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an old book with writing on it sitting on top of a tablean old book with red writing on it sitting on top of a white surface
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128 - A bifolium fragment on the doctrine of the Transfiguration f…
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Estimate €500 - €700
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Description
A bifolium fragment on the doctrine of the Transfiguration from a liturgical-theological compendium in a late medieval manuscript. 39 lines. Latin manuscript on parchment. Gothic Textualis script with red Lombard letters. Text area 19.6 x 12.2 cm. Dimensions: 24 x 28.4 cm. (Trimmed). Probably France or western Germany, c. second half of the 13th to early 14th century (c. 1250–1330). Provenance: Estate of a bookbinder. – A fragment of waste paper from a book cover. – PALEOGRAPHY: Heavily broken, strongly laterally compressed Gothic Textualis script with numerous Nonina-sacra abbreviations, shortening marks and ligatures – a compact, heavily abbreviated variant typical of 13th-century scholastic manuscripts. Regarding the CONTENT: Recto (with the rubric ‘De transfiguratione domini’): The text combines a passage on the death and resurrection of Christ (allusions to ‘resurrexit’, ‘mortuos’, ‘Pilatus’) with a separate liturgical section on the Transfiguration of the Lord. The rubrics govern the celebration of the octave, the vigil and the commemoration of this feast, as well as its relationship to competing feasts of the Lord (Easter, Pentecost). The Feast of the Transfiguration was only adopted regionally in the Latin West from the 9th/10th century onwards and, until 1457, was not a universal Church feast, but was observed and regulated differently from place to place – the detailed rubric visible on the page concerning the Vigil, Octave andCommemoratio is thus a typical example of pre-Tridentine liturgical practice, which varied from diocese to diocese. On the reverse, the text draws on the patristic-monastic theology of the name of Jesus, as formulated by Bernard of Clairvaux in Sermo 15 in *Cantica*: the name of Jesus as *oleum effusum* (poured-out oil), which bestows light, nourishment and healing, as well as the threefold or fourfold layers of meaning of the name before and after the Passion. Phrases such as ‘nomen ihesu’, ‘passione sua’, ‘unctio’ and ‘ihesus salus, ihesus salvator’ can be directly attributed to this sermon text, as they were frequently excerpted from 13th-century monastic anthologies and incorporated into breviary lectionaries. The thematic similarity to Bernard of Clairvaux suggests a Cistercian or, at the very least, Cistercian-influenced scriptorium. Folded (smoothed) several times, slightly rubbed and with minimal worm-eaten areas. Slightly soiled. – Overall still in good condition; a rare example of the doctrine of the Transfiguration in a Cistercian context. Bifolium fragment on the doctrine of the Transfiguration from a liturgical-theological miscellany codex of a late medieval manuscript. 39 lines. Latin manuscript on parchment. Gothic textualis with red Lombardic letters. Text area 19.6 x 12.2 cm. Dimensions: 24 x 28.4 cm (trimmed). Probably France or western Germany, c. second half of the 13th to early 14th century (c. 1250–1330). Provenance: From the estate of a bookbinder. Waste fragment (makulatur) from a binding. Palaeography: Heavily broken, strongly laterally compressed Gothic textualis with numerous nomina sacra abbreviations, suspension strokes and ligatures – a compact, heavily abbreviated variant typical of scholastic working manuscripts of the 13th century. Content: Recto (with the rubric ‘De transfiguratione domini’): the text combines a passage on the death and resurrection of Christ (allusions to ‘resurrexit’, ‘mortuos’, ‘Pilatus’) with a distinct liturgical section on the Transfiguration of the Lord. The rubrics govern the observance of the octave, the vigil and the commemoration of this feast, as well as its relationship to other feasts of the Lord (Easter, Pentecost). The Feast of the Transfiguration was only adopted regionally in the Latin West from the 9th/10th century onwards and, until 1457, remained a feast not celebrated by the universal Church but was observed and regulated differently from place to place – the detailed rubric on the vigil, octave and commemoration visible on this leaf is thus a typical example of pre-Tridentine liturgical practice, which varied from diocese to diocese. The reverse side takes up the patristic-monastic theology of the name of Jesus as formulated by Bernard of Clairvaux in Sermo 15 on the Song of Songs: the name of Jesus as ‘oleum effusum’ (oil poured out), which bestows light, nourishment and healing, alongside the threefold or fourfold levels of meaning of the name before and after the Passion. Phrases such as ‘nomen ihesu’, ‘passione sua’, ‘unctio’, and ‘ihesus salus, ihesus salvator’ can be directly attributed to this sermon text, as it was frequently excerpted in 13th-century monastic miscellanies and inserted into breviary lectionaries. The thematic similarity to Bernard of Clairvaux suggests a Cistercian, or at least Cistercian-influenced, scriptorium. Folded several times (now flattened), somewhat rubbed, with minimal worm damage. Somewhat soiled. Overall still in good condition – a rare example of the doctrine of the Transfiguration in a Cistercian context. This lot is subject to standard tax. A 24.95% buyer’s premium is payable on the hammer price, and 7% (Books and Art) or 19% VAT (Manuscripts, Screenprints, Offset Prints, Photographs) is payable on the final invoice amount within the European Union. This lot is subject to the standard tax regime. A 24.95% buyer’s premium applies to the hammer price, and 7% (books and art) or 19% VAT (manuscripts, screen prints, offset prints and photographs) applies to the final invoice amount within the European Union.
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About the sale Valuable books, prints, historical photographs
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Auction time 10/24/2026 at 10:00 AM
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