Marston MS 150     Northern Italy or Southern France, s. XV 2
Nicolas Trevet, Commentarius in tragoedias Senecae

1. leaf inserted before f. 1r:  recto, unidentified passage on the genre
of tragedy; verso blank

2. ff. 1r-254r  [Preface:]  Tria genera theologie distingui a Varone narrat
augustinus libro sexto de ciuitate dei...per exempla hic posita.  Et hec
sufficiunt quantum ad prohemium.  [text, f. 1v:]  Soror tonantis hoc...[text:]
Ista prima tragidia [sic] senece cuius materia est furia herculis in qua quinque 
actus continentur.  Quorum primus est querimonia...liberet nobis dominus ihesus 
christus qui est honor et honor [sic] et gloria in seculorum secula.  Amen.
Explicit liber marci senecae tragediarum.  Inepte igitur quidam dicere uidentur
lucium anneum moralem philosophum stoicum hoc opus edidisse.  hoc opus
[comenti added above] frater nicholaus treuetus edidit.  f. 254v
ruled, but blank

Nicolas Trevet's commentary on the tragedies of Seneca, each designated
by a Roman numeral in the upper right margin, recto:  I. Hercules
furens
(f. 1v); II. Thyestes (f. 34r); III. Phoenissae (=
Thebais in 
manuscript, f. 57r); IV. Phaedra (= Hippolytus in manuscript, f. 71r);
V. Oedipus (f. 98v); VI. Troades (= Troas in manuscript, f. 120v);
VII. Medea (f. 146r); VIII. Agamemnon (f. 170r); IX.
Octavia
(f. 191v); X. Hercules Oetaeus (f. 213v).  Marston 
MS 150 noted by M. Palma, ed., Nicola Trevet Commento alla "Troades" di 
Seneca (Rome, 1977) pp. xxxi, xlvii-ix.

Paper (watermarks:  similar to Briquet Tete de boeuf 14330, 14338,
Piccard Ochsenkopf I.701, Briquet Main 11092), ff. ii (modern insertion) + i
(contemporary paper) + 254, 282 x 206 (183 x 135) mm.  40 long lines.
Single vertical bounding lines in hard point or ink; text rulings in ink.
I 12, II 14, III-IV 12, V 10, VI-XXI 12 (+ 2 leaves at end).  Horizontal
catchwords on most leaves, verso (Derolez 12.2).
Written in semi-gothic cursive script by a single scribe, above top line;
headings in gothic bookhand.
Red and/or deep aquamarine blue initials, 10- to 5-line, with penwork
flourishes in same color(s), mark beginning of each play.  On f. 1r head of
bearded man peeps out from behind foliage in interior of letter; on other
initials penwork designs extend into margins to form borders (e. g., 170r).
Plain initials, 5- to 2-line, paragraph marks, headings, in red.
Many leaves stained and crumbling along edges; no loss of text.
Binding:  Italy or France?, uncertain date. The backs of the quires are
cut in, some in a W shape.  Resewn on two tawed skin, slit straps.
Endband sewn on a tawed skin core laid in grooves on the outside of the
boards and nailed.  The back oak board was previously covered with leather;
front board is of unidentified wood.  This seems to be a patched together 
binding using boards from different, possibly s. xv, books.
Presently quarter bound with brown sheepskin, blind-tooled, with radiant
IHS in circles.  Spine:  supports defined with triple [?] fillets; an
X
with a central cross bar in the panels.  Two fastenings, with the catches
on the lower board. The upper board cut in for straps fastened with star-headed
nails.  Remains of title, in ink, on tail edge.

Produced in Northern Italy or Southern France in the second half of the 15th
century given the watermarks, style of
script and decoration; early provenance unknown.  Unidentified "1586"
and "2 T. M." in pencil on f. i recto and "6061/ VLSZ" on back pastedown.
Belonged to Federico Patteta (1867-1945), Professor of the History of Law
at the University of Turin at the beginning of the 20th century, whose notes
on the life and works of Nicolas Trevet occur on f. i recto.  Purchased from the
Turin dealer Bourlot by H. P. Kraus, who sold it in 1957 to Thomas E.
Marston (bookplate).

secundo folio:  ex cuius

Bibliography:  Faye and Bond, p. 81, no. 150.

Barbara A. Shailor