Oratio in laudem rei publicae venetorum; Vita caroli magni, etc., 1400 - 1499
Abstract
This manuscript is a humanistic miscellany written in northern Italy in the fifteenth century. The volume contains three texts: Poggio Bracciolini, In laudem rei publicae Venetorum (fols. 1r-23v); Einhard, Vita Excellentissimi Imperatoris Magni Caroli (fols. 25r-66r); Alcuin, Confessio [for Charlemagne] (fols. 66v-70v). The beginning of each text is marked by white-vine illumination; the coat of arms on the first page suggests original ownership by a member of the Bembo family of Venice. The scribe has been identified as Giovanni di Ubaldino deli Stagnesi.
Dates
- Creation: 1400 - 1499
Creator
- Bracciolini, Poggio (Author, Person)
Extent
1 volumes
Language of Materials
Latin
Custodial History
Written in northern Italy during the fifteenth century. Matthew Tischler has identified the scribe as Giovanni di Ubaldino deli Stagnesi (Matthew Tischler, Einharts “Vita Karoli,” vol. 2, 1484–1496). The coat of arms on f. 1r suggests that the first owner was probably a member of the Venetian Bembo family as does the bookplate of Walter Sneyd, who in 1835 bought the remainder of the collection of the Venetian Abate Matteo Luigi Canonici. Sneyd's sale (16 Dec. 1903?). On f. ir in lead: "1931 cat./121" and "349" scratched out and replaced with "354". In the library of Phyllis Goodhart Gordan (2 bookplates) and John Dozier Gordan, Jr.
Authors
- Bracciolini, Poggio (1380-1459)
- Einhard, approximately 770-840
Other related names
- di Ubaldino deli Stagnesi, Giovanni, scribe
- Bembo family, former owner
- Sneyd, Walter, former owner
- Goodhart Gordan, Phyllis, former owner
- Dozier Gordan, John Jr, former owner
- Goodhart Gordan, Phyllis, donor
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Bequest of Phyllis Goodhart Gordan to Bryn Mawr College in 1995.
Physical Description
Formerly numbered Gordan MS 149. Portions of the text on 70r-v illegible due to staining.
Written by a single scribe in a small, round, humanistic bookhand above the top line. A few marginal notations in red and black in several hands throughout.
Parchment support. First two front flyleaves paper, third flyleaf contemporary parchment added to first quire; fol. 71 is another contemporary parchment flyleaf added to last quire, followed by two paper flyleave
18th century mottled calf with gold tooling on covers and spine. On small dark brown panel on spine: Poggii/ Oratio/ Vita C. M./ Cod. M.
iii+71+ii; 147 x 105 mm bound to 154 x 107mm
Single column written in twenty lines, ruled with single vertical bounding lines in lead; paragraphs marked by initial outside the written area; written area: 90 x 65 mm
Humanistic script.
On f. 1r a three-quarter margin border along the upper, inner, and lower margin is a fine example of a typical Italian Renaissance design of interlacing pen and ink branchwork on a navy ground with white speckles. Green and pink accents fill in the interstices of the branchwork; gold-filled penwork seedpods are scattered around the edges of the border. A 6-line gold initial extending into the frame of the text forms part of this border, while in the lower margin the border surrounds a wreath of laurel inside of which is a coat of arms: a gold chevron on an azure ground surrounded by three gold roses. The arms are cleverly entwined with branchwork, suggesting that they are an integral part of this manuscript decoration. A similar border, with a 5-line initial and a circlet of gold replacing the laurel wreath, may be found on f. 25r. A 3-line and 4-line initial of similar design, with modest marginal extensions, are on f. 66v and 27v respectively. Headings in a light red throughout. The last two leaves of this manuscript, f. 70 and f. i, reflect early water damage, rendering portions of the text on f. 70r-v almost illegible.
Modern foliation in pencil, lower left recto.
Genre / Form
Geographic
Temporal
Topical
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