YALE UNIVERSITY
BEINECKE RARE BOOK AND MANUSCRIPT LIBRARY
GENERAL COLLECTION OF RARE BOOKS AND
MANUSCRIPTS
MEDIEVAL AND RENAISSANCE MANUSCRIPTS
Marston MS 281 Northern Italy, 1399
Augustine, De libero arbitrio. etc.
1. ff. 1r-42r Incipit liber primus beati Augustini de libero
arbitrio.
Dic michi queso te. Vtrum deus non sit auctor mali...Iam fidem facere et
ab hac disputacione requiescere aliquando compellit. et cet. et cet.
Explicit liber Augustini de libero arbitrio.
Augustine, De libero arbitrio; W. M. Green, ed., CC ser. lat. 29
(1970) pp. 211-321.
2. ff. 42r-56r Incipit liber eiusdem de fide ad petrum. Epistolam fili
Petre tue caritatis accepi in qua te significasti uelle Ierosolimam pergere
et poposcisti te litteris nostris...illi deus reuelabit. Deo gracias.
Explicit liber beati Augustini de fide ad petrum.
Fulgentius of Ruspe, De fide ad Petrum; J. Fraipont, ed., CC ser. lat.
91A (1968) pp. 711-60; Bloomfield, Virtues and Vices, no. 1926 (Marston
MS 281 not cited).
3. ff. 56r-90r Incipit prefatio libri retractationum beati Augustini
episcopi. Iam diu istud facere cogito atque dispono quod nunc adiuuante
domino aggredior...ut possit hoc opere quantum potuoro [sic] curabo ut
eundem ordinem nouerit et cet. [text:] De achademicis libri iij. Cum ergo
reliquissem uel que adeptus fueram in cupiditatibus huius mundi...ad
populum alios dictatos alios a me dictos retractare cepissem. Deo
Gracias Amen. Explicit liber beati Augustini episcopi de
retractacionibus.
Augustine, Retractationes; A. Mutzenbecher, ed., CC ser. lat. 57 (1984)
pp. 3-143.
4. f. 90r-v Retractacio Sancti Augustini in libris de doctrina
christiana.
Libros de doctrina christiana cum inperfectos comperissem perficere malui
quam eis...quem de sacramentis siue de philosophia scripsit. Hoc opus sic
Incipit Sunt precepta quedam. Explicit retractacio sancti Augustini
episcopi.
Augustine, Retractationes XXX; Mutzenbecher, op. cit., pp. 92-93.
5. ff. 90v-143r Incipit prohemium sancti Augustini episcopi in quattuor
libris de doctrina christiana. et. cet. Sunt precepta quedam tractandarum
scripturarum que studiosis earum uideo non incomode [sic] posse tradi...orate
pro anima huius scriptoris si placet amore dei et cet. [f. 92r:] Explicit
prohemium incipit liber primus sancti Augustini episcopi de doctrina
christiana. Due sunt res quibus nittitur [sic] omnis tractacio
[spiritus? crossed out] scripturarum Modus intelligendi inueniendi que
intelligenda sunt...et alijs eciam laborare studet quantulacumque potui
facultate disserui et cet. Deo gracias. [colophon:] Explicit liber
beati Augustini episcopi de doctrina christiana Scriptus per me leonardum
Rosenheyn de Basilea de allamania M ccc o lxxxx o viiij o die xviij
decembris deo gracias. f. 143v blank; f. 144r-v ruled, but blank
Augustine, De doctrina christiana; J. Martin, ed., CC ser. lat. 32
(1962) pp. 1-167.
Parchment, ff. i (paper) + 144 (modern pagination, in ink; foliation, in
pencil, lower right) + (paper), 291 x 213 (192 x 136) mm. 2 columns, 34
lines. Single vertical bounding lines ruled in lead or crayon. Guide lines
for text ruled in pale brown ink. Remains of prickings in upper margin.
I-XII 10, XIII 12, XIV (11 original leaves + 1 tipped in). Catchwords,
touched with yellow, lower margin, left of inner bounding line, verso.
Written by a single scribe in semi-round gothic bookhand.
Ten illuminated initials of good quality, 11- to 4-line, pink and mauve with
white filigree against blue ground with white filigree. Body of initials
filled with stylized foliage or palmettes, orange, green and/or blue with
black accents and/or white highlights against parchment ground. Foliage
serifs, pink, mauve, green, blue and orange with white highlights
extending into the margins to form partial borders. Folio 1r, an illuminated
initial (later addition or overpainting of original) of poor quality,
5-line, dark grey and brown with black filigree against gold ground,
filled with a stylized scroll in light green, with flowers, brown and blue,
against parchment ground. Foliage serifs, brown, green and dark blue with
black accents and gold balls extending into inner and upper margins to
form partial border. In center of lower margin unidentified arms (later
addition; barry of six or and azur, a lion rampant, bordure argent) within
a quatrefoil, gold (mostly rubbed) edged in blue and black with gold balls.
Numerous flourished initials, 2-line, alternate red and blue with purple and
red penwork. Paragraph marks alternate red and blue. Headings in red
in a clumsy humanistic script; initials touched with yellow. Notes to
rubricator in margins.
Binding: Italy, s. xviii. Brown tree calf with a gold-tooled border and
turn-ins. Gilt edges. Rebacked and a new gold-tooled spine with a red label
("Augustine Opera MS: In Membranis") added.
Written in Northern Italy by Leonardus Rosenheyn of Basel
(Colophons,
v. 4, no. 12504, and J. W. Bradley, Dictionary of Miniaturists...
[London, 1889] v. 3, p. 172, both citing this manuscript) who signed and
dated the codex 1399 (see colophon, art. 5); early provenance unknown.
Two unidentified inscriptions, s. xv-xvi?, partially visible under ultra-violet
light, f. 143v. Belonged to Maffeo Pinelli of Venice (1736-85); see J. Morelli,
Bibliotheca Maphaei Pinellii Veneti (Venice, 1787) pt. 3, p. 349,
no. 7901. James Edwards sale of the Bibliotheca Pinelliana, London 1889-90,
no. 12807. Bookplate of I. [or J?] T. Hand. From the collection of
Charles A. Baldwin, Broadmoor, Colorado Springs, Colorado (booklabel;
De Ricci, Census, v. 1, p. 150, no. 4). Purchased from L. C. Witten
(date unknown) by Thomas E. Marston (bookplate).
secundo folio: fac michi
Barbara A. Shailor