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Grenoble, Bibliothèque municipale, 861

Le liure de l'estoire de troie (title taken from the explicit)

General information

Folios132
Folio notes:The folio numbering is post-medieval and uses Arabic numerals. A 15th-c. cursive hand has added on f. 132r in the blank second column : 'Ce liure contient cxxxji feuillet & .xviij. ystoires'. The latter is presumably a reference to the historiated initials, of which only 18 out of 29 have been completed.
LanguageLanguage object (48)
Approx. date1298
Date notesThe inscription on f. 132r gives the date in which the MS was completed.
Place(s) of productionPadua
The inscription on f.132r gives the place of production.
First words of second recto folio2r: ne seroit c(on)uenable. Mes ie uos fais sauoir qe uos poes henor (et) pris (et) qerre (et) auoir
First words of last recto folio132r:  Ci finist le liure de lestoire de troie. Qe uos ra(con)te tos aperteme(n)t ce que Daire (et) Ditis nos en ra(con)te
Incipit1r:  Cestui liure paroule dousiege et de la destruction de troie. Et por qoi troie fu destruite et issillee :- Rubrica.ru(br)ica
Explicit132r:  Ci finist le liure de lestoire de troie. Qe uos ra(con)te tos aperteme(n)t ce que Daire (et) Ditis nos en ra(con)te

Material

Material:Material object (4)
Watermark:
Condition:The condition is middling. Whereas the text has by and large been well-preserved, some pages are effaced or damaged. There is some fraying due to mice at the bottom right hand corner of the MS for the last 3/4 of the volume and there is some water damage on some folios.

Structure

Collation:

1-178

Quire structure:Seventeen regular quaternions.
Quire marks:MSQuiremarkDisposition object (36)
Catchwords:Some of the catch words are effaced. They are generally framed by a minimally decorated ink box. One charming touch is that the catchword on 120v is written in red: a rubric begins 121r.
Catchword disposition:MSCatchwordDisposition object (13)

Physical description

No. of illustrations:18
General illustration:The MS should originally have had 29 historiated initials. However, only the first 18 of these have been completed. One further historiated initial (65r) has been drawn but not painted. From this point in the MS, a space has been left for the initials but they have not been filled in. The initials range in height from 10 lines (the elaborate opening initial) to 4 lines. Jung 1996, 491-4, gives a detailed description of their content. The historiated initials always have decorated borders extending from them. These are largely foliate or abstract, but there are occasional birds, e.g. f. 7v. In some instances e.g also f. 7v the flourished border goes to a medallion with a further illustration in it (not always noted by Jung). Here this illustrates the Greeks in a boat on their way to Troy. See also f. 9v, where a medallion has Priam on his thrown. In the bas de page completely to the right and in tiny writing, there is a note for the artist in Italian. There are further notes for the artist in Italian on 15r, 18r, 19r, 20r. The style of the opening illustration is very reminiscent of that of the opening of Carpentras Bibliothèque Inguimbertine 1260 and the style of the illustration on 7v is reminiscent of that of several Italian troubadour chansonniers.
General decoration:Each chapter begins with a pen-flourished initial, two lines high alternating red and blue with flourishes in the alternate colour. These initials come immediately below the rubrics, which are written in the same hand in bright red. Where a rubric does not fill a line, there are patterns of red dots to fill the line. Occasionally the rubric interlocks with the text in the line below, and very occasionally this extends over 5 or 6 lines. The flourishes from the initials often extend down the left margin and centre column.
Evidence of readership:On f. 13r a later hand in the left margin has added the missing word 'honte' F. 57v has three maniculum against passages concerning the subterfuges of women and the relation of Troilus and Brisede. Jung (1999, 486-7) discusses this passage, which corresponds to a key passage of the Roman de Troie. 58v bas de page: an illegible word has been written in a later hand.
Foliations description:

Mise en page

Description 1
Page sampled2r
LayoutMSLayout object (3)
Page dimensions245x165 (mm)
Justification220x165 (mm)
Columns2
12mm between columns
Column ruling present in Colours object (4) (RulingMaterials object (5) )
Lines41
Line ruling present in Colours object (4) (RulingMaterials object (5) )
RubricationThe text is divided into chapters which are rubricated. The rubrics interlock with the text sometimes over as many as 5 or 6 lines.
Writing above top line?False
Sample page layout:

Hand(s)

Level of Execution:Execution object (3)
ScriptScript object (6)
Folio rangeFrom 1 to 132
Date1298
Scribe description:The hand is exceptionally clear hand. There are relatively few abbreviations, mainly for nasal vowels and consonants. Straight ascenders; clearly formed ‘r’. Clearly distinguished ‘s’ and ‘f’
Notes

Provenance

DescriptionThe MS conclude with the following inscription underneath the end of the text (which is only 3 lines on the folio) in the first column on 132r: Finito libro referamus gra(tia) (Chri)sto Qui scripsit scribat semper cu(m) do Mino uiuat. Viuat in celis Johannes de stennis De padua in nomine felix. Currente anno d(omi)ni mill(essim)o Duce(n)t(e)ss(im)o Nonagess(im)o octauo. Indiction. Vndeci(m)a. Die dominico nono Exeunt(e) Jun(io). In carcerib(u)s com(mun)is padue detenptus p(er) Existendo d(omi)nis Vungarus de hodis de Perugio honorabilis potestas & bonus Rector C(omun)is padue. Co(m)plectus fuit Liber iste qui vocatur Troianus
Date1298
PlacePlace object (181)
OwnershipPerson object (83)