Dr. Jörn Günther • Antiquariat
www.guenther-rarebooks.com

CONTENTS

Illuminated manuscripts

  1. Canones conciliorum, written by an insular scribe,
    Northern Italy, c. 775
  2. Psalter, so-called Bernwardpsalter,
    Germany, Hildesheim, c. 1020
  3. Gospel Lectionary, Byzantium,
    Constantinople,c. 1100
  4. St Augustine, Enarrationes in Psalmos, Upper
    Austria, Lambach Abbey, second half 12th century
  5. Vita Christi, Life of Christ and of the Virgin,
    Northern England,York, c.1190-1200,
    and East Anglia, Norfolk, c.1480-90
  6. Antiphonary, illuminated choirbook, Italy,Venice
    (San Marco), c. 1250 (between 1238 and 1264)
  7. Psalter and biblia latina with the interpretation
    of the Hebrew names, France, Lorraine, Metz, c. 1250
  8. Psalter for the use of Brussels, Northern France,
    Paris, c. 1260
  9. Biblia latina with the interpretations of
    the Hebrew names, Southern France,Toulouse,
    last quarter of the 13th century
  10. Psalter, illuminiated for Gui de Dampierre,
    Southern Netherlands, Bruges, c. 1280
  11. Speculum humanae salvationis, illuminated
    with pen-and-ink drawings by Magister Konrad,
    Austria, before 1386
  12. Book of hours, use of Chartres, illuminated by
    the Bedford workshop, France, Paris, c. 1400-10
  13. Psalter, Spain, Barcelona, shortly after 1400
    and c. 1440-50
  14. Book of hours, use of Rome, illuminated by
    Pseudo-Jacquemart, France, Paris, c. 1410
  15. The so-called Wardington Hours, hours of
    the Passion, illuminated by the Bedford workshop,
    France, Paris, c. 1410 and 1430
  16. Wirnt von Grafenberg, Wigalois (manuscript k),
    illustrated by the circle of the Workshop of 1418
    and of Diebold Lauber,Alsace, c. 1420-30
  17. I.Thomas de Chobham, Summa de poenitentia,
    dat. 1422; II. Stephan Palecz, Utilia contra errantes;
    III. Johannes Andreae, Processus iudicalis – et al.;
    Austria, Seitenstetten, c. 1422
  18. Joachim di Fiore Vaticinia sive Prophetiae
    et Imagines Summorum Pontificum,
    illustrated by the workshop of Lorenzo
    di Pietro ‘Il Vecchietta’, Benvenuto di Giovanni,
    Italy, Siena, c. 1450 and c. 1464
  19. Bruder Philipp, Marienleben
    and other texts, Upper Rhine, c. 1450
  20. German prayerbook with metalcuts, Germany,
    Cologne and Tyrol, Diocese of Brixen,
    dated 1458
  21. Book of hours, use of Paris, illuminated by
    the Master of Jacques de Luxembourg, France,
    Paris, c. 1460-70
  22. Book of hours, use of Rome, illuminated by the
    Master of Marguerite de Liederkerke, Flanders,
    Hainault, Mons or Valenciennes, c. 1500
  23. Croy-Arenberg Book of Hours, use of Sarum,
    with miniatures by the Master of Sir George
    Talbot, the Master of the First Prayer Book of
    Maximilian and the Master of the David Scenes
    in the Grimani Breviary, Flanders, Ghent,
    1505 and c. 1510-20
  24. Berault Stuart (Bernard Stewart),
    Traité sur l’art de la guerre, Northern France, Paris,
    second quarter 16th century
  25. Battista Agnese, Portolan Atlas, Italy,Venice,
    signed and dated 5 February 1544


    26. Early Prints

  26. Nativity, Single-leaf print, Southern Germany,
    c. 1440
  27. The Good Sheperd – ihesus xpristus,
    Single-leaf print, Southern Germany,
    West-Swabian, c. 1460-70
  28. Block-book – Ars Memorandi per figuras
    Evangelistarum, first print of first edition,
    Southern Germany, Nuremberg, c. 1470
  29. Block-book – Der Antichrist und die fünfzehn Zeichen
    Germany, Nuremberg: Hans Briefmaler 1472,
    second edition, i.e. Hans Sporer, 1470
  30. Celestial vision at Constantinople. Kunt und
    wissennt sey allermeniglich das ein sölich geschicht
    unnd erschreckliches erschein gesehen ist worden hinter
    Canstantinopel ..., Single leaf print, Southern
    Germany, Nuremberg c. 1491
  31. Biblia Latina – A single leaf,Mainz: Johann
    Gutenberg and Johann Fust,‘c. 1454/55’; rather 1452-1454
  32. Psalterium Benedictum Congregationis Bursfeldensis
    – A single leaf, Mainz: Johann Fust
    and Peter Schöffer, 29 August 1459
  33. I.Thomas de Aquino. Summa de articulis fidei,
    Mainz: Printer of the Catholicon before 1460
    or Peter Schöffer c. 1469
    II. Matthaeus de Cracovia. Dialogus rationis
    et conscientiae de frequenti usu Communionis,
    Mainz: see above, c. 1469;
    III.Antoninus Florentinus. Confessionale:
    Defecerunt.With: Johannes Chrysostomus. Sermo
    de poenitentia, Cologne: Ulrich Zell, c. 1470
  34. Johannes Balbus, Catholicon, Mainz: printer of
    the Catholicon, probably Gutenberg workshop
    1460, c. 1472, or 1469
  35. Rudimentum Novitiorum, Lubeck: Lucas Brandis,
    5 August 1475
  36. Speculum humanae salvationis, German:
    ein spiegel der menschlichen behaltnisze,
    Basel: Bernhard Richel, 31 August 1476
  37. Conrad von Megenberg, Das buch der Natur,
    Augsburg: Johann Bämler, 20 August 1481
  38. Auslegung – Messe singen oder lesen wer
    das thun sol, wenn, wie oder wo, Nuremberg:
    Friedrich Creussner, not after 1482
  39. Jacobus de Theramo, Belial. Cy commence le proces
    de Belial a l’encontre de Ihesus. Lyon, Mathias Huss:
    19 May 1486
  40. Compilation of ten French
    literary incunabula, Paris, 1488-c. 95, among them Olivier
    de la Marche, Le Chevalier Délibéré. Paris: Guy Marchand
    or Antoine Caillaut for Antoine Vérard,
    8 August 1488
  41. Olivier de la Marche. Le Chevalier Délibéré,
    Gouda, printer of the Chevalier délibéré,
    Collaciebroeders, after 31 October 1489
  42. Petrus de Crescentiis, Ruralia commoda.
    In commodum ruralium cum figuris libri duodecim,
    Speyer: Peter Drach, not before 1493
  43. Alanus de Rupe, Von dem psalter unnd Rosen
    krancz unser lieben frauen.Wie man den beten sol,
    Augsburg: Anton Sorg, 1492
  44. Der Doten dantz mit figuren. Clage und
    Antwort schon von allen staten der welt,
    Mainz: Jacob Meydenbach, c. 1492
  45. Fiore di virtù. Questa sie una utilissima operetta
    acada uno fidel christiano chiamata fior de virtu,Venice:
    Matteo Capcasa di Codeca, 15 January 1493
  46. Christophorus Columbus, De insulis nuper
    in mari Indico inventis, and Carolus Verardus,
    Historia Baetica. In laudem Serenissimi
    Ferdinandi Hispaniarum regis Bethicae & regni
    Granatae obsidio, victoria & triumphus,
    Basel: Johann Bergmann von Olpe, 1494
  47. Scriptores Astronomici veteres: Julius Firmicus
    Maternus, Mathesis and other Greek and Roman
    astronomical texts,Venice:Aldus Manutius, 1499
  48. a: La dance macabre des hommes, Paris,
    widow of Jehan Treperel and Jehan Jehannot,
    c. 1512-22 234

     b: La dance macabre des femmes toutes
    hystories & augmentee de nouveau, Paris,
    Jehan Treperel (II), c. 1525-32
  49. Martin Luther, Das newe testament deutzsch,
    Wittenberg: Melchior Lotter, 1524
  50. Aurelius Theodosius Macrobius, In somnium
    Scipionis libri II. Saturnaliorum libri VII.
    Basel: Johannes Herwagen the Elder, 1535

    Key to bibliographical references

A very rare combination of a psalter and a bible

7 Psalter and biblia latina with the interpretation of the Hebrew names

Illuminated manuscript on vellum. France, Lorraine (Metz?), c. 1250.

170 x 106 mm. 419 leaves, preceded by 3 and followed by 2 vellum flyleaves, lacking a few folios from the last ancillary text but Vulgate Bible complete: I4, II-VIII12, IX10, X-XXXV12, XXXVI12-3, some quire signatures. – Written space 125 x 80 mm, double columns of 50-53 lines to the page. Extremely small Northern Textualis (‘pearl script’), heavily abbreviated, in black ink, ruled in lead, running titles in red and blue. Flourished initials throughout in dark blue with red calligraphic penwork and red with light blue calligraphic penwork, decorated initials in gold and multicolor throughout. 100 decorated initials and 60 historiated initials. – Overall very good condition, very fine vellum, colours still bright, meticulously executed miniatures in excellent condition, only pink and green hues slightly faded, prickings partly visible. Bound in a 15th-century blind-stamped brown calf binding, central cartouche in three bands composed in 1 and 3 of losange stamps with stylized quadrifoils and in 2 of a composition reworked with small stamps in semi-circles, outer frame paneled to a saltire design filled with alternating flowers and fleur-de-lys, spine sewn on six bands, clasps of engraved copper, old restoration at the corners and reinforcing the clasps (central part of the cartouche perhaps reusing elements of the 13th-century Parisian binding).

PROVENANCE:1. 15th-century legal notes on front pastedown:“ Quidam legavit uxori sue in domu per hunc modum lego sibi et suis […] marito uxor decessit relicto habet de fratre suo deinde morino marito iste […] vult admitti ad legatum […] bene dicat”. 2. Private collection, Europe.

TEXT: fol. 1-2v: blank – fol. 3-4v: Calendar (for Metz use) – fol. 5-19: Psalms (complete) – fol. 19v-26: Capitulae for the liturgical year – fol. 26-28v: Hymns for the liturgical year – fol. 29-29v: blank – fol. 30-300: Old Testament – fol. 300- 365: New Testament – fol. 365v-397v: Interpretation of> Hebrew Names – fol. 397v-416v: Stephanus Langton, Biblical Concordance with rubric. Until the early or mid 13th century, the contents of bibles varied considerably in many respects, including the choice and order of the biblical books, their prologues and the way the books were divided into chapters and verses. During the course of that century, a concerted effort was made to standardize these variant features, largely due to the rapid growth of the university of Paris. Paris provided a focus for centralized book production, and the university provided the means for standardizing the text. Therefore, the “standard” medieval vulgate bible is often referred to as the “Paris” bible. By the middle of the 13th century, when the present manuscript was made, the “Paris” text of the bible had become the norm not only in France, but also in England and Italy. The text of the present manuscript follows the standard Parisian sequence as given in Ker (I, 1969, pp. 96-7). However, it was made in Metz, probably for use in a mendicant context, which is confirmed by the included calendar. It is preceded by a psalter, so that it could have been used as a prayerbook, too. The combination of both psalter and bible text occurs in extremely rare cases only.

ILLUMINATION:Historiated initials on fol. 5, 8v, 10, 11, 14v, 16v, 30, 32, 32v 47, 59, 67v, 79, 89, 96, 104v, 113v, 120v, 129v, 145, 164v, 167, 174v, 182, 188, 193, 195, 199v, 204v, 206v, 207v, 223v, 236v, 268, 273v, 276v, 278, 279, 280, 281, 282, 285v, 301v, 315, 322v, 333, 335, 342v, 344v, 348v, 358, 359v, 361v. Most of the historiated and ornamented initials are of square shape and cover the height of eight lines. Some, though, show tendrils of various length protruding into the left and bottom margins. Hybrid figures and floral interlacing form the outlines of the ornamented initials, whereas the historiated initials, fine and delicate as they are, offer enough space for the human figures inside.The meaning of textual passages and the appearance of historiated and ornamented initials appear to be related. For example, the book of psalms seems to have received a considerable amount of decorative attention, and its prologue, in contrast to comparable but unilluminated passages, is decorated with several ornamented initials. Furthermore,we also find there some larger scale initials, both historiated and ornamented, for example, the Beatus vir-initial (fol. 182), showing King David playing the harp at the beginning of the book of psalms (13-line initial). As is common in bible-illumination, narrative topics predominate in the decoration of the Old Testament, whereas the text of the New Testament is mainly adorned with ornamented initials, apart from the ‘authors portraits’ of the four Evangelists. The tiny human figures inside the initial-fields are so meticulously drawn that their gestures and physiognomies seem to be relating the events following after in the biblical narrative. Their costumes, mostly in red and blue, are decorated with white dots, although the folds are not particularly structured. The burnished golden background of the initials lends a warm tone to the whole decorative scheme. Comparably delicate paintings are known from Parisian workshops of the 13th and 14th centuries, yet these differ stylistically in the manner of structuring the figures’ faces and clothes. Very few surviving manuscripts from Metz, however, are in any way comparable with our manuscript, lacking both its style and its artistic finesse (cf. e.g. Genève, public and University Library, lat. 36 or Melbourne, National Gallery of Victoria, 1254/3). Indeed, before the end of the 13th century, little is known about Metz illumination. In comparison to other known 13th-century manuscripts of Metz origin our Vulgate Bible is a gem of Lorraine book art of the utmost rarity.

LITERATURE: The manuscript is hitherto unpublished. Berger 1902; Ker 1969, I, pp. 96-7; Branner 1977; Stegmüller 1981; exh. cat. Nancy 1984; Light 1984, pp. 55-93; exh. cat. Metz 1989; Light 1994, pp. 155-176; exh. cat. Paris and Luxembourg 1999; De Hamel 2001; Beier 2003.