Parchment · 2 ff. · 21 x 15 cm · Italy (?) · 10th/11th century
Passio Cornelii Papae et martyrum (Fragment)
Two leaves from a passionary possibly produced in Italy that contained the Passio of Pope Cornelius augmented by other pieces. In 1632, the fragment came to Bern as part of the property of Jacques Bongars. (mit)
Parchment · 6 ff. · 19.5 x 13 cm · France · 12th century
Augustinus, (Pseudo-): De essentia divinitatis; Petrus Damianus: De novissimis et Antichristo; Opuscula varia (Fragment)
Three bifolia from a manuscript produced in France containing excerpts on different theological themes. In 1632, the fragment came to Bern as part of the property of Jacques Bongars. (mit)
Parchment · 4 ff. · 15 x 10.5 cm · France · 12th century
Haimo Halberstadensis: Expositio in Pauli epistolas; Ivo Carnotensis: Epistola ad Pontium Cluniacensem; Excerpts from a collection of sententiae from the school of Anselm of Laon; Carmina (Fragment)
Two bifolia from a small-format manuscript made in France containing various theological excerpts related to a collection of sententiae from the school of Anselm of Laon. In 1632, the fragment came to Bern as part of the property of Jacques Bongars. (mit)
Parchment · 6 ff. · 15 x 10.5 cm · France: Fleury (?) · end of the 12th century
Vita Placidi et sociorum (Fragment)
Three bifolia from a manuscript probably produced in Fleury. Other parts of the manuscript can be found in Bern, Burgerbibliothek, Cod. 170. The fragment contains parts of the vita of saint Placidus and his disciples. In 1632, it came to Bern as part of the property of Jacques Bongars. (mit)
Parchment · 8 ff. · 19.5 x 14 cm · France · 12th century
Johannes Abrincensis: Expositio divinorum officiorum; Amalarius Trevirensis: Expositio ordinis missae (Fragment)
Four bifolia (likely 1 quire) of a manuscript produced in France that contained John of Avranches’ explanations of the Divinum officium and Amalarius of Metz’s Ordo missae. In 1632, the fragment came to Bern as part of the property of Jacques Bongars. (mit)
Parchment · 8 ff. · 12.5 x 11 cm · France · 3rd quarter of the 9th century
Isidorus: Synonyma (Fragment)
Four bifolia (1 quire) of a small book made in France. Other parts of this manuscript, written in a beautiful minuscule, can be found in Bern, Burgerbibliothek, Cod. 705. Damaged on the upper part, this fragment, containing Isidorus’ Synonyma, came to Bern in 1632 as part of the property of Jacques Bongars. (mit)
Parchment · 1 f. · 23 x 17.5 cm · France: Micy (?) · 12th century
Letaldus Miciacensis: Miracula S. Maximini (Fragment)
Single leaf of a manuscript probably produced in Micy with the miracles of saint Maximinus. The fragment subsequently belonged to Pierre Daniel and later came to Bern in 1632 as part of the property of Jacques Bongars. (mit)
Parchment · 2 ff. · 26.5 x 22 cm · France: Eastern (?) · 12th century
Liber poenitentialis (Fragment)
Bifolium of a Liber poenitentialis, not further identified, probably produced in Eastern France. It contains parts of book 24, as suggested by the running number written in the upper margin. In 1632, the fragment came to Bern as part of the property of Jacques Bongars. (mit)
Parchment · 12 ff. · 20 x 14 cm · France · 14th century
Exempla varia (Fragment)
Six bifolia (perhaps 1 quire) of a manuscript produced in France, which contained a collection of as-yet unidentified exempla. In 1632, the fragment came to Bern as part of the property of Jacques Bongars. (mit)
Parchment · 8 ff. · 20 x 15 cm · France: Paris (?) · 10th century
Statuta confraternitatis XII apostolorum Parisiensis (Fragment)
Four bifolia (perhaps 1 quire) containing parts of the statutes of the Parisian confraternity of the Twelve Apostles. Due to the unusual writing, there have been some uncertainties regarding the classification and dating of the text. In 1632, the fragment came to Bern as part of the property of Jacques Bongars. (mit)
Parchment · I + 10 + I ff. · 23 x 15.5 cm · France: Eastern (?) · 12th century
Excerpts from an Antidotarium; Isaac Judaeus: De diaetis universalibus; Ps.-Galenus: Liber alter de dynamidiis; Sententiae ex libro Proverbiorum; Medical Recipes; Excerpts (Fragment)
Four bound bifolia from a medical manuscript, likely produced in Eastern France, containing excerpts from an antidotary and from Isaac Judaeus’ De diaetis universalibus. The two leaves added at the end present excerpts from the Liber alter de dynamidiis, other excerpts of a theological nature, and medical recipes. In 1632, the fragment came to Bern as part of the property of Jacques Bongars. (mit)
Parchment · 8 ff. · 19 x 13.5 cm · France · 12th century
Richardus de Sancto Victore: Beniamin minor (Fragment)
Four bifolia (1 quire) from a manuscript written in France with the Beniamin minor by Richard of Saint-Victor. Unfortunately, the origin cannot be determined more precisely from the partly cut owner’s note on folio 1. In 1632, the fragment came to Bern as part of the property of Jacques Bongars. (mit)
Parchment · 6 ff. · 20.5 x 15 cm · France: Eastern (?) · 12th century
Isidorus: Sententiae (Fragment)
Three bifolia from a manuscript possibly made in Eastern France, which contained Isidore’s Sententiae and was extensively annotated. In 1632, the fragment came to Bern as part of the property of Jacques Bongars. (mit)
Parchment · 8 ff. · 20.5 x 14 cm · France: Paris · 12th/13th century
Glossae in Vetus Testamentum; Hieronymus: Quaestiones Hebraicae in librum I Regum (Fragment)
Four bifolia of a manuscript that belonged to the abbey of canons regular of Sainte-Geneviève in Paris. The quire with the Glossae in Vetus Testamentum (Leviticus and 1 Kings) and the Quaestiones Hebraicae in librum I Regum by Hieronymus forms the beginning of Bern, Burgerbibliothek, Cod. 554. In 1632, the fragment came to Bern as part of the property of Jacques Bongars. (mit)
Parchment · II + 8 + II ff. · 25.5 x 18 cm · France · last third of the 9th century
De divisionibus temporum (Fragment)
Four bifolia (possibly one quire) from a manuscript produced in France. The text, conceived as a dialogue between teacher and pupil, which survives in its entirety in Bern, Burgerbibliothek, Cod. 417, f. 47r-61v, contains the treatise De divisionibus temporum, based on an Irish computus. Formerly in the possession of Pierre Daniel, the fragment came to Bern in 1632 as part of the property of Jacques Bongars. (mit)
Parchment · 4 ff. · 21.5 x 16 cm · France · 10th century
Sedulius: Carmen paschale: Dedicatio ad Macedonium (Fragment)
Two bifolia from a manuscript written in France, containing Sedulius’ Carmen paschale. The sparsely illuminated and glossed fragment previously belonged to Pierre Daniel and came in 1632 to Bern in the property of Jacques Bongars. (mit)
Parchment · I + 8 + I ff. · 25.5–26 x 18–18.5 cm · France: Western · last quarter of the 9th century
Augustinus: De magistro (Fragment)
Four bifolia (1 quire) from a manuscript likely made in Western France that contained Augustine’s De magistro. Some leaves are the palimpsest of a document copied on both sides, possibly of Spanish origin. The fragment belonged initially to Pierre Daniel, and came in 1632 to Bern in the property of Jacques Bongars. (mit)
Parchment · 1 f. · 28.5 x 22 cm · France: probably Loire area · 3rd quarter of the 9th century
Hymni aevi Carolini; Florilegium: Excerpts from Horace (Fragment)
Single leaf from a manuscript, probably produced in the Loire area, containing Carolingian hymns. The back of the leaf is heavily abraded and contains a selection of excerpts from Horace, approximately in the order they appear in his works. In 1632, the fragment came to Bern as part of the property of Jacques Bongars. (mit)
Parchment · 6 ff. · 23 x 17 cm · France · 12th/13th century
Petrus Cantor: De tropis loquendi; Beda: De schematibus et tropis; Recettes médicales (Fragment)
Three bifolia from a manuscript produced in France, which contained the treatises De tropis loquendi by Peter the Chanter and De schematibus et tropis by Bede. On the last leaf is a collection of French medical recipes. As can be seen from a note on f. 1r, Pierre Daniel and Pierre Pithou exchanged ideas about the content of the text. In 1632, the fragment came to Bern as part of the property of Jacques Bongars. (mit)
Parchment · 1 f. · 31 x 23.5 cm · France: Eastern · 2nd third of the 9th century
Priscianus: Institutiones grammaticae (Fragment)
Single leaf from a manuscript made in Eastern France with the Institutiones grammaticae of Priscian. In 1632, the fragment came to Bern as part of the property of Jacques Bongars. (mit)
Parchment · 2 ff. · 29 x 23.5 cm · France: possibly around Soissons · 2nd half of the 9th century
Priscianus: Institutiones grammaticae (Fragment)
Two leaves from a manuscript probably made around Soissons, which contained the Institutiones grammaticae of Priscian. The fragments, one of which bears the owner's note of Paul Petau, were possibly formerly used as book covers. In 1632, they came to Bern as part of the property of Jacques Bongars. (mit)
Parchment · 1 f. · 32 x 21 cm · France: probably Tours · 8th/9th century
Isidorus: Etymologiae (Fragment)
Single leaf from a manuscript probably made in Tours containing the Etymologiae of Isidore. In 1632, the fragment came to Bern as part of the property of Jacques Bongars. (mit)
Parchment · 8 ff. · 29.5 x 22.5 cm · France · 15th century
Augustinus: De civitate Dei (Fragment)
Four bifolia from an illuminated manuscript produced in France containing the De civitate Dei of Augustine. As can be seen from the fold marks and partially present book titles, the bifolia were later used as book covers. In 1632, the fragment came to Bern as part of the property of Jacques Bongars. (mit)
Parchment · 8 ff. · 23 x 15.5 cm · France · 14th/15th century
Map, Walter: Epistola Valerii ad Rufinum; Jean Lefèvre: Regratiatio abbati Eustachio sancti Vedasti; Excerpts (Fragment)
Four bifolia (probably 1 quire) from a manuscript produced in France with texts by Walter Map and Jean Lefèvre, further parts of which are in Vatican City, B.A.V., Reg. lat. 598; it shows similarities with other manuscripts of the Abbey of Saint-Victor in Paris and connections to Saint-Vaast Abbey in Arras. In 1632, the fragment came to Bern as part of the property of Jacques Bongars. (mit)
Parchment · 5 ff. · 23 x 18 cm · France: Northern (?) · 2nd half of the 9th century
Beda: De orthographia (Fragment)
Two bifolia and one single leaf from a manuscript probably made in Northern France containing Bede’s De orthographia and texts by Cassiodorus. In 1632, the fragment came to Bern as part of the property of Jacques Bongars. (mit)
Parchment · 6 ff. · 24 x 16.5 cm · France (?) · 11th/12th century
Alcuinus: Confessio de Trinitate; Hildebertus Cenomanensis: De novo sacrificio vetus abrogante; Passio Andreae apostoli (Fragment)
Three bifolia from a manuscript probably made in France. Additional parts of the manuscript are in Vatican City, B.A.V., Reg. lat. 477. The Bernese part contains Alcuin's Confessio de Trinitate, a poem by Hildebert of Lavardin, and the beginning of the Passion of the Apostle Andrew. An ex-libris with a book curse is unfortunately barely decipherable. In 1632, the fragment came to Bern as part of the property of Jacques Bongars. (mit)
Parchment · 1 f. · 27 x 21 cm · France · 12th century
Leges Langobardorum (Fragment)
Single leaf of a manuscript made in France with a fragment of the Leges Langobardorum. In 1632, the fragment came to Bern as part of the property of Jacques Bongars. (mit)
Parchment · 8 ff. · 19.5 x 11 cm · France: Micy · end of the 10th – 1st half of the 11th century
Priscianus: Institutiones grammaticae; Vita Prisciani; Seneca: Epistulae ad Lucilium (Fragment)
Four bifolia (likely 1 quire) from a small-format manuscript, which, as the scribal note (f. 5v-6r) of a certain Letaldus suggests, comes from Fleury or Micy. It contained, in addition to excerpts from the works of Priscian and of Seneca, the Disticha Catonis and other pieces. In 1632, the fragment came to Bern in the property of Jacques Bongars via Pierre Daniel, who copied the scribe’s note in Bern, Burgerbibliothek, Cod. 450.11. (mit)
The so-called "Berner Parzival" is the last dated manuscript of Wolfram von Eschenbach’s epic poem about the Holy Grail, created between 1200 and 1210; moreover, this textual witness is adorned with illustrations. Presumably the Bernese merchant Jörg Friburger commissioned the manuscript in 1467 from the scribe Johann Stemhein of Konstanz, who edited and stylistically modernized the text of his model to match the tastes of a late medieval urban public. In addition, he gave directions for illustrations, which were later executed by a painter who created 28 colored pen and ink drawings. The further history of this manuscript,which today consists of 180 leaves, is unknown; it must, however, have reached the Bernese municipal library in the early years of the 19th century, where it is attested at least since 1816. (mit)
Parchment · 150 ff. · 24.8 x 15 cm · Chapter of the Cathedral Notre-Dame of Lausanne · about 1202-1242
Cartularium Lausannense
This manuscript assembles about 700 documents from the years 814-1242, which concern the administration of the Chapter and the Cathedral of Lausanne. The compilation of the cartulary began around 1202 and was completed in 1242; 5 files, dated 1250-1294, were added later. The material structure of the manuscript is very complex because of numerous additions to the original core, which corresponds to the Livre censier du Chapitre cathédral de Lausanne of about 1202. The manuscript contains various texts: the Annals of Lausanne, a topographic cartulary, a chronological register, two chronicles, an urbarium, the Chronicle of the Bishops of Lausanne and the Cathedral’s necrology. The author of this valuable collection is Conon d’Estavayer (before 1200-1243/1244), who became Dean of the Cathedral in 1202. From 1216 until 1242, he directly supervised the editing of the manuscript and the organization of the documents. (tog)
Parchment and paper · 8 + 8 + 8 + 8 ff. · A) 29.5 x 19.5-20 cm; B) 27 x 21.5 cm; C) 30.5 x 21.5 cm; D) 27 x 20 cm · A) Italy?; B) France; C) France: Bourges; D) England: Wales · A) second half of the 11th century; B) first half of the 15th century; C) around 1465–1475; D) end of the 9th/ beginning of the 10th century
A) Cicero: Topica; B) Annaeus Florus: Epitome Bellorum Romanorum; Livius: Periochae; C) Juvenal: Saturae, cum glossis; D) Augustinus (Pseudo-): Categoriae [= Paraphrasis Themistiana] (fragments)
Composite manuscript consisting of four very different parts that probably came to Bern in 1632 as part of the property of Jacques Bongars; parts B and C are from the Collège de Navarre in Paris. All parts are at least partly illuminated. All fragments have related parts in other libraries: for part A, Paris BN lat. 7709, f. 1–4; for B, Paris BN lat. 17566, f. 1–40; for C, Paris BN lat. 17902, f. 1–85; and for D, Leiden UB, Voss. Q 2 IX (f. 60). (mit)
Parchment · 8 + 10 ff. · 27.5 x 19.5 cm ; 26.5 x 17 cm · A) France: Fleury; B) France: Eastern? · A) fourth quarter of the 9th century; B) second quarter of the 9th century
A) Passiones sanctorum; B) Isidorus: Synonyma, Differentiae (fragments)
Composite manuscript consisting of two different parts that probably came to Bern in 1632 as part of the property of Jacques Bongars. Part A comes from an extensive collection of lives of the saints for the liturgy of Fleury, various of which have been preserved in the Vatican Library: Reg. lat. 274, f. 95–102; Reg. lat. 318, f. 1–79, 80–146, 147–258; Reg. lat. 585, f. 13–27; Reg. lat. 711.II, f. 11–18; 67–76. Part B contains fragments from Isidore’s grammatical writings and probably was written in Eastern France. (mit)
Parchment · 8 ff. · 26 x 15.5 cm · France · first half of the 9th century
Salvianus Massiliensis: Epistulae (fragment)
The only textual witness for certain letters by Salvianus of Marseille, the complement of which is preserved in Paris BN lat. 2174, f. 113–115. This non-illuminated fragment probably came to Bern in 1632 as part of the property of Jacques Bongars. (mit)
Parchment · 14 ff. · 24.5 x 18.5 cm · France · second half of the 10th century
Boethius: De arithmetica (fragment)
Fragment of the Boethius' On Arithmetic, containing numerous schematic drawings; it probably came to Bern in 1632 as part of the property of Jacques Bongars. (mit)
Parchment · 4 ff. · 31 x 22 cm · France: Loire region · first half of the 9th century
Isidorus: De natura rerum (fragment)
Two bifolia from an Isidore manuscript that was probably produced in the Loire region. The fragment contains, among others, a carefully sketched wind rose as well as astronomical texts at the end that, in the context of the Aratea, are known as the “Scholia Bernensia”. It probably came to Bern in 1632 as part of the collection of Jacques Bongars. (mit)
Parchment · 18 ff. · 34.5–35 x 24.5–25 cm · probably Spain · second half of the 7th century
Oribasius: Synopsis medica (fragment)
Fragment of a manuscript in uncial script containing medical texts; it was probably written in Spain and came to the library of Chartres Cathedral perhaps via Italy. The remaining parts are preserved in Paris BN lat. 10233. Based on an entry by the Bernese librarian Samuel Hortin, the fragment in all likelihood came to Bern in 1632 as part of the Bongarsiana collection. (mit)
The Amtliche Berner Chronik (Official Chronicle of Bern) was commissioned by the city of Bern in 1474. About ten years later, Diebold Schilling was able to present the city council with this three-volume work, with its title pages in color, decorative initials, and more than six hundred large illustrations. The first volume contains the early history of Bern from the founding of the city until the year 1421, based on the older chronicle by Konrad Justinger, following the version by Bendicht Tschachtlan. The work remained in the possession of the Bern Chancellery for nearly three hundred years before the volumes were given to the City Library in 1762. (mit)
Parchment · 186 pp. · 38–39 x 27–27.5 cm · Bern · 1478-1483
Diebold Schilling, Amtliche Berner Chronik, vol 2
The Amtliche Berner Chronik (Official Chronicle of Bern) was commissioned by the city of Bern in 1474. About ten years later, Diebold Schilling was able to present the city council with this three-volume work, with its title pages in color, decorative initials, and more than six hundred large illustrations. The second volume contains accounts of events from the years 1421 through 1466, based for the most part on Benedicht Tschachtlan’s edition of Fründ's work. The work remained in the possession of the Bern Chancellery for nearly three hundred years before the volumes were given to the City Library in 1762. (mit)
The Amtliche Berner Chronik (Official Chronicle of Bern) was commissioned by the city of Bern in 1474. About ten years later, Diebold Schilling was able to present the city council with this three-volume work, with its title pages in color, decorative initials, and more than six hundred large illustrations. The third, artistically richest volume contains Schilling’s own description of the Burgundian wars, together with that of the preceding period, up to the year 1480. It is closely related to the Grosse Burgunderchronik (Great Burgundian Chronicle) currently held by the Zentralbibliothek Zürich. The work remained in the possession of the Bern Chancellery for nearly three hundred years before the volumes were given to the City Library in 1762. (mit)
The Spiezer Chronik by chronicler Diebold Schilling, named after its longtime home city of Spiez, is also known, because it was privately commissioned by Rudolph von Erlach, as the Privater Schilling. It contains the early history of Bern from the founding of the city to events that took place in the mid-15th century. Unlike Schilling’s three-volume official chronicle, the Amtliche Berner Chronik (Bern, Burgerbibliothek Mss.h.h.I.1-3), it remains incomplete (the Burgundian wars are not included). (mit)
Parchment · 12 ff. · 34.5 x 24.5 cm · Königsfelden · just before 1331
Necrology of Königsfelden Monastery
This fragment from Königsfelden Monastery consists of only 12 leaves (= 1 quire) and contains a complete calendar (necrology) with records of the days of death of the members of the donor family from the House of Habsburg, as well as that of the confessor of Queen Agnes of Hungary (Lamprecht of Austria), up until 1330. After the dissolution of the monastery, it passed into private hands in Bern in 1528, and in the 19th century, it was donated to the Stadtbibliothek of Bern. (mit)
Remnants of an Alcuin's Bible from the Dominican Monastery of Bern, which were used around 1495 by the bookbinder Johannes Vatter as pastedowns for various incunables that are currently held in Bern and Solothurn. After the secularization of the monastery in 1528, the host volume (MUE Inc. I.20) perhaps as part of a bequest of books by the Venner [standard bearer] Jürg Schöni in 1534, became part of the Bern library. Reunification of the fragments: [sine loco], codices restituti, Cod. 5 (Biblia latina). (mit)
Parchment · 252 ff. · 34.5 x 24.5 cm · Southern Germany / Switzerland · 1474-1476
Missal from Hochdorf
This missal following the practice of the Diocese of Constance was written for the church in Hochdorf (Lucerne) in 1474-1475 by Johannes Dörflinger, prebendary of Beromünster. The manuscript was commissioned for the new chaplainry of Sts. Peter and Paul, probably by its founder, the parish priest and dean Johannes Teller. It contains delicate filigreed initials at the beginning of the various liturgical sections and a full-page miniature of the Crucifixion (f. 106v), which introduces the Te igitur. Several pages originally left blank hold copies of the most important documents concerning the establishment of the prebend of Sts. Peter and Paul in Hochdorf (f. 78r-82v). (ber)
Paper · 265 ff. · 21 x 15 cm · Beromünster · second half of the 14th century / 15th century
Compendium morale de avibus / de quadrupedibus – Heinrich von Langenstein, De discretione spiritum – Johannes Gerson, Opus tripartitum de praeceptis Decalogi, de confessione, et de arte moriendi – Bonaventura, De praeparatione ad missam – Moralitates super evangelium sancti Lucae – Jacobus de Cessolis, De ludo scachorum (excerpts) – Sermon on Mary
Composite manuscript of catechetical-ascetic content, in quarto format on paper. Three fascicles of various strengths. The oldest is from the second half of the 14th century; it is written by Albert von Münnerstadt, Conventual from the Commandry of the Teutonic Knights of Hitzkirch, and contains Moralitates super evangelium sancti Lucae. In the second half of the 15th century, probably in Beromünster, this was bound together with two natural science Compendia moralia (excerpts from Thomas of Cantimpré’s encyclopedia) and with catechetical treatises by Heinrich von Langenstein, Johannes Gerson and Bonaventure. Scholarly manuscript for regular use in the area of pastoral care (hasty hand with numerous abbreviations, especially in the third fascicle). (luz)
Beromünster, Stiftskirche St. Michael, Cantatorium
Parchment · 72 ff. · 25.9 x 15.5 cm · 13th century
Cantatorium
The Beromünster cantatorium contains the solo sung parts of the mass with notation, and some tropes added during the 14th century. Among these are the Kyrie tropes Kyrie fons bonitatis and Cunctipotens. The examples of conductus are interesting. The codex is bound in a wooden case with two ivory panels from the 8th-9th century. (ber)
Parchment · 129 ff. · 23.5 x 17.2 cm · first half of the 11th century
Epistolary
The Epistolary is the oldest manuscript in the library at Beromunster; according to local tradition it was presented by a member of the patron family of Lenzburg, Count Ulrich († before 1050). The front cover, added later, is an ivory panel dating from the second half of, perhaps the end of, the 13th century. (ber)
Artichels del 1558 (Statutes of the community of Bever)
This manuscript contains the statutes of the community of Bever from 1558 (ff. 1r-5v). After 1560, these were used as the basis for developing new statutes; in the course of this, the articles were sometimes supplemented and crossed out after having been copied, but without any loss of text. The draft of the new statutes was continued on blank pages; a fair copy of this text has not survived. (dar)
Paper · 193 ff. · 19.5 x 14.5 cm · Bever · 1584-1661
Ls Artichels, u Aschantamains, & Estem, dalla Vschinaunchia da Biuer (The articles or statutes of the neighborhood of Bever 1584-1661)
This manuscript contains the statutes and the respective lists of land appraisals from 1584 (ff. 1-30), 1589 (ff. 33-58), 1593 (ff. 60-85), 1597 (ff. 88-115) and 1601 (ff. 117-146), occasionally with additional decisions made by the community. These are followed by appraisals for the years 1613, 1617, 1625, 1629, 1637, 1641, 1645, 1649, 1653, 1657 and 1661 (ff.155-186), which provide an overview of the development of the community’s financial circumstances over 70 years. (dar)
Bremgarten, Stadtarchiv Bremgarten, Bücherarchiv Nr. 2
Paper · 202 ff. · 40.5 x 29 cm · Bremgarten · [1514-1532]
Werner Schodoler, Eidgenössische Chronik, Vol. 2
The Eidgenössische Chronik by Werner Schodoler (1490-1541) is the last of the illustrated Swiss chronicles of the late Middle Ages. It was written on private initiative between 1510 and 1535 and took as its primary models the Official Bernese Chronicle - Amtliche Berner Chronik - by Diebold Schilling and the Chronicle - Kronica - by Petermann Etterlin. This volume, the second of the three volumes of the chronicle, consists primarily of an account of the Old Zurich War and is illustrated with 130 colored pen sketches. Today the three volumes are held in different libraries: the first volume is in the Leopold-Sophien-Bibliothek in Überlingen, the second in the City Archive in Bremgarten, and the third in the Cantonal Library of Aargau. (ber)
Parchment · 56 ff. · 20 x 14 cm · first half of the 13th century
Collectarium cartusianum
Composite manuscript of liturgical texts, containing the prayers of the breviary of the Carthusian Order (1rCapitula, 18rTemporale, 35vSanctorale, 49vCommune Sanctorum und 51vUsus communis). This small prayer book was probably produced in a Carthusian monastery in Burgundy in the 13th century. Certainly it was used from the 13th to about the 15th century in one of the Carthusian monasteries in present-day Western Switzerland, such as La Valsainte, La Part-Dieu or La Lance. The text is written on parchment and is decorated with blue and red paragraph initials. There are notes and drawings in the margins. (def)
Parchment · 17 ff. · 18.3 x 13.5 cm · Italy (Verona) · 15th century
Ordo professionis et consecrationis sanctimonialium (Verona, Monastery of San Michele di Campagna OSB, 15th century)
This small liturgical book was used in the Monastery of San Michele di Campagna near Verona during the 15th century. The work contains the rite of the profession of faith and of the consecration practiced on the occasion of the investiture of a Benedictine nun. It is valuable evidence of a ritual for women who take their vows. (def)
Parchment · [1] + 62 + [1] ff. · 19.2 x 13.5 cm · 13th century
Tancredus Bononiensis, Ordo iudiciarius
The Ordo iudiciarius is a work of canon law written at the beginning of the 13th century by Tancred of Bologna (ca. 1185-ca. 1236): f. 60rExplicit ordo iudiciaris magistri Tancreti. Tancred was archdeacon and professor at the University of Bologna. (def)
Paper · [15] + 238 + [27] pp. · 14 x 19 cm · 4.10.1675-10.11.1688
Rentier domestique de moy Joannes Castella bourgeois de Frybourg et Chastellain de la Ville de Gruyère
The first 14 pages of this urbarium consist of various notes regarding oaths and contracts. Page 15 constitutes the frontispiece of the register as such: ‟Ici commence mon rentier domestique, cet assavoir de moÿ Joannes Castella, bourgeois de Frÿbourg et chastellain de la ville de Gruÿere, le 3me janvier 1681”. This booklet lists all of Jean Castella’s expenditures (ordinary expenses such as saddle girths, wages paid to a midwife, purchase of wood, etc., as well as less ordinary expenses) along with receipts and, in particular, details regarding his income from lands. The author also notes down judgments in which he participated as a jury member or as guarantor for the authorities. In addition he mentions gifts that he received or gave. The register lists costs of and earnings from his official function as well as expenditures and income from his private activities. This is nothing less than a historical summary of the everyday life of a notable Gruyère citizen from the late 17th century. (def)
Inventory of property, prepared by the notary Michel d'Enney on behalf of Peter of Gruyère, Prior of Broc, and written between November 17, 1565 and November 20, 1566. The register consists of records of the properties of Broc Priory, organized by location. Originally Broc Priory was a dependency of the one at Lutry; in 1577 it was annexed to the Cathedral Chapter of St. Nicholas in Fribourg. (def)
Paper · 38 pp. · 33.3 x 22.2 cm · Heinrich Bullinger (1504-1575)
Autograph notes of Heinrich Bullinger on theological themes
Carrying on p. 3 the title “Variarum”, this is an undated autograph from the hand of the antistes (head) of the reformed church of Zurich, Heinrich Bullinger (1504-1575). The description “Bullingeri Autographon”on p. 3 comes unequivocally from a second, later hand. In keeping with the title, the contents consist of a collection of notes on various theological themes or loci related to the fifteen headings found in the manuscript. (hil)
"Martirologio-inventario" of the Church of S. Giorgio in Castro, 1554
This martirologio-inventario (annal) was written in 1554 at the request of the vicini (the original members of the municipal corporate body) of Castro and Marolta in the Blenio Valley (Ticino) in order to replace an older one that was destroyed in a fire. It contains the list of obligations toward the parish and toward the community for bequests and anniversaries of deaths. The first page is decorated with an illuminated initial and has in its bottom margin a painting of the coat of arms of the canton of Uri. At the time, the Blenio Valley was governed ruled by the cantons of Uri, Schwyz and Nidwalden. (ber)
Chavannes-près-Renens, Archives cantonales vaudoises, P Antitus
Parchment · 39 ff. · 12.4 x 17.9 cm · 1500-1501
Antitus, La satyre megere, Les quatres eages passees, Le portail du temple Boccace
This manuscript contains the poems La satyre megere, a poem about the reconciliation of King Louis XII with Emperor Maximilian I, Les quatres eages passees, followed by a Ballade and three Rondeaux, and at the end Le portail du temple, inspired by an incomplete treatise by Boccaccio. This artificial composite manuscript consists of three original manuscripts entitled "Satyre Megere, poème d’Antitus dédié à Aymon de Montfacon, evesque de Lausanne, l’an de grâce mille cinq cens". The author Antitus Faure was chaplain to the Dukes of Burgundy and Savoy and, beginning in 1499, to the Prince-Bishop Aymon de Montfaucon († 1517) of Lausanne, to whom he dedicated these three works. This illuminated manuscript was bought by the state archive of the canton of Vaud in 1920. (cou)
Chavannes-près-Renens, Archives cantonales vaudoises, P Château de La Sarraz H 50
Parchment · 378 ff. · 18.5 x 13.2 cm · Paris · 1421
Book of Hours of Jean de Gingins
This Book of Hours following the liturgical custom of Paris contains a large number of private prayers in Latin and French, most of them unpublished. As indicated in the colophon on page 193r, the book was produced in 1421 in Paris in the workshop of the bookseller Jacquet Lescuier. It was commissioned, or perhaps only bought, by Jean II de Gingins, born around 1385 and died either at the end of 1461 or the beginning of 1462; he had his coat of arms painted on p. 193v. The miniatures were executed by several illuminators, among them the “Guise Master,” the “Bedford Master” and a student associated with the “Boucicaut Master.” The last representative of the Gingin-La Sarraz family left the castle to her brother-in-law, Henri de Mandrot, who in turn gave this manuscript and the family archive to the state archive of the canton of Vaud in 1920. (cou)
Parchment · 2 ff. · ca. (22.5) x 17.5 cm · Fulda · 2nd third of the 9th century
Concilium Ephesinum (fragment)
Second innermost bifolium of a quire whose innermost bifolium is preserved in Steinhausen, Archiv der Waldgenossenschaft B WG Steinhausen. It is the remainder of a Fulda manuscript from the 2nd third of the 9th century with the so-called Collectio Veronensis of the acts of the Third Ecumenical Council of Ephesus in 431. The codex was obviously used as waste paper in modern times in Switzerland. When and by what route it reached Switzerland from Fulda cannot be determined; however, it may have arrived there, like a number of other Fulda manuscripts, in the first half of the 16th century as a potential text source for prints by Basel print shops. For a virtual combination of the two fragments see [sine loco], codices restituti, Cod. 6, Concilium Ephesinum. (stb)
Parchment · I + 63 ff. · 33-34 x 24 cm · Chironico · around the middle of the 16th century
"Martirologio-calendario" (obituary) of the Parish of S. Ambrogio of Chironico
Obituary of the Parish of S. Ambrogio of Chironico (Ticino), written by the priest Ambrogio Rossi of Chironico, who copied an older obituary that was probably damaged or had no more space. The Ambrosian type calendar lists the stipends for annual masses or for anniversaries, the solemnities, the indulgences and notes regarding the pledges to the parish and to the entire valley. On December 28, the Feast of the Holy Innocents, the commemoration of the Battle of Giornico (Battaglia dei Sassi Grossi, 1479) is recorded. (ber)
This manuscript contains the translation into Puter (the dialect of the Upper Engadine) of the drama “Die zehn Alter dieser Welt.“ As of now, it is the oldest known manuscript of a Romansh drama. At the end, it contains a translation of song number 85 by Durich Chiampel[l]; although the original was not published until 1562, the song is written here after the date at the end of the piece (43r-46r). At the end of the manuscript, barely legible, there is a Decalogue (46v). The scribe signed as bartolomeus ulderici zauarit (42v). (dec)
This manuscript contains the translation into Puter (the dialect of the Upper Engadine) of the Federal Charter of 11 November 1544 (German, StAGR A I/01 Nr. 109), written by Fadry Salis (very probably Friedrich von Salis-Samedan, 1512-1570). It was probably written shortly after the original, and thus it is the oldest Romansh document preserved in the original. The alliance of 1544 is a renewal of the alliance between the Grey League, the League of the Ten Jurisdictions and the League of God's House of 23 September 1524, which is generally considered the founding act of the Free State of the Three Leagues. The dating of the manuscript is uncertain since the date 11 November 1544 refers to the German document, which, however, does not bear the signature of Friedrich von Salis. According to the note of confirmation of 8 February 1605, the manuscript must at least have been written prior to this date. (dec)
Paper · 191 ff. · 20.5 x 14 cm · area of the diocese of Constance · end of the 15th century
Lucidarius, Konstanzer Weltchronik and Zürcher Chronik from the 15th century
This manuscript contains three different texts: The German Lucidarius (1r-32v), a didactic dialogue between master and student, is a Middle High German prose work written around 1190, which presents the contemporary theological and scientific knowledge of its time. The Constance World Chronicle (Konstanzer Weltchronik) (117r-150v) is a brief universal historical compendium, probably written in Konstanz in the 14th century. The Zurich Chronicle (Zürcher Chronik) (153r-191r), the oldest version of which dates from the 14th century, belongs to the genre of late medieval German city chronicles. The manuscript was written in the area of the diocese of Constance. The original owner was the not further identified Hans von Endiner. In the 18th century, the manuscript was owned by Georg Litzel, theologian and philologist from Ulm. How it found its way to Chur is unknown. (dec)
Parchment · 28 ff. · 31 x 23.3 cm · Claro · second half of the 15th century
“Martirologio-calendario” of the Parish of Claro
This martirologio-calendario (obituary) of the Parish of Claro has no cover, and its initial pages are quite badly damaged. Each page is laid out to contain five to seven days of the week; names of the deceased whose death anniversaries were to be celebrated are listed in spaces especially intended for this purpose. It is almost certain that this annal replaces an older register. Individual entries were updated later and, as can be deduced from notes in the margins, were transferred to a new book. As a rule, the entries are not dated, but mention of several testaments and local customs allows for placing it in the period after the middle of the 15th century. (ber)
Cleveland, The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1955.74
Parchment · 1 f. · ca. 27 x 20 cm · Engelberg · 1143-1178
Gregory the Great, Morals in Job (Author portrait)
The upper half of the illustrated side contains a naked Job and his three friends, the lower half shows the author, Gregory the Great, inspired by the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove, and a Benedictine monk, portrayed in the usual manner of Petrus Diaconus, the latter probably drawn by a different artist. On the back is a Leonine couplet, which attributes the leaf unambiguously to Engelberg. The leaf is, according to P. Karl Stadler’s 1787 description, the original opening of the first volume of the Moralia Iob by Gregory the Great (Engelberg, Stiftsbibliothek, Cod. 20, here immediately before f. 1). In the mid-19th century it was owned by Jacob Heinrich von Hefner-Alteneck (1811-1903) and was faithfully reproduced in his book Trachten des Mittelalters (1840-54, Vol. 1, Plate 57, p. 76f). In November 1953 the leaf was purchased from the J.H. Wade Fund for the Cleveland Museum of Art. (flu)
Parchment · IV + 133 + II ff. · 25 x 17.6 cm · end of the 13th century
Adenet le Roi, Cleomadés
Cleomadés, a poem in octosyllabic verse, is considered the masterpiece of the 13th century French poet Adenes le Roi. He lived at the courts of Brabant, France, and Flanders and composed various chansons de geste and courtly romances. (ber)
Parchment · 1 f. · 18.5 x 13.9 cm · England · 2nd half of the 11th century
Aelfric, homily for Septuagesima Sunday (fragment)
This manuscript fragment, which was used as binding for an edition of the De quattuor virtutibus by Domenico Mancini (London, R. Dexter, 1601), contains an excerpt from a sermon by Aelfric (around 950 - around 1010), who was one of the most important Anglo-Saxon authors of the High Middle Ages. The section of this sermon, which is intended for Septuagesima Sunday and which has survived in full in 9 manuscripts, contains Aelfric’s almost complete English translation of the parable of the sower (Matthew 20:1-16), followed by a few lines of explanation. According to N. Ker, this fragment, which can be dated to the 2nd half of the 11th century, presents various interesting linguistic variations on the original text by Aelfric. It is the oldest Anglo-Saxon manuscript owned by the Fondation Martin Bodmer. (rou)
Paper · 55 ff. · 21 x 14.3 cm · end of the 15th century
Aeschylus, Persae
The prolific poet Aeschylus dominates the history of Greek tragedy. His artistry reaches its high-point in the writing of Persae (5th century BC). This piece, which has served to pass on its author's name for posterity, is his oldest known surviving work. (jos)
Paper · II + 23 + I ff. · 21.7 x 15.4 cm · Italy · 14th century
Gualterus Anglicus, Fabulae
Manuscript from Italy with the widely disseminated and successful collection of Medieval Latin fables in elegiac couplets called Esopus. These were initially anonymously published in 1610 by Isaac Nevelet and were therefore attributed to the Anonymus Neveleti. The editor Léopold Hervieux in 1884 attributed them to a Gualterus Anglicus, who lived in Palermo during the 12th century. However, this attribution has in recent years been called into question by various specialists. The fables have as their protagonists various animals and end with a moral in the form of a couplet. (ber)
Aesopus, Fabulae, Epigrammata et proverbia, Oraculum sibyllinum · Ps. Pythagoras, Carmen aureum, Praecepta delphica · Phocylides, Sententiae · Aristophanes, Nubes, Vita Aristophanis, Hypothesis in Aritophanis Plutum
Although the Aesopian tradition enjoyed great popularity during the middle ages, thanks to the dissemination of Latin translations, the Greek text of the fabulist was first rediscovered during the Renaissance. CB 5, which was written on paper near the end of the 15th century, is a collection of some 150 fables ascribed to the poet, which served as an inspiration for La Fontaine. Following are, among other things, the Delphic prophecies of Pseudo-Pythagoras, which transmit the well-known aphorism "Know thyself!", and The Clouds, the comedy that made the Athenian writer Aristophanes famous. (jos)
Parchment · 48 ff. · 28.8 x 18 cm · England? · 14th-15th century
Historia de preliis Alexandri Magni
The Historiae de preliis Alexandri Magni forms a part of the vast body of Latin literature devoted to Alexander the Great during the middle ages in the occident. This manuscript, written on parchment during the 14th or 15th century (perhaps around 1400), is most likely of English origin, judging by its extremely rounded Gothic script. The titles are rubricated, and contemporaneous glosses and corrections have been added in the margins. (jos)
Parchment · 59 ff. · 20.8 x 14.2 cm · Italy, Naples · 15th century
Genus Arati
This Latin manuscript on astronomical topics includes works by Germanicus, Pliny the Elder and Hyginus. The codex features numerous pen and ink drawings, including a planisphere (rotatable star chart) consisting of five golden concentric circles containing constellations portrayed as people or animals. These drawings, dating from the 15th century, have been attributed to Antonio di Mario of the Neapolitan region. (fmb)
Archimedes, Opera . Eutocius, Commentarii in Archimeden . Hero Alexandrinus, De mensuris
Multiple treatises by Archimedes are brought together in Codex Bodmer 8, notably On the Sphere and Cylinder and The quadrature of the Parabola. This manuscript, which was written in about 1541 on paper, also includes commentaries on the work of the celebrated mathematician by the geometer Eutocius, followed by a treatise on instruments of measurement by Heron of Alexandria. (jos)
Parchment · I + 81 ff. · 19.8 x 12.3 cm · [France] · 11th/12th century / 12th century
Aristoteles, Categoriae uel Praedicamenta; De interpretatione uel Periermenias . Boethius, Commentarius in Aristotelis Categorias
During the entire middle ages in the occident, the texts of Aristotle and Boethius were well circulated and inspired a large number of thinkers. These two great philosophers are brought together in this volume, written in a variety of different hands. The first portion, which can be dated sometime in the 11th or 12th century, contains the works of Aristotle. It also includes an extremely interesting schema (fol. 27) and initials accented in green and decorated with scrollwork. The text of Boethius, which is dated somewhat later, was copied during the 12th century. In this text one also finds some contemporaneous corrections as well as glosses from the 14th century. (jos)
Parchment · 251 ff. · 26.6 x 19.3 cm · France · 13th century
Aristoteles, Opera; Avicenna, De congelatione seu De mineralibus; Nicolaus Damasceus, De plantis; Costa-Ben-Luca, De differentia spiritus et animae; Alexander Aphrodisiensis, Opera
Manuscript CB 10 was probably intended for educational use, it contains works of Aristotle, Avicenna, Nicolaus Damascenus, Qusta Ibn-Luca and Alexander Aphrodisiensis. This manuscript, written on parchment during the 13th century, presumably belonged to a student of the Faculty of Arts in Leipzig, as may be concluded from a list of lectures attended during the year 1439 which is included in the codex. The list contains the names of the professors, titles of the texts covered, lecturers' fees, and starting and ending dates for the lecture periods. (fmb)
The Estoire de la guerre sainte, attributed to Ambroise d’Evreux, informs us that the Chanson d’Aspremont was read aloud during the winter of 1190 to entertain the soldiers of Richard the Lionhearted and Philip Augustus, who were stationed in Sicily. This heroic epic (chanson de geste) in rhymed decimeter and Alexandrines tells of the campaign of Charlemagne in Italy against the pagan king Agolant and his son Helmont. The Anglo-Norman manuscript held by the Fondation Martin Bodmer was produced in the 13th century and contains interlinear and marginal corrections, added in a second hand at a slightly later date than that in which the text was written. Because the additions were doubtless made with the help of a proofing manuscript, we can thus measure the complex effort that was required for the dissemination of this text. (mes)
Parchment · I + 319 ff. · 33.5 x 25 cm · Italy (Florence?) · beginning of the 15th century
Augustinus, De civitate Dei, Italian translation attributed to Jacopo Passavanti (?)
There is only a single medieval Italian translation of Augustine’s De civitate Dei (City of God), an impressive apologetic work in twenty-two books; the translation was prepared at the end of the 14th or the beginning of the 15th century. It is usually attributed to the Florentine Dominican Jacopo Passavanti (ca. 1302 – 1357); however, this attribution is without basis. The frontispiece of this manuscript is richly decorated with foliage in all four margins and initials with vine scroll ornamentation at the beginning of each book. (ber)
Parchment · 144 ff. · 26.5 x 17.5 cm · France · 12th century
Augustinus, Enarrationes in Psalmos . Hugo de Sancto Victore, De meditatione
This French manuscript, probably incomplete, contains the commentary on the Psalms (Ps. 101-117, f. 1r-110v and 113r-136v) by Augustine of Hippo. De meditatione by Hugh of Saint Victor was inserted between Ps. 108 (f. 110v) and Ps. 109 (f. 113v). This manuscript probably comes from the manuscript collection of Hautecombe Abbey in Savoy, which was acquired by Archbishop Giacinto della Torre of Turin (1747-1814) for thearchdiocese’s seminary library, which was later dispersed. The manuscript was acquired in 1957 from the book dealer Hoepli in Milan by Martin Bodmer. (ber)
Parchment · 263 ff. · 43.5 x 27.2 cm · Italy, Bologna (?) · 14th century
Hazo Bononiensis . Hugolinus Bononiensis . Iohannes Bassianus . Placentinus
This Latin parchment manuscript from the 14th century contains a comprehensive commentary by jurists of Bologna on the "Corpus Iuris Civilis" as well as on others, such as the "Codex Justinianus" and the "Digests". (fmb)
Paper · III + 117 + II ff. · 29.5 x 21.5 cm · last third of the 15th century
Jean Bagnyon, Fierabras in prose
This paper manuscript contains the prose version of the heroic epic Fierabras by Jean Bagnyon (1412-1497). As a lawyer in Lausanne, he wrote this adaptation around 1465-1470 at the request of Henri Bolomier, Canon of that same city (f. 117v). Divided into three books, the work begins with an outline of the history of the kings of France up to Charlemagne (Book I: f. 7v-19r), followed by the history of the “merveilleux et terrible“ giant Fierabras (Book II: f. 19v-93v), and a story about the Spanish War according to Turpin (Book III: f. 94r-117v). This copy and the Bibliothèque de Genève’s copy (Ms. fr. 188) are the only two handwritten witnesses of this text, which experienced great success in print from the 15th century onward (1st printed edition by Adam Steinschaber in Geneva in 1478). (rou)
Parchment · 113 ff. · 30 x 20.5 cm · Germany (Gladbach Abbey?) · 12th century
Beda Venerabilis, In Marci Evangelium Expositio
This manuscript was created in the German area in the 12th century. It contains the Venerable Bede’s († 735) commentary on the Gospel of Mark. The codex belongs to the libray of the Benedictine Abbey of Gladbach near Cologne. (ber)
Parchment · 4 ff. · 13.9 x 9.7 cm · first half of the 13th century
Benedeit, The Voyage of Saint Brendan
Four fragments of parchment, separated from a binding, contain parts of the account of the so-called Navigatio sancti Brandani, the sea voyage of St. Brendan, an Irish monk of the fifth and sixth centuries. The work in Latin prose, handed down anonymously, is considered a classic of medieval hagiography and travel literature; since the 10th century, it has been preserved in numerous manuscripts. This version is an Anglo-Norman translation by the monk Benedeit (about 1120). (ber)
Parchment · II + 268 + II ff. · 30 x 20 cm · Abbey of Tongerloo, Diocese of Cambrai, Deanery of Antwerp · end of the 13th century
Benoît de Sainte-Maure, Roman de Troie . Roman de Thèbes
In the middle of the 12th century the Latin works of Statius and Virgil as well as adaptations of Homer were translated into the vernacular. At the same time these Latin texts were being brought into the “romance” language (French), the first examples of the French poetic form called the “Roman” or Romance were being written. CB 18, a parchment manuscript, contains two such works, the Roman de Troie by Benoît de Sainte-Maure and the anonymously authored Roman de Thèbes. (fmb)
Parchment · 66 ff. · 10.6 x 8 cm · Cistercian Abbey of Maulbronn (Diocese of Speyer, Württemberg) · 1480
Pseudo-Bernard of Clairvaux
This manuscript, produced in 1480 at the Cistercian Abbey of Maulbronn (Diocese of Speyer, Württemberg, cf. f. 44r), contains texts written by Ekbert of Schönau, the brother of St. Elizabeth of Schönau, as well as prayers to Mary written in another hand. (fmb)
Parchment · 102 + II ff. · 23.2 x 17.1 cm · France · 15th century
Chronicle of Bertrand du Guesclin (Version B)
The Chronique de Bertrand du Guesclin (Version B) is one of the two prose versions of Cuvelier's epic poem Chanson de Bertrand du Guesclin. This work recounts the life of the Constable for Charles V, from his childhood to his death. (bod)
Parchment · 347 ff. · 28 x 23.5 cm · Spain (?) · 13th century
Tanach/Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew text of the Old Testament in CB 21 originated in Moorish Spain: Al-Andalus. Unlike most similar surviving manuscripts, it does not belong to the Ashkenazic tradition, but is instead an artifact of the Sephardic book culture of the 13th century. The ornamentation is strongly influenced by calligraphic art. (fmb)
Parchment · 1 f. · 305.4 x 32.8 cm · Ashkenaz · c. 1500
Megillat Esther (מגילת אסתר) / Esther Scroll
Early 16th century Esther scroll from Ashkenaz, for private use with intricate floral and animal type ink drawings located over some of the monumental letters in the list of Haman’s sons. (iss)
Parchment · 266 ff. · 36 x 30 cm · Cairo (?) · second half of the 15th century
Samaritan Pentateuch
The Samaritan Pentateuch contained in this manuscript is incomplete – it begins with Gn 11:17 (f. 1r) and ends with Dt 24:15 (f. 266v) – and it is also out of order – f. 2r/v with Dt 18:15–19:8 should be between f. 259 and f. 260.The two-language manuscript is copied in Samaritan-Hebrew characters in two columns (ff. 1r-237r), with the Hebrew text on the right and the Arabic translation on the left, and then in four columns with the same alternation of languages (ff. 237v-266v). The main part of this volume was copied by the scribe Ab Nēṣāna ban Ṣidqa ban Yāqob (fl. 1468-1502), known for producing eight other copies of the Pentateuch, some of which have been dated to between 873 and 890 AH, or between 1468/1469 and 1485 CE (cf. Evelyn Burkhardt, Katalog samaritanischer Pentateuchhandschriften). Thus, while the Bodmer Pentateuch does not have a date, its production can be dated to the second half of the fifteenth century. Two other scribes worked on this copy. The first completed the missing parts of the manuscript: two leaves from the book of Numbers (ff. 219r-220v), as well as the text from Dt 4:21 onwards (f. 232r). The last scribe copied, later and on paper, parts of Exodus (f. 66r/v, 78r/v). Concerning this Pentateuch’s provenance, an acquisition note placed at the end of Numbers (f. 224r) states that it was sold in 1532. It appeared in Nablus in 1861, when it was bought by a London antiquities merchant, Mr. Grove, who resold it that same year to the count of Paris, Philippe d’Orléans, as his stamp attests (e.g., f. 38r, 52r, 67r). In 1960, Martin Bodmer bought it at auction at Sotheby’s in London. (rou)
Parchment · 25 ff. · 27.5 x 17.5 cm · Cod.: 1910-1916; fragm.: end of the 4th-7th century (upper writing)
Fragments from the binding of a Syrian manuscript from Harput
This volume of 25 leaves was produced between 1910-1916 to preserve eight fragments from five Greek parchment manuscripts. The fragments, almost all palimpsests, had been found around 1896 in the binding of an unidentified Syrian gospel from Harput (Anatolia). A: Fragm. 1-2 (4th century ex / 7th century in): parts of ch. 15 of Didascalia apostolorum; B: Fragm. 3-4 (6th century): parts of ch. 3-4 of First Epistle of Paul to Timothy; C: Fragm. 5, in extremely poor state of preservation: contents and dating unknown; D: Fragm. 6 (7th century): parts of the prologue and the beginning of the scholia on book 24 of the Iliad; E: Fragm. 7-8 (7th century): parts of Psalms 108, 114 and 115. The content of the writing on the lower parts of the palimpsests is neither known nor dated. (and)
Parchment · (2) 196+23 bis (2) ff. · 31.9 x 24.8 cm · Constantinople / Smyrna · end of the 10th century
Tetraevangelium
A remarkable manuscript from the end of the 10th century, undoubtedly produced in either Constantinople or Smyrna, CB 25 presents all four Gospels together in Greek. The biblical text is accompanied by commentaries by Peter of Laodiceia (an exegetical chain) written in cursive. The volume is decorated with two valuable full-page miniatures representing Luke and Mark against gold backgrounds. (mes)
Parchment · 416 ff. · 35.7 x 25 cm · Northern France (?) · 13th century
Latin Bible
Copied in the 13th century, probably in the north of France, this Latin Bible unifies in one volume the books of the Old- and New Testaments, most of them preceded by prologues. It transmits the standard Vulgate text, called the Paris version, with the chapter divisions attributed to Stephen Langton, and its last thirty pages provide a glossary of Hebrew names. Historiated initials open the various biblical books and give the volume its structure. A smaller script than usual in this volume has been used on fol. 1 for the Commentary on the Tree of Consanguinity, a text usually transmitted in juridical works, augmented here by an illustration of such a tree. (mes)
Parchment · 163 + 16 ff. · 22.7 x 15.7 cm · Southern Germany · around 1200 / 13th / 14th centuries
Calendarium (Prayer calendar), Latin Bible selections: Liber Psalmorum, Cantica with prayers; Hymns, etc.
This codex from southern Germany is composed of two parts bound together in one German binding in 1569. The first part of the manuscript contains about a hundred leaves from the 12th and 13th centuries. It begins with a calendar featuring numerous constellations and full page illustrations. Following are prayers and liturgical songs. The second part consists of thirty leaves containing a series of Latin prayers in carefully wrought late 14th century Gothic script. (fmb)
Parchment · 30 ff. · 20.7 x 14.5 cm · Southern Germany or Switzerland · 12th century
Canticum canticorum cum glossa ordinaria
This manuscript contains the Song of Songs with a lacuna (6.5-8) due to the loss of a sheet. The Glossa ordinaria is written on the first sheet (1r-1v); it contains a heretofore unknown commentary. Placed alongside this is the first part of the Song of Songs (f. 2r-29r. until Ct 6.8), which in the beginning (f. 2r-v) is surrounded by another unknown commentary. The last sheets (f. 29v-30) contain excerpts from the prologue to the interpretation of the Song of Songs by Rupert of Deutz. The beginning of the Song of Songs is adorned with an initial depicting Solomon and the Shulamite. (ber)
Paper · 256 ff. · 19 x 14 cm · Stampoul (Istanbul), Church of Saint Nikoghayos · Armenian Era 1056, 23th of December - AD 1606
The Four Gospels in Armenian
This Armenian manuscript was written in 1606 at the church of Saint Nikoghayos in Istanbul. It contains the Four Gospels, the Apocalypse of Saint John, and a Gospelindex devised for liturgical use written by another scribe in the same century. The silver binding was probably made a century after the manuscript writing. Special attention should be drawn to the illuminations of the canon tables painted according to the text of the “Commentary of the Canon Tables” of Stepanos Syunetsi (8th century), where the author thoroughly expounds the animal, floral and geometrical motives, as well as the symbolism of numbers and colors of each of the canon tables. The painter has interpreted the symbols and motives used in all ten canon tables by placing the explanations below each of them. (gri)
Paper · I + 107 + I ff. · 29.1 x 21 cm · Rheinfranken (Rhenish Franconia) · first quarter of the 15th century
Early Modern High German Psalter with Cantica
Written in two columns in bastarda script with a decoration of fleuronné initials, from the first quarter of the 15th century (Wetzel), with two astrological tables added already in the 15th century (Wetzel) on the old flyleaf (f. 1r). The text of the Psalter, in the dialect of Rhenish Franconia (Hessen?), is closely related to the Psalter Göttingen, Niedersächsische Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek, Cod. Ms. theol. 214 v from the beginning of the 15th century. Wetzel assumes at least one common model. Thus the translation is part of Schöndorf’s group 9, subgroup c) around München, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Cgm 182 or Walter’s Psalter 18. (kun)
Paper · 112 ff. · 29 x 20 cm · 14th century (1360-1370)
Giovanni Boccaccio, Comedia delle ninfe fiorentine (Ameto)
The Comedia delle ninfe fiorentine or Ameto, an early work (around 1341) by Boccaccio, recounts the transformation of the rough shepherd Ameto into a virtuous man after overhearing the stories told by seven nymphs, allegories of the virtues. The text is written as a prosimetrum — alternating prose and verse — as is immediately obvious from the single column page-design of the manuscript. Copied on paper without watermark, the manuscript opens with a single initial in watercolor that contains the coats of arms of the Almerici family (f. 2r), the owner of this copy who probably also commissioned it. (rou)
Parchment · 95 ff. · 26.5 x 17.2 cm · Italy · 1467
Giovanni Boccaccio, Elegia di madonna Fiammetta
The Elegia di madonna Fiammetta, dedicated to "women in love", describes in the first person the feelings of the young Neapolitan Fiammetta, who has been left by her beloved Panfilo. The Elegia, a prose work written by Boccaccio in his youth, praised for the subtlety of its psychological approach, mixes autobiographical elements and obvious references to Latin literature. It is preserved here in a manuscript copied in 1467 by Giovanni Cardello da Imola, whose regular calligraphy is set off by decorations in bianchi girari (white vine-stem). (mes)
Parchment · II + 122 + II ff. · 17.6 x 12.4 cm · France · end of the 13th century
Jean Bodel, Chanson de Saisnes
Jean Bodel, who was a member of the Brotherhood of Buskers and a bourgeois (middle-class resident) of Arras, wrote his Chanson des Saisnes (Song of the Saxons) during the last third of the 12th century. This epic in Alexandrine verse tells of the war prosecuted by Charlemagne against the Saxon King Guiteclin. The Chanson exists today in three manuscripts (a fourth was completely destroyed in the fire at the library of Turin) which present different versions of the text. The long version held by the Fondation Martin Bodmer is in a small-format manuscrit de jongleur or performer's script. It was probably produced around the end of the 13th century and is a simple piece of work, without miniatures, written on parchment, much of which was poorly cut, and it is roughly sewn together. (mes)
Parchment · I + 48 + I ff. · 24 x 17.8 cm · Northern Italy (Bologna?) · 2nd half of the 14th century
Boethius, De consolatione Philosophiae
Boethius' De consolatione Philosophiae knew continuous success during the Middle Ages. This 14th century manuscript offers a complete copy of the Latin text with some interlinear glosses. The book decoration consists of a historiated initial with a half-length frontal portrait of the author as he points to his book (f. 1). From this initial sprouts a short leaf scroll. In addition there are very beautiful decorated initials placed at the beginning of the various books of the Consolatione (f. 8, 17, 30 and 41). Their style indicates that the manuscript was made in northern Italy, perhaps Bologna. (rou)
Paper · 106 ff. · 21.5 x 29 cm · Hagenau · about 1455-1460
Ulrich Boner, Der Edelstein
The Edelstein contained in this manuscript consists of 100 fables, composed around 1330 by the Bernese Dominican Ulrich Boner; the fables were taken from various Latin sources and were translated by Boner into Swiss Dialect. The script and the typical characteristics of the layout with spaces for never-executed illustrations indicate a work from the late phase (approximately about 1455-1460) of Diebold Lauber’s workshop in Hagenau in Alsace, a work that had been prepared to be completed at the request of a buyer. (ber)