Beinecke MS 495               Italy [?] or Germany [?], s. XV^^med
World Chronicle (in Lat.)

Restricted material. May not be seen without the permission of the appropriate curator.

The compiler of this unidentified world chronicle cites as sources Sallust,
Suetonius, Josephus, Orosius, Macrobius, Eusebius, Origen, Eutropius,
Sigebertus, Hugh of Fleury, and many others.  The chronicle proper concludes at
the beginning of the thirteenth century (art. 7).
The text of the manuscript is continuous, with no book and few
chapter notations; the following divisions into articles attempt to reflect
the organization and contents of the chronicle.

1. ff. 1r-21r  De Inicio orientalis Regni assiriorum ex quatuor
principalibus....  [N]onus Assiriorum potentissimus rex padre bello
deffuncto regnauit in assiria annis. lij. i cepit autem ante ortum
abrae...tempore gratianj imperatoris annis Cxlviij non computatis
annis xl quibus fine fuerunt.

     Assyrian through Visigothic kings; the beginning of the text has some
chapter divisions in red including: De Ninia Rege assyriorum et eius
segnitie. Cap. iiij., De ario rege assyriorum v^^o et cathalogo quorundam
sucessorum eius. Cap. v,...De exordio regni artabani persarum regis vj.
Cap. xxxiiij, De exordio Regni arthaxersis cognomine longimani persarum
Regis vij. et morte eius. Cap. xxxv,...De Bello ciuili inter arthaxerses
et Cyrum fratrem eius et morte amborum Iustinus Orosius et Vgo
floriacensis. Cap. xlij....

2. ff. 21r-94r  De yano primo ytalie Rege.  [I]anus in ytalya primus
regnauit ut quibusdam placet...ab urbe condita dcij quo anno cepit bellum
punicum tertium.  Explicit Istoria belli punici.

     The early kings of Italy, the early Republic, the Punic Wars; rubrics
include De saturno secundo ytalie Rege, De pico saturni filio In ytalia rege
primo laurentum ex cronicis, De fauno,...De leticia Rome habita ex
victoria..., Qualiter intacti sunt prefati legati et pax inter romanos et
cartaginem firmata est.

3. ff. 94r-114r  Incipit prefatio de fine Scipionis et haniball et de
ceteris gestis usque ad Iugurthinum bellum.  Peracto Bello punico tertio tamen
superiori libro contexta est et finit historia continuo macedonicum successit
periculo...qui seruitutis conditionem vite amore toleraret sed maluerit mori
quam seruire.

     The Republic after the Punic Wars; rubrics include Qualiter Scipio
affricanus fratrem in asiam concomitatus est deinde coactus reddere e cario
rationem, De certamine orto ex accussationibus factis de ipso africano et
excusationibus ipsius...De magna clade gallorum transalpinorum...,De gallis
qui maluerunt mori quam seruire Romanis Orosius etc.

4. ff. 114r-175v (column b blank)  Incipit prologus hystoria de bello
Iugurthino etc.  Iugurtini belli hystoriam scripsit salustius Crispus
vir clarissimus Ciuisque Romanus...his ita partis vitellius ad antiochiam
arthabanus et babillonium reuersi sunt. etc.

     Jugurthine War, war with Cimbri and Teutones, Civil Wars, Catilinarian
conspiracy, wars in Asia; rubrics include Incipit historia belli
Iugurthini de amicicia Masinisse numidarum regis cum Romanis, De natura et
moribus eiusdem regis,...De herode huius nomine ij. parthorum regia. xij. et
morte ipsius, De bonone parthorum rege. xiij. et eius gestis, De arthabanio
rege. xiiij^^or et eius gestis.

5. ff. 176r-188r  De exordio Imperij Gaij Iulij Cesaris primi
Romanorum monarche post reges expulsos et quare dictus est Imperator et
Cesar.  Gaius Iulius Cesar Imperator et pontifex et dictator secundo
et consul quarto primus omnium Romanorum post reges expulsos...curius promptus
orator clarius habitus est. etc.

     Julius Caesar; rubrics include Qualiter mulctatus est a silla dictatore
propter corneliam coniugem..., Qualiter tribunus et questor factus est...,
Qualiter pontifex maximus et pretor factus...De exequijs ipsius cesaris ac
sepultura mirabili, De oppinionibus quorundam qui noluerit mori et de
ultione et eius occisores.

6. ff. 188v-382r  De exordio Imperij Octauiam Augusti.  Octauianus cesar
augustus Romanorum Imperator et pater patrie a quo et ceteri nuncupati sunt
augusti...eo fugato imperij regimen inuasit.

     Roman Emperors, Augustus through Theodosius; early entries draw heavily
on Suetonius.

7. ff. 382r-403r  De imperio augustulli in ytalia.  Augustulus
post nepotem tenens occidentis imperium Cepit imperare anno secundo zenonis
imperatoris...deduceris et hoc dicens dum gladium euaginatum elleuasset
ut caput precideret morculphus non habens.

     Rulers from Romulus Augustulus to Alexius and Marculphus.

8. ff. 403v-405r  Pax Constantiensis, 1183, of Frederick Barbarossa
(10 paragraphs).  Par. 1-3 (f. 403v):  Privilegium imperatoris (MGH,
Legum Sectio IV.1, p. 418, section 293.42).  Par. 4 (f. 403v):  Iuramentum
nuntiorum lombardicorum (MGH, op. cit., p. 419, section 294).
Par. 5, 6, and 7 as far as the word similiter (ff. 403v-404r) not located
in MGH; text of par. 5:  Ego iuro omnibus ciuitatibus societatis
lombardie et marchie Romane et locis et domino obizoni...per rectores
lombardie marchie Romanie siue hoc huiusmodi coloquio; text of
par. 6:  Die lune vndecimo exunte Ianuario in placentia in ecclesia
sancte brigide in presencia viuanelli...potestas de Mediolano petrus
vicecomes; par. 7:  Hec sunt nomina illorum qui iurauerunt ut supra
legitur.  Et ut dicti Rectores Iurauerunt...ut Albertus de Tebaldo
similiter et alias personas...(the text for the remainder of paragraph 7
[from et alias personas] through 10 is printed in MGH, op. cit.,
pp. 416-19, sections 33 [end]-41).  ff. 405v-406v blank, except for
woodcut pasted to f. 405v

     Paper (watermarks:  similar to Briquet Tete de boeuf 15513), ff. 406
(contemporary foliation i-ccclxxviiij; 380-406 in modern pencil), 403 x
297 (278 x 300) mm.  2 columns.
     I-XXXIX^^10, XL^^8, XLI^^10 (two leaves missing after 5, structure
uncertain).  Remains of leaf signatures (Arabic numerals) in red or brown
ink, lower right corner, recto; for catchwords see below.
     Written by three scribes.  Scribe 1: ff. 1r-105v, 60 lines of text written
in a small and even, slightly rounded gothic bookhand; ruled in lead or crayon
with single vertical bounding lines full length; prickings for bounding
lines only. Guide-letters for initials never supplied.  Rubrics (in
upright gothic), paragraph marks and initial strokes in red.  Catchwords,
surrounded by symmetrical flourishes, in center of lower margin, verso.
Scribe 2: ff. 105v-110v (end of quire XI), 112r-114r, 40 lines of text in
a small notarial hand with some shading of descenders; pricked and ruled
as above, but vertical bounding lines do not always extend into lower
margin.  Rubrics (ff. 105v-110v only) in same hand as preceding section;
rubrics for ff. 112r-114r as for Scribe 3.  Paragraph marks and initial
strokes in red.  Guide-letters for initials never supplied.
Scribe 3: ff. 111r-v, 114r-405r, 55-58 lines of text in a dark gothic
script characterized by fine hair-lines and curved flourishes over the letter
i; pricked as for two preceding sections, but with additional
prickings at corners for each text column of written space; ruled in hard
point with single horizontal and vertical bounding lines full length.
Decorative initials (signalled by guide-letters), in red, with
protruberances and hair-lines.  Notes to rubricator in inner and outer
margins.  Rubrics (beginning f. 111r) in same hand as text; paragraph
marks, often exaggerated, in red.  Catchwords, surrounded by flourishes
which may be touched with red, in center of lower margin, verso.
     Binding:  s. xv.  Italian [?].  Sewn on four tawed slit straps laced into
wooden boards.  Covered in brown goatskin, blind-tooled with concentric
frames of alternating fillets and rope interlace, the central panel
filled with interlace.  Four fastenings, the catches on the lower board,
the straps, now wanting, attached with seven star-headed nails.  Parchment
strips from unidentified manuscripts reinforce center of each gathering.
Remains of a paper or vellum label with lettering in ink near head of lower
board (see Provenance) and trace of a chain base at the tail. Heavily
restored.

Written in the middle of the 15th century, perhaps ca. 1456 when the codex
was given to John Capgrave by Jacobus de Oppenheim; inscription on
f. 405v:  "honorabilis dominus Iacobus de hoppenaim historiarum totius orbis
dedit hunc librum Iohanni Capograue Comite Oxoniae die xxviiij mensis
octobrjs Anno A natiuitate dominj millesimo ccccxl sexto/  ad Iura
tonandum [?] In librarja."  For a discussion of the life and works of
the English poet and historian John Capgrave see A. de Meijer, "John Capgrave,
O. E. S. A (1393-1464)," Augustiniana 5 (1955) pp. 400-40; 7 (1957)
pp. 118-48, 531-75.  According to de Meijer Capgrave was elected in August of
1455 to another 2-year term as head of the English Augustinian Province.
In 1457 he resumed his literary interests, including work on a universal
chronicle from the beginning of the world until the year 1417; this endeavor
resulted in the Chronicle of England produced ca. 1462 (J. Lucas, ed.,
EETS v. 285 [1983]). The precise origin of MS 495 is unclear:  although the
hand of Scribe 1 appears to be Italian, the hand of Scribe 3 and the style
of decoration on the leaves written by him seem to be German; the style of
the watermarks suggests Northern Italy or Germany, whereas the
binding seems to be Italian.  The manuscript was
not completed and is defective: initials on ff. 1r-110v are wanting; there
are lacunae in the text (e.g., a contemporary hand on f. 69r has written
next to an empty space in column b:  "Nota hic meo Iudicio deesse saltem
capitulum vnum" and on f. 291r only a portion of the first column is used,
with the text resuming imperfectly on the verso). MS 495 may, moreover, have
been one in a set of volumes, for a mutilated tag on the lower cover reads:
"Prima p[a]rs/ [one word illegible] hi[stori?]lis."  The manuscript, especially
the part written by Scribe 1, exhibits evidence of much use; an early hand,
s. xv^^2, has carefully edited large portions of the text; woodcuts of cities,
buildings and ships from an unidentified Italian printed book have been either
pasted or laid in the manuscript.  Presented to the Beinecke Library in
1964 by an anonymous donor.

secundo folio: a parentibus

Barbara A. Shailor