Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, fonds français 2455

[Part 1]

General information

Folios	338
Folio notes:	One folio wanting after f. 203.
Language	Language object (46)
Approx. date	c. 1250 to 1300
Date notes	The Lancelot-Graal project suggests c. 1300. Arthurian Fiction has 13th c. Jonas gives 14th c. The writing supports a date in the second half of the 13th c, possibly third quarter.
Place(s) of production	East France Place suggested by Arthurian Fiction. Supported by linguistic features ('lou', 'triniteit', 'clairteit', 'santeit'). The Lancelot-Graal project suggests, without great confidence, Paris.
First words of second recto folio	[f. 2r] q(ue) saulene(n)t a cestuj point ; Ap(re)s me dist : pues tu ancor co[...] /
First words of last recto folio	[f. 338r] achent tut cil q(ue) cestuj liure vauront . (et) prient q(ue) (jhesum) /
Incipit	[f. 1r] Cil q(ue) la hatesse (et) la la si gra(n)de [...] / est celle del greal [...] / del g(ra)nt mastre man[...] / a toz cealz (et) a toutes s[...] q(ui) ont kir creance [...] /
Explicit	[f. 338r] (et) n(us) ne cudie(n)s pais q(ue) / ho(m) poist nastre de fe(m)me / sil entraist sea(n)s q(ui)l ne fu[...] / nostres . (et) cist nous ait a[...] / destruis //

Material

Material:	Material object (4)
Watermark:
Condition:	Lower quality parchment with holes, also in the written space (e.g. ff. 19, 29, 159). The guardleaf at the front has been mutilated. Folios of uneven size (or trimmed afterwards), e.g. ff. 21, 177, 178. Edge of the folio coincides with the edge of the skin, e.g. inner corner of( ff. 23, 161, 330). ff. 336-337 damaged in the inner lower corner.

Structure

Collation:
Quire structure:
Quire marks:	MSQuiremarkDisposition object (16)
Catchwords:	e.g. ff. 9v, 25v
Catchword disposition:	MSCatchwordDisposition object (10)

Physical description

General description:	Low-grade MS. Minimal decoration, careless writing. The page is almost entirely covered with text. Particular version of the 'Estoire del Saint Graal' (see: Chase 2013).
General illustration:	Not illustrated.
General decoration:	Plain initials in red ink of different size. The text opens with an initial of 4 lines. Similar Initials (4-6 lines) at major divisions of the text. Initials of two lines at paragraphs. Wavy lines in red ink fill the blank spaces at the end of lines. Guide letters in the margins.
Evidence of readership:	On f. 1r, old shelfmarks 'du Mare 394' 'Reg. 8188 3'. On f. 338v, list of 'dramatis personae' in modern hand.
Foliations description:	Modern foliation in the upper right corner of the recto. The first, in black ink, takes into account the vellum guardleaf. The second, in pencil does not. The foliation followed in this description is that in ink.

Mise en page

Description 1	Prickings visible in the lower and outer margin. Since the text was copied in a single column, the prickings in the lower margin are not very helpful. Possibly the parchment was prepared for other use.
Page sampled	f. 3r
Layout	MSLayout object (3)
Page dimensions	146x98 (mm)
Justification	120x88 (mm)
Columns	1 mm between columns
Lines	31
Rubrication	No tituli in red ink.
Writing above top line?	False
Sample page layout:

Hand(s)

Level of Execution:	Execution object (5)
Script	Script object (4)
Folio range	From f. 2r to f. 388r
Date	c. 1250 to 1300
Scribe description:	Northern textualis, currens, two-compartment 'a' with open upper compartment, uncial 'd', 'e' with tongue, some instances of looped 'd', 8-like 'g' with looped lower lobe, limb of 'h' curves below the baseline, 'i'-longa in final position, straight 's' in final position, 3-like 'z'. Abbreviations include nasal bar, crossed tironian 'et', superscript vowels, 'p' with crossed descender. Fusion of 'o' and round 'r'. 'st' ligature.
Notes

Provenance

Description	A 15th-c. ex libris on the verso side of the front guardleaf suggests that the MS was owned by the Mouchet / Monchet family from Besançon.
Date	?1400 to 1500
Place	Place object (148)
Ownership	Person object (134)