Vulgate Bible, Major and Minor Prophets
Vulgate Bible, Major and Minor Prophets
MS.000445
Manuscript
1180–1210
Northern or Central Italy
Latin
Ink on Parchment
189 leaves; 9.9 × 7.06 × 2.3 in. (25.3 × 18 × 6 cm)
On View in The History of the Bible, Translating the Bible
Both the size and format of Bibles underwent substantial changes in the 12th and 13th centuries. This manuscript is an unusual one. First, manuscripts containing just the major and minor prophets are relatively rare in comparison to psalters or books containing the four Gospels. Second, the order of the prophets is unusual, with Ezekiel coming between Isaiah and Jeremiah. Third, although the manuscript is substantially smaller than one of the Romanesque Atlantic Bibles, the script is larger than what is found in typical contemporary manuscripts. Finally, the books lack the typical prologues written by Jerome.
Created around AD 1180–1210 in Northern or Central Italy. Acquired by the 15th century by Antonius Christoforus, canon of St. Mary Church in Carpi; Gifted in the 15th century to the Observant Franciscan House at San Nicolò at Carpi;[1] Transferred in 1868 to the Biblioteca Palatina in Modena. Acquired by the late 19th century by Henry White (1822–1900) of London; Sold at auction in 1902 by Sotheby’s. [2] Acquired by 2010 by Liber Antiquus. [3] Acquired by 2011 by Les Enluminures, LTD, Chicago; Privately purchased in 2012 by the Green Collection, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Donated in 2014 to Museum of the Bible, Washington, DC.
Notes: [1] An inscription in the lower margin of f. 189v dated from this period records the transfer of the book. Later, an inventory of the library in 1600 describes a manuscript that matches the item displayed here. See Anna Prandi, "Tesori di una Biblioteca Francescana; Libri e Manoscritti del Convento di San Nicolò in Carpi, sec. XV-XIX" (Modena: Mucchi, 2000), 21. [2] Sotheby, Wilkinson & Hodge, "Catalogue of the Valuable and Extensive Library of Printed Books and Illuminated & Other Important Manuscripts of the Late Henry White, Esq." (London: Sotheby, Wilkinson & Hodge, 1902), Lot 163, 18. https://books.google.com/books?id=QNI9AAAAIAAJ&pg=PP1&lpg=PP1&dq=Catalogue+of+the+valuable+and+extensive+library+of+printed+books+and+illuminated+%26+other+important+manuscripts+of+the+late+Henry+White,+esq.&source=bl&ots=IgPsIWVHEC&sig=83vqKwKU_BdlD6Q-yV17LixjD34&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj30sO33cTdAhULwlkKHZqqDw0Q6AEwAHoECAoQAQ#v=onepage&q=Catalogue%20of%20the%20valuable%20and%20extensive%20library%20of%20printed%20books%20and%20illuminated%20%26%20other%20important%20manuscripts%20of%20the%20late%20Henry%20White%2C%20esq.&f=false [3] Liber Antiquus, "Early Printed Books and Manuscripts, 2010" (dealer catalog cited in Schoenberg Database, SDBM_183749.)
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