London, British Library, Harley 4389

Le Roman du roi Marc fils du roi Felis (supplied title)

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General information

Folios60
LanguageLanguage object (48)
Approx. date?1275 to 1325
Date notes'Début du XIVe siècle' (Vinaver 1925, 49); 'last quarter of the 13th century or 1st quarter of the 14th century' (British Library Catalogue of Illuminated Manuscripts); 'fine sec. XIII' (Cigni 2012, 259).
Place(s) of productionGenoa-Pisa
'Pisa-Genova' (Cigni 2012, 259).
First words of second recto folio[f. 3ra] ha dit liroísuees la meruoilles ce /
First words of last recto folio[f. 61ra] metes sor celz qi ceste costume esta / bilirent
Incipit[f. 2ra] ??...?? uos trouerez en / cestui líure. / ENC / ES / TE / PA / RT / IE / DI / TL / IC / ontes q(e)tant demora lírois Apollo a / la cort liroi Clodouex con il liploít / Clodouex [avoit] un fil nouel ch(eualie)r m(o)lt preus / deson cors
Explicit[f. 61vb] Je vous / sisse parler allui . seíe trouer lepe / uss . Car íe lia port unes nouelles //

Related MS

'Style schématique identique' (Avril & Gousset 1984, 49).
RelationshipType object (14)Manuscript object (224)
Manuscript object (467)
Manuscript object (396)
Manuscript object (164)

Material

Material:Material object (4)
Watermark:
Condition:The parchment is thick and generally of a fair quality, although there are sometimes irregularities, holes (e.g. ff. 22, 31, 41) and stitches (f. 29). The first and last pages are badly worn and the text is consequently difficult to read. There are folds in the parchment, especially in the lower outer corners.

Structure

Collation:

12-456-88

Quire structure:One ternion, three quaternions, one ternion, three quaternions.
Quire marks:MSQuiremarkDisposition object (3)
Catchwords:framed in red ink
Catchword disposition:MSCatchwordDisposition object (3)

Physical description

No. of illustrations:39
General illustration:Unframed coloured pen drawings, mostly across both columns, with captions for the characters. Minimal decor, some trees and architectural elements.
General decoration:The volume opens on f. 2ra with a large decorated initial (height: 8 lines) in red, blue and green, against a gold ground and with geometric infill. Subsequent text is written in display initials, alternating red and blue with flourishing in the opposing colour. Chapters marked by puzzle initials (height: 8 lines) in red and blue; chapters by plain initials (height: 2 lines), alternating red and blue, above guide letters. Majuscules are highlighted with red ink.
Evidence of readership:
Foliations description:Modern pencil in the upper right of recto sides.

Mise en page

Description 1
Page sampledf. 53r
LayoutMSLayout object (3)
Page dimensions280x185 (mm)
Justification200x140 (mm)
Columns2
10mm between columns
Column ruling present in Colours object (5) (RulingMaterials object (3) )
Lines37
Line ruling present in Colours object (5) (RulingMaterials object (3) )
Rubricationnone
Writing above top line?False
Sample page layout:

Hand(s)

Level of Execution:Execution object (4)
ScriptScript object (1)
Folio rangeFrom 2ra to 61vb
Datec. 1300
Scribe description:Two-compartment 'a' (open upper bow); 'b' with a circular lobe; 'c' with cedilla present; uncial 'd' with a short, almost horizontal shaft; 'e' with tongue; 'h' extends beneath the baseline; both tall and round 's' found in final position; 'u' in initial position; tironian 'et' without bar. Interlinear and marginal corrections.
Notes