Nicholas of Lyra, Apocalypse commentary

Italy, 15th century

Parchment

i, 72, i' leaves

270–275 × 190 mm

Latin

1 (ff. 1r–1v) (pseudo) Boethius, De scholastica disciplina

Incipit: ne ledat maiestatem O quam magistratus lesio vitanda est. Hunc cena grandioci (!) nouimus sustentari potuque fortiori deliniri

Explicit: nichil amarius menti imprimitur Ve creditoribus

Note:

These two leaves were most likely the old endleaves, which have been removed and bound with the main text.

f. 2: ruled but no text

Edition: Weijers (1976).

2 (ff. 3r–72v) Nicholas of Lyra, Apocalypse commentary

Rubric: PRologus

Incipit: OPortet te iterum prophecticare (!) populis et gentibus (Rev. 10:11) apocalipsis decimo capitulo Sicut dixi in principio genesis vetus ac nouum testamentum ad inuicem correspondent

Explicit: Tertius articulus humanitatis christi est de descensu anime eius ad inferos Cuius fides valet ad pericula [mut.]

Note: The text ends defectively with Chapter 21.

Physical Description

Secundo folio

patet intuenti tamen

Support

Binding/Endleaves

Locus: LCI, f. SL1, SR1, RCI

Support: Western paper

Leaf dimensions: 275 × 190 mm

Watermark 1

Locus: ff. SL1r,

Motif: TUMBA

Textblock

Locus: ff. 1r–72v

Support: Parchment

Leaf dimensions: 270/275 × 190 mm

Foliation

Modern foliation in ink.

ff. 3r–72v: contemporary running chapter numbers in roman numerals in red and blue.

Collation

Formula: 1(2), 2-8(10)

Note: VisColl collation.

Catchwords: Catchwords by the scribe.

Condition

Textblock

f. 1r: some small losses to text where surface once pasted to frontboard (these lost when leaf detached from that board). At least one quire missing at the end. Last page (f. 72v) is dirty and darker than the rest indicating that the manuscript might have been stored without a rear-board for some time.

Layout

Layout 1

Locus: ff. 1r–2v

Columns: 1

Ruled lines: 30

Written area: 165 × 110 mm

Note: Ruling in ink.

Layout 2

Locus: ff. 3r–72v

Columns: 1

Ruled lines: 35

Written area: 195 × 120 mm

Note: Ruling and guidelines in ink.

Script

Textblock

Hand 1

(ff. 1r–1v) Southern textualis.

Hand 2

(ff. 3r–72v) Hybrida libraria

Additions

Binding/Endleaves

(LCI) Top right corner: National Library book label with current signum.

(f. SL1r) Centre page: National Libary stamp.

(f. SR1r) Centre page: National Libary stamp; lower part, in pencil by a modern hand: ‘Senare delen av Kap. 21 borta.’

(RCI) National Libary stamp.

Textblock

(f. 1r) Top margin in brown ink by a early-modern/modern hand:: ‘xxviii; No 30; 136’. Bottom margin in brown ink: ‘JPR’(referrng to Hans Poulsen Resen).

(f. 2r) Top margin in brown ink by an early-modern hand: ‘134’ +: ‘Liber Joh Poullini Resenii comparatus Patavis anno domini mdxc’ Middle of page in brown ink by a similar hand: ‘I: Nicolaus Lyranus in Apocalypsin; II: Tractatus qui continet: I. Septem aetates mundi ab initio ad Carolum M. cum conclusione de 4 monarchiis in Romana tandem translate ad Teutonicum. II. De principatibus Ecclesiasticis et secularibus cum nominibus principum, ab Abrahamo ...’ (last word illegible, might be a doodle).

(f. 3r) Bottom margin in brown ink by an early-modern hand: ‘JPR’.

(ff. 3r–72v) Marginal additions by main scribe and later hands. The majority of the additions consists of short titles or summaries of the relevant passage in the main text.

Decorations

Textblock

Description:

Main text in black ink, lemma underlined in red.

Initials:

f. 3r: Opening plain initial ‘O’ over 4 lines (extending above the line) in blue. The initial is placed on a flourished background in brown and red;

ff. 4r–67v: plain initials over 3-4 lines in red or blue with red pen-flourishing.

Binding

Description:

Full leather binding from late 19th century. Spine, stamped in gold: ‘A 7’.

Binding dimensions: 285 × 200 × 30 mm

Contemporary: No

History

Origin

Italy 15th century

Provenance

Early provenance unknown. According to the note on f. 2r bought in Padua in 1590 by the Danish bishop and theologian Hans Poulsen Resen (1561-1638), cf. Kornerup (1928–1968), vol. 1, p. 119.

According to a former librarian's note the manuscript was probably sold by the owner's son Peder Hansen Resen to the Danish book collector Jörgen Seefeldt (1594-1662). The greater part of Seefeldt's library was then taken as spoils of war by Corfitz Ulfeld (1606-64) in 1658. The manuscript was possibly bequeathed to the Swedish diplomat Peter Julius Coyet (1618-67), together with some other books belonging to Seefeldt, and then sold on auction in 1700–1, cf. Walde (1916–1920), vol. 2, p. 390, 409, 418.

The manuscript later belonged to the Antiquities Archive and is listed in its inventories and catalogues. Of the signa listed on ff. 1r–2r, ‘28’ is found in a catalogue from 1700 (U 91:2a); ‘134’ in the inventory from 1720 (U 90:2, f. 9v) and ‘136’ in the inventory from 1722 (U 90:3, p. 39). The current signa found on the Spine was first established in Helin’s catalogue from the 1720s (U 91:2:2).