Beinecke MS 83                                                      France, s. XIV^^in
Bible

          ff. 2r-553v    Order of the contents is as follows (numbers in
     parentheses refer to prefaces in Stegmueller, v. 1): General prologue
     (284); Prologue to Pentateuch (285), Genesis, missing 39.4-43.11,
     Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy; Joshua (311); Judges; Ruth; 1
     Kings (323), 2 Kings, 3 Kings, 4 Kings; 1 Chronicles (328), 2
     Chronicles (327) + Prayer of Manasses; 1 Ezra (330); Nehemiah; 2 Ezra
     (=3 Ezra: Stegmueller, no. 94, 1); Tobit (332); Judith (335); Esther
     (341 + 343); Job (344, 357); Psalms; Proverbs (457); Ecclesiastes
     (462); Song of Songs; Wisdom (468); Ecclesiasticus (introduction to
     Ecclesiasticus, Multorum nobis..., considered as prologue); Isaiah
     (482); Jeremiah (487); Lamentations; Baruch (491); Ezekiel (492);
     Daniel (494); Minor prophets (500), Hosea (507), Joel (511, 510), Amos
     (515, 512, 513), Obadiah (519, 517, followed by: Item alius prologus
     non est prologus sed glosa: Asau filius ysaac frater iacob uocatus
     est...contra ydumeos ergo loquitur hic propheta), Jonah (524, 521),
     Micah (526), Nahum (528), Habakkuk (531), Zephaniah (534), Haggai
     (538), Zechariah (539), Malachi (543); 1 Maccabees (547, 553, 551), 2
     Maccabees; Matthew (prologues and beginning of text missing on leaf
     removed after f. 444; text begins at 2. 16); Mark (607); Luke (620,
     followed by 1. 1-4 treated as a prologue); John (624); Romans (677); 1
     Corinthians (685), 2 Corinthians (699); Galatians (707); Ephesians
     (715); Philippians (728); Colossians (736); 1 Thessalonians (747), 2
     Thessalonians (752); 1 Timothy (765), 2 Timothy (772); Titus (780);
     Philemon (783); Hebrews (793); Acts (640); Catholic Epistles (809);
     Apocalypse (839).

          Parchment, ff. i (parchment) + 552 (foliation 2-533) + i
     (parchment) 322 x 223 (196 x 130) mm., trimmed. Written in two columns
     of 46 lines; single vertical bounding lines with extra line between
     columns; horizontal bounding lines, all full across: triple at top,
     bottom, and center of written space, double in upper and lower margins.
     Ruled in lead. Prickings visible only for guide-lines for some
     corrections made by original scribe.
          I (missing; remains of string), II^^12, III^^12 (-9, 10),
     IV-XXXVIII^^12, XXXIX^^12 (-1), XL-XLVI^^12, XLVII^^14. Catchwords lower
     right, verso.
          Written by a single scribe in a neat gothic bookhand. Marginal
     notes and/or corrections by original scribe and several later ones.
          Historiated initials, 8- to 5-line, many excised, with figures
     (red and blue) in the summary, linear style characteristic of early
     14th century French manuscript illumination; blue or pink with white
     highlights, with figures against gold grounds; descenders composed of
     dark blue, blue and red segments, often decorated with gold balls; long
     cusped floral serifs with gold balls, occasionally with additional
     trailing foliage, rabbits, birds, etc. Subjects as follows: f. 2r
     (Epistle of Jerome) Jerome at desk, set within a thick 3/4 bar border
     composed of red and blue strips heraldically arranged with delicate
     white-vine filigree and pink and blue strips with geometric highlights,
     set within thin gold bands, with large, cusped floral terminals
     sprouting natural foliage and stag, rabbit, birds, and trees in the
     bas-de-page; f. 5v (Genesis) The seven days of creation, against gold
     grounds in a full-length framework of intersecting blue and red vines
     sprouting red trilobe leaves, set against a blue and red ground with
     white highlights; large spiral vine-terminals against cusped red and
     gold grounds supporting birds, dogs, rabbits, etc.; f. 25r (Exodus)
     Moses leading the Jews; f. 43r (Leviticus) Sacrifice of sheep; f. 55r
     (Numbers) Moses on Mt. Sinai; f. 72r (Deuteronomy) Man and woman at
     altar; f. 88r (Joshua) initial excised; f. 98v (Judges) Two Jews
     kneeling in prayer; f. 109v (Ruth) Elimelech, Naomi with one child, 17-
     line vertical format; f. 112r (1 Kings) Elkanah and Hannah before altar;
     f. 127v (2 Kings) excised; f. 140v (3 Kings) excised; f. 155r (4 Kings)
     excised; f. 169v (1 Chronicles) Two Jews disputing with a King; f. 182v
     (2 Chronicles) Solomon sacrificing sheep; f. 199r (Ezra) Cyrus builds
     temple, (20-line vertical format); f. 203v (Nehemiah) gold cup; f. 210r
     (2 Ezra [=3]) Jew asperging altar; f. 217r (Tobit) excised; f. 221v
     (Judith) Judith and Holofernes; f. 227v (Esther) Esther and Ahasuerus
     (vertical format); f. 233v (Job) excised; f. 245r (Psalm 1) David
     harping; f. 249r (Psalm 26) David points to eye; f. 252r (Psalm 38)
     David points to lips; f. 254v (Psalm 52) Fool; f. 257r (Psalm 68) God,
     David in the deep waters; f. 260v (Psalm 80) David at carillon; f. 263v
     (Psalm 97) Cantors at lectern; f. 266v (Psalm 109) excised; f. 273r
     (Proverbs) Solomon teaching; f. 283r (Ecclesiastes) excised; f. 286v
     (Song of Songs) excised; f. 288r (Wisdom) Solomon knighting soldier; f.
     295r (Ecclesiasticus) excised; f. 313v (Isaiah) excised; f. 335v
     (Jeremiah) Lapidation; f. 360r (Lamentations) excised; f. 362r (Baruch)
     Baruch as scribe; f. 365v (Ezekiel) Vision of the four beasts, Ezekiel
     in bed; f. 388v (Daniel) excised; f. 398r (Hosea) excised; f. 401r
     (Joel) excised; f. 402v (Amos) Head of God, Amos with sheep; f. 405v
     (Obadiah) God appears to Obadiah in bed; f. 406r (Jonah) excised; f.
     407r (Micah) Micah with banderole; f. 409r (Nahum) Nahum and collapsing
     tower [Nineveh]; f. 410v (Habakkuk) Habakkuk as scribe; f. 411v
     (Zephaniah) Zephaniah with banderole; f. 413r (Haggai) Haggai with
     banderole; f. 414r (Zechariah) Zechariah seated with book; f. 417v
     (Malachi) Malachi standing with scroll; f. 419v (1 Maccabees)
     Beheading; f. 433v (2 Maccabees) Delivery of letter; f. 458v (Mark)
     Mark in guise of monk, standing; f. 467v (Luke) Luke as monk at altar;
     f. 483r (John) John as seated monk; f. 494v (Romans) Paul with sword;
     f. 500r (1 Corinthians) excised; f. 505v (2 Corinthians) Paul with
     sword; f. 509r (Galatians) Paul with sword; f. 511r (Ephesians) Paul in
     tower, angel with scroll; f. 513r (Philippians) Paul with scroll; f.
     514r (Colossians) Paul with book; f. 515v (1 Thessalonians) Paul with
     sword and book; f. 516v (2 Thessalonians) Paul with sword; f. 517v (1
     Timothy) Paul with sword; f. 519r (2 Timothy) excised; f. 520r (Titus)
     Paul with book; f. 520v (Philemon) Paul in tower, angel with scroll; f.
     521r (Hebrews) excised; f. 525r (Acts) excised; f. 539v (James) James
     with book; f. 541r (1 Peter) Peter with key; f. 542v (2 Peter) Peter
     with book; f. 543v (1 John) John with book; f. 545r (2 John) John with
     sword; f. 545r (3 John) excised; f. 545v (Jude) Jude with book; f. 546r
     (Apocalypse) John at desk with the 7 churches of Asia above.
          Illuminated initials, 7- to 5-line (larger for I initials) for
     prologues, blue or pink with white highlights, cusped serifs, filled
     with curling vines, red trilobe leaves, and dragon heads, against red,
     orange, and gold grounds. 5-, 4-, and 2-line initials for chapters in
     red and blue with blue and red penwork, with elaborate calligraphic
     extensions running the full length of the text column; extensions
     composed either of two thick red lines with a thin blue one in between
     or two thick blue lines with a thin red line, the arrangement
     alternating for successive initials; with adjacent superimposed J's,
     alternating red and blue, also running the full length of column;
     elaborate vertical terminal flourishes. Comparable, for example, to the
     finer calligraphic ornament in Vatican, Vat. lat. 738 or in Paris, B.
     N. lat. 375, two of a group of manuscripts written and decorated in
     Avignon in the 1320's, reproduced in A. Dondaine, "La Collection des
     Oeuvres de Saint Thomas dite de Jean XXII et Jacquet Maci,"
	Scriptorium 29 (1975) pp. 127-52, pls. 13c and 14c. The more elaborate
	calligraphy for initials between ff. 360v and 370v appears to be by a
	different hand. Chapter numbers in margins, in alternating red and blue
	figures, with blue and red vertical hatching and red, blue, and
	occasionally purple flourishes. Running headings in similar manner.
	Marginal corrections boxed in red; glosses frequently underlined in red.
          First folio badly mutilated.
          Binding: s. xix-xx. Original sheepskin covering of spine and part
     of boards, blind-tooled, adhered on a recent binding. Wooden boards
     also probably original. Stubs of three (originally four) fastening
     straps, reinforced with vellum, on upper cover.

          Written in Southern France at the beginning of the fourteenth
     century as indicated by the decoration, especially the calligraphic
     initials; evidence of heavy use in the 14th through 16th centuries
     includes marginal notes of an early corrector (e. g. "hunc prologum non
     correxi quia non inueni correctum" on f. 182r and "Quidam non hunc
     istum uersum" on f. 539v). Purchased from Dawson's Book Shop, Los
     Angeles, 7 Dec. 1932, by Henry Fletcher; his gift to Yale in 1950.

     secundo folio: et prudentiam

     Bibliography: Faye and Bond, p. 27, no. 83.

     Barbara A. Shailor