Pommersfelden, Schloss Weissenstein - Schönbornsche Schlossbibliothek, 295

[Part 1]

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General information

Folios212
Folio notes:Guardleaves unfoliated.
LanguageLanguage object (3)
Approx. date?1250 to 1275
Date notesOltrogge 1989, 309. Based on decoration, supported by script (two-compartment 'a' the upper lobe of which is open, round 's' in final position. The use of uncrossed tironian 'et' is uncommon at this time in Northern France.
Place(s) of productionNorthern France
Oltrogge 1989, 309. Based on decoration. The location of the so-called 'Histoire-workshop' is contested. Oltrogge (1989, 20) locates the production in Lille. Avril suggests Soissons or Compiègne (De Visser 1999, p. 19 n. 47).
First words of second recto folio[f. 2ra] hautesce (et) en laclarte parmenable les mist /
First words of last recto folio[f. 212ra] ueritez estoit que iuli(us) cesar om(ou)lt g(ra)nt force /
Incipit[f. 1ra] Q / Uant diex ot fait leciel (et) la terre (et) les ai / gues douces (et)salees (et) lesoloil (et) lalune (et) / les estoiles . (et) il ot achascun comande selonc / son ordre . Cest adire que li solaux luisist le / ior (et) enluminast par sagrant clarte tout / lemonde (et lalune (et) les estoiles randisse(n)t / luminaire (et) clarte alanuit qui estoit te / nebreuse (et) noire . Il fist les oisiaux en lair / (et) les poissons es aigues . (et) les bestes enterre / detoute menniere par saseule parole . Et /
Explicit[f. 212vb] re sehatissoient deuenir apres luj sise(m) / batoit es granz destroiz delaforest darda / ne qui duroit iusques auernie (et) ius / ques alacite detongres qui sor lamer / estoit adonques asisse //

Related MS

Notwithstanding that these manuscripts were probably illustrated by different artists, and in spite of differences in decoration and layout, it has been suggested that these four copies were manufactured in the same workshop located in the North of France (Lille, Soissons or Compiègne).
RelationshipType object (7)Manuscript object (270)
Manuscript object (491)
Manuscript object (274)

Material

Material:Material object (4)
Watermark:
Condition:Good quality parchment. Some holes (e.g. ff. 39, 95, 98, 109, 150, 184) and stitches (e.g. f. 75, f. 117). Generally in good condition. Some wear on the first and final folio. Some stains, and affected by mould (e.g. ff. 6v-7r, 27r, 133r). Severely cropped in the lower margin.

Structure

Collation:

1-258 (ff. 1-192) 266 (ff. 193-198) 278(ff. 199-206) 286(207-212)

Quire structure:For the most part, the MS consists of regular quaternions. Quire 26 (ff. 193 to 198) is a ternion. The precise collation of the final part of the manuscript (ff. 199 to 212) is hard to establish, but appears to consist of a quaternion (ff. 199 to 206) followed by a ternion (ff. 207 to 212).
Quire marks:MSQuiremarkDisposition object (21)
Catchwords:
Catchword disposition:MSCatchwordDisposition object (12)

Physical description

No. of illustrations:50
General illustration:See Oltrogge 1989, 310-312 for details. The text is illustrated with single-column miniatures (height: c. 12 lines), mostly in two registers and depicting two to four scenes. These illustrations are framed in blue and red bars, which are lined in black ink. Sometimes the frames are decorated with white flourishings. Backgrounds are goldleaf. Miniatures can appear in mid-text and do not necessarily precede or follow rubricated tituli, suggesting that these are not perceived as captions to the illustration. Major sections are marked with historiated initials, blue or red with white flourishings on a field of the contrasting colour. The eye of the letter decorated with goldleaf. A very large initial (height: 14 lines) spanning the width of an entire column introduces the text. God is depicted in the middle of 7 medaillions showing stages of the Creation, and more specifically His relation with man, including the Fall and the murder of Abel. Other historiated initials (height: c.6-9 lines) occur at the beginning of the Orient section (f. 49r), the beginning of the Jason story (f. 70v, the actual beginning of the 'Troie'-section on f. 70r is not marked), the vision of Andromache (f. 76r), the beginning of the Trojan diaspora (f. 83v, the beginning of the 'Eneas'-section on f. 74v is not marked), the installation of the Republic (f. 102r), the beginning of 'Orient II' (f. 111v), the beginning of the reign of Cambyses (f. 116r), f. 131r, with a depiction of Alexander and Bucephalus at Alexander's conception by Neptanabus (again, the beginning of the 'Alexandre' or rather 'Macedonia' section on f. 127r is left unmarked). Initials planned at the beginning of the 'Rome II'-section (f. 153r), the Punic wars (f. 157r) and Hannibal's retaliation of his father's death (f. 168v) were left unfinished, On f. 153r the blank space was filled in later with a plain initial in brown ink. Finally, the section on Julius Cesar (f. 209v) is illustrated by a miniature, strangely located between two lines of the introductory rubric and the only puzzle initial to be found in the manuscript which is decorated with lavish pen-flourishings. The beginning of the 'Thebes'-section (f. 52r) is marked by a miniature. The beginning of the 'Greeks and Amazons' section (f. 67rb) and Rome (f. 98vb) is not marked at all. A modern hand has noted section numbers in the margin (in pencil). According to Oltrogge painted by three artists.
General decoration:Further subdivisions are introduced by rubricated tituli (right justification), followed by a pen-decorated initial (height: 2 lines), alternating between red and blue, with flourishings in the contrasting colour and generally extending in J-borders in red and blue ink, spanning almost the entire height of the column. See also: Oltrogge 1989, 309.
Evidence of readership:Noted in the upper margin of f. 1 'Elise' (unspecified post-medieval date). In a 15th c. cursive hand 'En Ce co(m)maincem(en)t est faicte mencion de la creacion du monde'. In the blank space following the end of the text (f. 212vb), a later reader/owner has added a coat of arms in brown ink. Folio 26v. addition in the margin in a cursive hand supplying the missing direct object 'Jacob' in the sentence 'Rebecca qui ces paroles oi / (et) entendi apela tout coiement <+Jacob> (et) si li dist .' After the end of the 'Genesis'-section, the remainder of column f. 48vb has been left blank. After the last word a clumsy hand has noted some words in Latin which are difficult to decipher (?ome? homo domini?debi? amore ?...?). In the lower margin of f. 89r, faded annotation, partially legible with UV lamp ('?fe/ou? to sas faite l/bie(n) ?toute?') . Additionally some erased doodles in the lower margin (e.g. ff. 193v, 198r). In the lower margin of 205r, initials 'k' 'a'.
Foliations description:Modern foliation in arabic numerals on every fifth folio in pencil, in the upper right corner of the recto. Foliation also for illustrated openings and at the beginning of major subdivisions of the text.

Mise en page

Description 1Horizontal throughlines for the first and last line of the justification.
Page sampledf. 2r
LayoutMSLayout object (3)
Page dimensions340x243 (mm)
Justification234x172 (mm)
Columns2
15mm between columns
Column ruling present in Colours object (4) (RulingMaterials object (3) )
Lines40
Line ruling present in Colours object (4) (RulingMaterials object (3) )
RubricationRed ink is used for the tituli at the beginning of the paragraphs (right justification) and decorated initials. The rubricator has skipped ff. 161r to 162r.
Writing above top line?False
Sample page layout:

Hand(s)

Level of Execution:Execution object (4)
ScriptScript object (4)
Folio rangeFrom f. 1ra to f. 212vb
Date?1250 to 1275
Scribe description:Littera textualis rotundus. Two-compartment 'a', the upper lobe of which is open. Forked ascenders on 'b', 'l', 'h'. Uncial 'd'. 'E' rarely with tongue. Lower lobe of 8-shaped 'g' small and slightly descending below the baseline. Limb of 'h' descending below the baseline and curving to the left. Diacritic on 'i' in sequence of minims. 'i'-longa sometimes occurs in final position. Feet of 'm' and 'n' rounded. Round 'r' after round letters. Round 's' in final position. Vertical stroke of 't' slightly ascends above the headstroke. Diacritic on 'y'. 3-like 'z' descending below baseline. Abbreviations include nasal bar, s-like apostrophe, 'com-' and '-us' abbreviation, superscript vowels and uncrossed tironian 'et', which is not common for MSS of this region and period. Many instances of fusion.
Notes

Provenance

DescriptionCoat of arms on f. 212 indicate manuscript possibly owned in the Champagne region.
Date?1300 to 1500
PlacePlace object (7)
DescriptionThe coat of arms on f. 212 r indicates the manuscript was owned by the Seigneur de Jaligny (Oltrogge 1989, 309). This could either be Guichard, seigneur de Jaligny, who died in 1403, or his son, also Guichard, who died in 1415.
Date?1400 to 1500
PlacePlace object (174)