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

CONTENTS

Manuscripts

  1. Glossed Gospels of St Luke and St John,
    Paris or northern France, c. 1210
  2. Psalter with calendar for the diocese of Trier,
    Germany,Trier, c. 1220-40
  3. Psalter and book of hours for the use of Paris,
    illuminated in the du Prat atelier, France, Paris,
    c. 1250-60
  4. Biblia latina, pocket bible, France, Paris, c. 1250
  5. Antiphonary, sanctoral volume, Italy,
    Emilia-Romagna, c. 1270-75
  6. Psalter for the use of Auxerre, France,
    Burgundy or Paris, c. 1300
  7. Antiphonary for a Franciscan convent,
    illuminated by Neri da Rimini, Italy,
    Emilia-Romagna, dated 1314
  8. Vita Sancti Antonii Eremitae – Inventio et
    Translatio, illuminated by the Maestro del 1328,
    Italy, Bologna, c. 1320
  9. Schönrainer Liederhandschrift. Middle High
    German Minnesang manuscript, Germany,
    Hesse, c. 1330
  10. Missale Romanum, illuminated in the workshop
    of Cristoforo Orimina, Italy, Naples, c. 1355
  11. Boethius, De consolatione philosophiae and
    Jean de Meun, Testament, France, Paris, c. 1400
  12. Guido de Columna, Historia destructionis Troiae
    and Giovanni Boccaccio, Il Filostrato, Italy,
    Naples, dated 1414 and 1413
  13. Book of hours for the use of Paris, illuminated
    by the workshop of the Bedford Master, France,
    Paris, c. 1405-10
  14. Compilation of pastoral and mystical texts
    from the library of the Celestines of Marcoussis,
    illuminated by the Hoo Master, France, Paris,
    c. 1425-35
  15. Book of hours for the use of Toul, illuminated
    by the Master of Pommersfelden 351, France,
    Toul or Metz, c. 1435-40
  16. Dominican hymnal, illuminated by the
    Master of 1446, Italy, Bologna, c. 1450
  17. Nicolaus de Lyra, Postilla litteralis super
    Vetus Testamentum, two volumes, Italy,
    Ferrara?, 1441-46
  18. Compilation of history bible and world chronicle,
    the Antichrist and the XV signs and other texts,
    Austria, c. 1450
  19. Book of hours and psalter in Dutch, illuminated
    by the Master of the Haarlem Bible, Masters of
    Otto von Moerdrecht, Masters of Gijsbrecht
    van Brederode et al., northern Netherlands,
    Haarlem, dated 1453
  20. Book of hours for the use of Rome, with
    calendar of Bruges, illuminated by the Master of
    Buchanan E.5, Flanders, Bruges, c. 1450-60
  21. Chronique anonyme universelle, parchment
    scroll, illuminated by the Master of Étienne
    Sauderat, France, Paris?, c. 1450 with additions
    after 1461 and 1467
  22. Psalter with hymnal, illuminated
    by the workshop of Bartolomeo Varnucci,
    Italy, Florence, c. 1460-70
  23. Martin Le Franc, L’Estrif de Fortune et de Vertu,
    illuminated by the Master of the Échevinage
    de Rouen, France, Rouen, c. 1465-75
  24. Book of hours for the use of Utrecht in the Dutch
    translation of Geert Grote, illuminated by one of
    the Masters of Gijsbrecht van Brederode, northern
    Netherlands, probably Utrecht, c. 1465-70
  25. Missale Fratrum Minorum for the convent
    of S. Francesco di Montone, near Perugia,
    illuminated by Bartelomeo and Giapeco
    Caporali, Italy, Perugia, 1469
  26. Book of hours for the use of Rome with
    adaptations for Poitiers and a calendar for
    Angers, illuminated by Maître François,
    France, Paris, c. 1470
  27. Psalter with hymnal, illuminated by the
    workshop of Mariano del Buono di Jacopo,
    Italy, Florence, c. 1470-75
  28. Book of hours for the use of Rome, illuminated
    by Martino da Modena, Italy, Ferrara, c. 1480-85
  29. Book of hours for Dominican use, illuminated
    by the workshop of Matteo Felice, Italy,
    Naples, c. 1480
  30. Giovanni Boccaccio, Elegia di Madonna
    Fiammetta, illuminated by Attavante degli
    Attavanti, Italy, Florence, c. 1480
  31. Book of hours for the use of Rome, Italy,
    Sicily or Naples, c. 1480-90
  32. Olivier de la Marche, Le chevalier délibéré and
    other texts, Flanders, c. 1484
  33. Prayerbook in German, Germany, Nuremberg,
    c. 1495-1500
  34. Fencing treatise with pen-and-ink drawings,
    southern Germany,Augsburg, c. 1490-1500
  35. Book of hours for the use of Paris in Latin
    and French, illuminated by an artist from the
    circle of Jean Pichore, France, Paris, c. 1500
  36. Passion prayerbook in Latin with a prayer for
    the Church of All Saints in Wittenberg, Flanders,
    Bruges, after 1517
  37. Diploma for Statilio Paolino on his award of a
    doctorate in law from the University of
    Perugia, Italy, Perugia, dated 29 October 1582
  38. Album with Italian, mainly Venetian, costumes and
    characters from the Commedia dell’Arte, Italy,
    Venice?, first quarter of the 17th century

    Miniatures

  39. Funeral mass for a dignitary, miniature from a
    breviary, France,Avignon, c. 1340-45 128
  40. A pope distributing the decretals, miniature from
    a manuscript of canon law, France, Languedoc,
    c. 1320
  41. The Adoration of the Magi, historiated initial ‘D’
    on a leaf from a missal, Italy, Siena, c. 1400-10
  42. Two martyr saints, historiated initial ‘P’ on a leaf
    from a gradual for Lucca Cathedral, illuminated by
    Martino di Bartolomeo. Italy, Lucca, c. 1394-95
  43. Investiture of St Clare on a cutting from a
    Franciscan antiphonary, Italy, Bologna or Veneto,
    c. 1430-40
  44. Trinity, historiated initial ‘G’ on a cutting from
    a choirbook, France, Savoy, c. 1450 138
  45. King David playing the psaltery, historiated
    initial ‘E’ on a leaf from a psalter, illuminated by
    Jacopo da Balsemo, Italy, Bergamo, c. 1450-55
  46. The Creation of Eve, historiated initial ‘I’ on a
    cutting from a choirbook, illuminated by
    Bonifacio Bembo, Italy, Lombardy, c. 1445
  47. Jesaia before the Almighty, historiated initial ‘A’
    on a leaf from an antiphonary, illuminated by
    a follower of the Maestro delle Vitae Imperatorum,
    Italy, Lombardy, c. 1460
  48. Batsheba bathing, miniature from the Hours of
    Guyot II Le Peley, illuminated by Jean Colombe,
    France, Bourges, c. 1480
  49. The miracle of St Michael on Mount Gargano,
    miniature from a choirbook, illuminated by
    Attavante degli Attavanti, Italy, Florence,
    between 1473 and 1502
  50. Christ taking leave of his mother, miniature
    mounted on wood, illuminated by Jacopo del
    Giallo?, Italy, Rome, c. 1540

    Key to bibliographical references

An important luxury manuscript of a literary work by Martin Le Franc – The only copy of the Estrif known in private hands

23 Martin Le Franc, L’Estrif de Fortune et de Vertu

Manuscript on vellum, illuminated by the Master of the Échevinage de Rouen. France, Rouen, c. 1465-75.

302 x 206 mm. 144 leaves, complete (the prologue in prose is possibly missing, but there are Estrif manuscripts which likewise include no prologue in prose): I-IX8, X4, XI-XVII8, XVIII12. Some traces of catchwords (on fol. 72v with calligraphic human profile), unfoliated. – Written space: 180 x 114 mm, 33 lines, ruled in pale red.Written in dark brown ink in a regular Cursiva Formata (Bastarda) with some cadels. Headings in red, names of the interlocutors in red (Fortune), blue (Virtue) and burnished gold (Reason). Paragraph-marks and one- and two-line initials in gold on alternately red and blue grounds with white tracery. – 3 very large miniatures within arched compartments, with six-line ivyleaf initials on highly burnished gold and full borders around baguettes with flower and fruit designs and ivyleaf and hairline decoration, spaces left for coats-of-arms. – Minimal rubbing to decoration (slight retouching of first miniature). First and last leaves and extreme outer edges slightly browned. Generally in very fine condition with wide margins (prickings intact). – Early 19th-century gilt green-brown morocco, spine gilt in compartments. Marbled paper pastedowns, one front and 2 rear paper flyleaves, blue silk ribbon. In a leather box.

PROVENANCE: 1. Count MacCarthy Reagh (1744-1811, cf. his sale 1815). Lot 1491 was a manuscript of the present text, but only the first miniature was mentioned. For another manuscript owned by him cf. our cat. no. 11. 2. Jean-Baptiste Barrois (1784-1855), no. 128 (cf. Bayot 1928, p. 15). 3. Bertram, fourth Earl of Ashburnham (1797-1878, cf. his sale at Christie’s, 12 June 1901, lot 330). 4. A. Bordes. 5. Maurice Loncle; his sale,Paris (Drouot), 16 June 1960, lot 10. 6. E.Winkler, his bookplate on the front pastedown.

TEXT: Martin le Franc (c. 1410-61) was born in Normandy and became provost of Lausanne, secretary of Amédée VIII of Savoy, the later Antipope Felix V and apostolic protonotary. He combined the careers of churchman, diplomat and author. It is to Philippe le Bon that Martin le Franc dedicated not only the Champion des dames (1441/42) but also the Estrif de Fortune et de Vertu (1447/48). This celebrated work describes in the tradition of Petrarch the debate, judged by Reason, over whether Fortune controls the destiny of man. Virtue triumphs and shows that man is capable of determining his own destiny with the spiritual help of Providence.The text, in the manner of Boethius’ Consolatio (cf. our cat. no. 11), is partly verse and partly prose. Apart from a prologue in verse the Estrif is usually also preceded by a prologue in prose; it is questionable whether our manuscript contained this prologue. The text starts with the rubric “L’Estrif de fortune et de vertu est party en trois livres” followed by the prologue in verse. The codex was unknown to Oskar Roth, though its rubrics correspond to the unusual ones from Paris, BN, fr. 1153 cited by him (Roth 1970, p. 45).

ILLUMINATION: fol. 1: Reason enthroned disputes with Virtue dressed as a crowned nun and Fortune with her wheel – fol. 33: Reason indicating that divine will, not fortune, creates kings and princes; an emperor is crowned by an angel attended by three nobles – fol. 77: Reason points to Fortune being trampled on by Virtue and Nobility. The Master of the Rouen Échevinage, who is responsible for the illumination of this manuscript, was the dominant figure of Rouen illumination after the departure of the English in 1449 when the city became a flourishing centre of manuscript production. Named after a series of codices he illuminated for the magistrates (Échevins) of Rouen (Paris, Bibliothèque nationale, fr. 2685, 2623, 129, 2629, 2596), the artist stands out for his accurate draughtsmanship which is still deeply rooted in the Gothic idiom. In his illustrations of secular texts in particular we find clearly structured compositions; in some cases inscriptions facilitate the identification of the allegorical figures. His palette comprises a harmonious range of opaque colours with a predilection for cool shades. Particularly close stylistic correspondences can be made out in a miniature of the Cité de Dieu in Paris (Paris, BN, fr. 27, fol. 232). The facial features of emperor, king and entourage closely resemble the figures in the coronation scene on fol. 33 of our manuscript. Likewise, the rendering of Philosophy in the Cité de Dieu (fol. 232) bears close analogies with the representation of Fortune on fol. 1 of our codex.The border decoration of the Valerius Maximus (Paris, BN, fr. 284, fol. 176), which bears the year 1479 as date of completion, closely correlates with the system of decoration employed in the Estrif and may therefore serve as point of reference for the date of production of our manuscript. Illuminated copies of the Estrif generally include three miniatures opening the prologue and introducing books II and III. Apart from this illustration programme no set iconographic pattern exists. The miniature opening the prologue with Reason enthroned flanked by Fortune and Virtue is the image in which we find the largest extent of conformity.The robes of the allegorical figures, however, vary and change, and Virtue is not always dressed as a nun. It seems that those manuscripts that employ comparable compositions are also more closely related in terms of style: in fr. 1150 (Paris, BN, fol. 3) Virtue is depicted wearing a nun’s habit and Reason is sitting enthroned. The illumination of the Estrif in Montpellier (Bibliothèque interuniversitaire, ms. 248), a manuscript which also contains no prologue in prose, resembles the compositional scheme of the miniatures in the present copy. The miniatures by the Master of the Rouen Échevinage in this copy carefully reflect and explain the text and count among the most distinguished illustrations of le Franc’s Estrif, along with the manuscript created in Tours (St. Petersburg, fr. F. v. XV. 6) and ms. 9510 in Brussels.

LITERATURE: Sales cat. MacCarthy Reagh, Paris 1815, lot 1491; sales cat. J. Barrois, London 1853, B. 128; sales cat. Earl of Ashburnam, Christie’s, 12 June 1901, lot 330; Bayot 1928, p. 15; sales cat., Paris (Drouot), 16 June 1960, lot 10; Rau 1960, p. 39. De Ricci 1935-40/Reprint 1961, p. 134; Ramsden 1953, p. 247; Roth 1970; Dembowsky 1999.