Manuscript document. Nativity scene at the start of Prime., Collation: 1 disbound leaf., Decoration: Recto: miniature of the Nativity in the stable: Mary in blue robe and cloak, reaching down to infant Jesus. Joseph sits in green tunic, pink cloak, and blue hood, with an ox and an ass. Behind a wattle fence stands a shepherd in red tunic, light yellow cowl, and black hat. Minimal landscape of grass and five trees in background. Text begins with a large illuminated 'D' with a vine motif in blue and red with whitework, on a background of raised gold. Four short lines of text follow, the third with a decorative bar at end, the fourth with a smaller illuminated 'D' in the same colors. Miniature is framed by a bar border in the same colors along left, right, and foot edges. The whole is surrounded by sprays of stylized acanthus in blue and yellow-brown, stems of small blue flowers with leaves in green or raised gold, and fruits in red or pink., Binding: Framed in dark purple velvet on recto, purplish-brown leather on verso. Pasted note on frame verso: 134. The Nativity. A leaf from a French Horae at the beginning of Prime. The miniature measures 3 1/2 x 2/58 inches, and depicts the Nativity, with the Virgin, Joseph, a shepherd and an ox and an ass adoring the Child; beneath is an illuminated initial D, the whole being surrounded by a border of the line and leaf type; mounted in a frame of dark red velvet. £12-12-0. 15TH cent., Script: Compact Gothic minuscule in brown ink with some ligatures, abbreviations, and rubrication. Recto: one red word (prime); verso: two red words and one red character., Content note: Recto: First verse of the 69th Psalm: Deus in prime aduitoriu[m] meu[m] intende. Domine ad -- Verso: juvandum me festina. Gloria Patri. Sicut erat. Truncated, resumes with hymn: Ueni cr[e]ator spiritus. Mentes tuouru[m] visita, imple superna gratia que tu cr[e]asti pectora. Memento salutis auctor cp[=quod] nostri c[u]ondam corporis ex illibata virgine nascendo forma[m] sumpseris. Maria mater grati[a]e. Gloria tibi domine. Autha. Beginning of Psalm 1: Maria uirgo psalmus. Beatus uir qui non abiit in consilio impiorum: et in uia peccatorum non stetit.
Manuscript document. Title devised by cataloger., Right column: Three blessings recited before reading the Megillah of Ester on Purim. The text reads (from top to bottom): “Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who has sanctified us with His commandments, and commanded us concerning the reading of the Megillah.” “Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who performed miracles for our forefathers in those days, at this time.” “Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who has granted us life, sustained us, and enabled us to reach this occasion.” Left column: The top text is the blessing recited after reading the Megillah of Ester. The bottom text is a poem recited after the top text. The text reads (from top to bottom): “Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who pleads our cause, judges our suit and avenges our wrong, who renders retribution to all that hate our soul, and on our behalf deals out punishment to our adversaries. Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who on behalf of your people Yisra’el deals out punishment to their adversaries.” “Accursed be Human who sought to destroy me; blessed be Mordekhai the Jew; accursed be Zeresh, the wife of him that terrified me; blessed be Esther my protectress, and may HArbonah also be remembered for good.”, Collation: single sheet., Origin: Italy., Decoration: The blessings are separated by an “S” form. Those in the right column have two lines going through the center. On each side of each S” forms is an arrangement of three dots in an upside-down triangle form., Binding: Disbound.
Manuscript document, Collation: Parchment, single sheet., Decoration: Initial O of tempera and burnished gold with marginal extenders of ivy tendrils; rubrication in red, blue, and gold., Binding: Disbound., Lettering: Textura.
Manuscript document. Title devised by cataloger., Collation: Parchment, single sheet (two pages)., Decoration: Initials in gold and blue, with purple and red pen-flourishing., Binding: Unbound.
Manuscript document. Title devised by cataloger., Collation: Parchment, single leaf, 2 pages., Decoration: Every other line begins with a decorated initial in alternating blue and red pigment. The initials have the opposite color for flourish. The blue flourish either has faded or was never applied and the under-drawing remains in light pink. The text is in black ink. Recto has CCX in the top right and a random pen marking in the right margin. Verso has - 70 - beneath the final line of text., Binding: disbound., Lettering: Written in Italian Gothic Rotunda script.
Manuscript leaf (two pages) from book of hours. Title devised by cataloger., Collation: Parchment, single sheet., Lettering: Written in a Gothic hand., Decoration: extensive floral border, gold initials, and line decoration., Binding: Unbound.
Manuscript codex. The properties of herbs: hexameter poem on medicinal uses of herbs, written in the late 11th century under the pseudonym of Macer (with reference to the Roman poet and naturalist Aemilius Licinius Macer, d. 16 BC). The French physician Odo de Meung-sur-Loire, known as Odo Magdunensis, has been suggested as the real author, as his name is mentioned in a 12th-century copy of the text (Dresden, Sa_chsische Landesbibliothek - Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek, Dc. 160, f. 37v, explicit) and a number of later manuscripts. The epithet 'Floridus' was added to the name by scribes from the 13th century onwards (Wellcome Library). The text draws from classical and early medieval sources, Pliny (23-79 AD) and Walafrid Strabo (d. 849) in particular. Cited for the first time by Sigebertus Gemblacensis (d. 1112), the poem circulated widely in Europe, both in Latin and in vernacular translations, for the following five centuries, with the number of hexameter lines varying greatly (Wellcome library). The poem is one of the earliest Western documents proving a medieval revival of interest in botany., Collation: Three quires of 8. Catchwords on f. 8b, f. 16b., Decoration: Illuminated capital 'H' on first recto: Brownish-purple with white highlights on raised gold square, filled with foliage in blue and pink, with green foliate extensions and 9 scattered raised gold dots outlined with ink. Four Lombardic capitals, three in red and four in blue; some unfilled capital spaces. Gothic ornamental capitals (same ink and size as script) starts each line. First five divisions have headings in red., Binding: Gray-green paper and brown morocco leather spine over boards. Leather is blind-tooled with four pairs of horizontal lines, each bracketed by a small gold dot. Spine labeled MACER lengthwise in gold. Paper pastedowns and four paper flyleaves at front and back., Script: Rounded Gothic book minuscule in brown ink with rubrication.
Manuscript codex. Justinus the historian [was] of unknown date, but not later than 300 or 400 AD. His work is taken from the Historiae Philippicae of Progus Pompeius ... writing the history of Macedonian monarchy ... Justin's work is not so much an abridgment as a selection of those parts [of Trogus' history] which seemed to him most worthy of being generally known--Edward Sandford Burgess notes., Includes two pages of written notes by Edward Sandford Burgess on Justinus and his text, and notes on the veneration of Cicero's texts by later scholars., Collation (Cicero): 50 leaves, Quires of 10 + 2 front flyleaves. No page headings, numbers, signatures. Catchwords in middle lower margin at end of quires., Collation (Justinus): 69 leaves, quires of 10 except last of 9. Catchwords in middle lower margin at end of quires. No page headings, numbers, signatures., Binding: Both works bound together in grained brown morocco over heavy boards. Spine has six panels with gold stamped letters: Argumenta Tullii, Justini Historia, M. S. in chart. Interior covers have gold fillet border with fleurons at corners. Flyleaves have watermark J. Whatman, 1833., Script: Cicero manuscript written in Humanistic minuscule in brown ink; smaller script in Justinus manuscript.
Manuscript codex. Summary: Scholastic philosophy is at first influenced by Platonism through the mediation of St. Augustine from the 13th Century ... by Aristotle's philosophy ... The Stagirite became the official philosopher ... Toward the middle of the fifteenth century [scholasticism] succumbs to the secular and liberal reaction inaugurated by the Renaissance. Weber's History of Philosophy, pp. 202, 239. The Organon, or instrument of philosophy was earnestly studied before and after the dominance of Aristotelian metaphysics under scholasticism. Aristotle is the real founder of logic, and his system of deductive logic, in the opinion of Weber, constitutes his ... claim to fame., Collation: Quarto (228 x 175 mm) in quires of 8 (except vii^4, viii^2, xi^6, xv-xvii^6, xviii^10, xix^6, xxiii^6, xxiv^10, xxv-vi^6, xxv-vi^6, xxviii^4, xxxv^1, xxxvii^4, xli-ii^4, xlvi^10)(to compliment these exceptions ff. 171-172, ff. 187-188, f245 had been removed before writing). No rubrication; no signatures. Catchwords only before missing pages. Four sets of numeration, to reflect the four books in this volume., Decoration: Line diagrams in same black ink on f21v (Diagram describing the rules of argument oppositions) & f32r (Matrix concerning the methods of forming an arguement)., Binding: Vellum over boards 235 x 176 mm, showing 3 raised bands labelled Aristotles XVe siede MSS. With page edges dressed en rouge. Attempted binding repair with at least 4 bands of reused parchment, with text, strapped between interior board and spine., Script: Humanistic cursive in a single hand.