This Megillat Esther consists of thirty round text medallions, surrounded by multicolored engraved decorations with floral, animal and baroque architectural designs. This unbeknownst scroll is one of six extant scrolls composed of the “lion, lamb and bear” motif, produced by the famous engraver Shalom Italia (ca. 1619-1664). He also engraved numerous Esther scrolls of different motifs that are still preserved in special collections, museums and libraries throughout the world.
Online Since: 10/13/2016
According to the calendar and the sanctoral, this missal was meant for the use of St. Pierre Cathedral in Geneva. Produced in the 14th century, the manuscript was restored in the 15th century and increased by several leaves, a sign that it was still in use at this time. An old miniature showing, among others, a crucifixion and a historiated initial depicting Pentecost – both original – was painted over with an image of angels bearing the coat of arms of Geneva (f. 95r). After the Reformation, this missal, together with other books from the Cathedral Chapter, was stored at the city hall (Hôtel de Ville), before it was finally transferred to the Bibliothèque de Genève in 1714.
Online Since: 12/14/2018
Urbain Bonivard, prior of Saint-Victor in Geneva from 1458 to 1483, produced this missal in 1460. The missal follows the liturgical practices of Cluny; the miniatures are the work of Janin Luysel and Guillaume Coquin. During the Reformation the manuscript disappeared from Geneva and only came to light again in 1912 when the city of Geneva bought it at an auction in Munich.
Online Since: 12/09/2008
In addition to the usual services, this small-format book of hours following the practice of Paris contains several texts in French (a prayer to St. Roch, Les quinze joies de Notre-Dame and Les sept requêtes à Notre Seigneur). It is richly illuminated with full-page as well as smaller miniatures attributed (Gagnebin, 1976) to the workshop of the Coëtivy Master (now identified as Colin d'Amiens). Although some illuminations are slightly damaged, they attest to the high quality of their execution, especially in the intercession of the saints (ff. 201r-220v). This book of hours was meant for a man (the prayers are addressed in the masculine, f. 21r and 25v), perhaps for a certain Jean Novelli, whose name, together with the date 1460, is mentioned on the 18th century binding.
Online Since: 06/13/2019
This 15th century Book of Hours following the custom of Paris also contains a complete biblical Psalter. The miniatures are attributed to the final period of the workshop of the Duke of Bedford (around 1435-1460). Each month in the calendar is preceded by a Latin verse in hexameter listing the two unlucky days of the month (January 1 and 25, February 4 and 26, March 1 and 28, April 10 and 20, May 3 and 25, June 10 and 16, July 13 and 22, August 1 and 30, September 3 and 21, October 3 and 22, November 5 and 28, December 7 and 22). This manuscript was part of the "collection Petau," founded by two counselors of the parliament of Paris, Paul Petau († 1614) and his son Alexandre Petau († 1672); in 1720 the volume was bought by Ami Lullin (1695-1756) from Geneva, who, after his death, bequeathed it to the Bibliothèque de Genève.
Online Since: 10/08/2015
The calendar of this book of hours for use in Rome contains prayers to Saint Clarus (2 January) and for the dedication of the Church of St. Peter in Geneva (8 October), which are particular to the diocese of this city. At an unspecified time, the manuscript suffered substantial damage: pages were torn out or torn apart, and illuminated initials were cut out. Only two of the original five illuminations have survived, placed at the beginning of the Hours of the Cross (fol. 15r) and the Penitential Psalms (fol. 74v), respectively. They were probably created mid-15th century in Geneva or the immediate surroundings.
Online Since: 10/04/2018
This book of hours in the Parisian fashion is richly illuminated and was made for the diocese of Nantes in the third quarter of the 15th century. It was owned by the Petau family during the 17th century. In 1720 it was purchased by Ami Lullin of Geneva and donated to the Bibliothèque de Genève.
Online Since: 12/09/2008
This manuscript from the second half of the 15th century is a book of hours for use in the Abbey of St. Martin of Tours. Six large miniatures remain, of which two pertain to the life of Christ, two are dedicated to the Annunciation, one to St. Joseph, and the last to St. Barbara. The calendar indicates the thirteen unlucky days (dies eger) of the year. With its old crimson velvet binding, its painted decorations and careful script, this manuscript had enriched the collection of the Petau family before it came to Geneva.
Online Since: 12/18/2014
This small, elegant, illuminated book of hours for the use of Rome was probably produced in the workshop of Jean Colombe, the famous book illustrator from Bourges, who was active in the last third of the 15th century. Some of the 14 miniatures that decorate the manuscript can in fact also be found in other books of hours that were illuminated by the master of Bourges, such as the cord situated in the ornate margins that frame the miniatures (Paris, BnF, n.a. lat. 3181). This motif has been interpreted in different ways, either as a sign of belonging to the Third Order of Franciscans, or as a sign of widowhood, in which case the addressee would have been a woman – but this is contradicted by the masculine forms of address in the prayers. The manuscript later became the property of Paul Petau, and in 1756 it became part of the collection of the Bibliothèque de Genève as part of the bequest of Ami Lullin.
Online Since: 06/14/2018
Illuminated in a Venetian workshop, this Rituale Romanum was copied during the second half of the 15th century for Archbishop Phillipe de Lévis. It contains the orations according to Roman Rite for various ceremonies such as baptism, purification, marriage, anointing of the sick, last rites, or burials. Carefully written, decorated with colorful floral borders and fine miniatures and augmented with gold leaf, the manuscript is of outstanding quality.
Online Since: 12/13/2013
This manuscript contains several texts copied between the 13th and the 16th century. The oldest one is the Solemn Evangelistary of St. Pierre Cathedral of Geneva (ff. 5-28v), which, according to its illuminations (esp. f. 5r), was probably created in Paris, even though the pericopes correspond to the feast days particular to Geneva. This is followed by excerpts from the sung Gospels (with staff notation) from the 14th and 15th century, one of which is an interesting late 15th century liturgical witness for the feast of the Epiphany (ff. 37v-40r).
Online Since: 06/13/2019
This sumptuous manuscript contains the Chronicle of Eusebius of Caesarea translated by St. Jerome and presented in columns, together with continuations by Jerome and Prosper of Aquitaine. It was produced in about 1480 in Padua or Venice and was illuminated by Petrus V…, who created a masterful full-page illustration on Fol. 10r. A binding error unfortunately reduces the overall esthetic appeal of the volume: the first and second fascicles have been placed in inverse order.
Online Since: 04/15/2010
‘Venerable' is the term that comes to mind for describing this manuscript. In fact, it can be considered ‘venerable' due to its age since it is dated circa 825. Furthermore, the author of the main texts copied herein is Beda Venerabilis or the Venerable Bede (672/674, † 735), who was a monk at Jarrow Abbey in England. Copied in the Benedictine Abbey of Massay (France, Cher, near Bourges), the manuscript contains several of the Venerable Bede's scientific works such as the Easter cycle, also known as Bede's cycle, the De natura rerum, the De temporibus and the De temporum ratione. Various other texts were also inserted: the Annales Petaviani and the annals of the Abbey of Massay, calendar, fragments on the computus, letters.
Online Since: 06/23/2014
This manuscript contains the Latin translation of the Roman de Troie by Benoît de Sainte-Maure, prepared in 1287 by Guido de Columnis. The text is divided into 35 books, of which only 9 are introduced by miniatures, most of them whole-page miniatures (f. 1r, 5v, 16v, 46r, 72v, 83v, 89v, 107v, 124v). Set in Renaissance-style frames, the paintings illustrate various important moments in the destruction of Troy. This manuscript was part of the collection of Paul and Alexandre Petau before it became the property of Ami Lullin, pastor and theologist in Geneva, who donated it to the Bibliothèque de Genève in 1756.
Online Since: 03/22/2018
This manuscript dates from about 1420 and contains the "Conspiracy of Catilin " and the "Jugurthine War" by Sallust. Miniature illuminations in grisaille were added by Bedford-Meister and assistants in his workshop, followed by a commentary by Jean Lebègues, who wrote a guide to the illustration of historical scenes in the above-named works of Sallust in 1417. During the 17th century the manuscript was owned by the Petau family. In 1720 Ami Lullin of Geneva purchased the codex and donated it to the Bibliothèque de Genève.
Online Since: 12/09/2008
This manuscript contains the Decretum Gratiani with the Glossa ordinaria by Bartholomäus Brixiensis. It is a distinctive testimony to the masterly page layout of legal texts, where the main text is usually framed on all sides by its commentary. This copy is signed by the scribe, brother Adigherio (fol. 341v). The manuscript also is sumptuously decorated with large miniatures that introduce the main parts of the text as well as the various legal cases; in addition, there are numerous historiated initials, often very humorous (e.g. f. 2r, 127v), and figure initials. Two book illustrators from Bologna, the Master of 1346 and l'Illustratore, are the creators of this decoration that was carried out in the 1340s. In 1756, the Decretum Gratiani became part of the Bibliothèque de Genève with the bequest of Ami Lullin, who had purchased this copy from the collection of Paul and Alexander Petau.
Online Since: 06/14/2018
This manuscript, produced in a Parisian workshop during the mid-13th century, contains books I through XVIII of the Digestum vetus by Justinian, in a textual variant different from that found in the version of the Digest most common at that time. An illustration in the form of a vertical band depicts the Emperor Justinian, standing among the five most important jurists of the early 3rd century, who are frequently quoted in the Digest.
Online Since: 04/15/2010
This manuscript was produced in a Parisian workshop around the end of the 13th century. It contains the Latin version of thirteen critiques written by, or generally thought to have been written by, Aristotle. The book ends with a fragment of De uno deo benedicto by Moses Maimonides. Forty decorated initials adorn the text, and a large drawing of Christ on the cross with Mary and John has been added on the last folio.
Online Since: 04/15/2010
This portolan by Andrea Benincasa is signed and dated 1476 on the last chart, which is glued to the inside back cover. The five nautical charts, each occupying a double page of the atlas, describe the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea (chart 1), the coasts between Sicily and the Aegean Sea (chart 2), the Mediterranean Sea from Gibraltar to Rome with Corsica and Sardinia (chart 3), the coasts of the Atlantic between England and Ireland to the Strait of Gibraltar (chart 4), and finally the coasts between Gibraltar and Cape Bojador, including the Canary Islands and other islands (chart 5). The star-shaped rhumb lines with wind roses indicate the compass directions, while the scales, here marked in the corners of the leaves, make it possible to estimate distances. The precise course of the coasts highlighted with color and the elegant script of the toponyms are characteristic of maps from the Benincasa studio, which were intended as objects for book lovers, but not for navigation. Among the numerous inscriptions on these maps, those on the Atlantic islands are the most surprising, as they seem to anticipate the discovery of the American archipelago like “Antilia,” or the island of “Brazil”; these names were adopted by Christopher Columbus and his successors to name certain territories in the New World.
Online Since: 12/12/2019
With a beautiful binding à la "Du Seuil", this 15th century manuscript contains the Policraticus (The government of the state), a work of reflections on the vanities of courtiers, written by John of Salisbury (1115/1120-1180). It was copied in a careful hand, and the text was decorated with a large miniature showing an author reading his text before the king of France.
Online Since: 12/18/2014
This manuscript, copied in the years 1460-1480, contains De regimine principum by Aegidius Romanus, decorated with a miniature in which the author (Aegidius Romanus) dedicates the book to the king of France. The last leaves contain the Life of Aesop and his Fables, translated into Latin by Rinuccio di Arezzo. The manuscript was owned by François Bonivard († 1570), who was prior of the Cluniac Priory of St. Victor in Geneva.
Online Since: 04/15/2010
This manuscript dates from the beginning of the 16th century and contains two poems by Raoul Bollart, the first of which celebrates the siege of King Ludwig XII of France against the Venetians in 1509. The second poem treats the subject of moral values and relates the supplications made to a rich person by the poor. All miniatures found in this manuscript, illustrating various scenes in the poems, were made in Rouen. The way in which they follow the morality text is similar to the style of modern comics. During the 17th century this manuscript was owned by the Petau family. In 1720 Ami Lullin of Geneva purchased the codex and donated it to the Bibliothèque de Genève.
Online Since: 12/09/2008
One of the ancient authors best known in the Middle Ages doubtlessly was Cicero. Some of his speeches - the Orationes - were rediscovered by humanists, as is attested by this copy. The manuscript contains 27 of Cicero's speeches, written in a round Italian humanistic script. It begins with a miniature depicting a group of speakers in a discussion (f. 1r), painted by Péronet Lamy, an illuminator who is documented from 1432 until 1453 and who worked primarily for Amadeus VIII, the Duke of Savoy. It is likely that Péronet Lamy carried out this decoration when he was at the Council of Basel as part of the Duke's entourage. Also present there was Martin le Franc (1408-1461), ducal secretary and author of the Champion des Dames and the Estrif de fortune et de vertu; according to a scraped entry (f. 290r), he came into possession of this manuscript. Thereafter it belonged to Germain Colladon (back pastedown), a fellow student of John Calvin, who fled to Geneva in 1550. Around 1615, one of his daughters-in-law sold the manuscript, together with Ms. lat. 53, to the Bibliothèque de Genève.
Online Since: 03/22/2018
This miniature book of hours (11.5 x 7 cm) for use in Rome was probably made in Bourges by the Master of Spencer 6 (active between 1490 and 1510). All 35 full-page and framed miniatures show identical composition, where the main scene, presented in close-up, is complemented with a predella containing small figures. The manuscript's owner, the Naville family of Geneva (coat of arms on f. 1v), donated it to the Bibliothèque de Genève in 1803.
Online Since: 10/04/2018
This manuscript was deposited in the Bibliothèque de Genève in 2007 by the priests of the Congregation of St. Francis de Sales (at the Institut Florimont in Geneva). This composite manuscript unifies two previously separate texts: a copy of Prician's Institutiones Grammaticae made during the 11th or 12th centuries in Italy, and the Commentary on the Apocalypse by Beatus of Liébana. The latter is illustrated with 65 miniatures; this 11th century copy was probably written in southern Italy, judging by the Beneventana and Carolingian minuscule scripts used. This previously unknown Beatus manuscript discovered in Geneva adds to the 26 illuminated exemplars already on record.
Online Since: 11/03/2009
Philibert de Viry's manuscript is one of the rare Books of Hours for use in the Diocese of Geneva to have survived until today. Illuminated in Lyon by the Maître de l'Entrée de François I, it contains miniatures directly inspired by Albrecht Dürer's (1511) woodcuts Petite Passion. This is an early witness of the reception of this series of images in France and an example of the often unsuspected influence of engraving on book decoration.
Online Since: 03/17/2016
The De Divina Proportione is a mathematical treatise by the Franciscan friar Luca Pacioli (1445-1517). The Italian text is followed by sixty polyhedra, drawn filled or empty, and influenced by Leonardo da Vinci. Of the three copies written during the author's lifetime, only two remain. This copy, held by the Bibliothèque de Genève, is the presentation copy of the Duke of Milan, Ludovico Sforza, whose coat of arms and motto adorn the manuscript (fol. Ir and LXIIv).
Online Since: 02/27/2019
This composite manuscript in thirteen volumes consists of drawings of plants which resulted from the Sessé & Moçiño expedition to the region of Mexico and Central America from 1787 to 1803. Of the 1300 drawings contained in these volumes, about 300 are originals from the expedition, the remaining 1000 were copied in Geneva in 1817 by artists and amateur botanists, most of whom were women from Geneva. The entire collection is usually referred to as Flore des Dames de Genève.
Online Since: 03/29/2019
This composite manuscript in thirteen volumes consists of drawings of plants which resulted from the Sessé & Moçiño expedition to the region of Mexico and Central America from 1787 to 1803. Of the 1300 drawings contained in these volumes, about 300 are originals from the expedition, the remaining 1000 were copied in Geneva in 1817 by artists and amateur botanists, most of whom were women from Geneva. The entire collection is usually referred to as Flore des Dames de Genève.
Online Since: 03/29/2019
This composite manuscript in thirteen volumes consists of drawings of plants which resulted from the Sessé & Moçiño expedition to the region of Mexico and Central America from 1787 to 1803. Of the 1300 drawings contained in these volumes, about 300 are originals from the expedition, the remaining 1000 were copied in Geneva in 1817 by artists and amateur botanists, most of whom were women from Geneva. The entire collection is usually referred to as Flore des Dames de Genève.
Online Since: 03/29/2019
This composite manuscript in thirteen volumes consists of drawings of plants which resulted from the Sessé & Moçiño expedition to the region of Mexico and Central America from 1787 to 1803. Of the 1300 drawings contained in these volumes, about 300 are originals from the expedition, the remaining 1000 were copied in Geneva in 1817 by artists and amateur botanists, most of whom were women from Geneva. The entire collection is usually referred to as Flore des Dames de Genève.
Online Since: 03/29/2019
This composite manuscript in thirteen volumes consists of drawings of plants which resulted from the Sessé & Moçiño expedition to the region of Mexico and Central America from 1787 to 1803. Of the 1300 drawings contained in these volumes, about 300 are originals from the expedition, the remaining 1000 were copied in Geneva in 1817 by artists and amateur botanists, most of whom were women from Geneva. The entire collection is usually referred to as Flore des Dames de Genève.
Online Since: 03/29/2019
This composite manuscript in thirteen volumes consists of drawings of plants which resulted from the Sessé & Moçiño expedition to the region of Mexico and Central America from 1787 to 1803. Of the 1300 drawings contained in these volumes, about 300 are originals from the expedition, the remaining 1000 were copied in Geneva in 1817 by artists and amateur botanists, most of whom were women from Geneva. The entire collection is usually referred to as Flore des Dames de Genève.
Online Since: 03/29/2019
This composite manuscript in thirteen volumes consists of drawings of plants which resulted from the Sessé & Moçiño expedition to the region of Mexico and Central America from 1787 to 1803. Of the 1300 drawings contained in these volumes, about 300 are originals from the expedition, the remaining 1000 were copied in Geneva in 1817 by artists and amateur botanists, most of whom were women from Geneva. The entire collection is usually referred to as Flore des Dames de Genève.
Online Since: 03/29/2019
This composite manuscript in thirteen volumes consists of drawings of plants which resulted from the Sessé & Moçiño expedition to the region of Mexico and Central America from 1787 to 1803. Of the 1300 drawings contained in these volumes, about 300 are originals from the expedition, the remaining 1000 were copied in Geneva in 1817 by artists and amateur botanists, most of whom were women from Geneva. The entire collection is usually referred to as Flore des Dames de Genève.
Online Since: 03/29/2019
This composite manuscript in thirteen volumes consists of drawings of plants which resulted from the Sessé & Moçiño expedition to the region of Mexico and Central America from 1787 to 1803. Of the 1300 drawings contained in these volumes, about 300 are originals from the expedition, the remaining 1000 were copied in Geneva in 1817 by artists and amateur botanists, most of whom were women from Geneva. The entire collection is usually referred to as Flore des Dames de Genève.
Online Since: 03/29/2019
This composite manuscript in thirteen volumes consists of drawings of plants which resulted from the Sessé & Moçiño expedition to the region of Mexico and Central America from 1787 to 1803. Of the 1300 drawings contained in these volumes, about 300 are originals from the expedition, the remaining 1000 were copied in Geneva in 1817 by artists and amateur botanists, most of whom were women from Geneva. The entire collection is usually referred to as Flore des Dames de Genève.
Online Since: 03/29/2019
This composite manuscript in thirteen volumes consists of drawings of plants which resulted from the Sessé & Moçiño expedition to the region of Mexico and Central America from 1787 to 1803. Of the 1300 drawings contained in these volumes, about 300 are originals from the expedition, the remaining 1000 were copied in Geneva in 1817 by artists and amateur botanists, most of whom were women from Geneva. The entire collection is usually referred to as Flore des Dames de Genève.
Online Since: 03/29/2019
This composite manuscript in thirteen volumes consists of drawings of plants which resulted from the Sessé & Moçiño expedition to the region of Mexico and Central America from 1787 to 1803. Of the 1300 drawings contained in these volumes, about 300 are originals from the expedition, the remaining 1000 were copied in Geneva in 1817 by artists and amateur botanists, most of whom were women from Geneva. The entire collection is usually referred to as Flore des Dames de Genève.
Online Since: 03/29/2019
This composite manuscript in thirteen volumes consists of drawings of plants which resulted from the Sessé & Moçiño expedition to the region of Mexico and Central America from 1787 to 1803. Of the 1300 drawings contained in these volumes, about 300 are originals from the expedition, the remaining 1000 were copied in Geneva in 1817 by artists and amateur botanists, most of whom were women from Geneva. The entire collection is usually referred to as Flore des Dames de Genève.
Online Since: 03/29/2019
Composite manuscript with the following content: 1. collection of autographs by the Florentine poet Gabriele Simeoni (Florence, 1509 - Lyon, 1577?), dedicated to Cosimo de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, with poems in Italian and Latin and illustrated by the author; 2. collection of poems, partly autographs, by Giovan Battista Strozzi (1489-1538), containing his madrigals as well as some compositions by Leonardo Giustiniani (1388-1446) and by Anton Francesco Grazzini (1505-1584).
Online Since: 12/12/2019
This gradual contains the most important chants for the Mass throughout the liturgical year and for the saints. They are in Hufnagel notation. The graphic relation of text to melody is not always clear.
Online Since: 11/10/2016
This manuscript contains texts for the Liturgy of the Hours. It was probably created at Muri Abbey and was meant for the Hermetschwil nuns' convent. Fol. 125v shows one of the few remaining prints of the “Teigdruck” (paste print) technique: Barbara with a palm branch and a tower.
Online Since: 11/10/2016
This prayer book is from the first quarter of the 16th century and was meant for a woman. It contains primarily prayers to Mary and the Liturgy of the Hours for the Passion of Christ.
Online Since: 12/20/2016
Lectionary from the second half of the 12th century or beginning of the 13th century from a Benedictine monasrtery in the southwestern German region, as indicated by the naming of various saints from this area. This is likely among the manuscripts brought to Hermetschwil by the nuns from the Double monastery of Muri. Adorned with many figured and historiated initials.
Online Since: 06/22/2010
This psalter from the 12th century is part of a collection formerly owned by the library of the double abbey of Muri. It was later transferred to the monastery at Hermetschwil. The cycle of miniatures is incomplete; the calendar includes a series of necrological records.
Online Since: 06/22/2010
This Dominican-type breviary is from Zurich. It contains texts on the saints' days and on the Commune of saints. Thomas Aquinas is especially emphasized (2r has an initial stretching over 10 lines with a pen drawing of the saint).
Online Since: 11/10/2016
This book of hours of Savoyard or western Swiss origin, produced in about 1490, was originally the property of the Bern patrician Thomas Schöni and his wife Jeanne d'Arbignon. The miniatures were ascribed to the Meister of the breviary of Jost von Silenen.
Online Since: 06/22/2010
This psalter is the work of the Engelberg Master. Psalms 1, 51 and 101 are introduced by large initials. Especially remarkable is a knight on 41r.
Online Since: 11/10/2016
This psalter was originally made for Selnau Abbey in Zurich. 7r has a portrait of a benefactress. In the 17th century, it was owned by Sister Ottilia Suter of Hermetschwil.
Online Since: 11/10/2016
This diurnal is from the Convent of the Poor Clares Gnadental in Basel. The decorations consist of a great number of faces, drolleries, animals and figures of saints.
Online Since: 11/10/2016
A total of eight manuscripts, written and illuminated in St. Gall in the period between 1022 and 1036 for Sigebert, Bishop of Minden (1022-1036), have survived until today. They are a complete group of liturgical manuscripts consisting of a sacramentary, an epistolary, an evangeliary, a gradual, a tropary-sequentiary, a gradual-hymnal, a hymnal and the Ordo missae. This tropary-sequentiary contains a drawing of the author Notker Balbulus (about 840-912) in the sequentiary part on f. 144r. He is depicted as the writer of his sequence Sancti Spiritus Assit nobis gratia and is represented with a saint's halo. In 1683 the manuscript became part of the library of Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg, and later of the Berlin State Library (Staatsbibliothek). Along with other manuscripts (among others the Epistolary), it was evacuated to safety during World War II and today is held as a deposit in Krakow.
Online Since: 12/17/2015
Othon de Grandson, knight and poet, distinguished himself both through his verses and through his heroic deeds during the Hundred Years War. He was an adviser to Count Amadeus VII of Savoy. After the death of the count, he fled to England. After his return to the land of Vaud he died in an ordeal by battle in the form of a duel in Bourg-en-Bresse in the year 1397. In addition, Othon de Grandson's poetry introduced Valentine's Day to a broader public; it had previously been celebrated primarily in Anglo-Saxon regions.
Online Since: 03/31/2011
This small-format manuscript with a limp binding falls into the category of "livres de besace": mainly it contains a compilation of medical texts (Guy de Chauliac, Jean Le Lièvre, Jean Jacme, Guillaume de Saliceto, anonymous herbaria), most of which have been translated into Middle French, as well as calendars and songs. The main hand wrote in a script from the second half of the 15th century; there are also notes from the 16th and 17th centuries. The first known owner (mentioned on f. 9r) is Jehan Farcy, who is attested as a barber in Lausanne in 1484 and 1496. Pen trials and coats of arms (Valangin and Aarberg, f. 57v) also indicate a regional context. Likewise the parchment from which the binding was made is a reused notarial document prepared in Vaud on April 25, 1448. With the support of private foundations, the Bibliothèque cantonale et universitaire - Lausanne acquired this manuscript in 2006.
Online Since: 12/10/2020
This codex dates to the first half of the 14th century and contains a copy of Roman de la Rose, an Old French allegorical dream vision by Guillaume de Lorris and Jean de Meun composed in the 13th century. This copy, which is one of more than 300 that survive in full or in part, is heavily annotated and shows evidence of extensive use by several different readers.
Online Since: 01/21/2011
The “Recueil Grenet” is a collection of poems written by the Geneva merchant Gilbert Grenet (1510?-1568) containing French poems written during the decades 1530-1560. The composite manuscript begins with about forty epistles and «dizains» (ten-line poems) by Clément Marot, which were probably copied during and after the poet's stay in Geneva (1542-1543). This is followed by anonymous poems on the virtues of education and the art of writing. At the end there are about forty epigrams and poems praising the Reformation and polemicizing against Catholicism. Some are personal revisions of texts by Théodore de Bèze and Ronsard. The manuscript is partially illuminated and illustrates the role of militant poetry in the commercial milieu that supported the Reformation in the city of Geneva during Calvin's time. It was acquired by the Cantonal and University Library of Lausanne in 1844.
Online Since: 12/12/2019
Othon de Grandson, knight and poet, distinguished himself both through his verses and through his heroic deeds during the Hundred Years War. He was an adviser to Count Amadeus VII of Savoy. After the death of the count, he fled to England. After his return to the land of Vaud he died in an ordeal by battle in the form of a duel in Bourg-en-Bresse in the year 1397. Othon de Grandson probably wrote his poetic works between 1366 and 1372. This collection volume also contains ballads by thirteen different authors.
Online Since: 03/31/2011
This prayer book is either from the Cologne area, as indicated by the selection of prayer texts and calendars, or from the “Stift Münstereifel”, as the saints Daria and Chrysanthus, who are venerated there, are explicitly mentioned on 218r and 219r. Via Catharina von Wrede (front paste-down), the prayer book reached the Bibliothèque des Cèdres, which became part of the holdings of the Bibliothèque cantonale et universitaire - Lausanne in 1966. This small-format volume, illustrated with 18 miniatures, contains a cycle of prayers on the life and passion of Christ, prayers on the truths of the faith, and on various saints. The miniatures and the beginnings of the texts are surrounded by borders with leaf scroll and interlace ornamentation; additional decoration consists of 35 initials in gold, as well as pen flourishes and blue, red and gold Lombard initials in the margins.
Online Since: 10/08/2020
The Biblia Porta manuscript, which bears the name of its last private owner, is an illuminated Bible from the Franco-Flemish region, produced at the end of the 13th century. The value of this unique and extraordinary work lies in the quality of its textual illustrations: 337 scenes of great artistic refinement, very lively and expressive. The illustrations consist of historiated initials, ornamental initials, drolleries and marginal illustrations. The text, which is written in extremely carefully formed calligraphy on very fine parchment, is St. Jerome's Vulgate version of the Bible in Latin, revised in Paris in the second quarter of the 13th century. This document is one of the few remaining works from this particular school of book decoration in northern France.
Online Since: 12/21/2009
This chronicle, completed in 1513, tells the early history of Lucerne and, beginning with the Battle of Sempach (1386), it tells the history of the Swiss Confederation from the point of view of followers of the Holy Roman Emperor. The 450 illustrations by two different hands, due to their vividness and to the richness of their subjects and details, constitute a unique source of information about late medieval life.
Online Since: 03/19/2015
This volume contains St. Bonaventure's Legenda maior of St. Francis, the Vita beati Antonii and two documents regarding the Portiuncula indulgence. The manuscript was written by Elisabeth von Amberg (ff. 1-127) and Katherina von Purchausen (ff. 129-176) in the year 1337. It is decorated with an initial portraying St. Francis as a knight (f. 4r) and a vignette showing the bestowal of the Stigmata (f. 77v). The appearance of the name of St. Clara in the text suggests that the codex was written in a cloister of the Poor Clares, perhaps the Paradise. It came into the posession of the Capuchin cloister in Frauenfeld at the beginning of the 17th century and has been held in the provincial archive of the Capuchins in Lucerne since 1848.
Online Since: 03/31/2011
The Sworn Letter (“Geschworener Brief”), drawn up for the first time in 1252, consists mainly of provisions of criminal law for the sake of maintaining internal peace. It soon attained the status of a social contract that was periodically revised, and the town assembly was sworn into office each year with an oath on this document. COD 1075 presents the last version in a special form: The text was elaborately arranged in calligraphy by chancery clerk Josef Corneli Mahler; the articles are introduced by artistic initials and are accompanied by figures (which bear no reference to the themes of the text). For the binding, the wooden boards are covered in blue and white velvet and have protective book corners, clasps and bosses made of silver.
Online Since: 03/22/2017
The oldest necrology of the Franciscan Monastery of Lucerne has not survived; KF 80 is the second necrology and includes parts of the lost first volume; the entries go up to 1734. Two important donor families, who were particularly close to the monastery, were remembered specifically in a separate section with their family coats of arms: the Martin family (fol. 17v) and the Sonnenberg family (fol. 62-63v). After the dissolution of the monastery, this volume, along with the monastery archives, became part of the state archives in 1838.
Online Since: 03/22/2017
By his own account, Hans von Hinwil, lord of Elgg castle (1498-1544), wrote his family book in the year 1541. An introduction to the history of the family is followed by the coats of arms of his ancestors in chronological order. This manuscript can be compared with other well-known family books such as those of the lords of Eptingen or the lords of Hallwyl; however, for Eastern Switzerland it constitutes a unique example among the nobility of the formation of tradition in words and in images.
Online Since: 03/22/2017
This is the only know work of monogrammist B.G.; it was created in 1557 for Abbot Peter I. Eichhorn (†1563) of Wettingen Abbey. While most of the many initials are based on woodcuts by Bernard Salomon (Quadrins historiques de la Bible, Lyon 1553), the painter composed the decoration of the margins independently and very charmingly with allusions to the name of the client (Eichhorn = squirrel) who commissioned the work as well as to a motif of geese.
Online Since: 10/10/2019
Liturgical music to be sung during night prayer hours on the feasts of the saints, from the early period of the Cistercian cloister of Saint Urban.
Online Since: 07/25/2006
Liturgical music for the singing of mass on Sundays and feast days in a Cistercian monastery, with decorations by the Master of the Antwerp Bible of Conrad of Vechta, produced in Prague shortly after 1400.
Online Since: 12/12/2006
This manuscript contains the commentaries of French Franciscan Nicholas of Lira (ca. 1270/1275-1349) on the Old Testament Books of Exodus and Leviticus, with illustrations produced in central Switzerland.
Online Since: 03/22/2012
Commentaries by the Franciscan monk Nicholas of Lyra (ca. 1270/1275-1349) on the Old Testament Books of Joshua, Judges, Ruth, I and II Samuel (I and II Kingdoms), with illustrations produced in central Switzerland.
Online Since: 03/22/2012
Contains the commentaries of French Franciscan Nicholas of Lira (ca. 1270/1275-1349) on the Old Testament Books of Numbers and Deuteronomy, with illustrations produced in central Switzerland.
Online Since: 03/22/2012
The commentary of French Franciscan Nicholas of Lira (ca. 1270/1275-1349) on the Old Testament Book of Isaiah, with illustrations produced in central Switzerland.
Online Since: 03/22/2012
Contains the commentaries of French Franciscan Nicholas of Lira (ca. 1270/1275-1349) on the Old Testament Books of Ecclesiastes, the Song of Songs, Wisdom, and Sirach.
Online Since: 03/22/2012
Contains the commentary of French Franciscan Nicholas of Lira (ca. 1270/1275-1349) on the Old Testament Books of Genesis, with illustrations produced in central Switzerland.
Online Since: 03/22/2012
Register of ownership compiled in 1394, at the behest of Abbess Luzia I, by the notary Jakob von Schluderns; a fair copy was written on parchment by his son Peter. The register records 517 leaseholds in 36 localities. The ornamentation is simple, but beautifully executed. Important are two large figures in color, representing John the Baptist as patron and Charlemagne as founder of the monastery. Valuable from the point of view of historical linguistics is a passage in the vernacular that is copied in the urbarium as part of a Latin document from 1389. This is the oldest testimony of the Romansh language of the Engadine, or rather of the Val Müstair.
Online Since: 09/26/2017
This manuscript lacks a beginning, has much-trimmed margins, and was written by a variety of hands, is datable to the second half through the end of the 9th century. It contains readings from the Gospel texts for the feasts from Christmas through Pentacost as well as those of a few saints. The first words of the Gospel texts were augmented later (12th century) in the outer margin. The text for the feast celebrating the birth of the Archangel Michael (129v-131v) is specially highlighted with a pen sketch of the saint in the margin and a marker in the lower corner. The flyleaf is a notarial document dated 1373 in favour of Isabelle von Neuenburg.
Online Since: 03/22/2012
A book of hours following the liturgical usage of Rome, richly illustrated with full-page miniatures, borders, and initials, written in cursive script (bastarda) which can be dated to about 1500, with texts in Latin, French, and Flemish. The style of the miniatures, especially that of the naturalistic borders with flowers and insects, but also with complete scenes, seems typical of the Ghent-Bruges school.
Online Since: 03/22/2012
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 Passio sanctorum Marci et Marcelliani as well as of the Vita s. Bodardi; it 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 and Solothurn. 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.
Online Since: 06/13/2019
A Franciscan Gradual written and illuminated in northern Italy (Padua or Bologna), dateable to the first decade of the 14th century. The manuscript was used in the Franciscan cloister of St. Francis of Locarno, which received it together with the antiphonaries de tempore Codice II and Codice III as well as the antiphonary de sanctis Codice IV on the occasion of the re-dedication of the church in 1316. At the end of the text (fol. 181r) is a Praefatio (Statutum pro libris choralibus scribendis), which would normally be placed at the beginning, containing the guidelines for editing choral books for the order. On the last page Brother Giacomo di Rastelli Orelli transcribed some records concerning the cloister: a note about the provision of the library cabinets, the dedication document from the year 1316, and a note about a donation for the purchase of liturgical paraphernalia.
Online Since: 10/04/2011
15th century parchment missal, made for Bishop Johann von Venningen (1458-1478). The expenditure records of Bishop Johann von Venningen permit tracing the individual stages of the making of this missal. This manuscript was created at the same time as ms. 2 and ms. 3. In 1462/1463, the final touches were added to the almost completed manuscript, the illumination, the initials, the fleuronné initials, and especially the attachment of the cover. For convenience, the order of the Ordo and the Canon was changed. Originally meant to be at the beginning of the manuscript, they were finally placed in the middle.
Online Since: 04/09/2014
Pontifical of Johann von Venningen, Bischop of Basel (1458-1478), produced at his request (first part). The expenditure records of Bishop Johann von Venningen permit tracing the individual stages of the making of this Pontifical. This manuscript was created at the same time as ms. 1 and ms. 3. In 1462/1463, the final touches were added to the almost completed manuscript, the illumination, the initials, the fleuronné initials, and especially the attachment of the cover.
Online Since: 04/09/2014
Pontifical of Johann von Venningen, Bischop of Basel (1458-1478), produced at his request (second part). The expenditure records of Bishop Johann von Venningen permit tracing the individual stages of the making of this Pontifical. This manuscript was created at the same time as ms. 1 and ms. 2. In 1462/1463, the final touches were added to the almost completed manuscript, the illumination, the initials, the fleuronné initials, and especially the attachment of the cover.
Online Since: 04/09/2014
Missal following the liturgical custom of the Diocese of Basel, datable to around 1300. In the 15th century, a part containing the Ordo Missae was added, preceded by a Crucifixion miniature. The binding was restored in 1992 and replaces the unpreserved original binding.
Online Since: 04/09/2014
Second part of a Bible (first part in Ms. 6a) which, as also Ms. 6a and 6c, was produced in Southwestern Germany during the second third of the 15th century. The manuscript consists of two parts: the first part contains the remaining books of the Old Testament (Isaia to II Maccabeorum), the second part contains those of the New Testament. The books in the second part (105r-219v) are introduced by historiated or ornamental initials, while the beginnings of the chapters have blue red filigreed initials. The manuscript is mentioned in the inventory of Prince-Bishop Philipp von Gundelsheim (1487-1553); according to a note on f. 1r, during the 19th century it became the property of the Jesuit College of Porrentruy, after which it became part of the collection of the Library of the Canton of Jura.
Online Since: 09/23/2014
Missal following the liturgical custom of the Diocese of Basel, commissioned by Christoph of Utenheim, prince-bishop of Basel between 1502 and 1527; he had his coat of arms, crossed with that of the Diocese of Basel, painted in the lower margin of f. 2r. The Canon of the Mass, decorated with a historicized initial depicting the Mass of St. Gregory, is not original but was added later. The border with flower decoration in the side margin and the presumed miniature of the Crucifixion in the beginning were removed.
Online Since: 04/09/2014
15th century Pontifical. The ceremonies are represented as full page miniatures with ornamental initials, marginal decorations and several lines of text on the model of books of hours; in the text there are many colorful borders and ornamental initials, often with depictions of the liturgical objects mentioned in the text. In addition to the frequently recurring coat of arms of Melchior von Lichtenfels, Archbishop of Basel (1554-1575), there is the coat of arms of Charles de Neufchâtel, Archbishop of Besançon (1463-1498; visible on f. 1r), which gives an indication of the manuscript's date of origin. As many other manuscripts from religious institutions, this manuscript came into the possession of the Jesuit College of Porrentruy during the French Revolution, until in the 20th century it became part of the collection of the Library of the Canton of Jura.
Online Since: 09/23/2014
According to the colophon on f. 329v, this Vocabularius brevilogus was copied by the scribe Martinus Hartmann in Hildesheim in 1452. The lemmas are set off by rubricated initials; space was left for larger initials which, with few exceptions, were not realized. In 1505 the then-owner of the manuscript, Johannes Hertlin from Augusta Regia, donated it to the Church of Sts. Alexander and Theodor in Ottobeuren; in the 20th century it has been in the possession of the Library of the Canton of Jura.
Online Since: 09/23/2014
A 15th century Psalter following the liturgical custom of the Collegiate Church of Saint-Ursanne; in form and content it is a perfect copy of the Basel manuscript AN VIII 39. Both pastedowns consist of fragments of Vincent of Beauvais' Speculum historiale; on f. 36r there is a 16th century pen drawing of the Virgin Mary. The manuscript remained in the Collegiate Church of Saint-Ursanne until it came into the possession of the Library of the Canton of Jura in the 20th century.
Online Since: 09/23/2014
This manuscript contains the Legenda aurea by Jacobus de Voragine. Lacunas in the manuscript are due to the loss of several sheets which probably contained historiated initials. The presence of the legend of St. Antidius as well as characteristics of the decoration suggest that the manuscript originated in Besançon.
Online Since: 04/09/2014
This breviary was meant for use in the diocese of Basel. There are still partially visible traces of coats of arms that were painted on ff. 33r, 41r, 129r and 279r and were later erased; these allow the codex to be attributed to Arnold of Rotberg, Bishop of Basel from 1451 to 1458. His successor, Jean de Venningen (1458-1478) noted on f. 5r the repurchase of the manuscript from Porrentruy Castle on June 29th 1461.
Online Since: 03/17/2016
A 9th century volume containing the Gospels, originally from Saint-Ursanne.
Online Since: 03/24/2006
This manuscript contains two grimoires (magic textbooks), the Dragon rouge (pp. 4-100) and the Poule noire (pp. 101-108), which were copied in 1846 from a 1521 original. The Dragon rouge “ou l'art de commander les esprits célestes, aériens, terrestres et infernaux” (p. 2) is a collection of writings in French, Italian and Latin. As for the Poule noire, this is a ritual for conjuring ghosts. Several ungainly drawings embellish the work, depicting, for instance, the devil (p. 33, 55) or cabalistic diagrams (p. 19, 54).
Online Since: 10/04/2018
This missal is from the church of Glatt an der Glatt in Southern Germany, a property of Muri Abbey. It was created in the second half of the 13th century. Numerous marginalia from the 14th-15th century testify that it was intensively used.
Online Since: 12/20/2016
Written in 1427, possibly by Brother Thomas de Austria ordinis sancti Johannis. Using illustrations and texts, the Speculum humanae salvationis portrays selected tales of healing from the Old and New Testaments. Richly decorated with pen sketches, this is one of the most beautiful manuscripts held by the monastery of Muri; it was listed in the manuscript catalog there as of 1744.
Online Since: 06/22/2010
This Missale speciale was created in 1333, probably at Muri Abbey, for the Chapel of St. Lawrence in Wallenschwil. It contains the texts for those masses that were read in the chapel in the course of the year.
Online Since: 12/20/2016
This Book of Hours is from a Bavarian Franciscan nuns' convent. It contains the Office of the Virgin, the Penitential Psalms and the Office of the Dead. Its presence in Muri has been attested since 1790.
Online Since: 10/08/2015
This small 12th century prayer book, the oldest in the German language, was written for a woman. It contains various prayers in German and Latin, including the famous "Mary Sequence of Muri" ("Mariensequenz aus Muri"), the oldest known German language version of the Latin sequence model, the Ave preclara maris stella. During the 19th century the manuscript was linked to Queen Agnes (ca. 1281-1364), who had lived in the Cloister of Königsfeld. It is listed in the manuscript catalog of the monastery of Muri as of 1790.
Online Since: 06/22/2010
This cycle of miniatures from the first half of the 12th century is the work of two artists. The cycle was bound after having already been cut to create a volume; it is likely that it originally preceded a psalter.
Online Since: 06/22/2010
This leather-bound album contains about 35 dedications and drawings by people with whom the coppersmith and wine merchant Christoph Fischer (1691-1770) from Schaffhausen was in touch during his lifetime. Based on the entries in Latin, German, French and English, it is possible to reconstruct two trips that Fisher took to London, during which most of the dedications occurred: 1747-1750 via Geneva, Lyon, Paris to London and 1758 via Strasbourg, Frankfurt, Amsterdam to London. Several entries are by members of the Schalch family of Schaffhausen, who were relatives of Fischer; among these is an undated watercolor by the artist Johann Jakob Schalch (1723-1789) (p. 122), who lived in London and Den Haag from 1754-1773. After Fischer's death, the album was continued: entries from 1773 (p. 65) and 1820 (p. 215). Several pages of parchment (pp. 1-2, 19-20, 47-48, 115-116, 181-182) are bound into the paper manuscript, and several pages of paper were added later (pp. 39a-b, 55a-b, 147a-b) or were covered with pasted-on illustrations (p. 43, p. 125, p. 127). The entries are not in chronological order and alternate with numerous blank pages.
Online Since: 06/22/2017
This leather-bound paper manuscript with gold embossing (digits of the year 1791 in each of the four corners of the book) is the memory album of Johann Conrad Fischer (1773-1854), coppersmith, metallurgist, entrepreneur and politician from Schaffhausen. His cast steel factory, founded in 1802, developed into the current Georg Fischer Ltd. The album contains dedications and illustrations by about 70 people with whom Fischer was in touch during his lifetime, among them his math teacher Melchior Hurter (1735-1811) (p. 1), Professor Johann Georg Müller (1759-1819) (p. 49), the physician Johann Balthasar Zwingli from Zurich (1764-1817) (p. 164), the writer Heinrich Zschokke (1771-1848) (p. 175), Fischer's great–uncle Lorenz Spengler (1720-1807), head of the Royal Art Chamber in Copenhagen (p. 43), and his son Johann Conrad Spengler (1767-1839) (p. 105). The majority of the entries are in German, French, English and Danish and date from his years of travel as a journeyman coppersmith in 1792-1795, when he traveled via Frankfurt, Chemnitz, Dresden to Copenhagen and on to London. Occasional further entries continue until 1841. The entries are not in chronological order and alternate with pasted-in pages (pp. 3a-b, 48a, 111a-d) and numerous blank pages. The numbering of the pages is from the time of the creation of the album.
Online Since: 06/22/2017
This paper manuscript bound in green leather is the memory album of Eduard Fischer (1801-1859) of Schaffhausen; it contains notes from family and friends. Eduard Fischer was the son of the metallurgist and entrepreneur Johann Conrad Fischer (1773-1854) of Schaffhausen. The book contains entries from 1818 until 1920. The very first entry is from the hand of his father, Johann Conrad Fischer: „Experientia est optima Magistra! […] Zum Andenken von deinem dich liebenden Vatter Johann Conrad Fischer, Oberst Lieut: der Art: und Mitglied der helv: Gesellschaft für die gesamten Naturwissenschaften. Schaffhausen, dem 21ten Märtz 1819.“ [p. 3]. Further entries in German, Latin and Ancient Greek are concentrated on pages 13-91 with many blank pages in between. Among the entries are notes by his brothers Georg Fischer (1804-1888) [p. 44] and Berthold Fischer (1807-1879) [p. 73], as well as by his sister C. Fischer [p. 59]. The entries are not in chronological order. Pages 92 to 175 are blank.
Online Since: 12/12/2019