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Venice, Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana, francese Z IX

Questo a me sembra il secondo / Tomo di Lancelot du Lac. (f. 1r, written in pen by a modern hand above the writing space)

General information

Folios72
1 frontend papers
2 backend papers
Folio notes:Both the front and the back endpaper have been numbered (respectively 1 and 74-75). Both of them have scribbles and sketches. At f. 1r, on the top half of the page two mounted knights; at the bottom of the page a helm with a dragon-shaped crest (viscontea?), on the right of it is written "Ego bernabotus de [...]". At f. 1v an illustration almost identical to that of Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana, francese Z XI, f IIIv: a mounted knight speaking with a crowned lady replicated twice, once on the top half and once on the bottom half of the page. Helm, shield and caparison are blu and red with a yellow diagonal band in the illustration on the top half and pink and green with a yellow horizontal band on the bottom half. Ff. 74 and 75 are also covered with sketches and scribbles, cf. Bisson 2008, 40-41. Once more, the Visconti's crest is sketched and, on f. 75r, a huge eagle attacking a lion, and under it an helm with an eagle-shaped crest (cf. also Bisson 2008, 40-41).
LanguageLanguage object (48)
Approx. date1275 to 1300
Date notesCigni 2003, 305 and 310-13 and Cigni 2006, 93 and 97. See also Morato 2010, 22; Lathuillère 1966, 87 (14th c.); Limentani 1962, LXIX-LXX.
Place(s) of productionGenoa-Pisa
Cigni 2003, 305 and 310-13 and Cigni 2006, 93 and 97, Benedetti 1990, 35 (Pise, on the basis of language of the instructions for the illustrators) and Avril-Gousset 1984, 25-27 (Genoa, on the basis of the decorated initials). See also Morato 2010, 22.
First words of second recto folio[f. 3ra] ACelui poi(n)t quil parloie(n)t
First words of last recto folio[f. 72ra] come vos cont
Incipit[f. 2ra] ENceste / partie / dit li(con) / tes q(ue) / puis q(ue) / liroi / melia / dus se / fu a(con) / pain / gnes / au ch(eualie)r q(ui) amoit afille sain en / sint(con)li(con)tes aia deuises saariere / cil furent anbendui uenus ala / maiso(n) dereligio(n) . do(n)t ie uos aia / parle il furent leens recheu si /
Explicit[f. 73va] utresi buon ch(eualie)r mes certes sil estoit trop encore meillor / ch(eualie)r quilnest siest il mistier / se dex mesalt qie fache tout / mon pooir seie letruis dereue(n) / gier celle u(er)gongne quil me / fet . Finito libro Grasia nabbia xpo

Related MS

RelationshipType object (2)Manuscript object (534)
Manuscript object (390)

Material

Material:Material object (4)
Watermark:
Condition:Medium-low quality vellum, thick but carefully polished, with holes and tears usually external to the writing space. Some of the pages are thick and rigid. Holes, often in the writing space, avoided by the copyist and tears (cf. esp. f. 49).

Structure

Collation:

1-98 (2-73)

Quire structure:regular quaternions
Quire marks:MSQuiremarkDisposition object (23)
Catchwords:
Catchword disposition:MSCatchwordDisposition object (9)

Physical description

No. of illustrations:10
General illustration:Images occupy the bottom of the page (only at f. 1r, an endpaper, there is a full page illustration) and consist in drawings in pencil coloured in blue-green, red, orange, rose, gold and silver. The use of colours does not cover the whole surface, but highlights a few elements, especially armours, clothing and the few elements of the landscape, trees or building, while the background is usually left blank. This is a typical feature of a group of MSS studied by Toesca, Loomis-Loomis, Perriccioli Saggese, Avril-Gousset (see esp. Cigni 1993). For a list of the images in this MS, see Bisson 2008, 39 and Lathuillère 1966, 87. At f. 27v it is possible to read the instructions for the illustrator: "[...]a i chr che[...] chr [...] (et) i damoissella apie lemai(n)s lies deriere le dos" (cf. Benedetti 1990). All the illustrations are included in the first 5 quires, the last being located at f. 39r.
General decoration:Five framed decorated initials, at ff. 2ra (11 ll. high), 5vb, 31rb, 39rb, 71vb (10 ll. high), pink and white on blue-green ground with bright floral motives. Only the initial at f. 1ra develops in two branches on the left margin of the column. Chapter initials (2 ll. high), alternatively red and blue.
Evidence of readership:See above, the description of the endpapers (cf. also Bisson 2008, 40-41).
Foliations description:A medieval foliation written in pen in arab numerals (sometimes with penworks, e.g. 49) at the top right corner of the recto of each folio, is not always visible and is integrated by a 19th c. foliation in arab numerals (this two foliations do not count the front endpaper in vellum). On the bottom right corner of the recto, a recent foliation in pencil (that counts the first endpaper in vellum and numbers the final two endpapers in vellum 74 and 75).

Mise en page

Description 1
Page sampled36r
LayoutMSLayout object (3)
Page dimensions328x228 (mm)
Justification220x147 (mm)
Columns2
16mm between columns
Column ruling present in Colours object (4) (RulingMaterials object (3) )
Lines39
Line ruling present in Colours object (4) (RulingMaterials object (3) )
RubricationFour ll. left blank at f. 3ra
Writing above top line?False
Sample page layout:

Hand(s)

Level of Execution:Execution object (4)
ScriptScript object (1)
Folio rangeFrom 3ra to 72ra
Date?1275 to 1300
Scribe description:
Notes