Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, fonds français 12565

[MSPart 1]

General information

Folios	297
Language	Language object (43)
Approx. date	c. 1375 to 1400
Date notes	Based on the illustration and decoration.
Place(s) of production	Paris Based on the illustration and decoration.
First words of second recto folio	[f. 2r] D  rois hoirs de macedoine . filz le roy phelippon /
First words of last recto folio	[f. 297r] A  ymes li dus darcade qui b(ie)n sot escremir /
Incipit	[f. 1r] Alixandres cheuauche a loy dempereour / Amazone a conquis . ynde et terre maiour / Babiloyne a saisie et de babel la tour / Et si la comande au hardi lycanour / A  rriere sen reua . et sest mis el retour / E  n lost que il menoit ot maint bon poigneour / M  ais encor nauoit pas cheuauchie demi iour / C  un cheualier encontre es plains de val tybour / T  raueilliez fu et las et plains de grant suour / D  e membres ne de vis ne vi ains belissour / M  oult par ot grant le cors et corage meillour / S  i uenoit cheuauchant .j. destrier missaudour / L  ost vit pleniere et grant nen ot mie paour / Q  uant li rois la procha dit lia par amour / A  mis dites moi vou par uostre sauueour / D  ont venes que querez . qui sont vostre ancissour /
Explicit	[f. 297v] E  n dieu est qui tout fist de nous faire (et) des faire / L  an mil .iiic. xl. volt ceste branche faire / E  xplichit le p(ar)fait il est tans da fin traire / C  ar biaus canters auoie che ay ay retraire // Explichit

Material

Material:	Material object (4)
Watermark:	na
Condition:	Good quality vellum. Hardly any holes or stitches. In good condition. Holes burnt in the outer margin of the first folios.

Structure

Collation:	1-9810411-29830631-328? 33-378387?
Quire structure:	Most of the catchwords have been cut, but those present (f. 8v, f. 16v, f. 72, ), suggest that the first nine quires of the manuscript are regular quaternions. Quire 10 is a binion. The quiremark on f. 220 shows that quires 11 to 28 are probably also quaternions. The situation between f. 221 and 242 is less clear, but it seems probable that quire 29 is also a quaternion which is followed by two ternions (quires 30 and 31, f. 229 to 234) and a quaternion (f. 235 to f. 242). No (remnants of) quiremarks survive after f. 250, so the quire structure for this part of the manuscript is difficult to determine. It is possible that it consists of five quaternions and one irregular quire of seven folios.
Quire marks:	MSQuiremarkDisposition object (21)
Catchwords:
Catchword disposition:	MSCatchwordDisposition object (10)

Physical description

General description:	Prise de Defur 1-25 (Explicit f. 25v. 'Explicit de floridas et de daury son frere') Voeux du Paon 25-188 Restor 189-233v (beginning marked with a champ initial) Parfait 233v-297v
No. of illustrations:	102
General illustration:	The manuscript opens with a frontispiece composed of a miniature (height: 14 lines), followed by a large foliate initial (height: 4 lines, pink on a field of goldleaf the eye decorated with tendrils with blue and red leaves) extending into a full border of blue and red bars, decorated with white flourishings and ending in vine branches. The frame is further ornated with branches of vine with gilt leaves. The miniature is framed in broad red and blue bars with white flourishings and gold quadrangles in the corners. A narrow guilt border surrounds the frame. The miniature represents the meeting between Gracien and Alexander. The background consists of a geometric pattern of gilt, red and blue quadrangles. The text is illustrated with numerous similar miniatures, withouth the decorative border, but the frame of which is decorated with ivy. These miniatures are generally followed by smaller decorated initials (height: 2 lines), but in some instances they are not (e.g. f. 15 v). The 'Voeux du Paon' starts with a large initial (height 6 lines), purple on a field of goldleaf inhabited by a hare, a lion and a dragon whose tail extends into an L-border of vine (f. 26r). The beginning of the 'Restor' (f. 189r) is marked by a miniature followed by a larger initial (height: 4 lines) decorared with vine. The opening of the 'Parfait' is marked by a miniature followed by a large champ initial (height: 3 lines). At this point, a second artist takes over for the miniatures (direction for the artist in the lower margin). On f. 230, space has been left for musical notation for the first four lines of the stanza (Ansi ua qui amours demainne ason coumant / A qui que soit dolours / Ensi ua qui amours / A s mauuais est langours / N os uiens : mais non pourq(ua)nt /). This probably marked the text as a song.
General decoration:	The text is further structured by means of champ initials (height: 2 lines). The eye of the letters (red and/or blue) is decorated with white flourishings, sometimes taking the form of rudimentary fleurs-de-lys or eagles.
Evidence of readership:	f. 1r: old shelfmark '254.19' in the lower right corner.
Foliations description:	Modern foliation in the upper right corner of the recto.

Mise en page

Description 1	Separate column for the majuscule letters at the beginning of the verseline. The first and last line are framed in horizontal throughlines.
Page sampled	f. 10r
Layout	None
Page dimensions	265x180 (mm)
Justification	175x105 (mm)
Columns	1 mm between columns Column ruling present in Colours object (4) (RulingMaterials object (3) )
Lines	30 Line ruling present in Colours object (4) (RulingMaterials object (3) )
Rubrication	na
Writing above top line?	False
Sample page layout:

Hand(s)

Level of Execution:	Execution object (4)
Script	Script object (4)
Folio range	From f. 1r to f. 287v
Date	c. 1375 to 1400
Scribe description:	Northern textualis with two-compartment 'a' the upper compartment of which is closed (box-a). Round 'r' in initial position. Round 's' in final position. Vertical hairline at the end of the headstroke of 't'. Use of 'v' in initial position. Biting of 'd' and 'e', 'b' and round 'r', 'd' and round 'r', 'o' and 'r'. Few abbreviations. Apostrophe, crossed tironian 'et', nasal bar, also for q(ue), superscript vowels.
Notes