Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, fonds français 60
[Part 1]
» Full parent manuscript detail
General information
| Folios | 186 |
| Folio notes: | The manuscript is composed of 186 folios. Contents: 'Roman de Thèbes' ff. 1-41r (f. 41v left blank); 'Roman de Troie' ff. 42r-147r (f. 147v left blank); 'Roman d'Eneas' ff. 148r-86v. (Jung 1996, 147) |
| Language | Language object (3) |
| Approx. date | ?1315 to 1340 |
| Date notes | First half of the 14th c., between 1315 and 1340 (Jung 1996, 147). The illustration was executed by the Fauvel Master and Richard de Montbaston. |
| Place(s) of production | ParisGiven that the manuscript was illustrated by the Parisian artists Richard de Montbaston and the Fauvel Master, it should be localised to Paris (Mandragore). |
| First words of second recto folio | [f. 2ra] J a nest pas v(ost)re regnez |
| First words of last recto folio | [f. 186ra] C e est eneas li cortoie |
| Incipit | [f. 1r abc] Ci commence li roumans de tiebes qui fu racine de troie la grant . ou il a m(ou)lt de merveilles diu(er) / ses . Item toute listoire de troie la grant . com(m)ent elle fu .ij. fois destruite par les grigois . (et) la cau / se pour quoi ce fu . (et) les mortalitez qui y furent. Item toute listoire de Eneas (et) dancises . qui se(n) / fuirent apres la destruction de troie . et (com)ment leurs oirs plueplere(n)t les regions de decam(er) (et) les g(ra)nz / [f. 1ra] merveilles / qui deuz issirent . / QUi sages est / nel doit celer / A inz doit por ce so(n) sens moust(er) / Q(ue) q(ua)nt il ert del siecle alez / T ouz iourz en soit mais ram(em)b(re)z / S e danz Omers (et) da(n)z platons / [f. 1rb] ET virgiles (et) q(ui)tero(n)s / Lor sapience ce lissa(n)t / Ja nen fust mais / parle auant . |
| Explicit | [f. 186va] O r nous doinst diex duciella [gloire] / O u cerubim et serafin / C iest liromans asa fin / Explicit |
Material
| Material: | Material object (4) |
| Watermark: | |
| Condition: | Good quality vellum, generally in good condition. Some wear and tear on the first and last folios. Some corners torn (e.g. f. 34). Fez stitches (e.g. f. 91). Folio 59: image of a (pagan) temple smudged. |
Structure
| Collation: | 1-58 61 7-198 202 21-248 258-1 |
| Quire structure: | Quaternions; each of the three texts in the manuscript ('Roman de Thèbes', 'Roman de Troie', 'Roman d'Eneas') begins on a new quire. 'Roman de Thèbes': 5 quires + 1 folio; 'Roman de Troie': 13 quires + 2 folios; 'Roman d'Eneas': 4 quires + 7 folios (Jung 1996, 147). |
| Quire marks: | MSQuiremarkDisposition object (55)MSQuiremarkDisposition object (12) |
| Catchwords: | |
| Catchword disposition: | MSCatchwordDisposition object (20) |
Physical description
| General description: | Folio 41rc: 'Ci fenist le rommans de thebes / Et apres uient le romans / De troye la grant . Et apres / Troye uient le rommans de Eneas'. Folio 42ra: 'Ci commence lestoire de Troie la grant . Et parle premierement . Comment Omers / Le bon clerc le translata de grieu en latin Et comment cornelius le translata de latin en ro(m)man / Salemon nous / enseigne (et) dist / Et si lit on en son escrist .' Folio 147rc: 'Ci fenist troie la grant / Et le ro(m)mans de Eneas / Et premierement thebes'. |
| No. of illustrations: | 32 |
| General illustration: | The manuscript opens with a large, quadripartite miniature (height: c. 33 lines), framed in blue and pink bars, framed in goldleaf. The top of the painting is decorated with gothic architectural features (turrets, arches). The backgrounds have diaper patterns (blue, scarlet, goldleaf, decorated with white flourishings) or are plain goldleaf. Three scenes depict episodes from the life of Oedipus, the fourth scene possibly a battle against Troy. Characters are tall, with pale complexions, in curved posture. Profuse use of orange and mauve. The miniature is followed by a rubricated title for the 'Roman de Thèbes'. Each of the three columns opens with a foliate initial (height: 4 to 6 lines). The page is further decorated with a full border consisting of blue, pink and gilt bars, decorated with vine inhabited by birds and in the upper left corner a hybrid figure blowing a horn. In the lower and right margins, the border has been decorated with round medallions, depicting knights, each armed with a spear or sword and carrying a shield with a coat of arms. Similar frontispieces for the 'Roman de Troie' (f. 42r) and 'Roman d'Eneas' (f. 148r). The 'Troie' frontispiece displays three episodes from Trojan history among which, in the bottom register, the Trojan horse. The 'Eneas' image depicts six episodes, among which Dido's suicide. |
| General decoration: | Miniatures are preceded by rubricated captions and followed by blue or pink foliate initials on a scarlet or blue field, with white flourishings and gilt vine, sometimes extending in blue and pink borders decorated with vine. The eye of the letter is gilt (height: 4 lines). Further subdivisions are indicated by pen-flourished initials, alternating between blue and red with decoration in the contrasting colour. On ff. 130 and 131 the miniatures are followed by a pen-decorated initial (height: 2 lines) instead of a foliate initial. |
| Evidence of readership: | On f. 1ra: old shelfmarks 'Colbert 198', 'Regius 6737 3'. In the lower margin in a 16th-c.(?) hand 'A tous Accords . S'. The 's' is crossed and resembles an ampersand. This is repeated on f. 41rc. Folio 42v: 'A moy Tabourot S'. Possibly Estienne Tabourot? Folio 143vb: addition in the lower margin, not by the scribal hand: 'P ar coi uoulez si tost guerpir [si ran(com)maine lou no(m)bre de xxix ??foillo(.)??]'. Folio 142r: upper margin: 'A tous accords'. Lower margin: 'A moy Tabourot'. Folio 186v: drawing in ink (design for a frame?). |
| Foliations description: | Modern foliation in arabic numerals, written in black ink in the upper right corner of the recto side of the folio. |
Mise en page
| Description 1 | No horizontal throughlines, seperate vertical lines for the majuscules at the beginning of the verseline. |
| Page sampled | f. 26r |
| Layout | MSLayout object (4) |
| Page dimensions | 435 x 325 (mm) |
| Justification | 284 x 247 (mm) |
| Columns | 3 mm between columns Column ruling present in Colours object (5) (RulingMaterials object (1) ) |
| Lines | 45Line ruling present in Colours object (5) (RulingMaterials object (1) ) |
| Rubrication | Red ink is only used for rubricated titles and captions and decorated initials. |
| Writing above top line? | False |
| Sample page layout: | |
Hand(s)
| Level of Execution: | Execution object (4) |
| Script | Script object (4) |
| Folio range | From 1ra to 186va |
| Date | ?1300 to 1350 |
| Scribe description: | Multiple hands. Northern textualis with box-'a' and belly-'a'. Abbreviations include crossed Tironian note. The appearance of straight 's' in final positions looks like an archaic feature. |
| Notes | |
Provenance
| Description | Property of Estienne Tabourot, procureur du roi in Dijon. He is also known as poet, writer and historian. His ex-libris 'A moy Tabourot' and motto 'A tous accords' have been inscribed in various places in the manuscript. | |
| Date | ?1549 to 1590 | |
| Place | Place object (22) | |