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Case 1
Boethius, De arithmetica, De musica
England, Canterbury, Christ Church, first third of the twelfth century
The sciences of the quadrivium - arithmetic, music, geometry
and astronomy - examined the numerical harmonies of God’s
creation. The sixth-century Christian philosopher Boethius provided
subsequent generations with a definition of the quadrivium
and the standard textbooks on two of its branches, arithmetic and
music. The copy of De musica in this volume opens with
a delicately tinted full-page drawing. It shows Boethius in dialogue
with Pythagoras, Plato, and Nichomacus, transmitting the science
of the ancient authorities to the Christian world.
Cambridge University Library, MS Ii.3.12, fol. 61v
Honorius Augustodunensis, Imago Mundi, and other
texts
England, probably Durham, c.1190
By the early thirteenth century this compilation of geography,
history and cosmology belonged to the Cistercian abbey at Sawley
in Yorkshire, but it was probably made in the circle of bishop Hugh
du Puiset of Durham around 1190. Originally it formed one volume
with the University Library manuscript shown on the right. The main
text, the Imago Mundi, opens with a world map, the oldest
of its kind in England. The image on display introduces one of the
shorter texts, the treatise on the wings of angels ascribed to Clement
of Lanthony. Assigning different virtues to each feather of a cherub’s
wings, it exemplifies the use of pictorial diagrams as mnemonic
devices favoured in the Middle Ages.
Corpus Christi College, MS 66, pt. I, fol. 100
Gildas, De excidio Britanniae, and other texts
England, probably Durham, c.1190 and Bury St Edmunds, third quarter
of the thirteenth century
Like its sister manuscript displayed on the left, this volume combines
historical, ecclesiastical and encyclopaedic works by some of the
most distinguished authors of medieval Britain. The full-page image
of the Church shown here illustrates De statu ecclesiae
by the reforming bishop Gilbert of Limerick. The graceful array
of pointed arches incorporates the series of pyramids used by Gilbert
to explain the hierarchy of the Church, from the parish to the papacy
and Christ himself. A fine example of the use of architecture to
structure ideas and aid memory, this pictorial metaphor for the
body of true believers that made up the church may well be the earliest
undeniably ‘Gothic’ illumination in English art.
Cambridge University Library, MS Ff.1.27, p. 238
Gossuin of Metz, L’Image du Monde, and other texts
England, West Midlands, c.1330
Containing some fifty-five texts, this manuscript is a library
in itself, a one-volume encyclopaedia. The devotional, literary,
political, historical, and cosmological texts in Anglon-Norman,
Latin and Middle English were perhaps assembled by a single mind
preoccupied with prophecy, revelation, and prognostication. They
were copied by a single scribe and illuminated by a single artist.
The Image of the World received cosmological diagrams.
That on the left shows the four elements guarded by celestial angels
and those on the right illustrate the circular shape of the world.
Cambridge University Library, MS Gg.1.1, fols. 358v-359
Jean Corbechon, Des proprietez de choses
France, Paris, c.1415
Garbed in an academic robe, the physician holds up a urine glass,
his badge of office and main diagnostic tool. The miniature introduces
the book on medicine in the most popular medieval encyclopaedia,
Bartholomaeus Anglicus’ thirteenth-century De proprietatibus
rerum (On the property of things). Jean Corbechon’s French
translation of 1372, commissioned by Charles V of France, was favoured
in court circles. This, one of the most sumptuous surviving copies,
was illuminated for Amadeus VIII, Count of Savoy (1383-1451) and
grandson of the celebrated manuscript collector Jean Duke of Berry.
It was the work of the Boucicaut Master (active c.1400-c.1415),
one of the leading illuminators in early fourteenth-century Paris.
Fitzwilliam Museum, MS 251, fol. 54v
Case 2
Bestiary
England, probably Lincolnshire, c.1200
This is one of the best-known Bestiaries. It opens with fully illuminated
scenes from the lives of lions, but the majority of its illustrations
are ink drawings. The unerring confidence of the draughtsman is
impressive and the expressions of the creatures graphically convey
their character. With its accounts of animals and mythical creatures,
the Bestiary was not simply a record of natural history. It was
a deeply religious book. Like the Bible, God’s creation, the
natural world, was believed to be divinely encoded with different
levels of meaning to be discovered by patient reflection. Animals
were understood as prophecies or reminders of biblical events, or
as examples of behaviour to be imitated or avoided.
Cambridge University Library, MS Ii.4.26, fol. 1v
Hugh of Fouilloy, Aviarium and Bestiary
France, Paris, c.1230-c.1250
The manuscript opens with the Aviarium of Hugh of Fouilly
(c.1100-c.1173), prior of St Laurent-au-Bois at Heilly, near Amiens.
This is a text on birds with even more extensive interpretations
of their religious significance than those found in a traditional
Bestiary. The Aviarium circulated in numerous copies on
its own. Only four extant manuscripts, all of Continental origin,
combine its text with an abridged Bestiary. This is one of them.
It is displayed at the account of the elephant.
Sidney Sussex College, MS 100, fols. 33v-34
Case 3
The Peterborough Bestiary
England, c.1300-1310
This is one of the last great Bestiaries, produced as a luxurious
volume for bibliophilic delight or pious contemplation. It is known
as the Peterborough Bestiary because it is bound with an even more
opulent Psalter, which belonged to Hugh of Stukely, prior of Peterborough
Abbey in the 1320s. Unusually for a Psalter, the page layout resembles
that of a Breviary, with a formal liturgical script in two columns
and miniatures set within them. The display opening shows beavers,
an ibex, a hyena, a ‘bonnacon’, monkeys, a satyr, and
deer. This looks like a book for private piety rather than for general
monastic edification. Very many chapters have separate paragraphs
marked spritualiter to introduce the moral or theological
lessons to be learned from the animals’ habits.
Corpus Christi College, MS 53, fols. 191v-192
Apuleius Platonicus, Herbarius
Germany, fourteenth century
Named after Apuleius Platonicus, the Herbarius corpus survives
in more than sixty copies. This is the most extensively illustrated
among them. Many of the images can be traced back to late antique
prototypes. They include plants, animals, and minerals that could
be used in medicine, as well as figural compositions. The display
opening shows Herba piretri and Herba ambroxie.
The illustrations pick out enough characteristics to distinguish
plants of a similar kind. Later corrections and additions reveal
that the manuscript continued to be used by those interested in
medical matters.
Trinity College, MS O.2.48, fols. 62v-63
Case 4
Roger of Parma, Chirurgia
England, c.1230 - c.1240
Compiled around 1180, the Chirurgia of Roger of Parma
was the first Western surgical work to attract figural illustrations.
Containing a French translation of Roger’s Chirurgia,
this copy is one of the earliest and most important collections
of medical texts to survive in Anglo-Norman. The scenes in the lower
margins are closely related to the text. The display opening shows
a depressed fracture of the cranium treated with a razor and forceps.
The central figure seems to offer coins from a purse. These are
the magdaliones, round medicaments sold by spicers to help
heal the wound made by the surgical incision.
Trinity College, MS O.1.20, fols. 242v-243
Anatomy
England, thirteenth century and c.1440
This manuscript combines three booklets of fifteenth-century medical
material copied by Brother John Welles, canon of the Premonstratensian
Abbey of Hagnaby, with a thirteenth-century gathering of anatomical
drawings. The drawings are witnesses to an ancient series of nine
figures whose origins have been traced back to the medical schools
of Alexandria at the beginning of the Christian era. The figures
represent various systems and organs of the human body. The two
leaves displayed here show the vein man and the internal organs.
Gonville and Caius College, MS 190/223, fols. 2v and 5
Medicine and astrology
England, c.1480- c.1500
This volume is a witness to the growing interest in medicine, astrology
and alchemy in fifteenth-century England. It is open at the astrological
volvelle and the vein man used for blood letting. Working from the
outside to the centre of the volvelle, we see the points of the
compass in English, the hours, days, and months, then the days within
astrological houses and states of digestion, and finally the days
of the moon. The movable dial has the signs for the planets and
an aperture to reveal the size of the moon. There are two pointing
indexes for the sun and the moon. By setting these correctly the
medical practitioner could establish whether the relationship between
the sun, the moon, and the ruling astrological signs promised successful
treatment.
Gonville and Caius College, MS 336/725, fols. 153v-154
Case 5
John de Foxton, Liber cosmographiae
England, 1385-1408
This illustrated compendium of popular science was probably penned
by its author and compiler, John de Foxton (c.1369-c.1440). An unbeneficed
chaplain in Yorkshire, as Foxton was for most of the period of compilation
of the book, would not have intended such an elaborate compilation
for his own use, but for that of a generous patron. The illustrations
range from astronomical tables drawn up by Foxton himself to elaborate
figures of the temperaments and the planets. Mars (shown here) wears
the armour called camail, with Scorpio and the sign of Aries, the
ram. His expression, gesture, and sword suggest anger. At his feet
are his children, stricken by war.
Trinity College, MS R.15.21, fols. 44v-45
John of Rupescissa, Liber de consideratione quintae
essentiae, etc.
Southern France, possibly Roussillon area, early fifteenth century
In the fifteenth century, the works of John of Rupescissa, known
as pseudo-Ramon Lull, were imported to England from southern France
and Catalonia in numerous copies. They focused on quintessential
remedies and included images of the common alchemical apparatus.
The full-page illustrations of lunaria grass in this manuscript
are unusual. Lunaria grass was considered unique in putting forth
its fifteen leaves according to the waxing and waning of the moon.
It had exceptional medicinal powers on the fifteenth day of the
moon. This book testifies to the fascination of fifteenth-century
English doctors with pseudo-Lullian alchemy. It became so influential
that several English physicians applied for a license to practise
quintessential alchemy in an attempt to rescue King Henry VI from
his fits of madness in the 1450s.
Corpus Christi College, MS 395, fols. 49v-50
Hyginus, Astronomica
Italy, Mantua, c.1475
In books II and III of his Astronomica the ancient author
Hyginus named forty-two constellations, discussing their place in
the sky at night and the mythological stories associated with them.
The two books became very popular with humanists and wealthy bibliophiles
of the late fifteenth century, as zodiacal astrology reached the
peak of its intellectual authority and influence. This manuscript
is closely associated with the court of the Gonzaga in Mantua, whose
enthusiasm for astrology is well attested. It carries the ownership
inscription of Leonora Gonzaga (1493-1543). Rather than a lavish
presentation copy, it was probably a personal commission, copied
on paper and illustrated with lightly coloured drawings. It is displayed
at the constellation ‘Argo’. The artist depicted the
mythical Greek ship as a contemporary vessel and marked the position
of individual stars within the constellation.
Fitzwilliam Museum, MS 260, fol. 30
Case 6
Marcus Tullius Cicero, De officiis
Italy, Florence, c.1430
Cicero, more than any other Roman author, became the model for the
Humanistic revival of classical Latin grammar, rhetoric, philosophy,
and ethics. Many Renaissance scribes produced deluxe copies of Cicero’s
works for wealthy patrons, but also made fair copies for their own
use. The Florentine scribe Domenico di Niccolò Pollini (1395-1473)
probably copied this manuscript for himself. The illuminator, Giovanni
Varnucci (1416-1457), represented Cicero not in the conventional
guise of a Renaissance scholar, but as a replica of a classical
relief. Cicero’s image is conceived in the same antiquarian
spirit in which the manuscript reconstructs his text.
Cambridge University Library, MS Add. 8442, fols. 2v-3
Suetonius, Vitae duodecim Caesarum
Italy, Milan, 1443
As the work of Suetonius (69-140), Hadrian’s secretary who
boasted first-hand knowledge of the imperial court, the Lives
of the Caesars would have had a special appeal to the manuscript’s
original owner, Gian Matteo Bottigella of Pavia. Appointed superintendent
of ecclesiastical benefices in the duchy of Milan in 1443 when this
manuscript was made, he became secretary of Filippo Maria Visconti
in 1444 and secret councillor of Gian Galeazzo Sforza in 1477. The
Milanese scribe Milano Borro (active c.1430-c.1450) signed and dated
the manuscript in 1443. It was illuminated by the Master of Ippolita
Sforza (active c.1430-c.1470). Emperor Vespasian is shown here in
full armour. The sword evokes his military triumphs, while the model
of Rome refers to his ambitious building campaigns and renovation
of the city, praised by Suetonius.
Fitzwilliam Museum, MS McClean 162, fols. 164v-165
Donato Acciaiuoli, Life of Charlemagne
Italy, Florence, 1461
On the 2nd of January 1462 the Florentine ambassadors presented
Louis XI of France (1461-1483) with this deluxe biography of his
glorious ancestor. The author, Donato Acciaiuoli (1428-1478), belonged
to the prominent family of Florentine bankers, civil and ecclesiastical
officials that served the Medici for generations. He was the Medici’s
ambassador to Louis XI in 1461. The manuscript was copied by Messer
Piero di Benedetto Strozzi (1416-c.1492), the finest Florentine
scribe of the time, and illuminated by Francesco di Antonio del
Chierico (active c.1452-d.1484), the favourite illuminator of Lorenzo
de’ Medici. Few diplomatic gifts could have evoked the Humanistic
ideal of the learned monarch more successfully and provided the
French king with a more flattering gift.
Fitzwilliam Museum, MS 180, fols. 1v-2
Case 7
Macrobius, Convivia Saturnalia
Italy, Rome, 1466
This manuscript preserves the most important work of the fifth-century
Neoplatonic philosopher Macrobius. It formed a magnificent set together
with a copy of In Somnium Scipionis, Macrobius’ commentary
on Cicero’s Dream of Scipio, now in the Vatican Library.
The colophon records that the Cambridge volume was completed in
Rome in April 1466 by Antonio Tophio (active c.1460-c.1470), one
of the most prominent scribes in the household of Pope Paul II.
The opening page, unusually rich and highly individual, is the work
of Niccolò Polani, a priest in the households of Pius II
and Paul II documented as a miniaturist in the papal accounts between
1459 and 1471.
Cambridge University Library, MS Add 4095, fol. 1
Horace, Opera
Italy, Rome, 1485-1492
This elegant volume was copied by the distinguished Renaissance
scribe, Bartolomeo Sanvito (1435-1511), whose cursive script inspired
the type designed for the Aldine Press and known to this day as
Italic. It was made for the Venetian intellectual and diplomat,
Bernardo Bembo (1433-1519), one of Sanvito’s closest friends
and earliest patrons. The opening page displays Bembo’s arms,
motto ‘Virtue and honour’, and emblem, the winged Pegasus,
as well as Sanvito’s celebrated epigraphic capitals. This
volume is one of the few manuscripts that indisputably show Sanvito
working as both scribe and illuminator.
King’s College, MS 34, fol. 1
Herodian, Historiae de imperio in Angelo Poliziano’s
Latin translation
Italy, Rome, c.1490
This manuscript demonstrates the blend of Florentine humanistic
scholarship and Veneto-Paduan classicism manifest in Rome during
the 1490s. It contains the first Latin translation of Herodian’s
History of the Roman Empire prepared for Pope Innocent
VIII by Angelo Poliziano, the leading Florentine poet, philosopher
and classical scholar. The refined Italic hand, the slim and tall
format, and the gold-tooled binding modelled on the Paduan Mamluk
style of the 1460s exemplify the work of Bartolomeo Sanvito’s
Roman followers. The liquid gold faceted initials and the exquisite
classicising borders mark the triumph of the Veneto-Paduan style
in Rome.
Cambridge University Library, MS Add. 4114, fols. 3v-4
Eusebius of Caesarea, Chronica in Jerome’s
Latin translation
Italy, Rome, 1460-1464
Composed in the early fourth century by Eusebius, Bishop of Caesarea,
this comparative chronology of biblical history and contemporary
secular events was translated into Latin by St Jerome. Like other
patristic texts, it was particularly popular with Renaissance ecclesiastical
patrons. This copy was made for Enea Silvio Piccolomini, the first
Humanist to occupy St Peter’s throne as Pope Pius II. The
white vine scroll inhabited by birds, hares, and putti with wig-style
hair, coral beads, and long trumpets are the work of Gioacchino
di Giovanni de Gigantibus from Reesen near Rotenburg. He was first
documented in 1460 in Siena, hometown of the Piccolomini.
Cambridge University Library, MS Mm.3.1, fol. 1
Bonaventure, Super IV Sententiarum
Italy, Florence and Naples, 1484
This copy of Bonaventure’s commentary on Peter Lombard’s
Sentences was made for Cardinal Giovanni of Aragon, son
of King Ferrante I of Naples and a celebrated Renaissance bibliophile.
Illuminated by the leading Neapolitan artist Matteo Felice, the
manuscript was completed in 1484, but may have been commissioned
as early as 1482 when Bonaventure was canonised. The halo signals
his saintly status. Originally, Cardinal Giovanni’s red hat
was depicted above the Aragonese arms, but was painted over with
a crown upon his death when his manuscripts passed to the Royal
Library in Naples.
Cambridge University Library, MS Gg.3.22, fol. 1
Case 8
Lactantius, Opera
Italy, Rome, 1460
On Saturday, 7 June 1460 Johannes Gobellini de Lins completed and
signed this manuscript. He was a librarius in the household
of Niccolò Forteguerri of Pistoia (1419-1473), a close associate
and treasurer of Pope Pius II (1458-1464). Documented as papal scribe
between 1461 and 1464, Johannes worked mainly for members of the
Roman curia. He copied this manuscript for Niccolò Forteguerri
in the same year when Pius II made him Cardinal. The illumination
blends artistic traditions from both sides of the Alps. Johannes
came from the area around Bonn and may have recommended a compatriot
for the project. Pius II, who had been Frederick III’s imperial
poet and diplomat between 1442 and 1455, attracted an international
team of scholars, scribes, and artists to Rome.
Fitzwilliam Museum, MS McClean 115, fol. 4v
Texts on Alexander the Great; Cicero, Tusculanae disputationes
Flanders, Bruges, 1471-1478
Few manuscripts reveal as much about their owners as this miscellany
does about Raphael de Mercatellis (c.1437-1508), one of the many
illegitimate children of Philip the Good of Burgundy (r. 1419-1467).
His lucrative benefices and diplomatic missions allowed him to assemble
the first great humanistic library in Flanders. This volume belongs
to its formative period. Its composite structure, the texts copied
from early printed editions, the Gothic script emulating the clarity
of humanistic minuscule, and the elements surviving from the original
binding are representative of the abbot’s tastes. But the
illumination of the displayed page is unique among Mercatellis’
manuscripts. His monogram was added to an elaborate initial and
border with flowers depicted as if scattered over the surface of
the page, a new illusionistic style that first appeared in Flemish
manuscripts in the mid-1470s.
Peterhouse, MS 269, fol. 22
Aristoxenus, On the Elements of Harmony, and other
texts
Italy, Rome, c.1540
This miscellaneous manuscript opens with the three books on harmonics
by the fourth-century Aristotelian philosopher Aristoxenus. They
were copied by Giovanni Onorio de Maglie in Otranto. His career
spanned the rule of five pontiffs, from the Farnese Pope Paul III
to the Medici Pope Pius IV. Documented at the Vatican Library between
1535 and 1563, Onorio was paid for the copying, restoration, binding
and illumination of manuscripts. This page preserves his artistic
work. It also makes a clear statement about the manuscript’s
patronage. The device (salamander), motto (Erit Christianorum
lumen in igne at auro praestantior), royal arms of France,
and dedication panel reveal that it was made for Francis I (1514-1547).
An exemplary monarch of the High Renaissance, a discriminating bibliophile
and patron of the arts, Francis I assembled at Fontainebleau a collection
of Greek manuscripts rivalling that of the Vatican.
Cambridge University Library, MS Kk.5.26, fol. 1
Libanius and others, Declamationes
The Northern Netherlands, Louvain, 1503
This manuscript was written out by Erasmus of Rotterdam (1469-1536)
at Louvain in 1503 and was probably illuminated in Brabant. It consists
of three declamations, the first by the fourth-century rhetorician
Libanius (AD 314-c.393). Erasmus set out his own translations of
the three orations first, and followed them with the original Greek
texts. He dedicated the work to Nicolas Ruistre, or Ruterius (c.1442-1509),
Bishop of Arras, Chancellor of the University of Louvain, and a
learned bibliophile. As an important figure at the Burgundian court,
Ruterius had already commissioned from Erasmus a panegyric to welcome
Philip the Handsome back from Spain in the autumn of 1503. This
manuscript was another product of his patronage. Erasmus received
ten gold pieces for it.
Trinity College, MS R.9.26, fols. 3v-4
Case 9
William Caxton, Moralised Ovid
England, c. 1483
William Caxton completed his translation of Ovid from a French
prose version, rather than from the standard French Ovide moralisée,
on 22nd April 1480. This copy is probably from Caxton’s printing
shop at Westminster. Three of its illustrations have been attributed
to the Caxton Master (active c.1470-c.1490). The image of Pyramus
and Thisbe exhibited here is by a different artist. It first shows
Pyramus and Thisbe divided by the famous wall in the city and then
unfolds the tragic story of their love.
Magdalene College, Old Library, F.4.34, fol. 98v
Pliny the Elder, Natural History
Italy, Venice, 1476
Prized by Renaissance scholars as the most comprehensive anthology
of ancient knowledge about the natural world, Pliny’s Natural
History was first printed by Nicolas Jenson (c.1435-1480) in
Latin in 1472. Jenson’s 1476 edition of Cristoforo Landino’s
Italian translation was one of the most ambitious and best documented
printing campaigns in fifteenth-century Italy. Sponsored by the
Florentine banking firm of Filippo and Lorenzo Strozzi, Landino’s
translation was to be printed in 1000 paper copies. In addition,
Jenson printed some twenty copies on parchment to be illuminated
by leading artists for the project’s sponsors, their associates,
and distinguished bibliophiles. This is one of them, although the
erased arms prevent an identification of the patron. The magnificent
frontispiece showcases the work of the Master of the London Pliny
(active c.1470-c.1490), one of the most inventive painters of classical
imagery in Venice during the 1470s.
Cambridge University Library, Inc. I.B.3.2, fol. 22
Macrobius, Expositio in somnium Scipionis, Convivia
Saturnalia
Italy, Venice, 1472
Printed by Nicholas Jenson (c.1435-1480), this sumptuous book,
contains the works of the fifth-century neo-Platonist Macrobius
who was particularly popular with Renaissance scholars. It was illuminated
for Giovanni Pico della Mirandola (1463-1494), the celebrated Florentine
neo-Platonist. Since his arms are surmounted by a black clerical
hat, the illumination must have been completed after 1473 when he
was apostolic protonotary. Pico was barely ten and this must have
been one of the first books in his future great library. The Macrobius
is the earliest of three volumes illuminated for him by the Master
of the Pico Pliny (active c.1469-c.1494). This prolific artist was
responsible for some of the most innovative and diverse book illustration
produced in Venice in the 1470s and 1480s.
Trinity College, VI.18.52, book II
Dio Chrysostomus, De regno
Italy, Venice, 1471
This volume, one of the first printed by Christoph Valdarfer, exemplifies
the popularity of Classical texts among the early printers and their
aristocratic patrons. At the request of Pope Nicholas V (1447-1455),
Dio Chrysostomus’ Greek treatise on government was translated
into Latin by Francesco Piccolomini (1439-1503). Piccolomini praised
the Pope’s choice of this work as ‘the most appropriate
and necessary for the rule of a good prince’ and dedicated
his translation to Emperor Maximilian I (r.1493-1519). The original
owner of the Cambridge volume remains unknown. It was illuminated
by Benedetto Bordone (1450/1455-1530), one of the most versatile
artists of the Veneto. The display page shows Dio Chrysostomus and
Trajan conversing beneath an architectural frontispiece. Suspended
on a parchment scroll, the treatise on government is framed and
introduced by the Roman arch, a powerful symbol of imperial rule.
Cambridge University Library, SSS 15.5, fol. 1
Case 10
Aristotle, Phisica, De Anima, Metaphysica, and
other texts
England, probably Oxford, c.1260
This is a book essential in a thirteenth-century university, for
it contains the key works by Aristotle required for two parts of
the philosophy course, natural philosophy and metaphysics. The page
layout is designed to facilitate study. Aristotle’s text occupies
a relatively small central area, allowing for the addition of marginal
commentary and interlinear notes. This is one of the few university
books with numerous historiated or ornamental initials at the beginning
of texts. The initial to De Anima shows a dying man and
his soul being taken up by an angel. The style points to a group
of artists probably based in Oxford and specialising in university
textbooks.
Cambridge University Library, MS Ee.2.31, fol. 164v
Aristotle, Praedicamenta; Boethius, Liber de
divisione, and other texts
England, probably Oxford, c.1260
This manuscript contains the texts required for the study of logic
within the arts course in thirteenth-century universities. Aristotle’s
works were the core of the syllabus, but commentaries by other writers
were also included. Boethius’s Liber de divisione
begins with an initial of a man chopping wood, a subject probably
inspired by the title. This is one of the only two historiated initials
to survive in the manuscript. The figure style and ornament place
it among volumes produced by a group of artists probably based in
Oxford around 1250-1270.
Pembroke College, MS 193, fol. 39
Raymond of Peñafort, Summa de casibus and
other texts
England, c.1250
This volume contains texts relevant to the pastoral work of parish
priests and confessors. One the texts is the Summa by Master
Richard of Leicester, rector of Wetheringsett in Suffolk, the first
recorded chancellor of Cambridge University, an office he held c.
1222- c. 1232. The book is open at the beginning of Richard’s
treatise and depicts the author seated and lecturing or presiding
at a university degree ceremony. It is likely that the manuscript
was produced in East Anglia.
Cambridge University Library, MS Add. 3471, fol. 125
Charter of Edward I confirming privileges of Cambridge
University
England, London and Cambridge, issued 6 February 1292
The preparation, writing and sealing of a royal charter was the
business of the royal chancery in London. But the addition of the
illumination could be left to the grantee to supply later on. This
document contains one of the earliest examples of illumination produced
in Cambridge. The initial E depicts King Edward I (1272-1307) presenting
the charter to a doctor of canon law in cappa clausa, a
doctor of civil law in cappa manicata, and two kneeling
doctors of theology in cappe clause.
Cambridge University Archives, Luard 7*
Royal writ under Great Seal conferring jurisdictions on
the Chancellor
England, London and Cambridge, issued 19 September 1343
Issued under the Great Seal of England, this document illustrates
the continuous work of Cambridge illuminators for the University
and other organizations. On the right hand side King Edward III
(1327-1377) is shown with an orb, a cross, and a scroll, together
with a soldier in a basinet holding a mace. The King addresses the
Chancellor of Cambridge, Thomas de Northwood (confirmed 1340), who
kneels on the left in the company of a civilian. Above, a winged
creature with hooves and an angel support two shields.
Cambridge University Archives, Luard 33a*
Case 11
The Old Proctor’s Book
England, Cambridge, c.1390
The Old Proctor’s Book contains University statutes and documents
for the use of the proctors, the Chancellor’s executive officers.
It includes two full-page tinted drawings, St Christopher with the
Christ Child (shown here) and the Virgin and Child enthroned under
a canopy with niches inhabited by members of the University and
laity. These images are intended to underline the solemnity of oaths
sworn by civic officials. St Christopher was sometimes invoked against
lies and false witness. This is a unique example of Cambridge figural
illumination at the end of the century and of the diverse influences
upon contemporary English art: from Lombardy to Bohemia and from
Paris to the lands of the Teutonic Order. The University of Cambridge,
with its international academic contacts, was as likely a place
as the court of Richard II for a manifestation of this eclecticism.
Cambridge University Archives, Collect. Admin. 3, fol. 6
Robert Hare, Registrum novum monumentorum universitatis
Cantebrigie
England, probably London, 1587-1589
Robert Hare, a former fellow commoner of Gonville Hall, was entrusted
by John Copcot, Vice-Chancellor of Cambride University, with preparing
a collection of charters and privileges in favour of the University.
Hare presented the resulting two-volume work to the University in
1590. The first volume is displayed, open at an illustration which
depicts the mayor of Cambridge taking an oath before the Chancellor
to preserve peace between the town and the University.
Cambridge University Archives, Hare A, vol. I, fol. 152
Letter addressed to King Henry VI
England, probably Cambridge, May 1448
Probably one of a pair, commissioned by Pembroke College from the
continental artist known as the Caesar Master, of which the other
was presented to King Henry VI (1422-1471). In return for benefactions,
Pembroke promised masses for the King, his consort and ancestors,
in perpetuity. The seal, now fragmentary, shows Christ displaying
his wounds, seated on the roof of a building, probably the College
chapel, supported by the outstretched hands of the Foundress, Marie
de St Pol and her husband Aymer de Valence, Earl of Pembroke.
Pembroke College Archives College Box A 19.
Charter upon Act of Parliament of Elizabeth I
England, London, probably Westminster, 1559
Issued at Westminster on 13 May 1559, this document confirmed the
earlier charters of Trinity Hall. In the reign of Edward VI Trinity
Hall had nearly been amalgamated with Clare to form a new college
for the study of civil law. To avoid a similar risk at the beginning
of Elizabeth’s reign, when royal commissioners were visiting
the University and depriving Catholic masters and fellows, Henry
Harvey, the conservative conformist who was Master of Trinity Hall
from 1558 to 1585, obtained parliamentary approval of Bishop Bateman’s
foundation of 1350. Illuminated royal charters usually have an enthroned
image of the sovereign in the initial, a reprise of the subject-matter
on the obverse of the Great Seal. This charter is the earliest of
three Elizabethan documents in Cambridge with portraits of the queen.
It preserves her First Great Seal engraved by Dericke Anthony.
Trinity Hall Muniments 79
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