Venice, Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana, francese Z XII

Libro del cuntare de mess(ere) / Lancelotto elqualo (title in colophon)

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General information

Folios383
LanguageLanguage object (48)
Approx. date1340 to 1360
Date notesThe Lancelot-Graal project suggests c. 1280-1290 and links the MS to the Genoa-Pisan group. Arthurian Fiction has 13th c. Jonas gives mid-14th c.
Place(s) of productionItaly
The Lancelot-Graal project suggests Genoa.
First words of second recto folio[f. 2ra] tel cop de lespee
First words of last recto folio[f. 383ra] Et cheuauchent tant
Incipit[f. 1ra] Ci endroit / dit li con / tes que / quant / a grauai / ns se fu / p(ar)tiz de / ses com / paigno(n)s / si come / uous auez oi quil erra .ij. / iorz (et) plus sanz auenture tro / uer que len doie ramenteuoir / en liure . et en toz les leus . ou / il uenoit fust en chastel ou en uoie de mandoit / nouueles / de lancelot . a toz car que il / encontroit . mais oinques en / leu ou il uenist nen pot a pre(n) / dre la uerite . et de ce fu il m(ou)lt / dolanz . Si erra en tel manie / re une semainne en tiere . a / luitiesme iour ce dit lestoire / fu leuez matin de chies un / forestier ou il ot geu . si erra / tant toute la matinee pen / sant . que oinques nen contra / home ne fame a [...]ui il ne de / mandast nouveles de ce que / il queroit . A pres hore de pri / me regarda deuant lui et / uit un tertre haut et grant /
Explicit[f. 383va] iusqau soir . Quant il fu / a kamaalot si enuoia / ses mesages par tout le / roiaume de logres . et ma(n) / da a ses barons qui soient / tuit a court leiour depa(n) / tecouste . quar il atandra / laplus grant et la plus / enuoisiee que il  omques  / tenist iour desauíe . si e(n) / iot tant assamble leueil / le de pantecouste . quil nest / nus hom sil les ueist quil / ne sanpoist merueillier / [f. 383vb] Si fenist ici maistres / Gautiers map son liure / et conmence le Graal.//  then a contemporary hand adds in a cursive script: suma ccclx[...]i cartas. si / xxxix co(n)ti [...]  and another hand adds in a hybrid gothic script: Libro del cuntare de mess(ere) / Lancelotto elqualo e de Ziliano / di Anzoli elqualo ha capitoli / lxxxxv depenti E carte sc / scritte sono tresente ottanta / e doe . in nomine yh(es)u (christo) .

Material

Material:Material object (4)
Watermark:
Condition:Vellum of medium quality, in bad condition in the first and the last quire. The bottom external corner of many folios has been restored. The ink is sometimes faded, and not homogeneous, cf. e.g. ff. 121va to 129v and 270rb to 275va.

Structure

Collation:

16 (ff. 1-6), 2-208 (ff. 8-159), 214 (ff.160-163), 22-288 (ff.164-219), 297 (ff.220-226), 30-488 (ff.227-378), 494 (ff.380-383).  Cfr. Bisson 2008, 49.

Quire structure:
Quire marks:MSQuiremarkDisposition object (9)
Catchwords:
Catchword disposition:MSCatchwordDisposition object (7)

Physical description

No. of illustrations:93
General illustration:Illustrated on the bottom of the page, under the writing space (only in a few cases full pages are illustrated, e.g. ff. 308v-309r, 319v-320r); drawn in pencil and in many cases coloured. Some of the images are framed. Often the images extend in the margins of the page and the intercolumnal space. There are at least two artists at work, the second starts to illustrate the MS from f. 133v (where a contemporary hand wrote a few words, perhaps an indication for the artist, that was resewn and is impossible to read). The images have been listed and briefly described by Bisson 2008, 51-3.
General decoration:One framed historiated initial (height: 10 lines) at f. 1ra, with a rich decoration on the margin of the column that extends to the image on the bottom of the page, and two other historiated initials at f. 227r. Chapter initials (8-10 ll.) alternatively red and blue decorated in plummet with elegant geometrical pen flourishes often extended along the left margin of the column, alternatively red and blue, in some cases very effaced. Small initials, alternatively red and blue sometimes with generous pen flourishes (e.g. ff. 148-149, f. 152ra)
Evidence of readership:Afew pointing hands in the margins. At f. 297rb, a part of a line next to a chapter initials has been framed to indicate expunction, and a contemporary hand adds: «que li rois». At f. 322v under the b column a contemporary hand wrote: "De ci enauant iusq(ues) uoz troues la crois / ne legies míe . Car il est escrit deus fois" (the transcription given by Bisson 2008, 53 is misleading). This note highlights the fact that the text at ff. 323ra-324vb (a cross on the magin of the b colums indicates the end of it) is the same as that of ff. 321rb-322vb. This error in the copy is probably related to the fact that the catchword at f. 322v (end of a quire) has been omitted.
Foliations description:Three foliations, at the top right corner of the recto: «La prima è coeva al codice o poco più tarda. A f. 2 riporta 3, per cui risulta di seguito sfasata in eccesso di una unità. A f. 199, dove dovrebbe riportare 200, dà invece 220, e quindi si ferma. La seconda foliazione, ottocentesca, prosegue quella precedente partendo da f. 199 (numerato 200). Si ferma a f. 230 e riappare poi saltuariamente; da f. 250 recupera, forse per un errore nel conteggio, l'unità in eccesso [...]. La terza foliazione è recente e venne impressa con un timbro ad inchiostro nero. A volte il numero è ripetuto in matita» (Bisson 2008, 49).

Mise en page

Description 1The margins of the page and the justification are variable, Bisson 2008, 50 indicates an average of 205x120mm and 34-35 lines. The column width is variable and progressively decreases towards the end of the ms. (e.g. at f. 393r the writing space mesures ca. 210x114mm, the columns 48mm, the intercolumn 18mm). The distance between ruled lines is in many cases irregular. "La rigatura non è sempre facile da rilevare, subisce comunque delle variazioni. Nei primi sei fogli è tracciata a mina di piombo e corrisponde a SAUTEL, 04D2. A f. 43v è tracciata ad inchiostro e con uno schema diverso che sarebbe SAUTEL, 02D2b, sennonché le due rettrici iniziali, centrali e finali arrivano sino al bordo." ibid.
Page sampled43v
LayoutMSLayout object (3)
Page dimensions310x210 (mm)
Justification200x129 (mm)
Columns2
15mm between columns
Column ruling present in Colours object (4) (RulingMaterials object (3) )
Lines34
Line ruling present in Colours object (4) (RulingMaterials object (3) )
RubricationNo tituli in red ink
Writing above top line?False
Sample page layout:

Hand(s)

Level of Execution:Execution object (4)
ScriptScript object (1)
Folio rangeFrom 1ra to 383vb
Date1340 to 1360
Scribe description:
Notes"Data la notevole estensione del codice, è possibile notare un'evoluzione nel disegno delle lettere, con variazioni anche rilevanti; accade di rilevare bruschi scarti dovuti verosimilmente ad un cambio di penna (vd. ad esempio f. 321r)" (Bisson 2008, 50).

Provenance

Descriptioncf. supra, explicit.
Date1400 to 1500
PlacePlace object (10)
OwnershipPerson object (14)