ST AUGUSTINE (354-430). Confessiones , De baptismo contra Donatistas , De libero arbitrio voluntatis , De divinatione demonum and De diversis quaestionibus VII ad Simplicianum , in Latin, DECORATED MANUSCRIPT ON PAPER [southern Germany or Austria, late 15th century] 310 x 210mm. 204 leaves: 1-17 12 , COMPLETE, modern pencilled foliation begins on first written leaf, some parchment sewing guards, leather tabs at the fore-edge mark the opening of most books, mostly 46 or 47 lines in two columns written in brown ink in a cursive hand between four scored verticals, justification: c.240 x 140mm, incipits , explicits and chapter numbers in red, text capitals touched red, two-line initials in red, many touched yellow, many with interlacing extensions into the margins, THIRTY LARGE DECORATED INITIALS with staves of blue openwork patterned with red, yellow and green and with infills and extensive flourishings in red penwork touched with yellow and green, additional marginal flourishings in the same colours, that on f.1 with a blue roundel with the IHS monogram of Jesus (margins trimmed into flourishing, very slight wear to opening folios, discoloration of fore-edges, some leather tabs worn, tabs missing from ff.66, 73, 102, 147, 160 and 176 with small marginal losses repaired). Modern vellum over pasteboard by Atelier Tiemeyer with modern paper flyleaves. PROVENANCE: 1. The paper suggests that the book was written in southern Germany or northern Austria in the 1480s or 1490s: the watermark is very close to Briquet no 15374 (Innsbruck, 1488) and also to no 15376 (Rattenberg, 1498) and no.15391 (Regensburg, 1496). The IHS monogram was popularised by the Franciscan St Bernadino (canonised 1450) and may indicate a Franciscan connection. 2. Tenschert, Leuchtendes Mitttelalter , 1989, no 21. 3. Biblioteca philosophica hermetica , bookplate inside upper cover, BPH 85 pencilled inside lower cover; as part of the collection of J.R. Ritman sold Sotheby's, 19 June 2001, lot 29. CONTENT: Confessiones in thirteen books, with an extract from the Retractationes as prologue: Confessionum mearum libri tredecim...Incipit liber primus...Magnus es domine... (ed. O'Donnell, Oxford, 1992), ff.1-83; De baptismo contra Donatistas in seven books, with an extract from the Retractationes as prologue: Contra donatistas...Incipit liber primus...In eis libris quos adversus epistolam Parmenii... (ed. Petschenig, Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum , 51, 1908), ff.83-138v; De libero arbitrio voluntatis in three books: Incipit primus liber beati augustini episcopi de libero arbitrio... Dic mihi queso te utrum deus... (ed. Green, Corpus Christianorum Series Latina , 29, 1970), ff.139-176; De divinatione demonum in two books, with an extract from the Retractationes as prologue: Per idem tempus accidit michi...Incipit liber beati augustini episcopi de divinatione demonum...Quodam die in diebus sanctis... , ( CSEL , 41, 1900), ff.176v-179v; De diversis quaestionibus VII ad Simplicianum in two books, with an extract from the Retractationes as prologue: Libros quos elaboravi...Incipit prefacio beati augustini episcopi ad simplicianum. Domino beatissimo et memorabiliter delicto... (ed. CCSL , 44, 1970), ff.180-199; the scribe asks for our prayers in the colophon Orate pro scriptore propter deum unum ave maria. valete in Ihesu f.199. St Augustine's conversion to Christianity is memorably recounted in his Confessions . Probably written after his appointment in 395 as Bishop of Hippo in north Africa, his spiritual autobiography was, and is, enormously influential. The Retractationes is an equally personal work, written towards the end of his life, c.427, to review and correct his enormous literary output. Extracts were therefore frequently used, as here, to preface the relevant work. The De libero arbitrio voluntatis dates from earlier in his career, 388-395. In it, he treated the question of Free Will with a greater reliance on philosophical sources than would
ST AUGUSTINE (354-430). Confessiones , De baptismo contra Donatistas , De libero arbitrio voluntatis , De divinatione demonum and De diversis quaestionibus VII ad Simplicianum , in Latin, DECORATED MANUSCRIPT ON PAPER [southern Germany or Austria, late 15th century] 310 x 210mm. 204 leaves: 1-17 12 , COMPLETE, modern pencilled foliation begins on first written leaf, some parchment sewing guards, leather tabs at the fore-edge mark the opening of most books, mostly 46 or 47 lines in two columns written in brown ink in a cursive hand between four scored verticals, justification: c.240 x 140mm, incipits , explicits and chapter numbers in red, text capitals touched red, two-line initials in red, many touched yellow, many with interlacing extensions into the margins, THIRTY LARGE DECORATED INITIALS with staves of blue openwork patterned with red, yellow and green and with infills and extensive flourishings in red penwork touched with yellow and green, additional marginal flourishings in the same colours, that on f.1 with a blue roundel with the IHS monogram of Jesus (margins trimmed into flourishing, very slight wear to opening folios, discoloration of fore-edges, some leather tabs worn, tabs missing from ff.66, 73, 102, 147, 160 and 176 with small marginal losses repaired). Modern vellum over pasteboard by Atelier Tiemeyer with modern paper flyleaves. PROVENANCE: 1. The paper suggests that the book was written in southern Germany or northern Austria in the 1480s or 1490s: the watermark is very close to Briquet no 15374 (Innsbruck, 1488) and also to no 15376 (Rattenberg, 1498) and no.15391 (Regensburg, 1496). The IHS monogram was popularised by the Franciscan St Bernadino (canonised 1450) and may indicate a Franciscan connection. 2. Tenschert, Leuchtendes Mitttelalter , 1989, no 21. 3. Biblioteca philosophica hermetica , bookplate inside upper cover, BPH 85 pencilled inside lower cover; as part of the collection of J.R. Ritman sold Sotheby's, 19 June 2001, lot 29. CONTENT: Confessiones in thirteen books, with an extract from the Retractationes as prologue: Confessionum mearum libri tredecim...Incipit liber primus...Magnus es domine... (ed. O'Donnell, Oxford, 1992), ff.1-83; De baptismo contra Donatistas in seven books, with an extract from the Retractationes as prologue: Contra donatistas...Incipit liber primus...In eis libris quos adversus epistolam Parmenii... (ed. Petschenig, Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum , 51, 1908), ff.83-138v; De libero arbitrio voluntatis in three books: Incipit primus liber beati augustini episcopi de libero arbitrio... Dic mihi queso te utrum deus... (ed. Green, Corpus Christianorum Series Latina , 29, 1970), ff.139-176; De divinatione demonum in two books, with an extract from the Retractationes as prologue: Per idem tempus accidit michi...Incipit liber beati augustini episcopi de divinatione demonum...Quodam die in diebus sanctis... , ( CSEL , 41, 1900), ff.176v-179v; De diversis quaestionibus VII ad Simplicianum in two books, with an extract from the Retractationes as prologue: Libros quos elaboravi...Incipit prefacio beati augustini episcopi ad simplicianum. Domino beatissimo et memorabiliter delicto... (ed. CCSL , 44, 1970), ff.180-199; the scribe asks for our prayers in the colophon Orate pro scriptore propter deum unum ave maria. valete in Ihesu f.199. St Augustine's conversion to Christianity is memorably recounted in his Confessions . Probably written after his appointment in 395 as Bishop of Hippo in north Africa, his spiritual autobiography was, and is, enormously influential. The Retractationes is an equally personal work, written towards the end of his life, c.427, to review and correct his enormous literary output. Extracts were therefore frequently used, as here, to preface the relevant work. The De libero arbitrio voluntatis dates from earlier in his career, 388-395. In it, he treated the question of Free Will with a greater reliance on philosophical sources than would
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.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
