Beschreibung:

RICHARD ROLLE (d.1349), De Emendatione Vitae ; WALTER HILTON (d.1396), translated by THOMAS FISHLAKE, Scala Perfectionis ; and other texts, in Latin, ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPT ON VELLUM
RICHARD ROLLE (d.1349), De Emendatione Vitae ; WALTER HILTON (d.1396), translated by THOMAS FISHLAKE, Scala Perfectionis ; and other texts, in Latin, ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPT ON VELLUM [London, c.1450s] 280 x 205mm., iii + 151 + iii leaves, 1 4 , 2-20 8 , 21 4 , COMPLETE, the first and last gathering are medieval flyleaves of which the first and last leaf are pastedowns, ff.29-31v, 34v, and 37-39v are ruled, otherwise blank, leaf signatures throughout in three series: [a]-'d' in gatherings 2-5, '+' in gathering 6 (ff.32-39), and 'a'-'o' in gatherings 7-20, the original leaf-size apparently preserved with prickings surviving in all three outer margins, 34 lines written in brown ink in a fine anglicana script between two verticals and 35 horizontals ruled in pale brown, justification: 170-5 x 120 mm, TWO FULL-PAGE BORDERS OF STYLIZED AND SEMI-NATURALISTIC LEAVES, FRUIT, AND LEAFY SPRAYS accompanied by three-line foliate initials on a gold ground (ff.1, 40), THREE SIMILAR THREE-SIDED BORDERS (ff.32, 35, 92v), four- and five-line initials in gold on a ground of blue and red with white ornament and leafy sprays extending into the margin (ff.20v, 90v, 92v), one three-line foliate initial on a gold ground with extensions forming a two-sided border (f.81), two-line and three-line initials alternately in gold with blue penwork, or blue with red penwork, usually forming reserved leafy designs within the body of the initial and extending up and down the left margin, one- to six-line paraphs in the text and margins alternately gold with blue penwork or blue with red penwork, marginalia by a few neat 15th-century hands. CONTEMPORARY BINDING: sewn on six double alum-tawed bands and bound in white 'doeskin' over oak boards with cushioned edges, the remains of two clasps at the fore-edge of the upper board each held in place by two nails, corresponding pin-holes in the middle of the lower board, inscribed on the lower edge of the leaves 'hylton' in a medieval hand (indicating storage flat on a shelf with the front cover face down and the lower edge facing outwards), the centre of the upper cover inscribed in a 19th(?)-century hand with a large capital 'E' above the letters 'WB' (i.e. Walker-Button archive) (the covering material partly defective and with considerable wear and staining, the spine and lower joint reinforced with brown morocco). Cloth-covered box with leather title-piece. FINELY WRITTEN AND ELEGANTLY ILLUMINATED, A UNIQUE COMPILATION OF TEXTS AND TRANSLATIONS MAINLY BY TWO OF THE MOST IMPORTANT FOURTEENH-CENTURY ENGLISH MYSTICAL AUTHORS, IN EXCELLENT CONDITION, IN ITS ORIGINAL MEDIEVAL BINDING, WITH A DISTINGUISHED UNBROKEN PROVENANCE FROM BEFORE 1540, NEVER BEFORE OFFERED FOR SALE PROVENANCE: Written and decorated probably by a professional London scribe and illuminator, to judge by the high quality of script and decoration --'unlike most copies of Rolle's work it is a handsome volume', observes Allen. The scribe (or the scribe of his exemplar) must have 'had as many as four works of Rolle at his disposal. His erratic jumps from one text and from one portion to another are, to say the least, peculiar. They suggest the method of the author of a longer compilation which exists in several copies of interesting provenance' (Allen, p.45). Allen is here referring to a compilation known as De excellentia contemplationis , which she speculates may have been compiled by Rolle himself, or if not, was perhaps put together at Syon Abbey, perhaps by Rolle's 'intimate disciple', William Stopes, to whom the Emendatio vitae may have been dedicated (Allen, pp.320-33, 230). THE MANUSCRIPT HAS AN UNBROKEN PROVENANCE WITHIN A SINGLE ANCIENT ENGLISH FAMILY FROM BEFORE 1540, WITH MORE THAN SIXTY FAMILY RECORDS INSCRIBED ON THE FLYLEAVES: George Heneage (d.1549), Archdeacon of Lincoln, acquired when he was Dean of Lincoln (1528-39): inscribed 'Georgius Hennage lincoln decanus' (f.151v). Robert Heneage (d.1556), of Lincoln, auditor of the Duchy of L