Supersaxo, Georg (ca. 1450-1529)
This manuscript of Six âges du monde, created in France at the end of the 14th century or at the very beginning of the 15th century, appears towards the end of the Middle Ages in the library of the Supersaxo family, one of the most important libraries of Valais, which today is held in the Médiathèque Valais-Sion and (this manuscript) in the State Archives of Valais in Sion. The work is remarkable in more ways than one: first, it was created in the rarely-used scroll format, a format reserved for, among others, universal chronicles, a genre to which this manuscript belongs. Second, a complex family tree, showing the descendants of Adam until the birth of Christ, runs the entire length (eight meters) of the manuscript. The columns of text of this impressive graphic document are accompanied by numerous drawings that resemble the style of Parisian works. Finally, this exemplar is not unique, since the municipal library of Reims owns a similar scroll (ms. 61), which certainly was illustrated by the same master.
Online Since: 03/22/2017
- Supersaxo, Georg (Former possessor) Found in: Standard description
- Petrus, Pictaviensis de Sancto Victore (Author) | Supersaxo, Georg (Former possessor) | Supersaxo, Walter (Former possessor) Found in: Standard description
At once a travel memoir and a geography book, the Voyages by John Mandeville, probably written around 1355-1357, were a great success in the Middle Ages. Numerous handwritten copies make it possible to distinguish three different versions of the French text, which gave rise to translations into Latin and into the vernacular languages. The oldest German translation, going back to about 1393-1399, is by Michel Velser, a member of the von Völs family (Völs, South Tyrol). This copy, S 94 from the library of Walter Supersaxo (ca. 1402-1482), Bishop of Sion, and of his son Georges (ca. 1450-1529), contains numerous ornamental initials, some zoomorphic or anthropomorphic. The endpapers are parchment. Based on the language, the manuscript should be from Northern Switzerland. An ownership note on f. 120v mentions an uncle “G”, which may suggest Georges Supersaxo himself. In the binding, there was a fragment of a papal document that can without doubt be dated to the middle of the 13th century, from a Pope Innocent and addressed to the Abbot of Kempten. Ms. S 94 can be compared to another manuscript from the Supersaxo library, namely with S 99, which contains a French version of the Voyages.
Online Since: 12/14/2017
- John, Mandeville (Author) | Supersaxo, Georg (Former possessor) | Supersaxo, Walter (Former possessor) | Velser, Michel (Translator)
This manuscript from the library of Walter Supersaxo (ca. 1402-1482), Bishop of Sion, and of his son Georg (ca. 1450-1529) is bound in a piece of parchment and is divided into several parts. The main part (ff. 2r-43r) is devoted to the statutes of Valais (Statuten der Landschaft Wallis). They are preceded by a table of contents in a version that is similar to the statutes (Landrecht) of 1511-1514 by the Bishop of Sion and Cardinal Mathieu Schiner, but with a different order of the articles and with important modifications and additions. On ff. 65r-69v, the same scribe copied the statutes (Kürzerung des Rechten) promulgated in 1525, notably by Georg Supersaxo, and confirmed in 1550. This manuscript from the Supersaxo library therefore is merely a preliminary version of the Statuta of 1571. Only the manuscript from 1571, which is in the State Archives of Valais (AV 62/4) and which also exists in a German and a French version, became the normative base reference up until the promulgation of the Civil Code of Valais in 1852. Between these two versions of the statutes, on ff. 51r-54v, is the testament of Johannes Grölin (Groely), citizen and former castellan of Sion (civis et olim castellani dominorum civium Sedunensium); the document is written by the notary Martin Guntern (1538-1588) on 8 January 1585 in Sion. Various notes from the years 1557-1590 are found at the beginning and end of the manuscript (on the front pastedown and f. 1; on ff. 70v-77v and on the back pastedown). They are fragments of accounts and of jobs in several hands, among them that of Martin Guntern, together with notes relating to the birth of the children of Bartholomäus Supersaxo (†1591), the grandson of Georg Supersaxo. Martin Guntern was not only a notary, he was also an important political figure (especially state secretary from 1570 until his death), who played an important role in the writing and translation of the Statutes of Valais of 1571. Bartholomäus Supersaxo, who in 1565 left behind a note of ownership on the front pastedown of S 95, was governor of Monthey (1565-1567), chaplain of Sion (1574) and Vize-Vogt - vice-reeve - (1579-1585); in 1573, he married his second wife, Juliana, daughter of Johannes Groely.
Online Since: 03/22/2018
- Guntern, Martin (Scribe) | Supersaxo, Georg (Former possessor) | Supersaxo, Walter (Former possessor)
This manuscript from the library of Walter Supersaxo (ca. 1402-1482), Bishop of Sion, and of his son Georg (ca. 1450-1529) contains two works in Latin. The first (ff. 1r-126r) is a treatise on the Inquisition, written in Girona in 1359 by the Catalan Dominican Nicolau Eymeric, Grand Inquisitor of Aragon (before 1320-1399). The version in S 97 contains the chapter De suspicione (beginning on f. 104v), which is sometimes considered a separate work; the table of contents was written on parchment (f. 1). In the second part of the manuscript (ff. 132r-214r), there is a version of the Gesta Romanorum in 31 chapters, a famous collection of fables and moralizing tales that was probably written in Germany or England before 1342. The first part of manuscript S 97 was copied in 1460, the second part in 1465. The copyist was the priest Cristoferus in Domo Lapidea (Im/Zum Steinhaus, Steinhauser) of Lalden, rector of the altar of St. Fabian and St. Sebastian at the Church of S. Mauritius in Naters. This same scribe is also responsible for two more manuscripts in the Supersaxo library, S 96 and S 98, which contain theological and moral works. In addition, in 1460, the same year as S 97, this scribe transcribed the De jurisdictione inquisitorum a second time; this version can be found in the first part of a composite manuscript in the library of the Capuchin monastery of Sion, in RCap 73 (former shelfmark W 34).
Online Since: 03/22/2018
- Eymericus, Nicolaus (Author) | Supersaxo, Georg (Former possessor) | Supersaxo, Walter (Former possessor)
This manuscript from the library of Walter Supersaxo (ca. 1402-1482), Bishop of Sion, and of his son Georg (ca. 1450-1529) is a collection of literary French texts with moralizing tendencies; it contains the romance Pontus and Sidonia as well as 15th century texts in verse. The major part of the manuscript (ff. 1r-122r; initial in red, yellow and black on f. 1r) is taken up by Pontus and Sidonia, a work that experienced great success in the 15th and 16th century. This prose version of the Anglo-Norman romance Horn, sometimes attributed to Geoffroy de la Tour Landry, was written towards the end of the 14th century or the beginning of the 15th century in France. It is followed by two texts by Alain Chartier (*1385-1395, †1430), secretary and ambassador for the kings Charles VI and especially Charles VII: on ff. 122r-131r is the famous Bréviaire des nobles (ca. 1422-1426) and on ff. 131r-136v is the Lay de paix (ca. 1424-1426). The following part (ff. 136v-145r) contains a less-known work, the Songe de la Pucelle by an unknown author. At the end, on ff. 145v-149r, are six anonymous ballads a pleysance et de bon advis. This manuscript was transcribed in Martigny in 1474 (at least the first part, the romance of Pontus and Sidonia) by Claude Grobanet, whom one also finds as the copyist of two more manuscripts in the Supersaxo library, S 99 (Voyages by Mandeville) and S 100 (Statutes of Savoy). Grobanet was in the service of Antoine Grossi Du Châtelard, Lord of Isérables (†1495). In the beginning of the 16th century, the family of Antoine Du Châtelard apparently fell into financial difficulties; their property - and presumably the three manuscripts as well - passed into the hands of Georg Supersaxo.
Online Since: 03/22/2018
- Chartier, Alain (Author) | La Tour Landry, Geoffroy de (Author) | Supersaxo, Georg (Former possessor) | Supersaxo, Walter (Former possessor)
At once a travel memoir and a geography book, the Voyages by John Mandeville, probably written around 1355-1357, were a great success in the Middle Ages. There are three versions of the French text; manuscript S 99 is related to the “continental” version. As in other manuscripts based on this version, the Voyages (ff. 1r-122v, with an explicit on f. 123v and an addendum on ff. 124r-125r) are followed by the Preservacion de Epidimie (ff. 122v-123v). The actual identity of the two authors is unresolved and may even have been confounded. In copy S 99 from the library of Walter Supersaxo (ca. 1402-1482), Bishop of Sion, and of his son Georges (ca. 1450-1529), the upper margins are covered with ornaments of ascending bars, some of which turn into into zoomorphic or anthropomorphic motifs. The Supersaxo library owns another version of the Voyages, namely S 94, in the German translation by Michel Velser. Like two other manuscripts from this same library, S 97bis (composite manuscript with the romance of Pontus and Sidonia) and S 100 (statutes of Savoy), S 99 was copied by Claude Grobanet, who was mentioned in a 1474 document in Martigny, where he served Antoine Grossi Du Châtelard, Lord of Isérables († 1495). In the beginning of the 16th century, the family of Antoine Du Châtelard apparently came into financial difficulties; their property - and probably the three manuscripts as well - passed into the hands of Georges Supersaxo. The incomplete parchment document, which makes up the rear flyleaf, mentions, among others, Martigny, 147[3] and a seigneur d'Ys[érables (?)].
Online Since: 12/14/2017
- Johannes, ad Barbam (Author) | John, Mandeville (Author) | Supersaxo, Georg (Former possessor) | Supersaxo, Walter (Former possessor)
This manuscript from the library of Walter Supersaxo (ca. 1402-1482), Bishop of Sion, and of his son Georges (ca. 1450-1529), contains a compendium of the statutes of Savoy, a legal code issued in 1430 by Amadeus VIII, the first Duke of Savoy and the future antipope Felix V. The compendium was printed for the first time in 1477 in Turin by Johannes Fabri (Hain 14050, GW M43623). Until 1475, this region of the canton of Valais below the river Morge of Conthey was ruled by the Dukes of Savoy. This manuscript, S 100, can be compared with two other manuscripts from the Supersaxo library, namely with S 97bis (composite manuscript with the romance of Pontus and Sidonia) and S 99 (John Mandeville, Voyages). All three manuscripts were copied by Claude Grobanet, who was mentioned in a 1474 document in Martigny, where he served Antoine Grossi Du Châtelard, Lord of Isérables († 1495). In the beginning of the 16th century, the family of Antoine Du Châtelard apparently came into financial difficulties; their property - and probably the three manuscripts as well - then passed into the hands of Georges Supersaxo.
Online Since: 12/14/2017
- Supersaxo, Georg (Former possessor) | Supersaxo, Walter (Former possessor)
This manuscript from the library of Walter Supersaxo (ca. 1402-1482), Bishop of Sion, and of his son Georg (ca. 1450-1529), with initials in red and blue (some with pen-flourish initials, e.g. on ff. 1r and 113v; two drawings on ff. 77r and 91r), contains eight legal treatises in Latin, half of them anonymous: 1. Johannes de Blanasco, (Libellus super titulo) de actionibus (ff. 1r-45r); 2. Aegidius de Fuscarariis, Ordo judiciarius (ff. 46r-67v); 3. Ordo judiciarius “De edendo“ (ff. 68r-69v; incomplete); 4. Ordo judiciarius “Scientiam“ (ff. 69v-75v); 5. Tancred of Bologna, Ordo judiciarius (ff. 77r-113v); 6. Contentio actoris et rei (ff. 113v-117r); 7. Parvus ordo judiciarius (ff. 117r-121v); 8. [Tancred of Bologna / Raymond of Penyafort], Summa de matrimonio (ff. 121v-125v; incomplete). Johannes de Blanosco († ca. 1281 or later) from Burgundy studied and probably also taught law in Bologna before returning home and placing himself in the service of Duke Hugo IV of Burgundy. In 1256, perhaps when he was still in Bologna, he wrote his commentary on the Institutes “De actionibus“. The author of the second treatise in this manuscript, Aegidius de Fuscarariis (†1289), was the first lay teacher for canon law at the University of Bologna. His Ordo judiciarius from 1263-1266 is his most important work. Tancred of Bologna (ca. 1185-ca. 1236), the author of texts 5 and 8, was a renowned canonist and archdeacon, who associated with Popes Innocent III, Honorius III and Gregory IX; among his works, the Summa de sponsalibus et matrimonio, written around 1210-1214 and revised by Raymond of Penyafort in 1235, enjoyed some success. But he became famous through his Ordo judiciarius (ca. 1214-1216), which established itself throughout Europe as the reference work for legal procedure. Regarding the four anonymous (or not-securely attributed) treatises of manuscript S 102: number 3, better known by the title Ulpianus de edendo, was probably created in England in 1140-1170; number 4 prior to 1234 in France (its author is a certain Gualterus, perhaps identical to Gauthier Cornu, Archbishop of Sens); number 6, from the time of the papacy of Gregory IX, may be of Anglo-Norman origin; and finally number 7, which was written in the North of France in two versions in 1221 and 1238. The Supersaxo library contains numerous legal works. S 102 can best be compared with manuscript S 104 (Goffredus Tranensis, Summa super titulis Decretalium), which likewise is a 14th century work from Bologna.
Online Since: 03/22/2018
- Aegidius, de Fuscarariis (Author) | Blanasco, Johannes de (Author) | Raimundus, de Pennaforti (Author) | Supersaxo, Georg (Former possessor) | Supersaxo, Walter (Former possessor) | Tancredus, Bononiensis (Author)
The Summa super titulis (or rubricis) Decretalium is a famous legal treatise about the Decretals of Gregory IX, written around 1241-1243 by Godefridus de Trano, who was professor of canon law in Bologna and later became cardinal († 1245). In this copy, the beginning of each of the five books is marked with an illuminated initial (ff. 1r, 45r, 75v, 105v, 124v). Among the annotations and manicules in the margins and between the columns, there are also numerous small human heads, pen drawings in profile (e.g., on f. 154r). This manuscript is part of the library of Walter Supersaxo (ca. 1402-1482), Bishop of Sion, and of his son Georges (ca. 1450-1529). Before that, the manuscript was the property of Georges de Saluces (Bishop of Aosta 1433 and of Lausanne 1440, deceased 1461), at the time when he was still dean of Puy-en-Velay. The Supersaxo library has another manuscript that originated in Bologna, S 102, which is also from the 14th century and contains legal texts.
Online Since: 12/14/2017
- Georges, de Saluces (Former possessor) | Godefridus, de Trano (Author) | Supersaxo, Georg (Former possessor) | Supersaxo, Walter (Former possessor)