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23 - [MANUSCRIT]. [BIBLE]. Compilation of biblical extracts produ…
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Estimate €15,000 - €20,000
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Description
[MANUSCRIT]. [BIBLE]. Compilation of biblical extracts produced by a group of Franciscan preachers (?) Northwest France, second quarter of the 13th century, circa 1230-1250 (?). In Latin, decorated and illuminated manuscript on parchment. 140 ff, preceded by a paper endpaper and 2 leaves of old parchment endpapers, followed by a paper endpaper, some leaves missing at the beginning (first signature "d" suggesting that there must have been 3 quires preceding quire "d") and most certainly after leaf 54v and after leaf 129v [collation : i8, ii12, iii2, iv10, v12, vi10, vii12, viii12, ix12, x12, xi12, xii10, xiii5 (of 6, with vi missing after f. 129), xiv9 (from 10, with i missing before f. 130), xv2 (this is a final bifeuillet, probably old endpapers)], a list of old signatures, some cropped short but perceptible: "d" (f. 8v) / "e" (f. 20v) / "f" (f. 22v) / "g" (f. 32v, with additional advertisement); "h" (cropped, but haste perceptible) (f. 44v) / "i" (f. 54v, barely perceptible) / "n" (f. 66v) / signature f. 78v, barely perceptible, "p" (?)) / "r" (?) (f. 90v, barely perceptible) / "s" (f. 102v) / "t" (f. 114v) / "u" (f. 124v) / "x" (?) (f. 129v) / "k" (?) (f. 138v); fine Gothic script, several hands (composite character of this manuscript), text in two columns, parchment ruled in graphite (justification : two columns of 50 mm and justification in height of 145 mm), text copied above the first rule, pitting for the rule in the inner margins and also sometimes in the outer margins, text with numerous marginal corrections and additions by contemporary hands, numerous watermarked initials painted blue or red with red or pale blue watermarked decoration, biblical chapters in Roman numerals painted red and blue in a single quire (quire no. 6 (ff. 45-55), the rest of the chaptering added in ink in the margins by a contemporary hand, a few running titles in red and blue, the rest of the running titles added in pen in the upper margins (sometimes trimmed short), large "puzzle" initials in red and blue with red and blue watermark decoration, marking the major textual divisions, illuminated initials with vegetal or zoomorphic decoration in the New Testament (31) ornate illuminated letters, some probably repainted later in the 15th century (e.g. ff. 96v, 101), a partially faded drawing of a man with a pointed hat at the end of the manuscript with the inscription above it: "Fuit in diebus Herodis regis judeo sacerdos quidam nomine Caiphas" (fol. 139v). Bound in full limp vellum, smooth spine, inscribed in ink on the spine: "Biblia ms" and the number "A 277" at the back of the spine. Corners dulled, parchment missing from upper board, a few leaves repaired at an early date or a few tears not serious; ink a little paler in places; a few wormholes. Size: 135 x 175 mm Provenance: 1. Manuscript copied and illuminated in France, probably in Paris or the north-west (Picardy? Normandy?) judging by the style of the painted initials and filigree decoration. A Franciscan origin is suggested here, or at least a connection with the Franciscan world, based on notes at the end of the manuscript (fol. 138v) referring to Saint Elizabeth of Hungary (1207-1231), a Franciscan tertiary sister, and Saint Francis of Assisi himself (1181/82-1226), founder of the Franciscan Order. On fol. 56v, in the lower margin, there is an unexpected word: "arrel". Is this a reference to a member of the Arrel family, an important Breton family attested in the 14th century but probably even older (see La Chesnaye-Desbois, Dictionnaire de la noblesse, 1863, tome I, col. 833-835)? 2. Jesuits of Pont-à-Mousson (Meurthe-et-Moselle), with an inscription in ink in the upper margin of the recto: "Collegii Mussipontani societatis Iesu catal[olgus] inscriptus". This inscription indicates that the manuscript was listed in the catalogue of the Jesuit library in Pont-à-Mousson. 3. Collection of Docteur Lucien-Graux, an important collector and famous bibliophile. Traces of his red leather ex-libris vignette, here missing, but once affixed to the upper flyleaf. Manuscript sold in 2014 in an Oger-Blanchet sale "Bibliothèque du Docteur Lucien-Graux". This interesting example of a biblical compilation, probably produced in the context of preaching monks (Franciscans in this case?), provides a kind of biblical "vademecum" used as a source of quotations when writing sermons. It is not a classic portable Bible, of which there are many known examples, and which developed in Paris in lay workshops with the rise of the universities and the mendicant orders. Although this manuscript contains large sections of biblical books, the choice is sometimes made to include only a few chapters from a given book, and the sequence of the biblical books does not at all follow the canonical order of the first half of the thirteenth century. It should also be noted that the chaptering system was not entirely respected or perfected either, with references to chapters added in the margins, and some texts entirely devoid of chapter divisions (see, for example, the extracts from the books of Kings, Ezekiel and Daniel). This suggests a date certainly before the middle of the century, around the second quarter of the thirteenth century. This biblical compilation also features a complex system of cross-references, which would benefit from further study. It should be noted that this type of manuscript is rarer than a portable Bible and merits more detailed study of the instruments and manuscripts associated with preaching in the thirteenth century. Three books of the Pentateuch are missing from this manuscript: Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy (with no quires missing). Joshua, Judges, Ruth and Ezra are also omitted. Other biblical books are either not present or only in excerpts. The Psalms are completely absent. This leads us to say that this is not an incomplete portable Bible, but a compilation of biblical extracts - with certain biblical books copied in full - copied according to an order that needs to be studied. It is interesting to see that the New Testament (here a priori in its entirety) is interpolated between Old Testament texts, disregarding the traditional order of the biblical books.
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About the sale ENLUMINATIONS, ANCIENT and MODERN BOOKS
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Auction time 06/17/2026 at 2:00 PM
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