier in 1284 under the title Cantica; a version of the translation, revised by Andrea Alpago, was printed in Venice in 1527. (wur)
Paper · 18 ff. · 26 x 17 cm · Rabīʿ II 952 h. [= June-July 1545]
al-Kalimāt aṭ-ṭayyibāt al-ʿaliyya / ʿAlī Ibn Abī Ṭālib
Famous collection of wise sayings attributed to the caliph ʿAlī Ibn Abī Ṭālib (deceased 661). Each proverb in Arabic is followed by its translation into Persian in Maṯnawī verses in Ramal meter. The sentences are also known by the title Ṣad kalima or Miʾat kalima and have been translated into Persian several times. This version does not name the translator. This copy was prepared by a well-known calligrapher from Shiraz, Ḥusayn al-Faḫḫār; it was completed in Rabīʿ II 952 h. [= June-July 1545]. The manuscript is from the bequest of the turkologist and scholar of Islamic studies Rudolf Tschudi (1884-1960). (wur)
Paper · 31 ff. · 27.5 x 18 cm · Herat · middle of Šaʿbān 871 h. [= end of March 1467]
Nasabnāma
This Persian-Arabic manuscript, written in Herat by ʿAbdallāh al-Harawī and completed Middle of Šaʿbān 871 h. [= end of March 1467], contains genealogical information about the Prophet Muhammad and his descendants, as well as about people important to the subsequent history of the eastern part of the Islamic world and of Central Asia, among them the Khan of Moghulistan, Tughluq Timur († 1363). Sayyid Ǧalāladdīn Mazīd Bahādur is named as the person who commissioned the manuscript; he probably was part of the local upper class. Interspersed in the text are quotations from the Koran, prayers and poems; an appendix gives exact death dates for three people who passed away in the year 869 h. and who may have been part of the circle of the man who commissioned the manuscript. The decoration of the manuscript is incomplete, as can be seen from an only partially completed rosette (3r) and a missing family tree (26v). The manuscript was owned by Rudolf Tschudi (1884-1960). (wur)
Paper · 14 ff. · 18 x 11.5 cm · 1st half of the 18th century (at the latest 1746)
Awrād-i šarīfa
Collection of prayers in the form of litanies (awrād), attributed to a Šayḫ Wafāʾ. The manuscript must have been completed before 1746, because in this year it was consigned to a religious foundation by Bašīr Āġā, a dignitary of the Ottoman court. The author cannot be conclusively ascertained since there are several people known by the name Šayḫ Wafāʾ. This manuscript probably belongs in the context of Islamic mysticism (Sufism), which was firmly established as an institution in the Ottoman-Turkish society of the period. The manuscript comes from the collection of the Islamic scholar and turkologist Rudolf Tschudi (1884-1960). (wur)
Parchment · 302 ff. · 22 x 16 cm · 20. Ǧumādā II 1165 h. [= 05.05.1752]
Velāyet-i Ḫāksār Ḥācı Bektāş Velī
Legendary biography of the founder of the Bektashi Order, Ḥāǧǧī Bektāş Velī from Khorasan (Eastern Iran/Afghanistan), written in Ottoman Turkish. The manuscript was written by ʿAbdallāh Ibn Aḥmad el-Merzīfōnī and was completed on 20. Ǧumādā II 1165 h. [= 5 May 1752]. It was part of the collection of oriental manuscripts of the Islamic scholar and turkologist Rudolf Tschudi (1884-1960), from where it came to the University Library Basel. (wur)
Parchment · 8 ff. · 16 x 13-13.5 cm · Fulda · first quarter of the 9th century
Theodori and Theodulfus Aurelianensis ･ Ordo ad paenitentiam dandam ･ Ps. Augustinus ･ Hrabanus Maurus ･ Ambrosius Autpertus ･ Praecepta vivendi et al.
This fascicle contains the version of the Paenitentiale Theodori named for this textual witness the ‘Canones Basilienses;’ it was written by two hands from Fulda in an Anglo-Saxon minuscule of the first quarter of the 9th century. Around 1500, this quire was part of the current manuscript F III 15e. This explains the title de conflictu viciorum et virtutum on 1r, which does not fit with the content of the quire. As evidenced by the lost text at the beginning and at the end, N I 1: 3c had previously been part of another codex. (stb)
Parchment · 1 f. · 39.5 x 26.5 cm · Fulda · ca. 1156
Fulda Legendary
Leaf from the sixth volume (November-December) of a Fulda Legendary that originally consisted of six volumes, commissioned in 1156 by Rugger, monk at Frauenberg Abbey in Fulda (1176-1177 abbot of Fulda as Rugger II). This fragment contains parts of the Vita s. Chuniberti, the Vita s. Trudonis and the Vita s. Severini; they were probably written by Eberhard of Fulda. The legendary was still used in the middle of the 16th century in Fulda by Georg Witzel(1501-1573) for his Hagiologium seu de sanctis ecclesiae (Mainz 1541) as well as for his Chorus sanctorum omnium. Zwelff Bücher Historien Aller Heiligen Gottes (Köln 1554). More fragments from the sixth volume are also in Basel. It shows that this volume, and at least the 3rd volume (May-June) of the legendary as well, reached Basel, where both evidently were used as manuscript waste around 1580. (stb)
Paper · 10 ff. · ca. 19.5 x 12.5 cm · Alemannic-speaking region · middle of the 14th century
Nibelungenlied (fragment)
These five bifolia with fragments from The Song of the Nibelungs are from a mid-14th century manuscript; they were preserved because they were reused as binding material. Discovered in 1866 by a clergyman from Fanas/Prättigau, they came into the hands of the Basel philologist Wilhelm Wackernagel and today are part of the Basel University Library. The leaves show restrained rubrication; the margins are decorated with occasional reddish-brown pen and ink drawings (particularly in the shape of dragons and dragon-like creatures). (flr)
Parchment · 2 ff. · 30 x 26-26.5 cm · Upper Rhine region (?) · 2nd quarter of the 9th century
Basel scroll
The texts on which the Basel scroll is based were written in the Holy Land at the behest of Charlemagne. This somewhat later copy might have been produced in the region of the Upper Rhine; it constitutes the only textual witness. Not only the content of the texts, but also the original scroll form were preserved. In his comprehensive study from 2011, Michael McCormick supposes an administrative use at the court of Louis the Pious or Louis the German. It is not clear how the fragments reached the University Library Basel; they were removed from a volume that was not further identified in the second third of the 19th century by the librarian Franz Dorotheus Gerlach. (stu)
Parchment · 1 f. · 42 x 24.5 cm · Fulda · ca. 1156
Fulda Legendary
Leaf from the sixth volume (November-December) of a Fulda Legendary that originally consisted of six volumes, commissioned in 1156 by Rugger, monk at Frauenberg Abbey in Fulda (1176-1177 abbot of Fulda as Rugger II). This fragment contains parts of the Vita s. Silvestri and was probably written by Eberhard of Fulda. The legendary was still used in the middle of the 16th century in Fulda by Georg Witzel (1501-1573) for his Hagiologium seu de sanctis ecclesiae (Mainz 1541) as well as for his Chorus sanctorum omnium. Zwelff Bücher Historien Aller Heiligen Gottes (Köln 1554). More fragments from the sixth volume are also in Basel. It shows that this volume, and at least the 6th volume (May-June) of the legendary as well, reached Basel, where both evidently were used as manuscript waste around 1580. (stb)
Parchment · 2 ff. · 33.5 x 29 + 28.5 cm · Fulda · ca. 1156
Fulda Legendary
Bifolio from the third volume (May-June) of a Fulda Legendary that originally consisted of six volumes, commissioned in 1156 by Rugger, monk at Frauenberg Abbey in Fulda (1176-1177 abbot of Fulda as Rugger II). This fragment contains parts of the volume's front matter (calendar for the month of June, an editorial introduction, and indexes for the months of May and June). The legendary was still used in the middle of the 16th century in Fulda by Georg Witzel (1501-1573) for his Hagiologium seu de sanctis ecclesiae (Mainz 1541) as well as for his Chorus sanctorum omnium. Zwelff Bücher Historien Aller Heiligen Gottes (Köln 1554). Other fragments from this third volume are in Basel, Solothurn and Nuremberg. It shows that this volume, and at least the 6th volume (November-December) of the legendary as well, reached Basel, where both evidently were used as manuscript waste around 1580. (stb)
Lower part of a leaf from the third volume (May-June) of a Fulda Legendary that originally consisted of six volumes, commissioned in 1156 by Rugger, monk at Frauenberg Abbey in Fulda (1176-1177 abbot of Fulda as Rugger II). This fragment contains parts of the Vita s. Symeonis by Eberwin of Trier and probably was written by Eberhard of Fulda. The legendary was still used in the middle of the 16th century in Fulda by Georg Witzel (1501-1573) for his Hagiologium seu de sanctis ecclesiae (Mainz 1541) as well as for his Chorus sanctorum omnium. Zwelff Bücher Historien Aller Heiligen Gottes (Köln 1554). Other fragments from this third volume are in Basel, Solothurn and Nuremberg. It shows that this volume, and at least the 6th volume (November-December) of the legendary as well, reached Basel, where both evidently were used as manuscript waste around 1580. (stb)
Parchment · 2 ff. · 16-25 x 29.5 + (5+23) cm · Fulda · ca. 1156
Fulda Legendary
Bifolio from the sixth volume (November-December) of a Fulda Legendary that originally consisted of six volumes, commissioned in 1156 by Rugger, monk at Frauenberg Abbey in Fulda (1176-1177 abbot of Fulda as Rugger II). This fragment contains parts of the volume's front matter (calendar for the month of December). The legendary was still used in the middle of the 16th century in Fulda by Georg Witzel (1501-1573) for his Hagiologium seu de sanctis ecclesiae (Mainz 1541) as well as for his Chorus sanctorum omnium. Zwelff Bücher Historien Aller Heiligen Gottes (Köln 1554). More fragments from the sixth volume are also in Basel. It shows that this volume, and at least the 3rd volume (May-June) of the legendary as well, reached Basel, where both evidently were used as manuscript waste around 1580. (stb)
Parchment · 1 f. · 16-25 x 29.5 + (5+23) cm · Fulda · ca. 1156
Fulda Legendary
Leaf from the sixth volume (November-December) of a Fulda Legendary that originally consisted of six volumes, commissioned in 1156 by Rugger, monk at Frauenberg Abbey in Fulda (1176-1177 abbot of Fulda as Rugger II). This fragment contains parts of the volume's front matter (an editorial introduction, and indexes for the months of November and December). The legendary was still used in the middle of the 16th century in Fulda by Georg Witzel (1501-1573) for his Hagiologium seu de sanctis ecclesiae (Mainz 1541) as well as for his Chorus sanctorum omnium. Zwelff Bücher Historien Aller Heiligen Gottes (Köln 1554). More fragments from the sixth volume are also in Basel. It shows that this volume, and at least the 3rd volume (May-June) of the legendary as well, reached Basel, where both evidently were used as manuscript waste around 1580. (stb)
Fragment from a Glagolitic breviary with texts for August 13th and 14th; based on the script, it can be dated to the 15th century. It belonged to Franz Miklosich (1813-1891), one of the most important Slavicists of his time, and was a gift to the Basel Antiques Collection, the precursor of the Basel Historical Museum. (gam/flr)
Parchment · 4 ff. · 31 x 22.5-23 cm · Lorsch · beginning of the 9th century
Oribasius Latinus (fragments)
Two individual bifolios with different excerpts from the work of the Greek physician Oribasius Latinus (4th century). Originally the fragments were probably from the same codex from Lorsch Abbey. They were created at the beginning of the 9th century, and in the 16th century they were used as bookbindings in the Carthusian Monastery of Basel. (stu)
Leaf from the third volume (May-June) of a Fulda Legendary that originally consisted of six volumes, commissioned in 1156 by Rugger, monk at Frauenberg Abbey in Fulda (1176-1177 abbot of Fulda as Rugger II). This fragment contains parts of the vita of St. Athanasius and probably was written by Eberhard of Fulda. The legendary was still used in the middle of the 16th century in Fulda by Georg Witzel (1501-1573) for his Hagiologium seu de sanctis ecclesiae (Mainz 1541) as well as for his Chorus sanctorum omnium. Zwelff Bücher Historien Aller Heiligen Gottes (Köln 1554). Other fragments from this third volume are in Basel, Solothurn and Nuremberg. It shows that this volume, and at least the 6th volume (November-December) of the legendary as well, reached Basel, where both evidently were used as manuscript waste around 1580. (stb)
Parchment · 2 ff. · 41 x 29 + 30 cm · Fulda · ca. 1156
Fulda Legendary
Bifolio from the third volume (May-June) of a Fulda Legendary that originally consisted of six volumes, commissioned in 1156 by Rugger, monk at Frauenberg Abbey in Fulda (1176-1177 abbot of Fulda as Rugger II). This fragment contains parts of the Vita s. Waldeberti by Adso of Montier-en-Der as well as the Vita s. Macharii heremitae; probably it was written by Eberhard of Fulda. The legendary was still used in the middle of the 16th century in Fulda by Georg Witzel (1501-1573) for his Hagiologium seu de sanctis ecclesiae (Mainz 1541) as well as for his Chorus sanctorum omnium. Zwelff Bücher Historien Aller Heiligen Gottes (Köln 1554). Other fragments from this third volume are in Basel, Solothurn and Nuremberg. It shows that this volume, and at least the 6th volume (November-December) of the legendary as well, reached Basel, where both evidently were used as manuscript waste around 1580. (stb)
Parchment · 2 ff. · 36.5 x 30.5 + 29.5 cm · Fulda · ca. 1156
Fulda Legendary
Mutilated bifolio from the third volume (May-June) of a Fulda Legendary that originally consisted of six volumes, commissioned in 1156 by Rugger, monk at Frauenberg Abbey in Fulda (1176-1177 abbot of Fulda as Rugger II). This fragment contains parts of the vita of Boniface by Otloh of St Emmeram and was probably written by Eberhard of Fulda. The legendary was still used in the middle of the 16th century in Fulda by Georg Witzel (1501-1573) for his Hagiologium seu de sanctis ecclesiae (Mainz 1541) as well as for his Chorus sanctorum omnium. Zwelff Bücher Historien Aller Heiligen Gottes (Köln 1554). Other fragments from this third volume are in Basel, Solothurn and Nuremberg. It shows that this volume, and at least the 6th volume (November-December) of the legendary as well, reached Basel, where both evidently were used as manuscript waste around 1580. (stb)
Parchment · 2 ff. · 32 x 24.5 + 24.5 cm · Fulda · ca. 1156
Fulda Legendary
Bifolio from the third volume (May-June) of a Fulda Legendary that originally consisted of six volumes, commissioned in 1156 by Rugger, monk at Frauenberg Abbey in Fulda (1176-1177 abbot of Fulda as Rugger II). This fragment contains parts of the Passio sanctorum Nerei et Achillei and of the Vita s. Maximi by Lupus of Ferrières and probably was written by Eberhard of Fulda. The legendary was still used in the middle of the 16th century in Fulda by Georg Witzel (1501-1573) for his Hagiologium seu de sanctis ecclesiae (Mainz 1541) as well as for his Chorus sanctorum omnium. Zwelff Bücher Historien Aller Heiligen Gottes (Köln 1554). Other fragments from this third volume are in Basel, Solothurn and Nuremberg. It shows that this volume, and at least the 6th volume (November-December) of the legendary as well, reached Basel, where both evidently were used as manuscript waste around 1580. (stb)
Parchment · 2 ff. · 41 x 21 + 22 cm · Fulda · ca. 1156
Fulda Legendary
Mutilated bifolio from the third volume (May-June) of a Fulda Legendary that originally consisted of six volumes, commissioned in 1156 by Rugger, monk at Frauenberg Abbey in Fulda (1176-1177 abbot of Fulda as Rugger II). This fragment contains parts of the Vita s. Willehelmi confessoris (in a version not printed in this form) as well as the Vita s. Germani episcopi; probably it was written by Eberhard of Fulda. The legendary was still used in the middle of the 16th century in Fulda by Georg Witzel (1501-1573) for his Hagiologium seu de sanctis ecclesiae (Mainz 1541) as well as for his Chorus sanctorum omnium. Zwelff Bücher Historien Aller Heiligen Gottes (Köln 1554). Other fragments from this third volume are in Basel, Solothurn and Nuremberg. It shows that this volume, and at least the 6th volume (November-December) of the legendary as well, reached Basel, where both evidently were used as manuscript waste around 1580. (stb)
Parchment · 2 ff. · 42 x 29 + 29 cm · Fulda · ca. 1156
Fulda Legendary
Bifolio from the third volume (May-June) of a Fulda Legendary that originally consisted of six volumes, commissioned in 1156 by Rugger, monk at Frauenberg Abbey in Fulda (1176-1177 abbot of Fulda as Rugger II). This fragment contains parts of the Passio s. Albani des Goswinus of Mainz and probably was written by Eberhard of Fulda. The legendary was still used in the middle of the 16th century in Fulda by Georg Witzel (1501-1573) for his Hagiologium seu de sanctis ecclesiae (Mainz 1541) as well as for his Chorus sanctorum omnium. Zwelff Bücher Historien Aller Heiligen Gottes (Köln 1554). Other fragments from this third volume are in Basel, Solothurn and Nuremberg. It shows that this volume, and at least the 6th volume (November-December) of the legendary as well, reached Basel, where both evidently were used as manuscript waste around 1580. (stb)
Parchment · 6 ff. · 21.5 x 16 cm; 19.5 x 15.5 cm · 1st quarter of the 13th century
Imperial Chronicle (“Kaiserchronik”)
The Imperial Chronicle is the most successful 12th century German text. This fragment from Basel is from the first quarter of the 13th century and contains version B in Alemannic. The remaining three bifolia - one single bifolium and one fascicle of two bifolia — had been used as binding manuscript waste; the single bifolium served as inner cover for manuscript A III 30 from the Dominican Monastery of Basel. (stu)
Parchment · 2 ff. · 15.5 x 10 cm · 2nd quarter of the 14th century
David of Augsburg and the «geistlicher Palmbaum» (fragment)
This bifolium from a late Medieval mystical manuscript has been preserved as a book cover. It contains parts from the “Sieben Vorregeln” and from the “Spiegel der Tugend” by the Franciscan David of Augsburg (c. 1200-1272) as well as a section from the “Geistlicher Palmbaum” (from the “Palmbaumtraktaten”?). The fragment shows clear signs of wear due to its secondary use. (flr)
Parchment · 12 ff. · 47 x 33.5-34 cm · probably Basel · around 1460
Fragments from a gradual
These twelve leaves are what have survived from a large-format gradual that was produced around 1460 in the Upper Rhine region (probably in Basel); they contain chants for the mass, changing according to the liturgical year. The decoration with initials and miniatures (e.g., the birth of Christ, the entry into Jerusalem, or the depiction of the resurrection) refer to the respective liturgical holiday, whereas the initial for Ecce advenit dominator dominus wrongly depicts the presentation of Jesus at the Temple. Its decoration places this gradual in the later circle of the so-called “Vullenhoe-group”. (flr)
Parchment · 1 f. · 26 x 19.6 cm · Fulda · about 910-920
Isidorus Hispalensis, Expositio in genesim (Fragment)
Probably a fragment of one of the Isidore codices from the Monastery of Fulda, which reached Basel during the 16th century, before the abduction and destruction of the library during the Thirty Years’ War. There it apparently served as a possible textual source for a planned edition of Isidore’s works. The codex was produced in Fulda around the second decade of the 10th century. In 1624 this bifolium was used as a document cover. (stb)
Parchment · 1 f. · 29.5 x 9/9.5 cm · East Alemannic-speaking region · around 1300
Marner; Konrad von Würzburg; Der Kanzler: Sangspruchdichtung (fragment)
These fours strips of parchment were detached from a vocabulary manuscript from the Carthusian Monastery of Basel. They had been used as reinforcing strips in the host volume. Laid out side by side, the strips constitute a part of a scroll of German Sangsprüche. The texts are nine verses by Marner, three verses by Konrad von Würzburg, and eight verses by the Kanzler. The texts were written down around 1300 in the East Alemannic speaking region; the fragments probably were repurposed only a short while later, since the host volume can be dated to 1400. (stu)
Parchment · 2 ff. · 22 x (13.5) cm · Fulda · first quarter of the 9th century
Salvianus, Ad ecclesiam (Fragment)
Fragment from a Salvianus manuscript, which evidently came to Basel from Fulda at the beginning of the 16th century in order to serve Johannes Sichardus in 1628 as a master copy for printing in the printshop of Henricus Petrus. The manuscript was produced in the first quarter of the 9th century in Fulda. In the second half of the 16th century it was used in Basel as manuscript waste for bindings. (stb)
Parchment · 1 f. · 25 x 16 cm · Fulda · first half of the 9th century
Balbus gromaticus, Expositio et ratio omnium formarum (Fragment)
Fragment of an agrimensor manuscript, which evidently came to Basel from Fulda at the beginning of the 16th century in order to serve Johannes Sichardus in 1628 as a master copy for printing in the printshop of Henricus Petrus. Poggio Bracciolini should have seen it in Fulda in 1417. The manuscript was produced in the first half of the 9th century in Fulda. In the second half of the 16th century it was used in Basel as manuscript waste for bindings. The publication of this fragment by Martin Steinmann in 1992 refuted the hypothesis, held until very recently, that the manuscript Rom, Bibliotheca Apostolica Vaticana Pal. lat. 1564 had been the model for Sichardus. (stb)
Parchment · 2 ff. · 23.5 x 15 (?) cm · 8th/9th century
Euporiston (fragments) / Theodorus Priscianus
Two leaves removed from the binding, from a manuscript in Rhaetian minuscule with the rounded cross-stroke of the “t”, which is considered the identifying characteristic of this script. The manuscript can be dated to the 8th/9th century. (gam/flr)
Parchment · 369 ff. · 29 x 21.5 cm · 3rd quarter of the 15th century
Composite manuscript (Theology)
This composite manuscript of theological content originally belonged to the patrician family Gossembrot of Augsburg (late 15th century); via Johannes Oporin († 1568), Eusebius Merz († 1616) and Remigius Faesch († 1667), it finally became part of the university library of Basel in 1823. Except for a single remaining woodcut, various miniatures and woodcuts pasted into the manuscript have been torn out. (stu)
Thüring von Ringoltingen, Story of the beautiful Melusine
Nikolaus Meyer zum Pfeil, city clerk of Basel, owned a large collection of incunabula of mostly German entertainment literature and himself copied a number of manuscripts, such as this Melusine by Thüring von Ringoltingen in 1471. The paper manuscript contains 38 colored pen and ink drawings, which apparently are by two different painters. Because sheets were lost, the current text has gaps; it is unclear whether illustrations were lost as well. (flr)
Parchment · 12 ff. · 30-30.5 x 25-25.5 cm · Fulda · second quarter of the 9th century., additions second half of the 10th century and 10th-11th century
Victorius Aquitanius cum additamentis . Carmen de ponderibus et mensuris
The 'twin codex' of Cod. 250 from the Burgerbibliothek of Bern was produced in Fulda. It remains unclear when and how this mathematical manuscript reached Bern. It seems to have left Fulda in the 10th century at the latest, as suggested by the hands of the added texts. (stb)
Hrabanus Maurus, Expositio super Jeremiam prophetam, Libri XX (fragment)
This manuscript, disbound and surviving only in fragments, was used in 1543 by the printer Heinrich Petri from Basel as model for his edition of the Rabani Mauri Moguntinensis archiepiscopi commentaria in Hieremiam prophetam. Various signs from typesetting as well as traces of printing ink provide evidence for such a use. From Petri’s print shop, the manuscript became part of the collection of Remigius Fäsch and, together with the other holdings of the Museum Faesch, in 1823 it became the property of the University of Basel. The original provenance of the manuscript is not clear. (stu)
Paper · 134 ff. · 32-32.5 x 22.5 cm · Upper Rhine (Speyer or Mainz?) · 2nd half of the 16th century
Hincmarus Remensis
Early modern composite manuscript containing the only manuscript textual witnesses for several writings by archbishop Hincmar of Reims (845-882), for example for the treatise De ordine palatii, important for the constitutional history of the Carolingian period. (flr)
Paper · 32 ff. · 20.5 x 14.5 cm · first half of the 15th century
Sibyllen Weissagung and Die Königin von Frankreich
This small cardboard volume from the Remigius Faesch Museum combines two fragments of German poetry. The first poem, the Sibyllen Weissagung, dates from the middle of the 14th century and was widely read until the 16th century. It is about the prophetess Sibyl, who visited King Solomon and prophesied the whole future to him until the end of days. The second text, Schondoch's Königin von Frankreich, is about the faithful love of his eponymous heroine, who is accused of adultery by a rejected court marshal and is cast out. It belongs to the genus "Märe" (fable) and is extremely widespread with 21 preserved manuscripts. (mue)
Paper · 44 ff. · 21.5-22 x 16-16.5 cm · Alemannic-speaking region · second half of the 15th century
Johannes Tauler, Sermons
This slim volume belonged to Remigius Faesch (1595-1667), jurist and rector of the University of Basel; together with his vast collection of art and curios, the book became part of the university library in the 1820s. As noted by Remigius Faesch in his catalog under the Libri manuscripti in 4º antiqui, the codex contains “Etliche Teutsche Sermon unn Predigen”, mostly by the Dominican preacher and mystic Johannes Tauler (1300-1361). (flr)
Paper · 54 ff. · 15.5-16 x 10-11 cm (ff. 21-24: 12.5 x 10.5 cm) · 1621
Remigius Faesch: Iter Italicum
During the Middle Ages, travel to Italy, the so-called “Itinera Italica“, was undertaken primarily for religious reasons (pilgrimages) or for professional purposes (business or commercial travel). But after the Reformation, travel for the sake of education became more common, in Basel as well; its main purpose was an interest in Italy itself and its sights. With this, there came to be travelogues like this one from 1621 by the jurist and rector of the University of Basel, Remigius Faesch (1595-1667). (flr)
Parchment · 64 ff. · 14.5 x 16.5 cm · German-Anglo-Saxon area (Fulda?, Herfeld?) · 8th/9th century
Sulpicius Severus, Epistula ad Bassulam (exc.) · Gregorius Turonensis, Historiae (exc.) · Gregorius Turonensis, De virtutibus s. Martini (exc.) · Sedulius, Carmen paschale
This manuscript with excerpts from a ‘Martinellus’ and from Sedulius' Carmen Paschale was produced around the turn from the 8th to the 9th century in the German-Anglo-Saxon area; in the 16th century it apparently came from Fulda to Basel, a center for printing. The manuscript originally included a Vita s. Eulaliae virginis, which has been lost. Remarkable are the scanning aids at the beginning of the Carmen Paschale. (stb)
Parchment · 56 ff. · 13 x 8.5 cm · 11th/12th century
Albin of Clairvaux: Liber de virtutibus / Epistola ad Heribertum
Little is known about Albin of Clairvaux, also Albuinus of Gorze or Albuinus Eremita, except that around the year 1000 he produced a compilation of moral-theological writings dedicated to a Parisian canon Arnoldus and to Archbishop Heribert of Cologne (999-1021). The present copy is from the 11th or 12th century and is bound in soft leather, which originally was probably long enough to completely cover the book, but so narrow that the body of the block protrudes above and below. In the 15th century it was the property of the Carthusian monastery of Mainz, and it came to the Basel University Library as part of the Remigius Faesch collection. (mue)
Parchment · 3 ff. · 27.5 x 21.5; 22.5 x 15 cm · before 1400 (ff. 1-2); before 1300 (f. 3)
Babylonian Talmud (fragment)
Three leaves from different manuscripts of the Babylonian Talmud from the 14th and 13th century respectively, used as binding material. Two of the leaves contain fragments from the Mishnah Berachot from the Order Zeraim; the third leaf comprises a piece of the Tractate Avoda Zarah from the Order Nezikin, which regulates the relations between Jews and non-Jews and which discusses the problem of idolatry (“foreign worship”). (gam/flr)
Paper · III + 28 + I ff. · 19.5-19.7 x 14.4-14.5 cm · Ashkenaz · 16th century
Sefer Avqat Rokhel attributed to Makhir ben Isaac of Toledo
The Avqat Rokhel is a selection of eschatological writings arranged in three ‘books’ with several sections each, attributed to Makhir ben Isaac Sar Hasid of Toledo (14th c.), a student of Judah ben Asher (1270-1349), son of Asher ben Yehiel (Rosh, c.1250-1327). Only its title is identical with a later work on responsa by Joseph Caro (1488-1575) (Ed. Princ. Salonica, 1791). The title of the work is taken from a verse of the Songs of Songs 3: 6 [Who is this that cometh up out of the wilderness like pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all powders of the merchant/ perfumer (אבקת רוכל)?] and can be translated as “The perfumer’s powders”. (iss)
Parchment and paper · 48 ff. · 21.5-22.2 x 15.5 cm · Ashkenaz · 15th century
Astrological, philosophical and medical miscellany
This miscellany, compiled in 15th century Ashkenaz, is a handbook chiefly composed of a plethora of texts on astronomy, astrology, prognoses, popular medicine and medical-astrology, related to illnesses and bloodletting, to which are appended other texts on a variety of subjects: calendrical tables and treatises, ethical and liturgical poems, 13th century halakhic and scholastic philosophical material translated into Hebrew. Furthermore, a small but significant discovery in the manuscript helps to pinpoint the city of Cologne or its surroundings, as a possible location for the production this miscellany. (iss)
Parchment · 209 ff. · 46 x 35 cm · Tours, Abbey St. Martin · around 820-830
Biblia latina (Vulgata), Part 1: Genesis to Psalms
Latin Bible, designed as a pandect (i.e. in one volume), following the recension of Alcuin of York. Several copies of these Alcuin Bibles, manufactured in the scriptorium of St. Martin of Tours, have survived; with their finely graded hierarchy of scripts and harmonious proportions, they are considered monuments of Carolingian book production. (mit)
Parchment · 155 ff. · 46-46.5 x 35.5-36 cm · Tours, Abbey St. Martin · around 820-830
Biblia latina (Vulgata), Part 2: Solomon to Apocalypse (incomplete)
Latin Bible, designed as a pandect (i.e. in one volume), following the recension of Alcuin of York. Several copies of these Alcuin Bibles, manufactured in the scriptorium of St. Martin of Tours, have survived; with their finely graded hierarchy of scripts and harmonious proportions, they are considered monuments of Carolingian book production. (mit)
Parchment · 24 ff. · 42 x 34.5 cm · central- or southern France · beginning of the 11th century
Hrabanus Maurus, Liber de Laudibus Sanctae Crucis
The Liber de laudibus Sanctae Crucis (Veneration of the Holy Cross) consists of Carmina figurata by Abbot Hrabanus Maurus of Fulda. This exemplar, most likely produced in 831, is arranged to display an image portraying each episode on the left (23 of the 28 Figures are included), with the corresponding prose portrayal on the right. The second portion, also a prose text, is missing. (mit)
Parchment · 331 ff. · 38.5 x 26.5 cm · France (Southern France?) · second half of the 13th century
Bible du XIIIème siècle (Part 1: Genesis – Psalms)
This Old French Bible du XIIIème siècle was compiled in Paris in the second half of the 13th century. The two parts (Cod. 27/28), kept in the Bugerbibliothek of Bern, are among the oldest surviving copies; independent of one another, they probably originated in Southern France. Cod. 27 is partially glossed; at one time it contained 31 superb miniatures, of which today twenty have been lost. (mit)
Parchment · 356 ff. · 35 x 25.5 cm · France · second half of the 13th century
Bible du XIIIème siècle (Part 2: Proverbs – Apocalypse)
This Old French Bible du XIIIème siècle was compiled in Paris in the second half of the 13th century. The two parts (Cod. 27/28), kept in the Bugerbibliothek of Bern, are among the oldest surviving copies; independent of one another, they probably originated in Southern France. Cod. 28, whose traces of use point towards Valencia, at one time it contained 52 superb miniatures, of which today six have been lost. (mit)
Parchment · I + 60 ff. · 36–36.5 x 25.5 cm · 2nd third of the 9th century
Lucanus: De bello civili; Dracontius: Orestes; Hyginus: De astronomia; Figurae Graecorum
This manuscript was created in Fleury; the first page is magnificently decorated with two large interlace initials, which represent a special type of insular decorative art. In addition to smaller pieces, this composite manuscript contains the epic poem De bello civili (Parsalia) by Lucan (middle of the 1st century) as well as a version of the Orestes myth by the African poet Dracontius (5th century). For the latter, this codex constitutes by far the oldest textual witness. The beginning of Lucan's text by is provided with an abundance of scholia; because of Cod. 370, which contains only scholia, they are known as the Commenta Bernensia. (mit)
Parchment · 147 ff. · 27–27.5 x 18 cm · Brittany · second half of the 9th century
Biblia Latina (Vulgata): Evangelia
Manuscript from Brittany with the texts of the four Gospels, as well as the prologues and the chapter indexes for Mark, Luke and John. The artistic decoration comprises the 12 pages of the canon tables, the pictures of the evangelists dressed in priestly vestments, as well as initials at the beginning of each chapter and each Gospel. The rich interlace ornamentation suggests insular influences. (mit)
Parchment · 18 ff. · 35.5–37 x 28.5 cm · Luxeuil · 1004
(Pseudo-)Boethius: Geometria; Excerpta Agrimensorum Romanorum
This manuscript from Luxeuil contains the Geometry falsely attributed to Boethius, as well as geometric and gromatic excerpts from Cassiodorus, Isidore and the agrimensores. It probably formed a codex together with the Aratea (Cod. 88) and was given to the Strasbourg Cathedral by Bishop Werner I. (mit)
Parchment · 11 ff. · 37 x 28.5 cm · St. Bertin · beginning of the 11th century
Aratus – Germanicus: Phaenomena
The Aratea, translated into Latin by Germanicus, describe the 48 ancient constellations and the myths concerning their origins. They are among the most popular picture cycles of medieval monastery schools. The Bernese codex, produced in St. Bertin, is a descendant of the Leiden Aratea and contains scholia which have survived only in this codex. (mit)
Parchment · 2 + 291 ff. · 34.5-35 x 24.5-25 cm · Northeastern France · end of the 13th century
Composite Manuscript: Garin le Loherain, Perceval, Chroniques, Parthenopeus de Blois, Durmart le Gaulois etc., French
This composite manuscript contains a total of 21 texts of Old French literature; in part these are unique records that survive only in this manuscript. The major part consists of romances from the great saga cycles such as the Garin le Loherain, Perceval, etc., which often comprise several thousand verses; the manuscript also contains several prose chronicles such as Ernoul’s history of the crusades and other smaller pieces of varied content. The manuscript is richly illustrated with several hundred large initials; it probably originated in Picardy. (mit)
Parchment · 93 ff. · 34.5 x 21 cm · ca. 1039 – ca. 1056
Composite manuscript: Ado Viennensis: Chronicon; Aurelius Victor (Pseudo-): Epitome de Caesaribus; Abbo Floriacensis: De gestis Romanorum pontificum, lat.
This composite manuscript contains various texts in chronicle form, some of them rare, regarding worldly and ecclesiastical rulers. It is a heavily edited and corrected manuscript from the Benedictine Abbey of Saint-Mesmin de Micy, which contains characteristic writings in various black and brown inks and which is richly decorated with many calligraphic initials in different styles. Based on various supplements, the time of its writing can be dated quite exactly to the middle of the 11th century. (mit)
Parchment · 55 ff. · 34.5 x 21 cm · ca. 1195 – ca. 1197
Petrus de Ebulo: Liber ad honorem Augusti, lat.
The so-called Liber ad honorem Augusti by Peter of Eboli is one of the most famous and most requested manuscripts in the Burgerbibliothek Bern. The manuscript is exceptionally richly illustrated; it is from a workshop in the circle of the imperial court in southern Italy. Neither the scribe nor the illustrator is known, but, the text was doubtlessly corrected by the author himself. The text, an epic poem in Latin in about 1700 distichs that has survived only in this manuscript, is divided into three books. The first two books describe the prehistory of Sicily and its conquest by the Staufers; the third book contains a poem in praise of the parents — Emperor Henry VI and his wife Constance, daughter and heir of King Roger II of Sicily — of the famous Hohenstaufen Emperor Frederick II, who was born on 26 December 1194 in Jesi near Ancona. (mit)
Parchment · 287 ff. · 32.5 x 23.5 cm · first half of the 15th century
Marco Polo: Devisement du monde; Jean de Mandeville: Voyages; Jean le Long d'Ypres: Récits de voyages
Composite manuscript consisting of three parts, bringing together French translations of classic reports of voyages to the Far East. The manuscript, especially its first and third parts, is richly adorned with gold decoration and delicate scroll ornamentation in the margins, yet it contains no illustrations. Hand-painted coats of arms make it possible to identify the family de Pons de Saint-Maurice from the Périgord as a previous owner; later the codex was purchased by Jacques Bongars, who, towards the end of his life, was preparing a volume of source materials about travels to Asia. (mit)
Parchment · 104 ff. · 31.5 x 22 cm · France, Normandy, Saint-Trinité de Fécamp · middle of the 11th century
Augustinus: Opera
This manuscript, which originated in the Benedictine Abbey St. Trinité de Fécamp, contains various works by Augustine: De opere monachorum; De fide et operibus; Contra Donatistas; De bono virginitatis; De bono conjugali; De bono viduitatis; De symbolo bono (sermo 215); De oratione dominica (sermo 56). The manuscript is significant as important testimony of French manuscript illumination of the 11th century as well as, due to its history, of the exchange of manuscripts among Norman monasteries. (mit)
This magnificent complete edition of the works of Virgil (Bucolics, Georgics, Aeneid) was given to the Benedictine Monastery of St. Martin in Tours by the Levite Berno (note and book curse on f. 1v). Virgil’s text is interspersed with numerous commentaries (scholia) from late antiquity by Servius and Donatus, which have been transmitted in this form almost exclusively in manuscripts from the Bongarsiana collection. However, Cod. 165 does not present the true Scholia Bernensia as in Cod. 167 und Cod. 172, but rather a collection by various scholiasts which was compiled in Tours — hence the name Scholia Turonensia. (mit)
This complete edition of the works of Virgil (Bucolics, Georgics, Aeneid) is connected to Auxerre. In the beginning the manuscript contains numerous paratexts to Virgil, such as the vitae, Argumenta, etc.; beginning on f. 6v, the inner column is reserved for the text, the outer one for the scholia. Virgil’s text is interspersed with numerous commentaries (scholia) from late antiquity by Servius and Donatus, which in this form have been transmitted almost exclusively in manuscripts from the Bongarsiana collection. Cod. 167 presents the true Scholia Bernensia, but only the left column, not the right column of Cod. 172; whether it was copied from the latter remains in dispute. (mit)
This complete edition of the works of Virgil is from Fleury. This manuscript contains only the Bucolics, the Georgics and the first five books of the Aeneid; the second part with books VI to XII is now in Paris (Bibliothèque Nationale, lat. 7929). In the beginning the manuscript contains the so-called Vita Donatiana and various slightly later texts. It is made with great calligraphic care so that the central column is always bordered on the right and on the left by a column of scholia. Cod. 172 is the principal textual witness of the scholia (commentaries) by Servius and Donatus, which have been transmitted in this form almost exclusively in manuscripts from the Bongarsiana collection. (mit)
Parchment · 140 ff. · 28-29.5 x 23-24.5 cm · France · 8th century, 9th century and 9th-10th century
Gregorius Turonensis: Libri octo miraculorum; in addition: Evangelium Johannis (Fragmentum); Hieronymus: Vita sancti Pauli Thebaei
This manuscript contains the complete hagiographic works of Gregory of Tours, consisting of eight books of hagiographies. The manuscript is very close to Gregory’s autograph (class 1a); it originated in the circles of the Reims scriptorium in the 9th century. Two pages of a Gospel of John in Merovingian script as well as a Vita of Paul of Thebes were bound into the volume. (mit)
Parchment · VII + 258 + XIII ff. · 30 x 22 cm · Ashkenaz · 1290
Lexicographical and scientific miscellany
This medieval Hebrew lexicographical and scientific miscellany dates back to 1290 and encloses three highly important texts, used as the base for published editions and studies. These are: the Maḥberet Menahem by Menahem ben Jacob Ibn Saruq (died c. 970); an anonymous Hebrew prose translation of the very popular Old French version of the lapidary by Marbode of Rennes (12th c.) and lastly, an anonymous abridged version of the talmudic and midrashic lexicon entitled Sefer ha-Arukh by Natan ben Yehiel Anav of Rome (1035-1110), called the Berner Kleiner Arukh. The particularity of this copy is the presence of Old West Yiddish and Old French glosses. Furthermore, among the numerous later notes, there are more significant additions which abound in the blank pages and margins of the manuscript, the most unusual of which is a charm in Middle High German in Hebrew characters, relative to Hulda, a German goddess comparable to Venus, taken from the Tannhäuserlied. Moreover, this manuscript belonged to several famous Jewish and Christians owners, whose scriptural witness testifies to the manuscript’s remarkable stature as a treasured source of knowledge from the time it was compiled at the end of the 13th century, to its possession by Christian Hebraists in Switzerland during the 16th and 17th centuries. (iss)
Parchment · 197 ff. · 29.5-30 x 17-17.5 cm · Fleury (?) · end of 8th / beginning of 9th century
Corpus Grammaticorum Latinorum
Cod. 207, presumably created in Fleury (St. Benoît-sur-Loire), is one of the few and by far the richest representative of a style that evolved in Fleury towards the end of the 8th century; with its extremely rich and high-quality artistic decoration, consisting of three ornamental pages and almost 140 initials, it is an outstanding example of the creative evolution that the insular language of forms underwent in the important cultural centers of the continent. The manuscript, consisting of 197 leaves in Bern as well as 24 leaves in Paris (BNF, lat. 7520), is the oldest grammar manuscript from Fleury; it contains an early medieval corpus of Roman grammarians from antiquity and from the early medieval period: Bede, Donatus, Maximus Victorinus, Julianus Toletanus, Servius Honoratus, Asper minor, Sergius, Petrus Pisanus, Isidore, as well as numerous other anonymous treatises and excerpts. (mit)
Parchment · 126 ff. · 30 x 21.5 cm · first third of the 9th century
Composite manuscript: artes et carmina
This codex consists of two parts that were united in the 9th century already. The first part, written in Mainz (ff. 1-110), contains the second book of Cassiodorus' Institutiones, which is devoted to secular knowledge; since the 9th century, it has been preserved in several manuscripts in an interpolated version that contains Cassiodorus’ remarks on grammar, rhetoric, dialectic, arithmetic, music, geometry and astronomy, supplemented with excerpts from Quintilian, Boethius, Augustine and others. The second part, written in Mainz or in Saint-Amand (ff. 111–126), contains the picture poems of Optatianus Porphyrius as well as some from the beginning of the reign of Charlemagne. A note in Jacques Bongars' own hand indicates that the manuscript - like many others - came into his possession from the chapter library of Strasbourg Cathedral. (mit)