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Auction archive: Lot number 21

LEONTIUS, Bishop of Neapolis (7th century). Life of St John the Almsgiver : GERALD OF FRACHET (d.1281). Vitae Fratum Ordinis Predicatorum , in Latin, DECORATED MANUSCRIPT ON VELLUM.

Auction 11.07.2002
11 Jul 2002
Estimate
£10,000 - £15,000
ca. US$15,535 - US$23,302
Price realised:
£9,560
ca. US$14,851
Auction archive: Lot number 21

LEONTIUS, Bishop of Neapolis (7th century). Life of St John the Almsgiver : GERALD OF FRACHET (d.1281). Vitae Fratum Ordinis Predicatorum , in Latin, DECORATED MANUSCRIPT ON VELLUM.

Auction 11.07.2002
11 Jul 2002
Estimate
£10,000 - £15,000
ca. US$15,535 - US$23,302
Price realised:
£9,560
ca. US$14,851
Beschreibung:

LEONTIUS, Bishop of Neapolis (7th century). Life of St John the Almsgiver : GERALD OF FRACHET (d.1281). Vitae Fratum Ordinis Predicatorum , in Latin, DECORATED MANUSCRIPT ON VELLUM. [Castile, probably Seville, c.1280-90] 150 x 117mm. 132 leaves: 1 1 4 , 2 1 6 , 3 1 5 (of 16, lacking i), 4 1 8 , 5-7 1 6 , 8 12 , 9 9 (of 12, lacking ix, x and xii), likely lacking further leaves of index at end, two foliations in arabic numerals, the second in darker brown ink adjusting to the lost leaf followed here, catchwords at foot of inner column on final versos, two columns of 30 lines written in a small gothic bookhand between four verticals and 31 horizontals ruled in brown, justification: 110 x 80mm, rubrics and running headings in red, paragraph marks of red or blue, two-line initials alternately of red or blue with flourishing of the contrasting colour, one three-line and one four-line initial with pen-work of both colours (staining to margins and upper quarter of first ten leaves and final leaf, smudging of rubrics in sections of the first half, loss of vellum from inner margin of f.126 touching two letters). 18th-century vellum (a little darkened, wormhole in upper joint, and two at edge of lower cover). Vellum-backed slipcase. PROVENANCE: 1. The flourished initial with whorling lines in the infill is a type characteristic in manuscripts made in the Kingdom of Castile. Both script and decoration suggest that the manuscript was made in southern Spain, possibly in Seville, in the second half of the 13th century: F. Avril et al, Manuscrits eluminés de la péninsule ibérique , 1982, nos 92, 208 and 209. 2. Frater Gundisalvus de la Peña: note recording his purchase of the book in 1510 for four silver coins from a bookseller who wished to destroy it (f.1). 3. The manuscript remained in Spain at least into the 17th century: there are various marginal notes in 16th- or 17-century hands, including several drawing attention to Spanish sites or saints. 4. Carrie Estelle Betzold Doheny (1875-1958): purchased from Dawson's Bookshop, Los Angeles -- donated to St. Mary's of the Barrens, December 1937. CONTENT: Leontius, Bishop of Neapolis of Cyprus, translated into Latin: Vita iohannes elemosinarii opening Cogitante me ac diu tacite... ff.1-28v; Gerald de Frachet: Vitae fratrum ordinis predicatorum , opening with the prologue of Humbert of the Romans (d.1277) ff.29-130; followed by Cronica magistorum ordinis predicatorum starting in 1203 to 1241, lacking no more than three pages at end ff.130-131v; final leaf part of an incomplete alphabetical index (letters b-d). This is a rare and fascinating piece of Dominican historiography. In his prologue to the Vitae Fratrum Humbert of the Romans, Master General of the Order, explains how it came to be compiled. At the General Chapter in Paris in 1256 it was ordained that 'any miracle or edifying occurence' known to have happened in the Order should be reported to the Master General to enable it to be recorded. These accounts were then passed to Gerald de Frachet, Provincial of Provence, for selection and editing. Within four years he had completed the work, although it was updated throughout the next ten years, and it was distributed among the brothers: Humbert did not wish it to be spread outside the Order. There were variations in composition from one version of the Vitae to another. The present manuscript includes five books: Foundation and beginnings of the order; Life of St Dominic; Jordan of Saxony's Life of Dominic; Progress of the Order; Departure of the Brethren from the World. As here, the Cronica was often appended to the Vitae although it was in fact a slightly earlier work that had been completed by 1258. The Latin text of the Vitae was edited by B.M. Reichert, Monumenta Ordinis Fratrum Praedicatorum Historica , i, Louvain, 1896, and J. Kenny's translation based on this, Early Dominican Saints and Sinners , is available online. The life of St John the Almsgiver, Patriarch of Alexandria

Auction archive: Lot number 21
Auction:
Datum:
11 Jul 2002
Auction house:
Christie's
London, King Street
Beschreibung:

LEONTIUS, Bishop of Neapolis (7th century). Life of St John the Almsgiver : GERALD OF FRACHET (d.1281). Vitae Fratum Ordinis Predicatorum , in Latin, DECORATED MANUSCRIPT ON VELLUM. [Castile, probably Seville, c.1280-90] 150 x 117mm. 132 leaves: 1 1 4 , 2 1 6 , 3 1 5 (of 16, lacking i), 4 1 8 , 5-7 1 6 , 8 12 , 9 9 (of 12, lacking ix, x and xii), likely lacking further leaves of index at end, two foliations in arabic numerals, the second in darker brown ink adjusting to the lost leaf followed here, catchwords at foot of inner column on final versos, two columns of 30 lines written in a small gothic bookhand between four verticals and 31 horizontals ruled in brown, justification: 110 x 80mm, rubrics and running headings in red, paragraph marks of red or blue, two-line initials alternately of red or blue with flourishing of the contrasting colour, one three-line and one four-line initial with pen-work of both colours (staining to margins and upper quarter of first ten leaves and final leaf, smudging of rubrics in sections of the first half, loss of vellum from inner margin of f.126 touching two letters). 18th-century vellum (a little darkened, wormhole in upper joint, and two at edge of lower cover). Vellum-backed slipcase. PROVENANCE: 1. The flourished initial with whorling lines in the infill is a type characteristic in manuscripts made in the Kingdom of Castile. Both script and decoration suggest that the manuscript was made in southern Spain, possibly in Seville, in the second half of the 13th century: F. Avril et al, Manuscrits eluminés de la péninsule ibérique , 1982, nos 92, 208 and 209. 2. Frater Gundisalvus de la Peña: note recording his purchase of the book in 1510 for four silver coins from a bookseller who wished to destroy it (f.1). 3. The manuscript remained in Spain at least into the 17th century: there are various marginal notes in 16th- or 17-century hands, including several drawing attention to Spanish sites or saints. 4. Carrie Estelle Betzold Doheny (1875-1958): purchased from Dawson's Bookshop, Los Angeles -- donated to St. Mary's of the Barrens, December 1937. CONTENT: Leontius, Bishop of Neapolis of Cyprus, translated into Latin: Vita iohannes elemosinarii opening Cogitante me ac diu tacite... ff.1-28v; Gerald de Frachet: Vitae fratrum ordinis predicatorum , opening with the prologue of Humbert of the Romans (d.1277) ff.29-130; followed by Cronica magistorum ordinis predicatorum starting in 1203 to 1241, lacking no more than three pages at end ff.130-131v; final leaf part of an incomplete alphabetical index (letters b-d). This is a rare and fascinating piece of Dominican historiography. In his prologue to the Vitae Fratrum Humbert of the Romans, Master General of the Order, explains how it came to be compiled. At the General Chapter in Paris in 1256 it was ordained that 'any miracle or edifying occurence' known to have happened in the Order should be reported to the Master General to enable it to be recorded. These accounts were then passed to Gerald de Frachet, Provincial of Provence, for selection and editing. Within four years he had completed the work, although it was updated throughout the next ten years, and it was distributed among the brothers: Humbert did not wish it to be spread outside the Order. There were variations in composition from one version of the Vitae to another. The present manuscript includes five books: Foundation and beginnings of the order; Life of St Dominic; Jordan of Saxony's Life of Dominic; Progress of the Order; Departure of the Brethren from the World. As here, the Cronica was often appended to the Vitae although it was in fact a slightly earlier work that had been completed by 1258. The Latin text of the Vitae was edited by B.M. Reichert, Monumenta Ordinis Fratrum Praedicatorum Historica , i, Louvain, 1896, and J. Kenny's translation based on this, Early Dominican Saints and Sinners , is available online. The life of St John the Almsgiver, Patriarch of Alexandria

Auction archive: Lot number 21
Auction:
Datum:
11 Jul 2002
Auction house:
Christie's
London, King Street
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