YALE UNIVERSITY
BEINECKE RARE BOOK AND MANUSCRIPT LIBRARY
GENERAL COLLECTION OF RARE BOOKS AND
MANUSCRIPTS
PRE-1600 MANUSCRIPTS
Marston MS 76 Northern Italy, s. XV 3/4
Pomponius Mela; Vibius Sequester; Dares, etc.
I. 1. ff. 1r-38v Pomponii mellae de cosmographia liber
primus incipit feliciter. Orbis situm dicere
ag[g added above]redior Impeditum opus: et facundie minime
capax...et donec effossa repleantur euenniunt hominum pars
siluas frequentat minus quam quo [sic]// ff. 39-40 wanting
Pomponius Mela, De chorographia libri tres, ending abruptly
in III.107; P. Parroni, ed., Pomponii Melae De chorographia
libri tres (Rome, 1984) text: pp. 111-72; Marston MS 76
cited on p. 70, no. 59. Text has been corrected by one hand
in a different shade of ink; rubrics in margins by another hand.
II. 2. ff. 41r-47v Virbius [sic] Sequester Virgiliano filio
salutem pl. d. Quanto ingenio ac studio filj [?] carissime apud
plerosque poetas fluminum mentio habita sit: tanto labore sum
secutus...[conclusion of gentes, f. 47v:] Thessali macedones
europae L. [?] vi/ Volsci Italici europe Ae. vii. G. ii.
Vibius Sequester, De fluminibus, fontibus, lacubus, nemoribus,
paludibus, montibus, gentibus; R. Gelsomino, ed., Teubner
(1967) pp. 1-54. Many of the entries are followed by brief
notes giving the source of the name (e.g., Ae. or Ene. = Aeneid;
G. = Georgics; Luc. = Lucan).
3. ff. 47v-50r [Heading:] De prouinciis et regionibus.
[text:] Bugdunum desyderatum mortem a romoriante [?] mari et
ideo In omni mari...[concludes in section Prouinciae Alpium
Maritimarum ci. viii:] Ciuitas Vinsicensium id est Ventio.
[explicit:] Finit sequester virbius [sic; followed by drawing
of a heart pierced by an arrow, surmounted by a crown]. f. 50v
blank
Unidentified text(s) on the names of the Roman provinces and
their regions (ff. 47v-48v) and the names of the cities in the
provinces (ff. 48v-50r).
III. 4. ff. 51r-70v Incipit Historia Daretis Frigii de
Exitio Troiae. [prologue:] Cornelius Nepos Salustio Crispo suo
salutem. Cum multa athenis curiosus agerem. inueni historiam
daretis Frigij ipsius manu scriptam ut titulus indicat...nunc
ad pollicendum reuertamur. [text:] Pelias Rex in poloponense
[sic] hesonnem fratrem habuit hesonis filius erat iason uirtute
prestans...cum suis patria protinus excedere iubet. Aeneas cum//
catchwords: omnibus suis na. f. 71, and perhaps a quire, wanting
Dares Phrygius, De excidio troiae historia, ending abruptly and
missing f. 54 ("...Et antenorem ab eis nihil impetrasse. Verum //
conclamauit moram non esse..."); F. Meister, ed., Teubner (1878)
pp. 1-51, line 18.
Arts. 5-9, a series of exordia, appear to be school exercises
in Latin prose composition, all poorly written and heavily
corrected. They follow approximately the text of Justinus'
Epitoma, but are much abbreviated; the Latin is often
incomprehensible without a prior knowledge of the historical
narrative (e.g., scythae has been corrupted to exitae).
IV. 5. ff. 72r-73r Incipit Exordium Regis asiriorum qui primi
regnauerunt In terram. [sic] Exordium Ninj. Ninus rex
asyriorum primus bella Intulit ad quae regna primus imperauit...
uindicato regum [?] cum auctoritate tenuit.
Exordium on Ninus.
6. ff. 73r-74r [Heading:] Exordium Amazonum que exite
[i. e. scythae] et ipse fuerunt. [text:] Apud exitas fuerunt
aliquando duos reges iuuenes. qui occupauerunt cemerinus
[sic] campus Iuxta amnem...et sic ferunt quod usque ad iulio
caesare [sic] perdurauerant. Finit.
Exordium on the Amazons.
7. f. 74r Darius rex persarum In exitis bellum intulit cum
armatis...et Lacedemonijs uictoria facta domus suas triumphauerunt.
Finit.
Exordium on Darius.
8. f. 74v Bellum Iulij Caesaris: quod gessit super regnum cum
germanis In quo prelio romani grauiter pugnauerunt...qui pacem
federatam cum eum fecerunt.
Exordium on Julius Caesar and Augustus.
9. ff. 74v-76r [Heading, f. 74v:] De exordia exitarum.
[text, f. 75r:] Exiti antiquioris populus hominibus in terre
nulli finis: et interclusa est sicut: et gothia: qui
primus eam regionem magog...Et mater eius olympiades nuncupatur.
Exordium on the Scythians, concluding with Alexander the
Great and Philip of Macedon.
10. f. 76v [Heading:] Panormus id est comoda cunctis Natio.
[text:] Theopompus xuij Epirotarum gentes esse refert...Lxx
igitur epirotarum urbes a Paulo emilio imperatore funditus...
redacta.
Short unidentified passages on Epirus.
The manuscript is composed of four parts of similar size,
220 x 150 mm.; i (paper) + 72 + i (paper); patterns of stains
suggest that the parts were originally separate booklets.
Part I: ff. 1-38 (ff. 39-40 wanting), paper (watermarks,
in gutter: similar to Briquet Ciseaux 3685). Written space
158 x 84 mm. Ca. 29 long lines. Frame-ruled in crayon; remains
of prickings in outer margins. I 12, II 10, III 12, IV 6 (-5, 6,
with loss of text). Horizontal catchwords to left of inner
bounding line (Derolez 12.2); vertical catchwords for third
quire (Derolez 12.5). Written by multiple scribes in humanistic
cursive script, above top line. Plain red initials, 5- to 1-line.
Epigraphic heading on f. 1r; other headings in humanistic bookhand,
in red.
Part II: ff. 41-50, paper (watermarks, in gutter: similar
to Briquet Lettre T 9129). Written space 160 x 95 mm. 30 long
lines. Impressed on a ruling board. A single gathering of 10 leaves.
Written by several scribes in humanistic cursive, above top line.
Epigraphic headings and plain initials, 3- to 1-line, in black.
Part III: ff. 51-76 (ff. 54, 71 wanting), paper (watermarks,
in gutter: similar to Briquet Fleur 6654, 6655). Written space
150 x 87 mm. 26 long lines. Impressed on a ruling board. I 10
(-4, loss of text), II 10 (-10, loss of text). Vertical catchwords
(Derolez 12.5). Written by several scribes in varying styles of
humanistic cursive, above top line. Epigraphic heading, f. 51r,
and plain intials in black. Parchment binding stays along outer
bifolia.
Part IV: ff. 72-76, paper (watermarks, in gutter: similar
to Briquet Fleur 6654, 6655). Written space 152 x 105 mm. Ca.
25 long lines. No discernible rulings. A single gathering of four
leaves, + 1 leaf added at end. ff. 72r-76r written by a single [?]
scribe in humanistic cursive script; text on f. 76v added in a
similar contemporary hand. Heading on f. 72r in red.
Binding: Italy, s. xviii. Paper case, once white.
All four parts appear to have been written in Northern Italy in
the third quarter of the 15th century; probably used as school
texts given the nature of Part IV and the irregular orthography
throughout. Early provenance otherwise unknown. Unidentified
notes include: "Nu g b" in pencil on front pastedown; "448"
enclosed in square in pencil, f. i recto; round paper label
with "102" in ink on spine; "115" in pencil on f. 1r. Inscription,
s. xviii, in lower margin of f. 1r: "Est Pauli Deod ti Velli
Subleu [?];" the foliation seems to have been added in the same
hand as the inscription. Belonged to Henry Allen (acquired ca.
1800; bookplate with "13" within square, in pencil); Samuel
Allen sale (Sotheby's, 30 January 1920, no. 91). Purchased
from C. A. Stonehill (CAS 1996/ #10866) in 1954 by Thomas E.
Marston (bookplate).
secundo folio: Tribus
Bibliography: Faye and Bond, p. 73, no. 76.
Barbara A. Shailor