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MS Part Library: British Library

General

Shelfmark:	Lansdowne 757
MS Part Title:	[Part 2]
Ms Part Folios:	136 folios
Page layout:

Material

MS Part Material:	Material object (4)
Watermark:	na
Condition:	The parchment is lower grade with holes and irregularities frequently disrupting the writing space (e.g. f. 63v, f. 67v), and stitching (e.g. f. 35, f. 42, f. 86, f. 122) . Since pages were replaced in the later thirteenth or early fourteenth century (ff. 1-18, f. 25, f. 59, ff. 89-90, ff. 95-96, f. 151, ff. 158-164), the manuscript was probably severely damaged fairly early on in its history. The lower margin of f. 80 has been cut.

Date Information

Date(s):	c. 1220
Notes:	'c. 1220' (Stones); 'XIIIe siècle' (Micha 1964, 52). The writing in this part of the manuscript goes above the top line, suggesting a date before circa 1230. This date is confirmed by the use of double-bow 'a' with open upper compartment and the exclusive use of straight 's' (or trailing 's') in final position.

Hand

Level of Execution:	Execution object (4)
Folio(s):	From 19ra to 157vb
Date(s):	c. 1220
Scribe description:	Northern textualis with a double compartment 'a' the upper lobe of which is not closed, exclusive use of straight 's' or trailing 's' in final position, which usually confirms an earlier dating in the thirteenth century. 'e' has a pronounced tongue in final position. Crossed and uncrossed tironian note are used interchangeably. Both frequency and variety of abbreviations are markedly higher than in those parts added later to the manuscript. Different execution of litterae notabiliores may point towards multiple scribes.

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MS Part Library: British Library

General

Shelfmark:	Lansdowne 757
MS Part Title:	[Part 1]
Ms Part Folios:	30 folios
Page layout:

Material

MS Part Material:	Material object (4)
Watermark:	na
Condition:	The parchment used in these parts of the manuscripts is generally more rigid than the vellum used in the larger part of the manuscript. Generally, the dimension of the pages is slightly smaller and irregular. The difference between hair- and fleshside is marked. The lower right corner of f.10 and possibly also the corners of f. 159 suggest that these leaves were cut from the border of the skin. The bottom half of f. 151 has been cut, which does not, however, constitute loss of text. There are no holes or stitches in the leaves in this part of the manuscript, as occur frequently in the major part of the manuscript. The pages are worn, especially the folios at the rear.

Date Information

Date(s):	?1300 to 1400
Notes:	Based on script. In these sections of the manuscript box-'a' appears next to double-bow 'a' with an open upper compartment.

Hand

Level of Execution:	Execution object (4)
Folio(s):	From na to na
Date(s):	?1250 to 1300
Scribe description:	Highly irregular hand or multiple hands. Remarkable shifts at f. 13 r (hand A uses ampersand and single dashes for word-separation and has insular features, B crossed tironian note and double dash for word-separation, C in the second column uses crossed tironian note and double dashes for word-separation like B but also has characteristics of cursiva antiquior, preserving the two-compartment 'a' of textualis but introducing looped ascenders and a cursive form of uncial 'd'. Possibly another hand D appears in the first lines of f.25r using crossed 'z'). The principal scribe in this part of the manuscript seems to be B. The irregularity of writing, the irregular number of lines and the fact that coulumns are not always filled alle make a sloppy impression. The main differences between this hand and the hands in the older part of the manuscript is the use of box-'a' vs double bow 'a' with open upper compartment, the use of crossed vs usually uncrossed tironian note and the exclusive use of round 's' in final position vs the exlusive use of straight 's'. In general, the writing is more fractured. The features of hand A point towards an insular origin (in particular the abbreviation mark 'p' with two dots on either side of the descender, this may point, however, to a later dating in the second half of the fourteenth century; this hand also appears in the inserted folio 151) , whereas the general features of B point towards a later date in the thirteenth or even fourteenth century.

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Folio sequence

Show similar MS

• Folios: 1ra - 18vb

  • 1ra - 18vb

    (§XXIIa,8-XXVIIa,2) Lancelot's childhood and adolescence to his installation as a knight of the Round Table (Single redaction)

    Paratextual features:

    • ParatextualType object (2) f. 1ra
    • ParatextualType object (11) 18vb

    Images:

    • 1r
    • 6r
    • 18v

• Folios: 19ra - 24vb

  • 19ra - 24vb

    (§XXVIIa,2-XXIXa,19) Lancelot's childhood and adolescence to his installation as a knight of the Round Table (Single redaction)

    Images:

    • 19r
    • 24v

• Folios: 25ra - 25vb

  • 25ra - 25vb

    (§XXIXa,19-XXXIa,1 ) Lancelot's childhood and adolescence to his installation as a knight of the Round Table (Single redaction)

    Images:

    • 25r

• Folios: 26ra - 58vb

  • 26ra - 58vb

    (§XXXIa,1-LIIa,14) Lancelot's childhood and adolescence to his installation as a knight of the Round Table (Single redaction)

    Images:

    • 40r
    • 56v

• Folios: 59ra - 59vb

  • 59ra - 59vb

    (§LIIa,14-LIIa,21) Lancelot's childhood and adolescence to his installation as a knight of the Round Table (Single redaction)

    Paratextual features:

    • ParatextualType object (11)

• Folios: na - na

• Folios: 60va - 88vb

  • 60ra - 88vb

    (§LIIa,28-LVIa,22) Lancelot's childhood and adolescence to his installation as a knight of the Round Table (Single redaction)

• Folios: 89ra - 90vb

  • 89ra - 90vb

    (§LVIa,23-LVIa,34) Lancelot's childhood and adolescence to his installation as a knight of the Round Table (Single redaction)

• Folios: 91ra - 94vb

  • 91ra - 94vb

    (§LVIa,34-LVIIa,6) Lancelot's childhood and adolescence to his installation as a knight of the Round Table (Single redaction)

• Folios: 95ra - 96vb

  • 95ra - 96vb

    (§LVIIa,6-LVIIIa,10) Lancelot's childhood and adolescence to his installation as a knight of the Round Table (Single redaction)

• Folios: 97ra - 150vb

  • 97ra - 150vb

    (§LVIIIa,10- LXIXa,2) Lancelot's childhood and adolescence to his installation as a knight of the Round Table (Single redaction)

    Images:

    • 144r
    • 107v

• Folios: na - na

  • na - na

    (§LXIXa,2-LXXa,1) Lancelot's childhood and adolescence to his installation as a knight of the Round Table (Single redaction)

    Paratextual features:

    • ParatextualType object (12)

• Folios: 151ra - 151vb

  • 151ra - 151vb

    (§LXXa,1-LXXa,5) Lancelot's childhood and adolescence to his installation as a knight of the Round Table (Single redaction)

    Images:

    • 151r

• Folios: 152ra - 157vb

  • 152ra - 157vb

    (§LXXa,5-LXXa,43) Lancelot's childhood and adolescence to his installation as a knight of the Round Table (Single redaction)

    Images:

    • 157v

• Folios: 158ra - 163rb

  • 158ra - 163vb

    (§LXXa,43- LXXIa,43) Lancelot's childhood and adolescence to his installation as a knight of the Round Table (Single redaction)

    Images:

    • 158r

• Folios: na - na

  • na - na

    (§LXXIa,43-LXXIa,49) Lancelot's childhood and adolescence to his installation as a knight of the Round Table (Single redaction)

    Paratextual features:

    • ParatextualType object (12) na

• Folios: 164ra - 164rb

  • 164ra - 164rb

    (§LXXIa,48-LXXIa,49) Lancelot's childhood and adolescence to his installation as a knight of the Round Table (Single redaction)

    Related or similar

    • The text differs from the reading in Micha, t. VIII, LXXIa,48, but the reading corresponds in BnF 751 and Lansdowne 757. Particularly interesting is that the version in these manuscripts claims that the story of Lancelot is related to the story of Perceval 'Cil mistrent tut auant en escrit mon seignor gauuain por ceo que il estoit comencement de la quste lancelot. Apres furent les granz proeces hector por ceo quil acheua la quest de mon seignor gauuain et de ceo comenca la quste de lancelot que de son counte estoit branche. Apres furent mises les auentures as autres xix compainons en escrit et si fu branche de grant conte de lancelot de lac et lo grant cont de lancelot couient repairer au grant conte de persevax qui est chef de toz les contes au chevaliers et tut sont branches de li por ceo que li acheua la grant queste de graal et li conte persevax meismes est une branche del haut conte del graal qui est chef de toz les ??conte?? car por lo graal se fuelerent tot li bon ??cheualier?? donten parloit a cele tep?u?s' vs 'si mistrent en escript lez aventures mon seignor Gauvain tout avant, por ce que c'estoit li commenchemens de la queste de Lancelot, et puis les Hectorm por chou que de cel conte estoient branche, et puis lez aventures a tous lez .XVIII. autre compaignons, et tout ce fu del conte Lancelot, et tout cil autre furent branch de chestui, et li contes de Lancelot fu branche del Graal, si com il y fu ajoustes'. Given that paragraph VIII, which discusses Perceval's lineage, is missing the relation with BnF 751 indicates that Lansdowne 757 is also one of the manuscripts which must have designated Perceval as the Grail Knight.

    • Shared by:

    • Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, fonds français 751

    Images:

    • 164r