YALE UNIVERSITY
BEINECKE RARE BOOK AND MANUSCRIPT LIBRARY
GENERAL COLLECTION OF RARE BOOKS AND
MANUSCRIPTS
MEDIEVAL AND RENAISSANCE MANUSCRIPTS
Marston MS 119 Northern Italy, s. XIII 2
Aegidius Beneventanus, Florilegium
1. ff. 1r-2r [Rubric erased, text begins:] Si sapientes moderni temporis antiquorum
philosoforum doctrinis dignantur attendere quibus nobis eorum posteris mandando
suggerentur [?] et suggerendo mandatur ut cum defecerimus...[f. 1v:] Ego
quidem Egidius Beneventanus scriptor in penitentiaria domini pape. minimus
introducendorum in huiusmodi thalamum cum extra clamantibus et
pulsantibus...Vt autem in presenti opusculo celerius occurat desideranti quod
petit materias quaslibet de quibus hic agi contingerit sub certis
capitulis seu rubricis capitulationem sub certis particulis collocaui.
Prologue to art. 3 by the author, Aegidius Beneventanus, who remains
unidentified.
2. ff. 2v-29v [column 1] Primus quaternus/ .53. Auctoritates/ [column 2]
In folio xxx#o/ Nota contra otiosum pigrum et sompnolentum/ [column
3] .20. Actores. [followed by list of authors and/or texts cited]...[column 1]
Auctoritates [column 2] Nota quedam argumenta cum plures diuerseque [?]
probitates. et gratie in una eademque persona concurrerunt. [column 3]
Actores//
Table of contents for art. 3 arranged in three columns, with the topics
listed in the order in which they appear in the text, followed by folio
references in the second column, and a list of authors and/or texts cited
for each topic in the third column. The table is incomplete: folio
references to text cease on f. 25v (note that "Amplius deficit" at this point
and the end of the folio references corresponds to the conclusion of Part I
in art. 3; the remaining entries in this table do not correspond to
the topics discussed in Parts II and III), and there are no authorities
cited in the final entry.
3. ff. 30r-167v Nota contra otiosum pigrum et sompnolentum. Plus uigila
semper ne sompno deditus esto. Nam diuturna quies uitijs aumenta ministrat.
Segnitiem fugito que uite ignauia fertur. Otia nullus amet...[secunda pars,
f. 141r:] Incipit Secunda pars. [I]n hec secunda parcicula
[sic] huius
libri agitur de ciuitatum. et castrorum ac plurium famosorum locorum
fundatoribus primis seu ampliatoribus...[tertia pars, f. 158r:] [T]ertia huius
operis particula que quidem ultima est continet quasdam exflorationes seu
excerpta. ex pantheon. Speculo regum anselmo solino de mirabilibus mundi. et
ysidoro ethimologiarum. per que legentibus constare poterit de successione ac
quibusdam regum. et Imperatorum actubus a tempore diluuij usque fere
ad tempus frederici Imperatoris...Africa a meridie usque ad occidentem
extenditur.
Collection of extracts on moral subjects (Part I), historical, genealogical
and geographical subjects (Parts II and III) drawn from classical, Biblical
and medieval texts. Rubrics in Part I include: Nota contra otiosum
pigrum et sompnolentum, Nota frenandam esse linguam et loquendum cum
discretione, Contra detractores et aliud loquentes quam corde gerant, Nota quod
promissum non debet differri, Nota filij debent erudiri et corrigi ab
infancia; Part II: De egypto et a quo sic uocata est primo. et
perconsequens, De armenia. et a quo primum sic uocata est, De thebis egiptijs,
Quando incipit regnum egiptiorum; Parts I and II frequently have spaces
left for rubrics that remain unfilled; no rubrics in Part III. Authors
and texts cited include: the Bible, Cato, Cassiodorus, Vergil, Sallust,
Ovid, Seneca, Boethius, Socrates, Bernard, Juvenal, Hrabanus Maurus, Cicero,
Claudian, Jerome, Augustine, Isidore, Lucan, Ambrose, Symmachus, Horace,
Arator, Pamphilus, Origen, Anselm, Solinus. In Part I only the names of the
authors (and sometimes the title of a specific work) are written in the
margins next to the quotations.
4. ff. 167v-175v Amititia [sic] uera est. ad quam fertur homo sine ulla
utilitatis causa./ Amititia est idem uelle. et idem nolle in honestate./
Amor rationalis est uita nobilissima. et postmodo [?] scientia./ Amor
secundum spiritum est concupiscentia uitalis secundum animam et rationem/
Amor secundum corpus est concupiscentia coitus/...Yris est celestis arcus./
Yrtosus est cui os olet./ .Z.//
Alphabetical list of figurative meanings, ending with Z, for which
there are no entries.
5. ff. 176r-177v [S]ecula generationibus constant et inde secula quod
sequantur. abscendentibus enim alijs alij succedunt. Prima etas mundi est
ab adam usque ad noe. Secundum a noe usque ad habraam. Tertia ab abraam
usque ad dauid...[table begins:] Adam habens annos 2.30. genuit Seth.
a quo filij dei./ Seth in anno 3.0 5. genuit Enos. qui cepit inuocare
nomen domini./ Enos anno .160. genuit Caynan./...Mauritius annos .2.1 Gothi
catholici efficiuntur/ Focas. annos .7. Romani ceduntur a persis.
Biblical and classical genealogy, in tabular format.
6. ff. 177v-183r [O]mnibus animantibus. Adam primum uocabula indidit
appellans unicuique nomen iuxta conditionem nature cui seruiret. Gentes
autem unicuique animalium...Gurgulio dicitur quia fere nil est aliud nisi
guttur.
Bestiary, extracts from Isidore, Etymologiae, Bk. 12.1.1-12.8.17;
7. f. 183r-v [P]hilosofi grece latine amatores sapientie interpretantur.
Nomen philosophorum primo a pictagora fertur exortum [corrected from
ortum].
Nam iste interrogatus quid profiteretur...[P]oete immo sint dicti sicut ait
Tranquillus cum primum homines exuta...et copia plurium uerborum...[S]ocrates
hic primus ad corrigendos componendosque mores...[lists of philosophers and
poets follows:] Pithagoras Seneca. Carmentis Anaxagoras...Terentius. Celsus.
Iulius.
Extracts from Isidore, Etymologiae, Bks. 8 and 2.
8. ff. 183v-184r De aquis et earum uersitate ac uirtutibus. qua dicta
quod superficies eius equalis sit. Ignis uero et aqua sunt duo ualidissima
helementa uite humane...ultra modum crescunt. aliqua futura significant.
9. ff. 184v-186r Unidentified table, damaged at the top of each folio and
with text missing at beginning; explicit: "...Vnusquisque non tantum a
proximis dissenset plerumque [?] etiam a se ipso. Amen." [Text followed by
miscellaneous extracts and pen trials.] f. 186v covered by paper glued to
parchment surface; originally blank?
Parchment, ff. 186 (contemporary foliation, upper right i-clxxxv, the
last few numerals lost due to damaged leaves; modern foliation, lower right
corner 46-186, begins with error on the first of two leaves numbered f. xlvi),
235 x 161 (156 x 96) mm. 24-42 long lines. Single vertical and horizontal
bounding lines. Two additional vertical rulings in center of page for ff.
2r-30v, rulings for text often extend through inner and outer margins. Ruled
sporadically, in lead, hard point and ink. Prickings in upper, lower and
outer margins. Folios 94-101 (quire XIII) have two rows of prickings in
outer margin.
I-III 8, IV 4 (+ 1 leaf at end), V-XIV 8, XV 4 (+ 1 leaf at end),
XVI-XVIII 8, XIX 10, XX-XXIII 8, XXIV 6. Remains of catchwords in lower
margin, right of center, verso. Most leaves signed faintly with letters
of alphabet for each quire (i.e., m, m,....m) in upper left corner, verso.
Written by several scribes in an uneven gothic bookhand.
Two attractive illuminated initials, 4-line, with partial borders.
Folio 1r, initial constructed of a winged dragon, pale yellow with white
highlights and red contouring strokes against a blue ground. Tail of
dragon extends down the inner margin to form a partial bar border, blue,
red, pale yellow with beads in red, blue, and yellow and small stylized
leaves, blue and pale yellow swirling around bar. Border ends in lower
margin in stylized scroll inhabited by a bird, outlined in red and brown
ink, and a fowler, pointing a bow and arrow. Folio 30r, initial, red and
pale yellow against blue ground with white filigree, filled with a
grotesque and a dragon. Descender of initial extends into margin to form a
partial bar border, same as above; border terminates in lower margin in a
stylized scroll, ending in a dragon's head. The style of the decoration is
similar to that in Oxford, Bod. Lib., Canon. Misc. 473 (Paecht and Alexander,
v. 2, no. 94) and Paris, B. N. fr. 12599 (Avril and Gousset, no. 19, pl. IX).
Several flourished initials of good quality, 3-line, blue or red with
penwork in the opposite color, extending the entire length of the text
column (e.g., f. 45v). Other pen and ink initials, red with crude penwork in
brown ink. Plain initials and headings in red. Paragraph marks primarily
in red. Instructions to rubricator throughout; remains of guide letters.
Spaces left unfilled for some initials.
Binding: France [?], s. xix-xx. Quarter bound in blind-tooled brown calf
over oak boards by the same binder as Marston MSS 214, 216 and 236.
Written in Northern Italy in the second half of the 13th century to judge
from the style of decoration; rubric and early inscription erased in
upper margin, f. 1r. Provenance otherwise unknown. Modern "133" in ink,
upper margin, f. 1r; "-visss-" in pencil on back pastedown. Unidentified
handwritten description of manuscript, in French, in library files.
Purchased from Nicolas Rauch S. A. of Geneva in 1958 by L. C. Witten
(inv. no. 2091), who sold it the same year to Thomas E. Marston (bookplate).
secundo folio: distinctionem
Bibliography: Faye and Bond, p. 78, no. 119.
Barbara A. Shailor