National Library of Sweden, A 224
Palladius, Life of John Chrysostom
Northern Italy, 15th century, first half.
Parchment
i, 80, i' leaves
215 × 140–145 mm
Latin
Secundo folio
et laude tenereSupport
Binding/Endleaves
Foliation
Collation
Script
Textblock
Hand 1
Humanist minuscule.Additions
Binding/Endleaves
Textblock
Decorations
Textblock
Main text in brown ink, rubrics in red. Speakers in the dialogue marked with red capitals.
(f. 1r): plain initial ‘D’ over 2 lines in blue;
(f. 3r): opening foliate initial ‘C’ over 8 lines. Letter consist of a green acanthus stem, placed on a rose ground, in a golden frame. The letter is filled by blue, mauve and rose wines, highlighted in white, placed on gilt background. The rose fond is decorated by thin white curling stems. Black outlines.
The page is enclosed by a broad airy marginal decoration of golden wines and acanthus in red, blue, rose, green and grey. In the thin drawn ink tendrils are wild strawberries, flowers, two putti, a snail and a crane. A putto in the right margin plays the fiddle.
A coat of arms is found at the centre of the bottom boarder. It consists of a red lion and small yellow star on an egg shaped shield with black and white diagonal stripes. Above the shield a bishop's mitre with two white bands extending on both sides. The coat of arms may be a later addition.
(f. 16r) dentelle initial ‘I’ over 4 lines. Letter in gold and outlined in black ink. Placed on a painted background in purple and blue with white details. Foliate shapes, drawn in ink and painted purple and green, extend from the background into the margin;
(f. 75r): dentelle initial ‘U’ over 2 lines (extending above and below the line). Same style and colours as the first dentelle.
Edges coloured red.
Binding
Binding of unknown date. Light brown leather over wooden boards. 4 pairs of raised bands and endbands. 2 hooked clasps. Spine, ink on paper label: ‘10 14.’; stamped in gold: ‘A 224’; ink on paper label: ‘1 4:o’.
Blind tooled panel decoration.
Origin
Northern Italy 15th century, first half.
The script indicates an Italian scribe, but the decoration is northern French. This mixture of regional styles was most plausible in Avignon or Naples.
Provenance
Based on the coat of arms on f. 3r the manuscript may have belonged to Giovanni Alberto Badoer (1649–1714). The manuscript was later acquired by Sparfwenfeldt and belonged to his private library.
Acquisition
Donated by Sparfwenfeldt to the Royal Library in 1702.
The signum ‘1 4:o’ on the Spine refers to the catalogue of 1734 (U125e) and is also mentioned in connection with Sparfwenfeldt's library, see Lillieblad (1706), p. 13. The top signum on the Spine and the signa on f. 1r are unidentified.