The Ovide moralisé is a poem consisting of 72,000 octosyllables. Between the end of the 13th century and the first quarter of the 14th century, the anonymous author translated the 15 books of Ovid's Metamorphoses by appropriating the ancient myths for the purposes of Christian edification. This Genevan exemplar, dated to the end of the 14th century, was illuminated by two artists, the Maître du Rational des divins offices and the Maître du Roman de la Rose.
Online Since: 06/23/2014
The Roman de la Rose is a poetic work of approximately 22,000 octosyllabic verses. The first part of this allegorial romance (over 4,000 verses) was written by Guillaume de Lorris in about 1230, and it was completed by Jean de Meun some forty years later. Although the work was originally conceived as a courtly tale, the second part disgresses on a wide variety of themes and expressly criticizes the myth of the rose according to Guillaume de Lorris. The Testament is a poem consisting of 544 four-line alexandrine monorhyme stanzas expounding the spiritual development of Jean de Meun.
Online Since: 06/22/2010
Christine de Pisan, a writer and poet of great renoun, was the author of numerous works and was personally involved in the design and production of manuscripts of her works. This hold true for this codex, which contains an account of the building of a utopian city by and for women.
Online Since: 12/09/2008
At the behest of Jeanne de Laval, the wife of King René of Anjou, in 1465 a cleric from Angers produced a prose adaptation of the first version of Guillaume de Deguileville's Pèlerinage de vie humaine. His anonymous work respects the original text and its division into four books. The completely and richly illuminated manuscript is dated to the third quarter of the 15th century.
Online Since: 10/13/2016
At the behest of Jeanne de Laval, wife of King René I. of Anjou, a cleric from Angers completed a prose adaptation of the first version of Pèlerinage de vie humaine by Guillaume de Deguileville in 1465. His anonymous work respects the original text and its division into four books. It is followed by the Danse aux aveugles (before 1465) by Pierre Michault. The two texts were richly illuminated by the Maître d'Antoine Rolin, however the decoration was never entirely completed.
Online Since: 10/13/2016
In 1389 Philippe de Mézières (1327-1405) wrote the Songe du viel pelerin, an allegorical travelogue and extraordinary mirror for princes intended for King Charles VI. Only nine copies of this text still exist, one of which is the present copy in two volumes. This paper manuscript was probably produced in Lille, where also were added a series of watercolor drawings that can be attributed to the Master of the Livre d'Eracles, an illuminator in the entourage of the Master of Jean Wavrin. Before the manuscript became part of the Petau Collection, then was passed to Ami Lullin and finally to the Bibliothèque de Genève, it was owned by Jean V de Créquy as attested by the coats of arms painted in the initial of the first book (f. 36r).
Online Since: 06/18/2020
This treatise in the form of a dialogue between a cleric and a knight was commissioned by King Charles V from the Master of Requests Evrard de Tremaugon. The two protagonists debate about the ecclesiastical and secular power at the end of the 14th century, about the relations between the king and the pope. In the end, the impartial author defends the independence of the temporal power of the king, although he remains the "vicaire de Dieu en la temporalité". The text, first written in Latin in 1376 under the title Somnium Viridarii, was translated into French as early as 1378.
Online Since: 10/08/2020
Le Jouvencel tells of the deeds of a young nobleman who, thanks to his bravery and military successes, marries the daughter of King Amydas. The text was inspired by the military career of Jean de Bueil, who served Charles VII for a long time. The manuscript is decorated with three paintings attributed to the Master of the Vienna Mamerot (from the circle of Jean Fouquet).
Online Since: 06/18/2020
Tristan in Prose is a 13th century prose romance of which a multitude of copies were made over the course of the medieval period. This work of knightly character is strongly influenced by the Lancelot en prose, which was written at the end of the first quarter of the 13th century. In this collection, which refer to the myths of Tristan and Arthur, Tristan is portrayed as the perfect lover and as the perfect knight, who as a Knight of the Round Table participates in the search for the Holy Grail. The Geneva manuscript is incomplete. It ends with the jousting competition between King Arthur and Tristan, in which the latter unseats the King and Yvain from their saddles. The defeated pair then returns to Roche Dure (Volume 3 of the Philippe Menard edition, 1991). At this time there are 82 known manuscripts and manuscript fragments of this work.
Online Since: 03/22/2012
Laurent de Premierfait translated De casibus virorum illustrium by Giovanni Boccaccio into French in about 1400. The work described the tragic fates of illustrious personages, mostly figures from antiquity. The translator presented a second version to the Duke of Berry in 1409, after expanding it with notes based on extracts from Latin historians. The Geneva exemplar, which carries the Ex libris of the bibliophile duke, transmits the second version. It is richly decorated with historiated vignettes, attributable mainly to the "Maître de Luçon".
Online Since: 12/21/2010
Laurent de Premierfait translated De casibus virorum illustrium by Giovanni Boccaccio into French in about 1400. This work describes the tragic fates of illustrious personages, mostly figures from antiquity. The translator presented a second version to the Duke of Berry in 1409, after expanding it with notes based on extracts from Latin historians. The Geneva exemplar, which carries the Ex libris of the bibliophile duke, transmits the second version. It is richly decorated with historiated vignettes, attributable mainly to the "Maître de Luçon".
Online Since: 12/21/2010
This remarkable manuscript, created in the 9th century in the Rhineland, contains the text of the four Gospels in their Latin version, written in Carolingian minuscule. The manuscript is decorated with, among others, two initials embellished with interlace and with canonical tables presented in arcades in vivid colors.
Online Since: 06/23/2014
The first page of this manuscript contains a note in Latin, listing the six texts that make up the volume; the note is contemporaneous with the manuscript that was executed during the 12th century. The note identifies four of the texts as treatises by Augustine – De doctrina christiana, Contra Felicianum arrianum, Explanatio epistolae ad Galatas, De consensu quatuor evangelistarum – and reports not knowing "nescitur" who wrote the last two texts. Modern criticism recognized in these texts the De vita christiana attributed to Fastidius (4th-5th century) and a treatise on the Trinity identified as the Pro fide catholica and attributed to Fulgentius Ruspensis (467-532). This copy was executed very carefully, the text was checked and corrected, and the main divisions are marked by elegant ornamental initials in red and blue. The origin of the manuscript, before its publication in the 1620 catalog of printed books and manuscripts of the Bibliothèque de Genève, is unknown.
Online Since: 10/08/2020
According to the calendar and the sanctoral, this missal was meant for the use of St. Pierre Cathedral in Geneva. Produced in the 14th century, the manuscript was restored in the 15th century and increased by several leaves, a sign that it was still in use at this time. An old miniature showing, among others, a crucifixion and a historiated initial depicting Pentecost – both original – was painted over with an image of angels bearing the coat of arms of Geneva (f. 95r). After the Reformation, this missal, together with other books from the Cathedral Chapter, was stored at the city hall (Hôtel de Ville), before it was finally transferred to the Bibliothèque de Genève in 1714.
Online Since: 12/14/2018
Urbain Bonivard, prior of Saint-Victor in Geneva from 1458 to 1483, produced this missal in 1460. The missal follows the liturgical practices of Cluny; the miniatures are the work of Janin Luysel and Guillaume Coquin. During the Reformation the manuscript disappeared from Geneva and only came to light again in 1912 when the city of Geneva bought it at an auction in Munich.
Online Since: 12/09/2008
In addition to the usual services, this small-format book of hours following the practice of Paris contains several texts in French (a prayer to St. Roch, Les quinze joies de Notre-Dame and Les sept requêtes à Notre Seigneur). It is richly illuminated with full-page as well as smaller miniatures attributed (Gagnebin, 1976) to the workshop of the Coëtivy Master (now identified as Colin d'Amiens). Although some illuminations are slightly damaged, they attest to the high quality of their execution, especially in the intercession of the saints (ff. 201r-220v). This book of hours was meant for a man (the prayers are addressed in the masculine, f. 21r and 25v), perhaps for a certain Jean Novelli, whose name, together with the date 1460, is mentioned on the 18th century binding.
Online Since: 06/13/2019
This 15th century Book of Hours following the custom of Paris also contains a complete biblical Psalter. The miniatures are attributed to the final period of the workshop of the Duke of Bedford (around 1435-1460). Each month in the calendar is preceded by a Latin verse in hexameter listing the two unlucky days of the month (January 1 and 25, February 4 and 26, March 1 and 28, April 10 and 20, May 3 and 25, June 10 and 16, July 13 and 22, August 1 and 30, September 3 and 21, October 3 and 22, November 5 and 28, December 7 and 22). This manuscript was part of the "collection Petau," founded by two counselors of the parliament of Paris, Paul Petau († 1614) and his son Alexandre Petau († 1672); in 1720 the volume was bought by Ami Lullin (1695-1756) from Geneva, who, after his death, bequeathed it to the Bibliothèque de Genève.
Online Since: 10/08/2015
The calendar of this book of hours for use in Rome contains prayers to Saint Clarus (2 January) and for the dedication of the Church of St. Peter in Geneva (8 October), which are particular to the diocese of this city. At an unspecified time, the manuscript suffered substantial damage: pages were torn out or torn apart, and illuminated initials were cut out. Only two of the original five illuminations have survived, placed at the beginning of the Hours of the Cross (fol. 15r) and the Penitential Psalms (fol. 74v), respectively. They were probably created mid-15th century in Geneva or the immediate surroundings.
Online Since: 10/04/2018
This book of hours in the Parisian fashion is richly illuminated and was made for the diocese of Nantes in the third quarter of the 15th century. It was owned by the Petau family during the 17th century. In 1720 it was purchased by Ami Lullin of Geneva and donated to the Bibliothèque de Genève.
Online Since: 12/09/2008
This manuscript from the second half of the 15th century is a book of hours for use in the Abbey of St. Martin of Tours. Six large miniatures remain, of which two pertain to the life of Christ, two are dedicated to the Annunciation, one to St. Joseph, and the last to St. Barbara. The calendar indicates the thirteen unlucky days (dies eger) of the year. With its old crimson velvet binding, its painted decorations and careful script, this manuscript had enriched the collection of the Petau family before it came to Geneva.
Online Since: 12/18/2014
This small, elegant, illuminated book of hours for the use of Rome was probably produced in the workshop of Jean Colombe, the famous book illustrator from Bourges, who was active in the last third of the 15th century. Some of the 14 miniatures that decorate the manuscript can in fact also be found in other books of hours that were illuminated by the master of Bourges, such as the cord situated in the ornate margins that frame the miniatures (Paris, BnF, n.a. lat. 3181). This motif has been interpreted in different ways, either as a sign of belonging to the Third Order of Franciscans, or as a sign of widowhood, in which case the addressee would have been a woman – but this is contradicted by the masculine forms of address in the prayers. The manuscript later became the property of Paul Petau, and in 1756 it became part of the collection of the Bibliothèque de Genève as part of the bequest of Ami Lullin.
Online Since: 06/14/2018
Illuminated in a Venetian workshop, this Rituale Romanum was copied during the second half of the 15th century for Archbishop Phillipe de Lévis. It contains the orations according to Roman Rite for various ceremonies such as baptism, purification, marriage, anointing of the sick, last rites, or burials. Carefully written, decorated with colorful floral borders and fine miniatures and augmented with gold leaf, the manuscript is of outstanding quality.
Online Since: 12/13/2013
This epistolary, produced in the cloister of St. Gall, was used for readings during the mass. The script is Carolingian minuscule and the initials are decorated with gold, silver, and minium. This manuscript may have been written and illuminated by Sintram at the beginning of the 10th century. The original binding was made of ivory. The manuscript apparently left St. Gall at the end of the 18th century, after being offered for sale. It only appeared again in the 1860s, when the heirs of Geneva physician Jean-Jaques de Roches-Lombard presented it to the Bibliothèque de Genève.
Online Since: 12/09/2008
This manuscript contains several texts copied between the 13th and the 16th century. The oldest one is the Solemn Evangelistary of St. Pierre Cathedral of Geneva (ff. 5-28v), which, according to its illuminations (esp. f. 5r), was probably created in Paris, even though the pericopes correspond to the feast days particular to Geneva. This is followed by excerpts from the sung Gospels (with staff notation) from the 14th and 15th century, one of which is an interesting late 15th century liturgical witness for the feast of the Epiphany (ff. 37v-40r).
Online Since: 06/13/2019
This sumptuous manuscript contains the Chronicle of Eusebius of Caesarea translated by St. Jerome and presented in columns, together with continuations by Jerome and Prosper of Aquitaine. It was produced in about 1480 in Padua or Venice and was illuminated by Petrus V…, who created a masterful full-page illustration on Fol. 10r. A binding error unfortunately reduces the overall esthetic appeal of the volume: the first and second fascicles have been placed in inverse order.
Online Since: 04/15/2010
This manuscript contains the Latin translation of the Roman de Troie by Benoît de Sainte-Maure, prepared in 1287 by Guido de Columnis. The text is divided into 35 books, of which only 9 are introduced by miniatures, most of them whole-page miniatures (f. 1r, 5v, 16v, 46r, 72v, 83v, 89v, 107v, 124v). Set in Renaissance-style frames, the paintings illustrate various important moments in the destruction of Troy. This manuscript was part of the collection of Paul and Alexandre Petau before it became the property of Ami Lullin, pastor and theologist in Geneva, who donated it to the Bibliothèque de Genève in 1756.
Online Since: 03/22/2018
This manuscript dates from about 1420 and contains the "Conspiracy of Catilin " and the "Jugurthine War" by Sallust. Miniature illuminations in grisaille were added by Bedford-Meister and assistants in his workshop, followed by a commentary by Jean Lebègues, who wrote a guide to the illustration of historical scenes in the above-named works of Sallust in 1417. During the 17th century the manuscript was owned by the Petau family. In 1720 Ami Lullin of Geneva purchased the codex and donated it to the Bibliothèque de Genève.
Online Since: 12/09/2008
“Lives of philosophers” constitute a subcategory of the ancient literary genre of “lives of illustrious men” that was considered anew beginning in the 12th century. The Latin text of this manuscript, the Liber de vita et moribus philosophorum veterum, attributed to Gautier Burley (actually an anonymous Italian author from the early 14th century), consists of a collection of moral maxims from various philosophers, whose names are indexed at the end of the work (f. 93r-94r). This copy, dated 1452, may be from the Abbey of Saint-Denis and later was the property of Paul and Alexandre Petau, before becoming part of the holdings of the Bibliothèque de Genève as part of the bequest of Ami Lullin.
Online Since: 10/10/2019
This manuscript contains the Decretum Gratiani with the Glossa ordinaria by Bartholomäus Brixiensis. It is a distinctive testimony to the masterly page layout of legal texts, where the main text is usually framed on all sides by its commentary. This copy is signed by the scribe, brother Adigherio (fol. 341v). The manuscript also is sumptuously decorated with large miniatures that introduce the main parts of the text as well as the various legal cases; in addition, there are numerous historiated initials, often very humorous (e.g. f. 2r, 127v), and figure initials. Two book illustrators from Bologna, the Master of 1346 and l'Illustratore, are the creators of this decoration that was carried out in the 1340s. In 1756, the Decretum Gratiani became part of the Bibliothèque de Genève with the bequest of Ami Lullin, who had purchased this copy from the collection of Paul and Alexander Petau.
Online Since: 06/14/2018
This manuscript, produced in a Parisian workshop during the mid-13th century, contains books I through XVIII of the Digestum vetus by Justinian, in a textual variant different from that found in the version of the Digest most common at that time. An illustration in the form of a vertical band depicts the Emperor Justinian, standing among the five most important jurists of the early 3rd century, who are frequently quoted in the Digest.
Online Since: 04/15/2010
The humanist Lazare de Baïf (1496-1547), ambassador of Francis I, is the author of the Latin treatise De re vestiaria, which in 1526 was the first monograph on antique clothing. This text, written in Latin and interspersed with Greek quotations - a language Baïf studied with Giovanni Lascaris in Rome - was widely distributed through editions printed, for example, in Basel by Froben (1537) or in Paris by Charles Estienne (1535). This handwritten copy in the Bibliothèque de Genève presents the complete text of the De re vestiaria, divided into 21 chapters and with numerous marginal notes, probably by the hand of Lazarus de Baïf (f. 79v), making it a particularly valuable textual witness.
Online Since: 06/18/2020
This manuscript was produced in a Parisian workshop around the end of the 13th century. It contains the Latin version of thirteen critiques written by, or generally thought to have been written by, Aristotle. The book ends with a fragment of De uno deo benedicto by Moses Maimonides. Forty decorated initials adorn the text, and a large drawing of Christ on the cross with Mary and John has been added on the last folio.
Online Since: 04/15/2010
This manuscript contains three medical texts translated from Arabic and Greek into Latin. It begins with a small medical encyclopedia in ten books, the Kitâb al-Mansuri by Rhazes (ff. 4-126), in the translation attributed to Gerard of Cremona (d. 1187); this is immediately followed by a treatise on fever (ff. 126-144v) inspired by Johannitius (Latin name of the doctor and translator Hunain ben Ishāq al-Ibādī from Baghdad, 808-873). The collection concludes with the text Twelve books of medicine by the Byzantine physician Alexander of Tralles, divided here into three books and followed by the Treatise on fever (ff. 146-289v). The extensively annotated manuscript is adorned with decorated initials from which very beautiful red and blue "Italian extensions" emerge.
Online Since: 12/12/2019
This portolan by Andrea Benincasa is signed and dated 1476 on the last chart, which is glued to the inside back cover. The five nautical charts, each occupying a double page of the atlas, describe the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea (chart 1), the coasts between Sicily and the Aegean Sea (chart 2), the Mediterranean Sea from Gibraltar to Rome with Corsica and Sardinia (chart 3), the coasts of the Atlantic between England and Ireland to the Strait of Gibraltar (chart 4), and finally the coasts between Gibraltar and Cape Bojador, including the Canary Islands and other islands (chart 5). The star-shaped rhumb lines with wind roses indicate the compass directions, while the scales, here marked in the corners of the leaves, make it possible to estimate distances. The precise course of the coasts highlighted with color and the elegant script of the toponyms are characteristic of maps from the Benincasa studio, which were intended as objects for book lovers, but not for navigation. Among the numerous inscriptions on these maps, those on the Atlantic islands are the most surprising, as they seem to anticipate the discovery of the American archipelago like “Antilia,” or the island of “Brazil”; these names were adopted by Christopher Columbus and his successors to name certain territories in the New World.
Online Since: 12/12/2019
With a beautiful binding à la "Du Seuil", this 15th century manuscript contains the Policraticus (The government of the state), a work of reflections on the vanities of courtiers, written by John of Salisbury (1115/1120-1180). It was copied in a careful hand, and the text was decorated with a large miniature showing an author reading his text before the king of France.
Online Since: 12/18/2014
This manuscript, copied in the years 1460-1480, contains De regimine principum by Aegidius Romanus, decorated with a miniature in which the author (Aegidius Romanus) dedicates the book to the king of France. The last leaves contain the Life of Aesop and his Fables, translated into Latin by Rinuccio di Arezzo. The manuscript was owned by François Bonivard († 1570), who was prior of the Cluniac Priory of St. Victor in Geneva.
Online Since: 04/15/2010
This manuscript dates from the beginning of the 16th century and contains two poems by Raoul Bollart, the first of which celebrates the siege of King Ludwig XII of France against the Venetians in 1509. The second poem treats the subject of moral values and relates the supplications made to a rich person by the poor. All miniatures found in this manuscript, illustrating various scenes in the poems, were made in Rouen. The way in which they follow the morality text is similar to the style of modern comics. During the 17th century this manuscript was owned by the Petau family. In 1720 Ami Lullin of Geneva purchased the codex and donated it to the Bibliothèque de Genève.
Online Since: 12/09/2008
At the request of his friend Othman Lillo Ferducci of Ancona, Gian Mario Filelfo composed the Amyris in the years 1471-1476. This long Latin poem was intended to thank Sultan Mehmet II for having freed Ferducci's brother-in-law, who had been taken prisoner by the Turcs during the capture of Constantinople in 1453. Gian Mario Filelfo had the manuscript decorated in Florence with "bianchi girari” ornamentation, had it bound in Urbino with a very beautiful Italian Renaissance binding, and then gave it to the Duke of Urbino, Federico da Montefeltro, at whose court he was staying in 1477 and 1478.
Online Since: 12/18/2014
One of the ancient authors best known in the Middle Ages doubtlessly was Cicero. Some of his speeches - the Orationes - were rediscovered by humanists, as is attested by this copy. The manuscript contains 27 of Cicero's speeches, written in a round Italian humanistic script. It begins with a miniature depicting a group of speakers in a discussion (f. 1r), painted by Péronet Lamy, an illuminator who is documented from 1432 until 1453 and who worked primarily for Amadeus VIII, the Duke of Savoy. It is likely that Péronet Lamy carried out this decoration when he was at the Council of Basel as part of the Duke's entourage. Also present there was Martin le Franc (1408-1461), ducal secretary and author of the Champion des Dames and the Estrif de fortune et de vertu; according to a scraped entry (f. 290r), he came into possession of this manuscript. Thereafter it belonged to Germain Colladon (back pastedown), a fellow student of John Calvin, who fled to Geneva in 1550. Around 1615, one of his daughters-in-law sold the manuscript, together with Ms. lat. 53, to the Bibliothèque de Genève.
Online Since: 03/22/2018
This miniature book of hours (11.5 x 7 cm) for use in Rome was probably made in Bourges by the Master of Spencer 6 (active between 1490 and 1510). All 35 full-page and framed miniatures show identical composition, where the main scene, presented in close-up, is complemented with a predella containing small figures. The manuscript's owner, the Naville family of Geneva (coat of arms on f. 1v), donated it to the Bibliothèque de Genève in 1803.
Online Since: 10/04/2018
This manuscript, dated to about 1200, contains several texts, among them the Martyrology of Usuard (Benedictine monk, died around 875), an incomplete homiliary, the Rule of St. Augustine, and the necrology of Sixt Abbey (France, Haute-Savoie) that was expanded with later additions into the 17th century. According to François Huot, the various parts could have existed separately, but they seem to have been combined since the beginning of the 13th century. Primarily in the 13th and 14th century, diverse texts were added on previously blank pages, among them list of dues owed the abbey noted on pages f. 75v and 99r. This manuscript belonged to the Augustinian Canons Regular of Sixt Abbey, who used it during the Officium capituli; the manuscript must have been in their possession until the French Revolution. In the 19th century it was purchased by Auguste Turrettini (1818-1881) from Geneva.
Online Since: 10/08/2015
This volume, which was produced in Italy in the mid to late 15th century, is a collection of letters, bringing together letters by Phalaris, Diogenes of Sinope and Brutus, who were regarded in the middle ages as the true authors of these letters. They were translated into Latin by Francesco Griffolini Aretino and Ranuccio of Arezzo. A decorative illustration in bianchi girari (entwined white vine style) is found at the beginning of the section by each author. Two fragments of De officiis ministrorum by St. Ambrose are found at the end of the volume.
Online Since: 04/15/2010
This manuscript was deposited in the Bibliothèque de Genève in 2007 by the priests of the Congregation of St. Francis de Sales (at the Institut Florimont in Geneva). This composite manuscript unifies two previously separate texts: a copy of Prician's Institutiones Grammaticae made during the 11th or 12th centuries in Italy, and the Commentary on the Apocalypse by Beatus of Liébana. The latter is illustrated with 65 miniatures; this 11th century copy was probably written in southern Italy, judging by the Beneventana and Carolingian minuscule scripts used. This previously unknown Beatus manuscript discovered in Geneva adds to the 26 illuminated exemplars already on record.
Online Since: 11/03/2009
Philibert de Viry's manuscript is one of the rare Books of Hours for use in the Diocese of Geneva to have survived until today. Illuminated in Lyon by the Maître de l'Entrée de François I, it contains miniatures directly inspired by Albrecht Dürer's (1511) woodcuts Petite Passion. This is an early witness of the reception of this series of images in France and an example of the often unsuspected influence of engraving on book decoration.
Online Since: 03/17/2016
The De Divina Proportione is a mathematical treatise by the Franciscan friar Luca Pacioli (1445-1517). The Italian text is followed by sixty polyhedra, drawn filled or empty, and influenced by Leonardo da Vinci. Of the three copies written during the author's lifetime, only two remain. This copy, held by the Bibliothèque de Genève, is the presentation copy of the Duke of Milan, Ludovico Sforza, whose coat of arms and motto adorn the manuscript (fol. Ir and LXIIv).
Online Since: 02/27/2019
This book of hours contains primarily the Office of the Dead and the Office of the Virgin. The initials are clearly set off from one another by color and enliven the text.
Online Since: 11/10/2016
This prayer book was probably written by a nun. The texts relate to the Communion. They serve as preparation before and thanksgiving after receiving Communion.
Online Since: 11/10/2016
This prayer book is from the first quarter of the 16th century and was meant for a woman. It contains primarily prayers to Mary and the Liturgy of the Hours for the Passion of Christ.
Online Since: 12/20/2016
Lectionary from the second half of the 12th century or beginning of the 13th century from a Benedictine monasrtery in the southwestern German region, as indicated by the naming of various saints from this area. This is likely among the manuscripts brought to Hermetschwil by the nuns from the Double monastery of Muri. Adorned with many figured and historiated initials.
Online Since: 06/22/2010
This manuscript was made for the female part of the double monastery of Muri since the prayers feature female terms. This work contains the readings, responsories and prayers for the Liturgy of the Hours; the Penitential Psalms; the benedictions for the daily life in the monastery; and the Office of the Dead.
Online Since: 11/10/2016
This psalter from the 12th century is part of a collection formerly owned by the library of the double abbey of Muri. It was later transferred to the monastery at Hermetschwil. The cycle of miniatures is incomplete; the calendar includes a series of necrological records.
Online Since: 06/22/2010
This Dominican-type breviary is from Zurich. It contains texts on the saints' days and on the Commune of saints. Thomas Aquinas is especially emphasized (2r has an initial stretching over 10 lines with a pen drawing of the saint).
Online Since: 11/10/2016
This book of hours of Savoyard or western Swiss origin, produced in about 1490, was originally the property of the Bern patrician Thomas Schöni and his wife Jeanne d'Arbignon. The miniatures were ascribed to the Meister of the breviary of Jost von Silenen.
Online Since: 06/22/2010
This psalter is the work of the Engelberg Master. Psalms 1, 51 and 101 are introduced by large initials. Especially remarkable is a knight on 41r.
Online Since: 11/10/2016
This prayer book contains prayers in High Alemannic dialect. They are directed to saints, are dedicated to the deceased or contemplate the Passion of Christ.
Online Since: 11/10/2016
This psalter was originally made for Selnau Abbey in Zurich. 7r has a portrait of a benefactress. In the 17th century, it was owned by Sister Ottilia Suter of Hermetschwil.
Online Since: 11/10/2016
This small volume contains prayers in memory of the deceased in a convent of Franciscan nuns. It is decorated with initials stretching over several lines of text, consisting of plant motifs in rich colors.
Online Since: 11/10/2016
A total of eight manuscripts, written and illuminated in St. Gall in the period between 1022 and 1036 for Sigebert, Bishop of Minden (1022-1036), have survived until today. They are a complete group of liturgical manuscripts consisting of a sacramentary, an epistolary, an evangeliary, a gradual, a tropary-sequentiary, a gradual-hymnal, a hymnal and the Ordo missae. The present copy is very similar to the one from Einsiedeln, Cod. 40(481) (before 950). Unfortunately the precious binding with gold, gems and an ivory tablet, which had been described in the 15th century, has been lost. In 1683 the manuscript became part of the library of Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg, and later of the Berlin State Library (Staatsbibliothek). Along with other manuscripts (among others the tropary-sequentiary), it was evacuated to safety during World War II and today is held as a deposit in Krakow.
Online Since: 12/17/2015
A total of eight manuscripts, written and illuminated in St. Gall in the period between 1022 and 1036 for Sigebert, Bishop of Minden (1022-1036), have survived until today. They are a complete group of liturgical manuscripts consisting of a sacramentary, an epistolary, an evangeliary, a gradual, a tropary-sequentiary, a gradual-hymnal, a hymnal and the Ordo missae. This tropary-sequentiary contains a drawing of the author Notker Balbulus (about 840-912) in the sequentiary part on f. 144r. He is depicted as the writer of his sequence Sancti Spiritus Assit nobis gratia and is represented with a saint's halo. In 1683 the manuscript became part of the library of Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg, and later of the Berlin State Library (Staatsbibliothek). Along with other manuscripts (among others the Epistolary), it was evacuated to safety during World War II and today is held as a deposit in Krakow.
Online Since: 12/17/2015
This codex dates to the first half of the 14th century and contains a copy of Roman de la Rose, an Old French allegorical dream vision by Guillaume de Lorris and Jean de Meun composed in the 13th century. This copy, which is one of more than 300 that survive in full or in part, is heavily annotated and shows evidence of extensive use by several different readers.
Online Since: 01/21/2011
This prayer book is either from the Cologne area, as indicated by the selection of prayer texts and calendars, or from the “Stift Münstereifel”, as the saints Daria and Chrysanthus, who are venerated there, are explicitly mentioned on 218r and 219r. Via Catharina von Wrede (front paste-down), the prayer book reached the Bibliothèque des Cèdres, which became part of the holdings of the Bibliothèque cantonale et universitaire - Lausanne in 1966. This small-format volume, illustrated with 18 miniatures, contains a cycle of prayers on the life and passion of Christ, prayers on the truths of the faith, and on various saints. The miniatures and the beginnings of the texts are surrounded by borders with leaf scroll and interlace ornamentation; additional decoration consists of 35 initials in gold, as well as pen flourishes and blue, red and gold Lombard initials in the margins.
Online Since: 10/08/2020
The Biblia Porta manuscript, which bears the name of its last private owner, is an illuminated Bible from the Franco-Flemish region, produced at the end of the 13th century. The value of this unique and extraordinary work lies in the quality of its textual illustrations: 337 scenes of great artistic refinement, very lively and expressive. The illustrations consist of historiated initials, ornamental initials, drolleries and marginal illustrations. The text, which is written in extremely carefully formed calligraphy on very fine parchment, is St. Jerome's Vulgate version of the Bible in Latin, revised in Paris in the second quarter of the 13th century. This document is one of the few remaining works from this particular school of book decoration in northern France.
Online Since: 12/21/2009
This book of hours, donated to the library of the Academy of Lausanne in 1779, is a typical example of such devotional books from the late Middle Ages. The calendar is for use in Paris: each day has its saint assigned to it, without any of them being highlighted. The masculine form of address of the Obsecro te could have been for a book of hours made for the book market as much as it could designate the actual recipient of the manuscript. Some prayers in French, such as the XV joies de Notre Dame, Les sept requêtes à Notre Seigneur, and a prayer to the Holy Cross, conclude the work. All illuminations marking the beginning of each of the Offices, probably full-page decorations, have disappeared. The only remaining traces of book decoration can be found in the margins and in the decorated initials in the secondary divisions of the same Offices.
Online Since: 10/08/2020
De vita solitaria is one of the Latin works by the famous Italian poet Petrarch (1304-1374), who wrote it in 1346 and revised it several times in the course of the following years. Two books praise the secluded, solitary life dedicated to study and meditation. This paper manuscript shows a certain elegance, in the page layout as well as in the two gold initials (p. 7, 103). Its origin is unknown, but before 1892, when it was acquired by the library, it was owned by the canons of Lausanne and a family of notaries from Muraz (Valais). The binding originally consisted of a series of 14th century paper fragments, which were joined together in numerous layers and were later detached and restored. Some of these fragments are papal privileges addressed to members of various French dioceses, others are in Italian from the area of Tuscany, and one contains Hebrew text.
Online Since: 12/10/2020
This codex contains two different texts, both incomplete, in a single 19th century binding. One of these is Henry Suso's Horologium Sapientiae (1-66), a text that was written in Constance and that was in wide use during the late Middle Ages. The other is Petrarch's De Vita Solitaria (67-116). The first is a parchment manuscript of Italian origin that can be dated to the late 14th or early 15th century; it is written by a single hand in a semi-cursive Gothic script in two columns. What makes this manuscript special is that it was written on a parchment palimpsest that originally contained legal texts written in the 13th century. The second part, by another hand and of French or Swiss origin, contains a text by Petrarch written in a bastarda script in two columns, dated to the 15th century. Both texts contain pen-flourish initials and are interspersed with manicules.
Online Since: 10/10/2019
This chronicle, completed in 1513, tells the early history of Lucerne and, beginning with the Battle of Sempach (1386), it tells the history of the Swiss Confederation from the point of view of followers of the Holy Roman Emperor. The 450 illustrations by two different hands, due to their vividness and to the richness of their subjects and details, constitute a unique source of information about late medieval life.
Online Since: 03/19/2015
This volume contains St. Bonaventure's Legenda maior of St. Francis, the Vita beati Antonii and two documents regarding the Portiuncula indulgence. The manuscript was written by Elisabeth von Amberg (ff. 1-127) and Katherina von Purchausen (ff. 129-176) in the year 1337. It is decorated with an initial portraying St. Francis as a knight (f. 4r) and a vignette showing the bestowal of the Stigmata (f. 77v). The appearance of the name of St. Clara in the text suggests that the codex was written in a cloister of the Poor Clares, perhaps the Paradise. It came into the posession of the Capuchin cloister in Frauenfeld at the beginning of the 17th century and has been held in the provincial archive of the Capuchins in Lucerne since 1848.
Online Since: 03/31/2011
The oldest necrology of the Franciscan Monastery of Lucerne has not survived; KF 80 is the second necrology and includes parts of the lost first volume; the entries go up to 1734. Two important donor families, who were particularly close to the monastery, were remembered specifically in a separate section with their family coats of arms: the Martin family (fol. 17v) and the Sonnenberg family (fol. 62-63v). After the dissolution of the monastery, this volume, along with the monastery archives, became part of the state archives in 1838.
Online Since: 03/22/2017
By his own account, Hans von Hinwil, lord of Elgg castle (1498-1544), wrote his family book in the year 1541. An introduction to the history of the family is followed by the coats of arms of his ancestors in chronological order. This manuscript can be compared with other well-known family books such as those of the lords of Eptingen or the lords of Hallwyl; however, for Eastern Switzerland it constitutes a unique example among the nobility of the formation of tradition in words and in images.
Online Since: 03/22/2017
This is the only know work of monogrammist B.G.; it was created in 1557 for Abbot Peter I. Eichhorn (†1563) of Wettingen Abbey. While most of the many initials are based on woodcuts by Bernard Salomon (Quadrins historiques de la Bible, Lyon 1553), the painter composed the decoration of the margins independently and very charmingly with allusions to the name of the client (Eichhorn = squirrel) who commissioned the work as well as to a motif of geese.
Online Since: 10/10/2019
Liturgical music to be sung during night prayer hours on the feasts of the saints, from the early period of the Cistercian cloister of Saint Urban.
Online Since: 07/25/2006
Liturgical music for the singing of mass on Sundays and feast days in a Cistercian monastery, with decorations by the Master of the Antwerp Bible of Conrad of Vechta, produced in Prague shortly after 1400.
Online Since: 12/12/2006
This manuscript contains two texts: the Speculum virtutis by Abbot Engelbert von Admont (ca. 1250-1331), which is a reflection on leadership in the Aristotelian spirit, and a tract by Marquard von Lindau (d. 1392) on the merits of all living beings based on their divine creation and on the merits of the human soul.
Online Since: 12/21/2010
This manuscript contains the as yet only know textual witness of the Breviloquium sententiarum artis theologicae, an adaptation of Peter Lombard's sentences by the Canon Odalricus of Verdun.
Online Since: 12/18/2014
This antiphonary from the 2nd half of the 14th century includes the texts from Pentecost to the end of the liturgical year, as well as the corresponding saints' days and texts for the Commune sanctorum. The origin is unknown, but based on the inclusion of certain saints' days, the manuscript originated in the Cologne area. Written in a uniform script, with neumes on four lines throughout and a few later additions with neumes on five lines; signs of usage and later notes. Five larger and five smaller initials are covered in gold leaf, and in addition there are 36 plainer initials; all initial letters are set off in red or blue, the rubrics are in red. A father from Marienstein, who worked at the Kollegium of Altdorf, received the manuscript second-hand. From there the manuscript came to Mariastein in 1981. Not published.
Online Since: 06/22/2017
This codex from the end of the 15th century contains several appealing initials and select shorter works by Bernard of Clairvaux. Among them are also several works attributed to Bernard. The scribe ist the Cistercian Johannes Fabri, professed member of the monastery of Heilbronn. According to an old entry (17th century?), the book belonged to Beinwil Abbey, which was relocated to Mariastein in 1648.
Online Since: 06/22/2017
This work by brother Alonso de Oropesa OSH († 1469) must be considered in the context of the attacks on converted Jews in Spain (and above all in Toledo), the so-called conversos. As a general of the Order of the Hieronymites (since 1457), but also as a close confidant and adviser of King Henry IV of Castile (1454-1474), Alonso advocated a tolerant attitude towards converted Jews. In 1450, he began writing the 'Lumen ad revelationem gentium et gloria plebis Dei Israel' - De unitate fidei et de concordia et pacifica equalitate fidelium (f. 1-203, Tabula 204-207); in 1465, he dedicated the completed book of 52 chapters to the Archbishop Alfonso Carrillo of Toledo (1410-1485). The announced second part of the work apparently was never written.In 1979, Luis A. Diaz y Diaz prepared a Spanish translation based on the three manuscripts then known. The present manuscript has not yet been acknowledged in research; it thus constitutes the fourth manuscript known so far. It was certainly written still in the 15th century and is made up of parchment and paper leaves. Despite its significance, no Latin text edition of the work has yet been prepared.
Online Since: 12/17/2015
Register of ownership compiled in 1394, at the behest of Abbess Luzia I, by the notary Jakob von Schluderns; a fair copy was written on parchment by his son Peter. The register records 517 leaseholds in 36 localities. The ornamentation is simple, but beautifully executed. Important are two large figures in color, representing John the Baptist as patron and Charlemagne as founder of the monastery. Valuable from the point of view of historical linguistics is a passage in the vernacular that is copied in the urbarium as part of a Latin document from 1389. This is the oldest testimony of the Romansh language of the Engadine, or rather of the Val Müstair.
Online Since: 09/26/2017
Fragment of an evangeliary written around 800. It contains the pericopes necessary for the entire liturgical year. The surviving parts begin with the pericope for Septuagesima Sunday and suggest that, in addition to Sundays and holidays, gospels were chosen for every Wednesday and Friday, and during Lent - as in the Missale Romanum - for every day of the week. The final part contains the gospels for the votive Mass, however only four pericopes have survived. The script indicates a scriptorium in Raetia Curiensis as place of origin.
Online Since: 09/26/2017
A book of hours following the liturgical usage of Rome, richly illustrated with full-page miniatures, borders, and initials, written in cursive script (bastarda) which can be dated to about 1500, with texts in Latin, French, and Flemish. The style of the miniatures, especially that of the naturalistic borders with flowers and insects, but also with complete scenes, seems typical of the Ghent-Bruges school.
Online Since: 03/22/2012
Part of a leaf from the third volume (May-June) of a Fulda Legendary that originally consisted of six volumes, commissioned in 1156 by Rugger, monk at Frauenberg Abbey in Fulda (1176-1177 abbot of Fulda as Rugger II). This fragment contains parts of the Passio sanctorum Marci et Marcelliani as well as of the Vita s. Bodardi; it was probably written by Eberhard of Fulda. The legendary was still used in the middle of the 16th century in Fulda by Georg Witzel (1501-1573) for his Hagiologium seu de sanctis ecclesiae (Mainz 1541) as well as for his Chorus sanctorum omnium. Zwelff Bücher Historien Aller Heiligen Gottes (Köln 1554). Other fragments from this third volume are in Basel and Solothurn. It shows that this volume, and at least the 6th volume (November-December) of the legendary as well, reached Basel, where both evidently were used as manuscript waste around 1580.
Online Since: 06/13/2019
A Franciscan Gradual written and illuminated in northern Italy (Padua or Bologna), dateable to the first decade of the 14th century. The manuscript was used in the Franciscan cloister of St. Francis of Locarno, which received it together with the antiphonaries de tempore Codice II and Codice III as well as the antiphonary de sanctis Codice IV on the occasion of the re-dedication of the church in 1316. At the end of the text (fol. 181r) is a Praefatio (Statutum pro libris choralibus scribendis), which would normally be placed at the beginning, containing the guidelines for editing choral books for the order. On the last page Brother Giacomo di Rastelli Orelli transcribed some records concerning the cloister: a note about the provision of the library cabinets, the dedication document from the year 1316, and a note about a donation for the purchase of liturgical paraphernalia.
Online Since: 10/04/2011
This Antiphonary contains the first part of the Proprium de Tempore (from the eve of the first Sunday of Advent to the fifth Sunday after Epiphany) and a selection of holy days from the Proprium Sanctorum (from St. Andrew's eve to the Annunciation) for use by the Fransciscans. Written and illuminated in northern Italy (Padua or Bologna), is dateable to the first decade of the 14th century. The manuscript was used in the Franciscan cloister of St. Francis in Locarno, which received it together with the Gradual and the Antiphonaries de tempore Codice III and de sanctis Codice IV on the occasion of the re-dedication of the church in 1316.
Online Since: 10/04/2011
This Antiphonary contains the second part of the Temporale (from the eve of Septuagesima Sunday through the first Sunday in the November calendar) for use by the Franciscans. Written and illuminated in northern Italy (Padua or Bologna), is dateable to the first decade of the 14th century. The manuscript was used in the Franciscan cloister of St. Francis in Locarno, which received it together with the Gradual and the Antiphonaries de tempore Codice II and de Sanctis Codice IV on the occasion of the re-dedication of the church in 1316.
Online Since: 10/04/2011
This Antiphonary contains songs for saints' days, the Office of the Dead, and an Office for Anthony of Padua. It was written and illuminated in northern Italy (Padua or Bologna) and is dateable to the first decade of the 14th century. The manuscript was used in the Franciscan cloister of St. Francis in Locarno, which received it together with the Gradual and the Antiphonaries de tempore Codice II and II Codice III on the occasion of the re-dedication of the church in 1316. The front pastedown had a sheet of paper affixed to it, detached during the most recent restoration, on which both sides contained an annotated plan for a "rivellino", a type of bulwark normally found in fortifications.
Online Since: 10/04/2011
15th century parchment missal, made for Bishop Johann von Venningen (1458-1478). The expenditure records of Bishop Johann von Venningen permit tracing the individual stages of the making of this missal. This manuscript was created at the same time as ms. 2 and ms. 3. In 1462/1463, the final touches were added to the almost completed manuscript, the illumination, the initials, the fleuronné initials, and especially the attachment of the cover. For convenience, the order of the Ordo and the Canon was changed. Originally meant to be at the beginning of the manuscript, they were finally placed in the middle.
Online Since: 04/09/2014
Pontifical of Johann von Venningen, Bischop of Basel (1458-1478), produced at his request (first part). The expenditure records of Bishop Johann von Venningen permit tracing the individual stages of the making of this Pontifical. This manuscript was created at the same time as ms. 1 and ms. 3. In 1462/1463, the final touches were added to the almost completed manuscript, the illumination, the initials, the fleuronné initials, and especially the attachment of the cover.
Online Since: 04/09/2014
Pontifical of Johann von Venningen, Bischop of Basel (1458-1478), produced at his request (second part). The expenditure records of Bishop Johann von Venningen permit tracing the individual stages of the making of this Pontifical. This manuscript was created at the same time as ms. 1 and ms. 2. In 1462/1463, the final touches were added to the almost completed manuscript, the illumination, the initials, the fleuronné initials, and especially the attachment of the cover.
Online Since: 04/09/2014
This manuscript contains a Latin version of Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, translated and glossed by Robert Grosseteste (1175-1253), Bishop of Lincoln. The decoration of monochrome as well as red and blue fleuronné initials at the beginning of the chapters (e.g., 3r) and the colorfully decorated initials at the beginning of the books (e.g., 1r) attest to an origin in Southwestern Germany in the third quarter of the 15th century. The manuscript was originally part of the episcopal library; during the French Revolution it came to the library of the Jesuit College of Porrentruy; in the 20th century it finally became part of the collection of the Library of the Canton of Jura.
Online Since: 09/23/2014
Missal following the liturgical custom of the Diocese of Basel, datable to around 1300. In the 15th century, a part containing the Ordo Missae was added, preceded by a Crucifixion miniature. The binding was restored in 1992 and replaces the unpreserved original binding.
Online Since: 04/09/2014
First part of a Bible (second part in Ms. 6b) containing the books of the Old Testament from Genesis to Iesus Sirach. The manuscript was produced in the same workshop as Ms. 6b and 6c; based on the style of the initials, it was made in Southwestern Germany during the second third of the 15th century. The decoration consists of small red and blue filigreed initials for the prologues and of larger ornamental initials at the beginning of the books. The manuscript is mentioned in the inventory of Prince-Bishop Philipp von Gundelsheim (1487-1553); according to a note on f. 1r, during the 19th century it became the property of the Jesuit College of Porrentruy, after which it became part of the collection of the Library of the Canton of Jura.
Online Since: 09/23/2014
Second part of a Bible (first part in Ms. 6a) which, as also Ms. 6a and 6c, was produced in Southwestern Germany during the second third of the 15th century. The manuscript consists of two parts: the first part contains the remaining books of the Old Testament (Isaia to II Maccabeorum), the second part contains those of the New Testament. The books in the second part (105r-219v) are introduced by historiated or ornamental initials, while the beginnings of the chapters have blue red filigreed initials. The manuscript is mentioned in the inventory of Prince-Bishop Philipp von Gundelsheim (1487-1553); according to a note on f. 1r, during the 19th century it became the property of the Jesuit College of Porrentruy, after which it became part of the collection of the Library of the Canton of Jura.
Online Since: 09/23/2014
Missal following the liturgical custom of the Diocese of Basel, commissioned by Christoph of Utenheim, prince-bishop of Basel between 1502 and 1527; he had his coat of arms, crossed with that of the Diocese of Basel, painted in the lower margin of f. 2r. The Canon of the Mass, decorated with a historicized initial depicting the Mass of St. Gregory, is not original but was added later. The border with flower decoration in the side margin and the presumed miniature of the Crucifixion in the beginning were removed.
Online Since: 04/09/2014
Given the liturgy and the presence of the Office for the Saint, this breviary originated in St. Lebuinus Church in Deventer (Netherlands). It belonged to Swibert de Keyserswerth (died after 1551), paternal grandfather of the Dutch organist and composer Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck (1562-1621).
Online Since: 04/09/2014
Book of Hours following the custom of the Diocese of Besançon, with the calendar in French. Its decoration is incomplete, which makes it possible to reconstruct the various stages of its production.
Online Since: 04/09/2014
15th century Pontifical. The ceremonies are represented as full page miniatures with ornamental initials, marginal decorations and several lines of text on the model of books of hours; in the text there are many colorful borders and ornamental initials, often with depictions of the liturgical objects mentioned in the text. In addition to the frequently recurring coat of arms of Melchior von Lichtenfels, Archbishop of Basel (1554-1575), there is the coat of arms of Charles de Neufchâtel, Archbishop of Besançon (1463-1498; visible on f. 1r), which gives an indication of the manuscript's date of origin. As many other manuscripts from religious institutions, this manuscript came into the possession of the Jesuit College of Porrentruy during the French Revolution, until in the 20th century it became part of the collection of the Library of the Canton of Jura.
Online Since: 09/23/2014
Gradual dating from the 12th century, used by the Prémontré order at the Abbey of Bellelay.
Online Since: 04/26/2007
This manuscript contains the Legenda aurea by Jacobus de Voragine. Lacunas in the manuscript are due to the loss of several sheets which probably contained historiated initials. The presence of the legend of St. Antidius as well as characteristics of the decoration suggest that the manuscript originated in Besançon.
Online Since: 04/09/2014
This breviary was meant for use in the diocese of Basel. There are still partially visible traces of coats of arms that were painted on ff. 33r, 41r, 129r and 279r and were later erased; these allow the codex to be attributed to Arnold of Rotberg, Bishop of Basel from 1451 to 1458. His successor, Jean de Venningen (1458-1478) noted on f. 5r the repurchase of the manuscript from Porrentruy Castle on June 29th 1461.
Online Since: 03/17/2016