| General illustration: | F. 2vb and 3r: two one-column miniatures displaying in seven episodes the creation. Stylistic Eastern influence (particularly in the decoration of the frame).
Miniatures (height: c. 10 to 15 lines), with background in goldleaf. Framed in broad borders of blue and red bars, decorated with white flourishings, bordered by a fine gilt frame lined in black ink. Dark, mat blues and scarlets, orange. Figures are tall, with straight or curved posture, faces are blank, hands meaningfully gesturing. Some of the images are framed in Gothic architecture, arches with Ionian columns, coloured blue or red.
An interesting miniature on f. 112rb, depicts 'la tigre de thebes' on an azure background with gilt fleurs-de-lis, suggesting a French (royal?) connection.
The battle between Alexandre and the elephants (f. 235r) is illustrated with a two-column miniature.
Special attention has been given to the wondrous creatures encountered by Alexandre, e.g. the unicorn/rhinoceros (f. 238) and the beast with two heads (f. 242r). |
| General decoration: | The manuscript opens with a large foliate initial, pink with white flourishings (height: 10 lines) on a gilt background, decorated with blue tendrils ending in red leaves. Two chimaera, one wearing armour, the other shield and sword. The initial is framed in a yellowish border lined in black ink and extends into an 'L'-border of red, goldleaf and blue bars.
After the prologue, the text proper opens with a one-column initial 'Q' (height: 11 lines), goldleaf, decorated with blue and red tendrils. The initial is placed on a blue foeld, decorated with goldleaf and angels (strangely with fish-tails) one blowing a horn, the other playing the harp in the upper corners. The descender extends into the intermarginal area, thus forming a border of goldleaf, blue and red bars, decorated with white flourishings and ending in blue and red tendrils with red leaves.
Major sections are indicated by large pen-decorated puzzle-initials (e.g. f. 10va, height: 7 lines), blue and red with flourishings in the same colour. Special attention is given to Noach (f. 10va), Esau (f. 55v), 'coment la dame triste (et) dolante / se plainst de joseph a son baron (f. 63vb-64ra), 'Or symeon demora en prison por / ses freres . (et) li autre sen ralere(n)t (f. 71va), 'Or ioseph fist a tote sa maisnee / uoidier la sale' (f. 75vb), 'Que li frere reuindrent / a iacob lor pere' (f. 76va), 'Que iacob ot grant ioie qua(n)t / il oi noueles de ioseph son fill.' (f. 77ra), 'Si come / ioseph porta le cors de iacob son / pere en ebron por auoir sepouture' (f. 81va). The opening of section II 'Que / li rois ninus fu au tans abraha(m) (f. 83ra). 'dou roy nin(us) q?.?ns ans il regna' (f. 83va). 'Que li siecles / estoit mout mauuais adonq(ue)s' (f. 88v). The opening of the Thebes-section 'Ci comence de thebes' (f. 89ra). The beginning of section IV 'Ci come(n)ce de ceus / dathenes (et) de ceus delisle de crete / qui en celui tans seguerreoient / (et) dou comencement dou regne / damazone' (f. 117va). The 'Amazon' section (f. 119rb) 'Des dames de sithe qui alerent ue(n) / gier lor fiz (et) lor amis as armes / esmolues'. 'Que les amazonienes fundere(n)t ephese' (f. 119vb). 'Or h(er)cules ocist un autre iaiant' (f. 123ra). Opening of 'Troie' section 'De quel lignee li roi de troie fure(n)t / (et) qui la cite estora premerai / nement' (f. 123rb). 'Ci comence lueure' (i.e. Troie, f. 123vb). f. 125ra, no rubric, first words: 'Quant Priamus seut que / li grigois auoient / si maumenee la contree [etc.] / '. F. 127vb-128ra 'Qua(n)t prince / (et) quantes nes assamblerent a / athenes por aler sor troies /'. Very large initial (height: 8 lines) on f. 146va 'Que li g(ri)ois deuindre(n)t / (et) ou il alere(n)t apres la grant destruc / tion de troies (et) q(ue) menelaus rep(ri)st / abon gre dame helaine .' F. 148rb-148va, beginning of 'Eneas'-section 'Ci comence deneas qui / separti de troies (et) coment il sen ala en itale'. F. 156v 'Que eneas reuint en sesile'. F. 175vb 'Q(ue) eneas espou / sa lauine (et) si tint tot le roi / aume'. F. 179rab, beginning of Rome I-section 'Ci comence lestorement de la cite de rome.' F. 175r 'Si comence / des conceles li grans affaires', Brutus-section, also puzzle-initial in fr. 17177. F. 199rb ' Ci comence des / rois de mede (et) des autres rois la / genealogie qui tote assir ?ri?ndrent', beginning of Orient II-section. F. 205ra 'Ci comence / dou fill le roi cyrus qui cambis / ses ot non qui tint le roiau / me'. F. 226va, beginning of 'Alexandre'-section 'De neptana / bus le roi degypte qui fu peres / alixandre si come li pluisor con / tent et dient. F. 258vb, beginning of Rome II-section ' Q(ue) cil de / tarente se pristrent par lor / folie as romains de bataille', which has also been treated in a special way in fr. 17177. F. 264ra, no rubric, 'Segnor adonques / nauoit onques / eu haine / entre ceaus de car / tage et ceaus de / rome . ne choze /' f. 282ra ' Q(ue) hani / bal assambla sa gent por uen / gier la mort de son pere . (et) ser / uage de cartage /' F. 302ra 'Ci recomence des / macedonois la bataille encontre / ceaus de rome /'. F. 312vb ' Ci comence la destructio(n)s dela noble cite de cartage'. F. 359vb 'Ci come(n) / ce dou roi Mitridates qui tenoit / la menor armenie (et) la mer', also treated in a special way in fr. 17177. F. 369 'Ci comence de iule ce / sar lestorie si com sen ala por con / querre france', beginning of section XI.
The text is further structured by means of large pen-decorated initials (height: 3 lines), alternating between blue and red with flourishings in the contrasting colour.
The initials are generally preceded by rubricated tituli which end with a roman numeral, indicating the number of the section (right justification). The numbering stops at f. 24vb with section .xcvj.. Simple line-filling devices in red ink.
The beginning of clauses are marked by a littera notabilior highlighted with a dash of red ink. In the verse sections the first letters of the verseline have been treated in a similar way. |
| Evidence of readership: | f. 1r: title and shelfmark added 'Les histoires de Roger' S3; Stamp of the Sorbonne library.
Notes in the margin (14th or 15th c.), Provençal (e.g. f. 7r, f. 16va, f. 17r, f. 17v, f. 18r, f. 18v, f. 19r, f. 83v, f. 84r f. 86r, f. 86v, f. 87v, f. 90v, f. 95r, |