General
| Library: | Bibliothèque nationale de France |
| Sheflmark: | fonds français 770 |
| Information source: |
Physical description: InformationSource object (1) Segmentation: InformationSource object (2) |
| Described by: | dschoenaers |
Bindings
| Description: | Red morocco binding on pasteboard. Simple frame gold-tooled on front and back. Spine decorated with gold-tooled arebesques. |
| Date : | ?1700 to 1800 |
| Title on binding: | Saint Graal et Merlin |
| Cover material: | Material object (6) |
| Board material: | Material object (9) |
| Fastening: | none |
| Chaining: | none |
| Edges: | gilt |
| Front end papers (3): | Three vellum flyleaves at the front of the MS. On flyleaf 1r: old shelfmarks (Cangé 6; de Lange 14; Regius 7185; 313), Contents 'Histoire du Saint Graal' 'Romans de Merlin' 'Chroniques de Jerusalem' and 17th- or 18th-c. notes in French pertaining to the previous owners of the MS as mentioned on the verso side of f. 354: Jehan duc de Normandie (son of Philippe VI, duke of Normandy in 1331 and united the duchy with the crown in 1350) and Pierre des Essars (on a mission in Hainaut in 1345 for negotiations pertaining to the marriage of Louis de France, second son of John, duke of Normandy, with the daughter of the duke of Brabant. He died at Crecy in 1346). On flyleaf 3v note in the same hand discussing the difference between the 'Estoire' and the 'Queste'. Remarkably the note designates Perceval as the Grail hero and son of Lancelot. |
| End papers (1): | One vellum flyleaf at the end of the MS. Covered in 15th-c annotations. |
Digitisations
| Link (subject to external change and may not function consistently.) | |
| Colour? | Colour |
| Completeness | Full |
| Notes | |
Bibliography
| Reference | ': Répertoire des textes et des manuscrits médiévaux d'oc et d'oïl', (IRHT, 1998-2013) <http://jonas.irht.cnrs.fr> [accessed 13 December 2014] |
| Notes | |
| Reference | 'Arthurian Fiction in Medieval Europe: Narratives and Manuscripts', (2012) <http://www.arthurianfiction.org> |
| Notes | |
| Reference | et al., 'Lancelot-Graal Project', (2010) <http://www.lancelot-project.pitt.edu/lancelot-project.html> [accessed 13 December 2014] |
| Notes | |
| Reference | , Gothic Manuscripts 1260-1320 (London: Harvey Miller, 2013) |
| Notes |
MS Parts
| Title | Date | Place | Dedicatee |
|---|---|---|---|
| [Part 1] | c. 1285 | Douai | |
| [Part 2] | c. 1700 to 1740 | Paris |
Related MS
| Le Mans, Bibliothèque municipale, 354: |
illustrated by the same artistAccording to the BL Catalogue of Illuminated MSS, the same Douai artist worked in these MSS, but does not include BnF f. fr. 342, listed in Stones 2013, 215. Stones does not mention BL Add. 17443, but includes BL Harley 1629 (Prophecies of Merlin). |
| Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, fonds français 342: | |
| Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, fonds français 770: | |
| Oxford, Bodleian Library, Digby 223: | |
| London, British Library, Additional 17443: | |
| Le Mans, Bibliothèque municipale, 354: |
Similar version of project text(s)In this group of four MSS, the 'Estoire' has been interpolated with excerpts taken from the prose 'Joseph d'Arimathie'. |
| Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, fonds français 770: | |
| Chantilly, Musée Condé, 643: | |
| Saint Petersburg, National Library of Russia, fr. F v XV 5: |
MS Part Library: Bibliothèque nationale de France
General
| Shelfmark: | fonds français 770 |
| MS Part Title: | [Part 1] |
| Ms Part Folios: | 353 folios |
| Page layout: |
Material
| MS Part Material: | Material object (4) |
| Watermark: | |
| Condition: | Fairly good quality vellum with some holes (ff. 34, 41, 102, 119, 143, 190, 196, 198, 243, 255, 349), many stitches (ff. 5, 16, 21, 27, 28, 29, 37, 53, 87, 107, 115, 132, 155, 164, 219, 225, 228, 229, 233, 235, 239, 246, 250, 251, 259, 264, 318) and instances in which the edge of the skin coincides with the edge of the leaf (ff. 15, 50, 84, 98, 138, 143, 149, 151, 155, 178, 183, 188, 198, 218, 223, 226, 231, 237, 253, 260, 269, 274, 284, 285, 322, 331, 353). In good condition. Wormholes in the first folios. The folio with the end of the 'Estoire' and the beginning of the 'Merli'n (f. 121) was excised and replaced in the c. 1700 to 1740. One folio lost between f. 353 and f. 354. |
Date Information
| Date(s): | c. 1285 |
| Notes: | Date suggested by the Lancelot-Graal project. Arthurian fiction has 1280 to 1290. This date is supported by art-historical evidence (cf. related MS, Le Mans, BM 354, written by Gautier de Kayo, who may also be the scribe of a MS copied in 1282) and the writing. |
Hand
| Level of Execution: | Execution object (4) |
| Folio(s): | From f. 1ra to f. 354rc |
| Date(s): | c. 1275 to 1300 |
| Scribe description: | At least two different hands. Northern textualis with two-compartment 'a' the upper compartment of which is open, but also occurence of closed forms, straight 's' in final position, 'v' used in initial position, likewise 'w' for 'uu'. Abbreviations include crossed tironian 'et', superscript vowels, nasal bar, also used for q(ue), 'p' with crossed descender. |
MS Part Library: Bibliothèque nationale de France
General
| Shelfmark: | fonds français 770 |
| MS Part Title: | [Part 2] |
| Ms Part Folios: | 1 folios |
| Page layout: |
Material
| MS Part Material: | Material object (4) |
| Watermark: | |
| Condition: |
Date Information
| Date(s): | c. 1700 to 1740 |
| Notes: | Modern replacement of a lost folio (f. 121) with the end of the 'Estoire' and the beginning of the 'Merlin' taken from a MS from the collection of Antoine Lancelot (1675-1740). |
Hand
Folios: f. 1ra - f. 120vc
Folios: f. 121ra - f. 121vc
-
f. 121ra - f. 121vc
(§00-00) Estoire del saint Graal (N/A)
-
121va - 121vc
(§00-00) Estoire Merlin (N/A)
Paratextual features:
- ParatextualType object (12) f. 121rv
-
Folios: f. 122ra - f. 353rc
-
f. 122ra - f. 149ra
(§00-00) Estoire Merlin (N/A)
-
f. 149ra - f. 312vc
(§00-00) Suite du Merlin (N/A)
Paratextual features:
- ParatextualType object (1) f. 149ra
-
f. 313ra - f. 315va
(§00-00) Estoire d'Outremer. (N/A)
-
f. 315va - f. 322rb
(§00-00) Fille du Comte de Pontieu. (N/A)
Paratextual features:
- ParatextualType object (1) f. 315va
- ParatextualType object (14) f. 322vb
-
f. 322rb - f. 326va
(§00-00) Estoire d'Outremer. (N/A)
-
f. 326va - f. 327va
(§00-00) Ordre de chevalerie. (N/A)
Paratextual features:
- ParatextualType object (1) f. 326va
- ParatextualType object (14) f. 327va
-
f. 327va - f. 353vc
(§00-00) Estoire d'Outremer. (N/A)
Paratextual features:
- ParatextualType object (12)
- Termination object (1): folios missing after this segment
-
Folios: f. 354ra - f. 354rc
-
f. 354ra - f. 354rc
(§00-00) Estoire d'Outremer. (N/A)
-