Manuscripts

The roots of the modern Bible are found in the new portable Bibles containing the complete Old and New Testaments that are one of the thirteenth century’s most striking inventions. This is a very attractive example, in good condition, with painted initials for each book of the Bible, including a playful Genesis initial where animals and monsters replace the expected scenes of creation. Physically it is slightly larger than a typical pocket Bible, making it easier to read and a pleasure to handle.

 iii (paper, with a paper endleaf from an earlier binding now pasted to the second endleaf) + ii (modern parchment, ff. 1-2) + i (medieval parchment, f. 3) + 469 + i (modern parchment, f. 473) + ii (medieval parchment, ff. 474-475) + ii (modern parchment, ff. 476-477) + iii (paper) folios on parchment (thin and of good quality), foliated in pencil 1-477, including the three endleaves at the beginning and the five at the end, top outer corner recto (cited here), missing four leaves (collation i²⁰ [-1, 2, 3, with loss of text] ii²⁰ iii²⁴ iv-vi²⁰ vii²⁴ [-15, one leaf following f. 138v, cancelled with no loss of text] viii-ix²⁰ x²⁶ [-6, following f. 192v, with loss of text] xi-xvi²⁰ xvii²² xviii-xx²⁰ xxi-xxii²⁴ xxiii³⁰), quires signed at the end in roman numerals (a few trimmed), ruled in lead with the top, middle, and bottom two rules full across, single full-length vertical bounding lines, a few folios with prickings outer margins (ff. 433-438),(justification 133-127 x 82-78 mm.), written in two columns of 47-52 lines by more than one scribe in gothic book hands in dark brown to light chestnut ink, the Interpretation of Hebrew Names on ff. 439-471 in three columns, majuscules within text touched in red or occasionally in pale yellow, red rubrics, chapter numbers and running titles in alternate red and blue, 1-line initials alternately red and blue, chapters begin with two-line initials alternately red and blue with penwork in the opposite colors, prologues begin with 8- to 4-line parted red and blue initials with penwork in both colors, EIGHTY PAINTED INITIALS, 5- to 9-line, some with extensions, introduce each book of the Bible, the Psalm divisions, and the Interpretations of Hebrew Names (discussed below), text occasionally overwritten for a few lines (e.g. f. 379, 380, longer passage), leaves at each end with slight damage to upper margins and some signs of damage from damp or water, small burn hole f. 54 partially damaging eight lines of text, small repair bottom margin f. 138v, sewn repair to the parchment f. 277, ff. 469v-472v, some damage to parchment with scattered small holes, many of larger initials slightly scuffed or perhaps faded, trimmed at top margin (some loss of running titles and bottom of some pen initials trimmed), but a few outer margins with prickings (noted above), endleaves and opening and closing leaves darkened, a few leaves with slits in the outer margin (e.g. ff. 5-6), overall in good and robust condition.  Bound in modern brown leather over pasteboard, tooled in blind with simple fillet and crosses at corners, spine with five raised bands, marbled endleaves and pastedowns, edges dyed red, front board slightly split at head of spine, some scuffs, front paper endleaves loose, overall very good condition, in fitted cloth-covered box (made for Society for Biblical Research). Dimensions, 173×117 mm.

Provenance

1. Written in Northern France in the second quarter of the thirteenth century, c. 1230-1250, as indicated by the evidence of the text, decoration, and details of its physical structure.  The pen initials and the quire structure of 24 leaves are characteristic of Bibles from Northern France (on the quire structure, see Ruzzier, 2013, p. 116; and 2022, pp. 190-191).

2. Annotated throughout by numerous different hands, from the thirteenth at least through the late sixteenth century, including: corrections (contemporary with the manuscript); an early reader numbered the Psalms using Roman numerals and added a list of Canticles after the final Psalm; on f. 54, alongside a hole in the parchment, a later hand supplied the missing words accompanied by a pointing hand; cross references in a later hand were added to Matthew (ff. 354-355); numerous other short notes and pointing hands (maniculae) in a number of hands are found throughout.

3. Certainly in England by 1440, if not earlier (see the text added on f. 3v, in an English script); another English hand added the text on the Hebrew alphabet on f. 438v.

4. Belonged to Anthony Tomyson; his late sixteenth-century inscription beginning, “this is my hand,” written upside-down on f. 472v; see also f. 76v. It has been suggested that he may be identifiable as the “Anthony Thompson” who is recorded at Pembroke College, Cambridge, in 1555, or as the man by the same name at St. John’s College, Cambridge c. 1596 through 1604 (Venn, 1927, part I, vol. 4, p. 222), but it was not an uncommon name. The short notes in English added by a sixteenth-century hand to a few margins are perhaps his (f. 22v, “her mother,”; f. 102v, “Be yt ... unto,” and f. 328); see also the pen trials on ff. 229, 307.

5. Belonged to Bishop Robert Carr of Chicester (1774-1841; bishop of Worcester from 1831), who gave it to Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex (see below) on December 24, 1830, presumably as a Christmas present, as noted in the inscription by Thomas Joseph Pettigrew at the top of the endleaf from an earlier binding, now pasted on the front paper endleaf, f. ii.

6. Belonged to Prince Augustus Frederick (1773-1843), Duke of Sussex, the sixth son of King George III, who built a large library of theological books from 1819 onwards that was housed in Kensington Palace; by 1827 his library had reached approximately 50,000 volumes. His library was described by his librarian, Thomas Joseph Pettigrew, Bibliotheca Sussexiana: A Descriptive Catalogue, London, 1827, before the Duke acquired this manuscript. Our manuscript includes the Duke’s smaller bookplate with the shelfmark added in ink, “VI H b.10” (on an endleaf from an earlier binding, now pasted on the front paper flyleaf, f. ii), annotated by Pettigrew(?), noting its contents and an erroneous date of “1400.” (On his collection, including reproduction of this bookplate, see Peter Kidd, Online Resources).

7. Sold by Evans, Duke of Sussex sale, Part II, 1844, lot 12 (the penciled measurements on the Duke’s bookplate match the dimensions listed in this catalogue). 

8. Sold by Thomas Thorpe, London, August 1844, no. 33; clipping apparently from this sale catalogue pasted on the front endleaf, f. i verso.

9. Belonged to John A. Murphy (d. 1900), a medical doctor of Ohio; his bookplate, verso front paper endleaf, f. i.  Murphy also owned New Haven, Yale University, Beinecke Library MS 90, Leonardi Bruni (see Gwara, 2013, p. 54),

10. Collection of the Endowment for Biblical Research, Boston, Massachusetts, acquired from Otto Ege in April 1949 (Gwara, 2013, pp. 54 and 161 where this book is HL129); MS 2 of their endowment collection; “Zion MS. 2,” verso front paper endleaf, f. i (described while in this collection by Oliver, 1985).

11. Sold through Bruce Ferrini c. 2000 (Gwara, 2013, p. 54), when the collection belonging to the Endowment for Biblical Research was dispersed; records in the Schoenberg Database show that some of their manuscripts were handled by Sam Fogg, London.

12. Private collection (acquired in the London trade in the 1990s, as reported in a previous description; a date c. 2000 or slightly later seems likely).

Text

f. 3v, [added, fifteenth century]; incipit, “Geneseos Ex Lev … Apocalipsis”;

Names of the biblical books, many abbreviated, with superscript notations of the number of chapters in each.

f. 3v, [Added in 1440(?)], incipit, “Ab origine mundi … Ab incarnatione domini M CCCC XL”;

Short list of biblical events with notes how many years ago they happened.

ff. 4-438, Latin Bible, with prologues as follows:  f. 4, Genesis; f. 21v, Exodus; f. 36, Leviticus; f. 46, Numbers; f. 59v, Deuteronomy; f. 71v, [prologue to Joshua] Tandem finito [Stegmüller  311]; f. 72, Joshua; f. 80v, Judges; f. 89, Ruth; f. 90, [prologue to Kings] Viginti et duas [Stegmüller 323], f. 91, 1 Kings; f. 102v, 2 Kings; f. 112, 3 Kings; f, 123, 4 Kings; f. 133v, [prologue to Chronicles] Si septuaginta [Stegmüller  328]; f. 134, 1 Chronicles; f. 143, [prologue to 2 Chronicles] Eusebius ieronimus … Quomodo grecorum [Stegmüller 327]; f. 143, 2 Chronicles, concluding with the Oratio Manasse; f. 155, [prologue to Ezra] Utrum difficilius [Stegmüller 330]; f. 155v, 1 Ezra; f. 159, Nehemiah; f. 163v, 2 Ezra; f. 169, [prologue to Tobit] Cromatio et  heliodoro …, Mirari non desino [Stegmüller 332]; f. 169, Tobit; f. 172v, [prologue to Judith] Apud hebreos [Stegmüller  335]; f. 172v, Judith; f. 177, [prologue to Esther] Librum hester; Rursum in libro [Stegmüller  341 and 343, copied as one prologue]; f. 177, Esther; f. 81v, [prologue to Job] Cogor per singulos [Stegmüller 344]; f. 82, [prologue to Job] Si aut fiscellam [Stegmüller 357]; f. 82, Job; f. 190v, Psalms; f. 213, [prologue to Proverbs] Iungat epistola [Stegmüller 457]; f. 213, Proverbs; f. 220v, [prologue to Ecclesiastes] Memini me [Stegmüller 462]; f. 221, Ecclesiastes; f. 223v, Song of Songs; f. 225,  [prologue to Wisdom] Liber sapientie [Stegmüller 468]; f. 225, Wisdom; f. 230v, [biblical introduction to Ecclesiasticus, copied as a prologue] Multorum nobis; f. 230v, Ecclesiasticus, without the Prayer of Solomon]; f. 246, [prologue to Isaiah] Nemo cum prophetas [Stegmüller 482]; f. 246, Isaiah; f. 263, [prologue to Jeremiah] Ieremias propheta [Stegmüller 487]; f. 263v, Jeremiah; f. 284, Lamentations; f. 286, [prologue to Baruch] Liber iste [Stegmüller 491]; f. 286, Baruch; f. 288v, [prologue to Ezechiel] Ezechiel propheta [Stegmüller 492]; f. 288v, Ezechiel; f. 307, [prologue to Daniel] Danielem prophetam [Stegmüller 494]; f. 307v, Daniel; f. 315, [prologue to Minor prophets] Non idem ordo est [Stegmüller 500]; f 315, [prologue to Hosea] Temporibus ozie [Stegmüller 507]; f. 315v, Hosea; f. 318, [prologue to Joel] Sanctus ioel [Stegmüller 511]; f. 318, [prologue] Ioel fatuel filius [Stegmüller 510, interpolated version]; f. 318, Joel; f. 319, [prologue to Amos] Ozias rex [Stegmüller 515]; f. 319v, [prologue] Amos propheta [Stegmüller 512, interpolated version]; f. 319v, [prologue] Hic amos [Stegmüller 513]; f. 319v, Amos; f. 321v, [prologue Obadiah] Iacob patriarcha; Hebrei [Stegmüller 519 and 517 copied as one prologue]; f. 322, Obadiah; f. 322, [prologue to Jonah] Sanctum ionam [Stegmüller 524]; f. 322rv, [prologue] Ionas columba et dolens [Stegmüller 521]; f. 322v, Jonah; f. 323, [prologue Micah] Temporibus ioathe [Stegmüller 526]; f. 323, Micah; f. 324v, [prologue to Nahum] Naum prophetam [Stegmüller 528, short version]; f. 324v, Nahum; f. 325v, [prologue to Habakkuk] Quatuor prophete [Stegmüller 531]; f. 326, Habbakuk; f. 326v, [prologue to Zephaniah] Tradunt hebrei [Stegmüller 534]; f. 327, Zephaniah; f. 327v, [prologue to Haggai] Ieremias propheta [Stegmüller 538]; f.328, Haggai; f. 328v, [prologue to Zechariah] In anno secundo [Stegmüller 539]; f. 328v, Zechariah; f. 331v, [prologue to Malachi] Deus per moysen [Stegmüller 543]; f. 332, Malachi; f. 333, [prologue to Maccabees] Domino excellentisimo …,  Cum sim promptus [Stegmüller 547]; f. 333, [prologue] Reuerentissimo …, Memini me [Stegmüller 553]; f. 333, [prologue] Machabeorum librum duo [Stegmüller 551]; f. 333v, 1 Maccabees; f. 345, 2 Maccabees; f. 353, [prologue to Matthew] Matheus ex iudea [Stegmüller 590]; f. 353, [prologue to Matthew] Matheus cum primo [Stegmüller 589]; f. 353, Matthew; f. 364, [prologue to Mark] Marcus evangelista [Stegmüller  607];  f. 364v, Mark; f. 371, [prologue to Luke] Lucas syrus natione [Stegmüller 620]; f.  371, Quoniam quidem [Luke 1:1-4 treated as a prologue]; f. 371v, Luke ; f. 383, [prologue to John] Hic est Iohannes [Stegmüller 624] ; f. 383v, John; f. 391v, [prologue to Romans] Romani sunt in partes ytalie … a chorintho [Stegmüller 677]; f. 391v, Paulus vocatus, chapter list to Romans, De Bruyne, Préfaces, ‘Sp’, p. 314ff.; f. 392, Romans; f. 396, [prologue to 1 Corinthians] Chorinthii sunt achaici [Stegmüller 685]; f. 396, 1 Corinthians; f. 400, [prologue to 2 Corinthians] Post actam [Stegmüller 699]; f. 400v, 2 Corinthians; f. 403, [prologue to Galatians] Galathe sunt greci [Stegmüller 707]; f. 403, Galatians; f. 404v, [prologue to Ephesians] Ephesii sunt asyani [Stegmüller 715]; f. 405, Ephesians; f. 406, [prologue to Philippians] Philippenses sunt macedones [Stegmüller 728]; f. 406, Philippians; f. 407, [prologue to Colossians] Colosenses et hii [Stegmüller 736]; f. 407, Colossians; f. 408, [prologue to 1 Thessalonians] Thessalonicenses sunt macedones [Stegmüller 747]; f. 408, 1 Thessalonians; f. 409, [prologue to 2 Thessalonians] Ad thessalonicenses [Stegmüller 752]; f. 409, 2 Thessalonians; f. 409v, [prologue to 1 Timothy] Tymotheum instruit [Stegmüller 765]; f. 409v, 1 Timothy; f. 410v, [prologue to 2 Timothy] Item Tymotheo scribit [Stegmüller 772]; f. 410v, 2 Timothy; f. 411, [prologue to Titus] Tytum commonefacit [Stegmüller 780]; f. 411, Titus; f. 411v, [prologue to Philemon] Phylemoni familiares [Stegmüller 783]; f.412, Philemon; f. 412, [prologue to Hebrews] In primis dicendum [Stegmüller 793] ; f. 412, Hebrews; f. 415v, [prologue to Acts] Lucas anthiocenses natione syrus [Stegmüller 640]; f. 415v, Acts; f. 427, [prologue to Catholic Epistles] Non est ita ordo [Stegmüller 809]; f. 427, James; f. 428v, 1 Peter; f. 429v, 2 Peter; f. 430v, 1 John; f. 431v, 2 John; f. 431v, 3 John;  f. 432, Jude; f. 432, [prologue to Apocalypse] Omnes qui pie [Stegmüller 839]; f. 432v, Apocalypse [ending f. 438, mid col. b; remainder blank].

Latin Bible with prologues; the text is complete apart from three leaves missing at the beginning which undoubtedly included the general prologue, Frater ambrosius (Stegmüller 284), and the prologue to the Pentateuch by Jerome, Desiderii mei (Stegmüller 285), and one leaf of the Psalter following f. 192v which now ends at Psalm 21:23, “Nar//”; f. 193 begins at Psalm 30:6, “//tuas commendo …”

f. 438v, [originally blank; added in the fifteenth century], incipit, “Aleph doctrina. Beth est confusio dicta. Gimel retribuens … Huc teth est bonum. Sic est exclusio rite”;

Interpretation of Hebrew Names; this is not the usual version by Jerome, or the variant that circulated in England (Shepard, 2007, pp, 75-76, citing other studies).

ff. 439-471, incipit, “Aaz apprehendens vel apprehensio … Zuzim consiliantes …consiliatores eorum”;

Interpretations of Hebrew Names in the version that is commonly found in Bibles dating after c. 1230; Stegmüller, no. 7709; printed numerous times in the fifteenth century, and in the seventeenth century, when it was included in Venerabilis Bedae presbyteri … opera, Cologne, 1612, 3:371-480; there is no modern edition, despite the text’s great importance for the history of the Bible, exegesis and preaching in the High Middle Ages. The text is attributed in one manuscript (Montpellier, Bibl. de la Faculté de Médecine, MS 341) to Stephen Langton (d. 1228), but Giovanna Murano’s study of the text concludes that the evidence is lacking to support this attribution (Murano, 2010). 

ff.  471-472v, [Early addition in blank space and continuing on endleaves], incipit, Dominica prima adventu domini, incipit, Ep. ad Ro. xiii, Scientes quia …, Ew. Mt. xxi, Cum appropinquasset; Do. ii, Ep. ro. xv, Quecumque scripta ...  “[f. 473rv, blank modern parchment leaf]; 

Epistle and Gospel readings for the Mass for the Temporal and Sanctoral, listed by their opening words and chapter number, copied in a very tiny script in a compressed format in three columns. This is not a list for Franciscan Use, and based on a preliminary survey, it does not appear to include saints characteristic of any one locality. 

ff. 474-475v, [Parchment endleaves with later texts, now difficult to read due to darkened parchment and abrasion], Possibly biblical summaries by chapters(?), with other short additions. [ff. 476-477v, blank modern parchment endleaves]. 

Illustration

Eighty painted initials before each book of the Bible, the ferial divisions of the Psalter, and the Interpretations of Hebrew Names, 5- to 9-lines, some with extensions extending almost full column. Genesis begins with an initial extending above and below the height of the text column. Initials are blue or dull pink, with white highlights, infilled with scrolling vines and acanthus, on grounds of the opposite color. They are very well-executed in a subdued palette; no gold is used; occasionally they are enlivened with animal heads or other drolleries. 

Highlights include:

f. 4, (Genesis), long band for “I”; instead of the usual scenes of creation, there are nine roundels on alternate grounds of blue and dusky pink, separated by acanthus leaf sprays, and enclosing animals and drolleries: a bird with human face(?) (face slightly smudged); four cat-faces facing each other; a long-beaked bird; two birds facing one another; a lion; a bird wearing a pointed hat; a bird; a rooster; and a basilisk;

f. 80v, (Judges), 8-line initial extending three-quarters of the length of the column, ending in a human-headed dragon; 

f. 353, (Matthew), 10-line initial with extension, infilled with scrolling acanthus, and with a crowned animal head perched on the initial;

f. 364v, (Mark), 29-line ‘I’, an elongated winged-shape ending in a human head;

f. 371v, (Luke), 7-line with extension, infilled with facing birds, ending with a drollery musician playing pipe and tabor;

f. 383v, (John), 18-line ‘I’, elongated winged creature, ending in a human head;

Pauline Epistles begin with 4- to 7-line initials, extending almost the full-length of the column on ff. 392, 396, 400v; f. 396, (1 Corinthians), ends in a long-beaked bird; f. 403, (Galatians), ends with a bearded hybrid creature;

f. 427 (James), 32-line ‘I’, elongated winged creature, ending with human head.

Small, portable Bibles which include the complete text of the Vulgate in one small, although often rather thick, volume revolutionized the use and ownership of the Bible. The earliest examples of these portable Bibles were copied in Paris at the end of the 1220s or the early 1230s, and the format was adopted quickly throughout Europe.  This Bible is slightly larger than many examples, and the parchment is a shade thicker, making it easier to read and handle.

Paris was also the center of the dissemination of a new text of the Vulgate, known as the Paris Bible. The earliest Paris Bibles date from c. 1200; mature examples of this text date from the late 1220s. The biblical books were arranged according to a new order (almost identical to the order still used today, apart from the placement of Acts in the New Testament), they were divided into new standardized chapters, also basically those still in use, and include a common set of sixty-four prologues introducing the biblical books.  At the end of the Bible, most Paris Bibles include the Interpretations of Hebrew Names, beginning “Aaz apprehendens.” Bibles with these features also include an identifiable text. These changes fundamentally altered what the Bible looked like, and how its text was organized. Most, but not all, Paris Bibles were copied in Paris (in other words, this text was not exclusively Parisian).

The Bible described here includes all the hallmarks of the Paris Bible, including the new order of the books, modern chapters, the set of sixty-four prologues (conveniently listed in Ker, 1969, v. 1, pp. 96-8), the characteristic textual readings (Quentin, 1922, p. 385), and the version of the Interpretations of Hebrew Names beginning “Aaz apprehendens.” Two exceptions to the usual Paris text may be noted: the inclusion of a chapter list to Romans (f. 391v), copied as if it was a prologue (chapter lists are not commonly found in manuscripts of the Bible after c.1230); and the chapters in Esther, here originally divided into six chapters, which were changed by a later hand into the more common sixteen (variation in the chapter divisions to Esther are not uncommon, even in Bibles like this one divided according to modern chapters).

This is thus an excellent example of a thirteenth-century Bible­–the Bibles that are in many senses the direct ancestor of the Bible we still read today – that not only showcases the new smaller one-volume format (the “pocket” or “portable” Bible), but also includes all the textual features of the important and influential Paris Bible.  It was a Bible that was used for many centuries, as evidenced not only by the numerous short comments, nota marks, and pointing hands found in its margins, but also in the textually interesting additions preserved along with the sacred text.

Literature

De Hamel, Christoper. The Book. A History of the Bible, London and New York, Phaidon Press, 2001, chapter 5, “Portable Bibles of the Thirteenth Century.

Gwara, Scott. Otto Ege’s Manuscripts: a Study of Ege’s Manuscript Collections, Portfolios, and Retail Trade ; with a Comprehensive Handlist of Manuscripts Collected or Sold, Medieval Manuscript Collections and Collectors in North America 1, Cayce, South Carolina, 2013, this manuscript, Handlist 129.

Ker, N. R. Medieval Manuscripts in British Libraries, v. 1, Oxford, 1969.

Light, Laura. “The Bible and the Individual: The Thirteenth-Century Paris Bible,” in The Practice of the Bible in the Middle Ages, eds. Susan Boynton and Diane Reilly, New York, Columbia University Press, 2011, pp. 228-246.

Murano, Giovanna. “Chi ha scritto le Interpretationes Hebraicorum Nominum?” in Étienne Langton, prédicateur, bibliste, théologien, eds. Louis-Jacques Bataillon, Nicole Bériou, Gilbert Dahan et Riccardo Quinto, Turnhout, 2010, pp. 353-371.

Oliver, J. Manuscripts Sacred and Secular from the Collections of the Endowment for Biblical Research and Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, 1985, this manuscript, cat. 33, pp. 17-19 and fig. 10.

Quentin, Henri. Mémoire sur l'établissement du texte de la Vulgate, Rome, 1922.

Ruzzier, Chiara. Entre Université et ordres mendiants: La production des bibles portatives latines au XIIIe siècle. Berlin and Boston, 2022.

Ruzzier, Chiara. ”The Miniaturisation of Bible Manuscripts in the Thirteenth Century: A Comparative Study,“ in Eyal Poleg and Laura Light, eds., Form and Function in the Late Medieval Bible, Leiden and Boston, 2013, pp. 105-125.

Shepard, Dorothy M. Introducing the Lambeth Bible: a Study of Texts and Imagery, Turnhout, 2007.

Stegmüller, Fridericus. Repertorium biblicum medii aevi, Madrid, 1950-61, and Supplement, with the assistance of N. Reinhardt, Madrid, 1976-80.

Venn, John, and Venn, J. A. Alumni Cantabrigienses: A Biographical List of All Known Students, Graduates and Holders of Office at the University of Cambridge, from the Earliest Times to 1900, Part one, vol. 4, Cambridge, 1927.

Online Resources

“Robert James Carr,” Dictionary of National Biography https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Dictionary_of_National_Biography,_1885-1900/Carr,_Robert_James

Peter Kidd, “Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex (1773–1843)” http://www.manuscripts.org.uk/provenance/collectors/Sussex/Sussex.htm

Repertorium biblicum medii aevi (digital version) http://repbib.uni-trier.de/cgi-bin/rebihome.tcl

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