Beinecke MS 339               Metz, s. XIV^^in
Baudouin d'Avesnes, Chroniques de Hainaut

1.  ff. 1r-3v Coument herodes antipas fist coper le chief saint iehan baptiste
et la soufrance nostre seignor...Dou conte perron dausuere et de ciaus qui
issirent.

     Table of contents for art. 2 below.

2.  ff. 4r-191r Nous vous auons dit deuant ke li empereres tyberius enuoia
pylate en iudee...agnes qui premierement fu mariee a Renaut del mares. et puis
lespousa li quens amauris de iaffe.  ff. 191v-192v blank

     Baudouin d'Avesnes (d. 1289; Lord of Beaumont and son of Margaret of
Flanders), Chroniques de Hainaut.  Portions of the text on ff. 88r-191r
(without the sections dealing with the Crusades) are printed in J. Kervyn de
Lettenhove, Istore et Croniques de Flandres (Brussels, 1880) vol. 2, pp.
555-609.  MS 339 continues to ca. 1131 (op. cit., vol. 1, p. xv).  For
further information on Baudouin, see op. cit., vol. 1, pp. vi-xvii.

3.  ff. 193r-195r Coument li Rois foukes ala uers antioche por sa fille qui
estoit ueue et le descort que il contre lui conte de iaffe...Des tartaires et
coument li apostoles innocens enuoia aiaus.  ff. 195v-196v blank

     Table of contents for art. 4 below.

4.  ff. 197r-372r Nous vous deismes desus coument la princesse dantioche ot
proposide de tenir...il le fist pendre a monfaucon par le requeste des amis la
Roine de quoi il en i ot au pendre .xiiij. que contes que dus.  f. 372v blank

     Portions of text not dealing with the Crusades are printed in Kervyn op.
cit., v. 2, pp. 609-96.

     Parchment, ff. 372 + ii (contemporary parchment), 450 x 310 (301 x 205) mm.,
trimmed.  Written in 2 columns of 41 lines.  Single vertical and single or
double horizontal bounding lines, usually full length and full width.
Ruled in lead. Remains of prickings in upper and outer margins; sometimes
double prickings in outer margin for one of the lower horizontal bounding
lines.
     I^^2 (+1, f. 1, before 1), II-XXIV^^8, XXV^^6 (-5, a blank), XXVI^^4,
XXVII-XLVIII^^8.  Catchwords below second column near vertical bounding
line, verso.
     Written in fine gothic textura.  Corrections made over erasures.
     According to K. Davenport and M. A. Stones, the manuscript was presumably
illuminated in a Metz-based shop whose most distinctive product is the set of
books made for Renaud of Bar as bishop, between 1302 and 1316, including the
Bar Breviary (London, B. L. Yates-Thompson 8, its other half Verdun 107).
Within the Bar group the closest in style to Beinecke MS 339 is Baltimore,
Walters Art Gallery MS 127, a Missal of the Premonstratensians of Trier made
after 1298, as St. Louis is an original entry.  Not only the type of bar border,
gold balls, leaves and figure style are similar, but also the flourished
initials.
     One fine historiated initial, 4-line (f. 4r):  orange, pink and blue with
white filigree; a king seated in conversation with three men, the figures
orange, pink, and blue against a ground diapered in gold and blue with crowns in
white; on a blue ground with white floral filigree framed in gold; curling vine
serifs, red and green, extending into a 3/4 vine border, blue and pink, with
red, blue, green and white leaves with some knots and gold cusping; large gold
dots; two dogs, one with a bone, in lower margin.  Two coats-of-arms in upper
and lower margins (see Provenance).  One fine calligraphic initial, 5-line, f.
197r, divided red and blue with particolored penwork, red and blue, with
flourishes and a cascading column of I's, alternating red and blue and
extending 3/4 length of inner margin.  4- to 2-line initials, red or blue, with
blue or red penwork, dots and large flourishes, one on f. 4r with a cascading
column of I's as above.  1-line initials, red or blue, with penwork, as
above.  Numerous crude marginal drawings in brown ink; for example, f. 10r, the
Death of Seneca.  Notes to rubricator, arts. 1 and 3.
     Binding:  s. xix.  Diced brown calf over heavy wooden boards which are
possibly original.

Produced in a Metz-based workshop under fairly strong English influence at the
beginning of the 14th century (see above).  Marginal notes in French, in a hand
of s. xv.  Coats-of-arms on f. 4r are painted over arms of earlier owners; at
the top of the folio, unidentified arms (ermine impaled with gules, a stag's
head cabossed or); at the bottom arms of the Esch family of Metz (ermine, 4 bars
gules impaled with argent, a fess sable).  For this branch of the Esch family
see Baron Gerard d'Hannoncelles, Metz ancien, 2 vols. (Metz, 1856).  Three
notes in French are pasted inside the front cover.  The first (in a hand of the
15th century that also annotated portions of the text) reads:  "II.  En cest
liure sont lez cronicques de la descolacion et jehan baptiste/ dez pappes/ dez
emperreurs/ dez Rois paienns et dez Rois crestiens/ Iusque a Roy phellippe filz
le Roy loys de france m ij^^c 1xxiiij."  Addition along top "1. Cab. Tal. 5. A.
1 [?]"; another addition in pencil (s. xviii) along bottom:  "Ex Bibl. Mon^^or
de Thou" (presumably Jacques-Auguste de Thou, 1553-1617).  The second note
(s. xviii?) reads:  "Cet cronique [several words inked out] contient l'histoire
depuis l'empereur Tibere jusqu'au Regne de Philippe le Hardy.  outre l'histoire
des Empereurs Romains, l'auteur s'etend beaucoup sur celle des Bretons ou il
mesle beaucoup de Fables.  Au cinquieme siecle il commence celle des Roys de
France que fait ensuite la principal partie du livre.  Il s'etend beaucoup sur
les croisades dont il fait l'Histoire fort en detail.  Il y entremesle
plusieurs genealogies des Maisons de Hainaut de Dreux, d'Anjou de Naples, de
Rumigni, de Mortagne, d'Anghien, d'Antoing, de Barbanion et autres, qu'il
commence au tems des la premiere croisade, et les continue jusques a son tems,
en marquant exactement les alliances."  The third note (s. xviii-xix) reads:
"Chroniques des Empereurs des Rois de France composees sur latin du 13^^me
siecle [erasure of a few letters] est du temps de lauteur.  La connoissance que
l'auteur semble avoir de lorigine et de la fondation de plusieurs eglises et
abbayies du Hainaut et de la France et de plusieurs familles de [word crossed
out] deux provinces dont il rapporte les genealogies, font soupconner quil
y demeuroit.  Il s'etend particulierement sur les Croisades."  Belonged to
Frederick North, 5th Earl of Guilford (1766-1827).  Sold by Rodd to Sir Thomas
Phillipps (no. 7078, according to tag on spine and stamp on f. 1r; the addition
of the no. 20826 by another hand in pencil suggests he purchased the present
volume when it was still two separate manuscripts).  Acquired from H. P. Kraus
in 1958 by Thomas E. Marston (bookplate), who gave it to Yale in 1962.

secundo folio: [table:]  La mort ualentiniuen
     [text, f. 5:] Entrues que

Bibliography:  Faye and Bond, p. 83, no. 170 (while in T. E. Marston's
collection).

Barbara A. Shailor