Winter part of an antiphonary that was originally set up in two volumes and later, when it was bound, was divided into four volumes. The antiphonary, whose other volumes are preserved in Cod. Sang. 1763, 1764 and 1795, was written and probably also decorated by Fr. Dominikus Feustlin (1713–1782). His style is characterized by vividly colored frames made up of thousands of small rods surrounding initials and title cartouches. Title page with the coat-of-arms of St. Gall, St. John, the Toggenburg and Abbot Cölestin Gugger von Staudach (1740–1767) on p. III. More decorated title cartouches on p. 1, 45, 48, 53, 101, 104, 162, 178, 202 and 214. The winter part includes the Proprium de tempore for the first of Advent until Ash Wednesday (pp. 1–161), the Proprium de Sanctis for November until February (pp. 162–213), the Commune Sanctorum (pp. 214–251), votive Masses (pp. 252–272) and Antiphonae feriales (pp. 272–297).
Online Since: 03/22/2018
Spring part of an antiphonary that was originally set up in two volumes and later, when it was bound, was divided into four volumes. The antiphonary, whose other parts are preserved in Cod. Sang. 1762, 1764 and 1795, was written and probably also decorated by Fr. Dominikus Feustlin (1713–1782). His style is characterized by vividly colored frames made up of thousands of small rods surrounding initials and title cartouches. More decorated title cartouches are on p. 68, 87, 106, 123, 179, 206, 260, 271 and 307. The spring part includes the Proprium de tempore from Ash Wednesday to Ascension Day (pp. 1–205), the Proprium de sanctis from the end of February to May (pp. 206–306), the Commune sanctorum (pp. 307–338), Offices in honor of St. Benedict (on Tuesdays, pp. 339-343) and the Virgin Mary (on Saturdays, pp. 344-347), Suffragia sanctorum (pp. 348–352), and antiphons and responsories for weekdays (pp. 352–384). The melodies are written in German plainsong notation (“Hufnagelnotation”) on five lines.
Online Since: 12/12/2019
Summer part of an antiphonary that was originally set up in two volumes and later, when it was bound, was divided into four volumes. The antiphonary, whose other parts are preserved in Cod. Sang. 1762, 1763 and 1795, was written and probably also decorated by Fr. Dominikus Feustlin (1713–1782). His style is characterized by vividly colored frames made up of thousands of small rods surrounding initials and title cartouches. Title page with the coats-of-arms of St. Gall, St. John, the Toggenburg and Abbot Cölestin Gugger von Staudach (1740–1767) on p. III. More decorated title cartouches on p. 1, 36, 43, 122, 202 and 241. The summer part includes the Proprium de tempore from Pentecost until the 16th Sunday after Pentecost (pp. 1–121), the Proprium de sanctis from June to August (pp. 122–240), the Commune sanctorum (pp. 241–269), Offices for the consecration of the church (pp. 270–273), in honor of St. Benedict (on Tuesdays, pp. 274–279) and the Virgin Mary (on Saturdays, pp. 280-285), Suffragia sanctorum (pp. 286–289) and antiphons for weekdays (pp. 290–297). The melodies are written in German plainsong notation (“Hufnagelnotation”) on five lines.
Online Since: 12/12/2019
Graduale de tempore, commissioned by Prince-Abbot Franz Gaisberg (1504–1529, coat of arms p. 1) and illuminated by the book illustrator Nikolaus Bertschi from Augsburg (initials, miniatures and borders with vine scrolls and animals). The banderole on p. 55, which ends with etc. 156, may give a (false) indication regarding the dating (1506 or 1516?). The chants for the Mass are written in German plainsong notation (“Hufnagelnotation”) on a five line staff. This codex is the largest of the St. Gall Abbey library's manuscripts. Originally it was even larger; for re-binding, the pages were severely trimmed, as can be discerned from the folded lower margin on p. 1 or from the trimmed border on p. 444. Binding with heavy fittings on a red velvet background.
Online Since: 06/22/2017
Winter part of a large-format antiphonary, written and decorated by Fr. David Schaller (1581–1636). The summer part is contained in Cod. Sang. 1769. In the beginning there is a calendar for January to April and for December (pp. 4-8), followed by the Proprium de tempore (pp. 9–285), the Proprium de sanctis (pp. 291–377) and the Commune sanctorum (pp. 387–451). The title page consists of a full-page miniature, which represents the Lactatio sancti Bernardi in the upper third, and in the lower third it shows Gallus and Otmar flanking the coat-of-arms of the Princely Abbey of St. Gall under Abbot Bernhard Müller (1594–1630). There are several large initials in gold leaf on colorful backgrounds decorated with vine scrolls and with borders in the margins (p. 9, 63, 109, 244, 291, 345 and 387). The melodies are written in German plainsong notation (“Hufnagelnotation”) on five lines.
Online Since: 12/12/2019
Summer part of a large-format antiphonary, written by Fr. David Schaller (1581–1636). The winter part is contained in Cod. Sang. 1768. In the beginning there is a calendar for April to November (pp. A-6), followed by the Proprium de tempore (pp. 7–191), the Proprium de sanctis (pp. 195–425), the Commune sanctorum (pp. 429–495), and antiphons for Compline (pp. 497–499). There are two responsories (pp. 501, 503) on attached leaves of paper. The decoration is limited to ornate Lombard initials. The melodies are written in German plainsong notation (“Hufnagelnotation”) on five lines.
Online Since: 12/12/2019
Autumn part of an antiphonary that was originally set up in two volumes and later, when it was bound, was divided into four volumes. The antiphonary, whose other parts are preserved in Cod. Sang. 1762, 1763 and 1764, was written and probably also decorated by Fr. Dominikus Feustlin (1713–1782). His style is characterized by vividly colored frames made up of thousands of small rods surrounding initials and title cartouches. More decorated title cartouches on p. 1, 36, 73, 118, 151, 203 and 266. The end page on p. 360 has a chronogram (1762). The autumn part includes the Proprium de tempore for Saturdays from the end of August and for the 11th to the 24th Sunday after Pentecost, (pp. 1–30), antiphons for the 3rd to the 6th Sunday after Epiphany (pp. 31–36), the Proprium de sanctis for September to November (pp. 36–265), the Commune sanctorum (pp. 266–305), Offices for the consecration of the church (pp. 306–311), in honor of St. Benedict (on Tuesdays, pp. 312–319) and the Virgin Mary (on Saturdays, pp. 319–326), Suffragia sanctorum (pp. 326–331) and antiphons for weekdays (pp. 332–359). The end page is followed by the Feast of the Archangel Raphael (pp. 361–365). The melodies are written in German plainsong notation (“Hufnagelnotation”) on five lines.
Online Since: 12/12/2019
This small-format volume contains two written works by the hand of Mathias Jansen, as attested by a 1774 colophon on p. 201. On pp. 7-39, Jansen gives a kind of inventory of the paintings of St. Gallen Cathedral, describing each vault and field. Page 20 contains a report on the improvement of a painting representing St. Otmar and other saints.The second work, on pp. 40-201, collects historical reports about the life, the afterlife and the cult of St. Otmar, which take the form of log entries recording decisions as well as preparations for and the process of actions related to the cult of the saint, such as the elevation of the remains of St. Otmar in 1773/1774. On p. 99, there is a drawing of a decorated altar. Pages 202-207 contain later additions from 1823 or shortly thereafter. On p. 39 and p. 202 there are sporadic entries (after 1823) about the bas-reliefs by the sculptor Johann Christian Wentzinger, on p. 39 also about the new paintings by the artist Antonio Moretto in the choir. Pages 1-6 and 208-236 are blank. According to a note on the inside of the front cover, this book, originally from the Notkersegg Convent of Capuchin nuns, became the property of St. Gall Bishop Greith probably around 1852. Since 1930 it has been held in the Abbey Library as a deposit of the episcopal library.
Online Since: 06/13/2019
Beginning with a Dominican calendar from Strasbourg, this volume contains, among others, several texts by the Italian theologian and philosopher Bonaventura (1221-1274), the Regula monachorum ad Eustochium by the church father Jerome, excerpts from the ascetic-mystical treatise Stimulus amoris, the instructions for a monastic life by the Franciscan Heinrich Vigilis of Weissenburg, and David of Augsburg's work De compositione exterioris et interioris hominis, all in German. The volume, declared the Franciscan "Encheiridion asceticum" by Kurt Ruh, probably came to the Dominican cloister Wil in 1590 along with other Strasbourg manuscripts (Codd. Sang. 1904, 1915 and perhaps 1866).
Online Since: 10/07/2013
Composite manuscript with sermons and spiritual instructions, written around 1487 in the Dominican cloister St. Katharinen in St. Gall by the prioress Angela Varnbüeler. Among others, the volume contains a detailed sermon about Saint Clare of Assisi, into which is incorporated her vita; an open letter from a father to his spiritual children, attributed to a Franciscan monk; a sermon about suffering, death and the sacraments (an interpretation of John 16,21); and a meditation Von der Maß des gaistlichen Crutz, falsely attributed to Anselm of Canterbury.
Online Since: 10/07/2013
A copy of the so-called Engelberger Predigten. Homilies in German for a variety of occasions during the church year, written in about 1400 in a Dominican cloister, possibly at St. Katharinental near Diessenhofen, where the manuscript was held for several centuries.
Online Since: 06/22/2010
Psalter/Breviary for a Dominican women's convent. On pp. 1-12 it contains a calendar of saints with many female saints and several rare saints. The presence of saints from St. Gall and Constance suggests that the volume was created in the Diocese of Constance. On pp. 390-393 there are instructions for prayer in German. Noteworthy are thirteen miniatures and initials in gold leaf. This volume is from the convent of Dominican nuns of St. Katharina auf dem Nollenberg near Wuppenau (Thurgau); according to a note of ownership, it was the property of the convent at least since the 16th century. Since 1930 it has been a deposit of the episcopal library of St. Gall at the Abbey Library.
Online Since: 12/14/2018
Dominican breviary for nuns, probably written in Southern Germany. The script and decoration follow 14th century models, but the presence of the saints St. Vincent Ferrer (canonized 1453/54) and St. Catherine of Siena (canonized 1461) suggest an origin not before the second half of the 15th century. Numerous initials with gold leaf and scroll ornamentation, illuminated borders on p. 21 and 168 (two dogs, misericordia and Justicia, hunting a stag, Verbum patris). This volume is from the convent of Dominican nuns of St. Katharina auf dem Nollenberg near Wuppenau (Thurgau); according to a note of ownership, it was the property of the convent at least since the 17th century. Since 1930 it has been a deposit of the episcopal library of St. Gall at the Abbey Library.
Online Since: 12/14/2018
This manuscript contains the 14 so-called Hermetschwiler Predigten on pp. 1-140; it is a 13th century cycle of sermons in High Alemannic, for which this manuscript is the only textual witness. The text is defective in the beginning and at the end. This is followed on pp. 141-214 by the German-language treatise on Corpus Christi by the “Mönch von Heilsbronn”, a monk from the Cistercian Heilsbronn Abbey located between Nuremberg and Ansbach, who probably lived in the 14th century. Pp. 214-252 contain more spiritual speeches. At least from the 19th century on, the volume was at the Benedictine Convent Hermetschwil (Aargau). Since 1930 it has been a deposit of the episcopal library of St. Gall at the Abbey Library.
Online Since: 12/14/2018
An important copy, in terms of textual history, of the Reformatio Prediger Ordens by the Dominican Johannes Meyer (1422-1482) of Basel. This copy originated in the Dominican cloister of St. Katharina in St. Gall, written in 1483 by Sister Elisabeth Muntprat (1459-1531). This work, which was copied from a model belonging to the cloister of St. Katherine in Nurnberg, is a valuable source for the history of the Dominican order in the German speaking world.
Online Since: 12/19/2011
Compilation of mystical treatises, referred to as the Greith'scher Traktat for the first editor Carl Greith (1807 -1882, Bishop of St. Gall from 1862). The primary sources for the German text are Meister Eckhart, Johannes Tauler and Henry Suso. The manuscript, which is defective at the end, is from the Convent of Dominican nuns of St. Katharina in St. Gall (later Wil), where it was probably written as well. Even the text itself may have been compiled by a scribe from the convent, based on a collection of texts. Since 1930 it has been a depositof the episcopal library of St. Gall at the Abbey Library.
Online Since: 12/14/2018
A collection of religious writings from the Dominican cloister of St. Katherina in St. Gall, written in the second half of the 15th century by the hand of an experienced woman scribe. The volume transmits a great number of sermon texts in versions important to textual history. It contains, among other things, seven so-called Engelberger Predigten, the oldest copy of Version B of the work De Nabuchodonosor by Marquard of Lindau († 1392), ten sermons by Johannes Tauler († 1361), an account of the life, works, and miracles of St. Dominic taken from the work Der Heiligen Leben, a tract attributed to Meister Eckhart: Vom klösterlichen Leben, and religious epigrams.
Online Since: 12/19/2011
German Psalter, complete except for one missing leaf at the end: Psalms (pp. 1-164), canticles (pp. 164-178). With few figured initials (dog p. 1, fish p. 141, p. 153 and p. 157). The volume is from the St. Katharinen Convent of Dominican nuns in St. Gall; whether it was written there cannot be determined for certain. Since 1930 it has been in the Abbey Library as a deposit of the episcopal library of St. Gall.
Online Since: 10/08/2015
This library catalogue from a Carthusian monastery is probably from Ittingen. Such an attribution is supported by indicators such as a structure almost identical to that of the younger Ittingen catalogue of 1717 (Fribourg, Cantonal and University Library, Ms. L 558), extensive content-related similarities between the two catalogues, and entries such as collectore Patre nostro Guigone Ittingae Professo (fol. 154v). The collection is divided into 19 sections (subject areas). Section XIX (Manuscripta) contains only manuscripts, the other sections contain both prints and manuscripts. Individual entries include author and title, sometimes also further details such as place and year of publication, number of volumes, number of copies available, etc. The catalogue was acquired on the antiquarian market in 1976 by Peter Ochsenbein, who later became librarian of the Abbey of St. Gall; subsequently it became the property of the Abbey Library.
Online Since: 06/18/2020
These two parchment double leaves were found in 1895 by state archivist Paul Schweizer in book bindings in the State Archives of Zurich; they were held there under the shelfmark C VI 1 II 8a until 2006. As conclusion to the long-term dispute about cultural assets between St. Gall and Zurich, the Canton of Zurich donated these fragments to the Abbey Library of St. Gall on 27 April 2006. The leaves are from a passionary; they contain eleven partially fragmentary chapters of the oldest version of the life of St. Gall (Vita sancti Galli vetustissima) as well as the beginnings of the Passions of the evangelist Luke and the apostles Simon and Judas. The latter text (for October 28th) has the number 80, suggesting that the passionary once comprised more than 90 texts.
Online Since: 09/23/2014
Late medieval prayer book. The first part contains an incomplete Office of the Virgin (fol. 1r-45v) with variants for Advent and for the time period between Christmas and Candlemas (fol. 46r-51v), Absolutions, Benedictions, Orations and other short prayers (fol. 51v-68r). The Office of the Dead (fol. 69r-98v), including Vespers, Vigil, and prayers for the anniversaries of the deaths of priests, abbots and other deceased persons, is followed by prayers of indulgence (fol. 99r-111v). The beginning of the Office of the Virgin as well as possibly a calendar preceding it have been lost. The fact that the patron saints of St. Gall, St. Gall and St. Othmar (fol. 56r-56v; fol. 58r-58v), are the only saints mentioned other than Mary and St. Benedict suggests a provenience from the Monastery of St. Gall. The manuscript is written in Gothic script; it is decorated with numerous initials executed in gold leaf and with colorful vine scrolls in the margins of individual pages. The beginning of the Office of the Dead (fol. 69r) is adorned with a small miniature of a catafalque bordered by two Benedictine monks, one of which is holding a prayer book in his hands. The cut leather binding with the monogram S, created by a master whose name is unknown, is particularly noteworthy. The covers show the two Princes of the Apostles, Peter (front cover, with book and key) and Paul (back cover, with book and sword), surrounded by rich vine scroll ornamentation. The Abbey Library of St. Gall was able to acquire this manuscript in June 2006 at a Christie's auction in New York from the collection of the American brewer Cornelius J. Hauck (1893−1967) from Cincinnati (Ex Libris on the inside front cover).
Online Since: 09/23/2014
This vesperal in a distinguished binding was commissioned by Prince-Abbot Beda Angehrn (1767−1796); it was written in 1774 by Joseph Adam Bürke (chronogram with the name of the scribe on p. 92), an alumnus of the Gymnasium (preparatory school) of Neu St. Johann that was led by St. Gall monks, and richly illustrated by Father Notker Grögle (1740−1816). The volume contains the incipits of the chants for Vespers (antiphons and hymns), written in German plainsong notation (“Hufnagelnotation”) on five lines, for the feasts of Jesus Christ and of the saints for the entire liturgical year. It is divided into the parts Proprium de tempore (pp. 1−36), Proprium sanctorum (pp. 37−80) and Commune sanctorum (pp. 81−92). This manuscript was held in the choir library of St. Gallen Cathedral until 1989. Then it was transferred to the archives of the cathedral parish of St. Gall, and in 2014 it came to the Abbey Library of St. Gall. The volume, which consisted of 96 pages in 1774, was certainly used for the liturgy in the Cathedral of St. Gall until the 1930s. The mostly handwritten additions and supplements (after p. 97) date from the 19th century. Also glued and bound into the volume are texts from unspecified printed liturgical publications of the 19th and early 20th century. Noteworthy among the illustrations is the oldest pictorial depiction to date of the newly built “Gallusmünster”, today the Cathedral of St. Gall (p. 72). On the flyleaf is the finely drawn coat of arms of Prince-Abbot Beda Angehrn.
Online Since: 09/26/2017
This Engelberg codex, currently held in Carinthia, typifies the painstaking yet unostentatious method of manuscript production practiced under Abbot Frowin (1143-1178), to whom the volume is dedicated on 1r. At the beginnings of the primary texts are indications for planned initials (1v, 103v), or completed initials in red and black ink (2r), with incipits in red ink. Otherwise there is little book decoration other than a few decorative capitals (including the one at the beginning of the last text on 145r). The artful application of patches to damaged sections of the parchment, typical for Engelberg, is also evident (18, 59, 62, 141, 154).
Online Since: 07/04/2012
This papyrus fragment contains 29 lines in uncial script, without spacing between words, written in the late 7th or early 8th century. The text includes a portion of Augustine's homily 351 (c. 3.6: … agitur in stadio sumus …; cf. PL 39, col. 1542 to c. 4.7: … exserat seueritatem suam, cf. PL 39, col. 1543). This single sheet was originally part of a volume of at least 30 quires, containing homilies and letters by Augustine. Surviving quires are: 4-11 (containing 63 sheets + 1 sheet) and 24-30 (53 sheets), the former currently constituting Paris, BnF lat. 11641, the latter Bibliothèque de Genève, lat. 16. This particular sheet was originally the second bifolium in the 8th quire (Quinio), and would properly take its place between f. 26 and f. 27 in Paris BnF 11641. The marginalia on the verso side were made by the hand of Florus of Lyon († ca. 860).
Online Since: 07/04/2012
Innermost bifolium of a quire whose second innermost bifolium is preserved in Chicago, Newberry Library Case MS Fragment 7. It is the remainder of a Fulda manuscript from the 2nd third of the 9th century with the so-called Collectio Veronensis of the acts of the Third Ecumenical Council of Ephesus in 431. The codex was obviously used as waste paper in modern times in Switzerland. When and by what route it reached Switzerland from Fulda cannot be determined; however, it may have arrived there, like a number of other Fulda manuscripts, in the first half of the 16th century as a potential text source for prints by Basel print shops. For a virtual combination of the two fragments see [sine loco], codices restituti, Cod. 6, Concilium Ephesinum.
Online Since: 06/18/2020
Leaf from the fourth volume (Juli-August) of a Fulda Legendary that originally consisted of six volumes, commissioned in 1156 by Rugger, monk at Frauenberg Abbey in Fulda (1176-1177 abbot of Fulda as Rugger II). This fragment contains parts of the Vita s. Amalbergae and probably was written by Eberhard of Fulda. The legendary was still used in the middle of the 16th century in Fulda by Georg Witzel (1501-1573) for his Hagiologium seu de sanctis ecclesiae (Mainz 1541) as well as for his Chorus sanctorum omnium. Zwelff Bücher Historien Aller Heiligen Gottes (Köln 1554). This is the only verifiable fragment from the 4th volume. The remaining surviving fragments from the legendary are in Basel, Solothurn and Nuremberg. They are from the third (May-June) and sixth (November-December) volume and show that these volumes at least reached Basel, where both evidently were used as manuscript waste around 1580.
Online Since: 06/13/2019
This manuscript, as yet almost unknown, contains an epistolary following the Ambrosian Rite. It was commissioned in 1342 by the priest Giacomo de Parazo for a church dedicated to St. Fermo not further identified. This manuscript probably reached Tesserete (Canton of Ticino), an area where the Ambrosian Rite was used, in the 15th/16th century; here it was taken apart and rebound, at which time was added a copy of a testament of dubious authenticity written in 1078 by Contessa from the city of Milan for the benefit of the church of S. Stefano in Tesserete. In the 17th century, the manuscript was the property of the Verdoni family of notaries; since the 20th century, it has been held by the parish of Tesserete. On the initial page, St. Ambrose, the patron saint of the diocese of Milan, is represented in an illuminated initial.
Online Since: 12/14/2017
This martirologio-inventario (an annal followed by an inventory of property) of the Church of S. Stefano in Torre in the Blenio Valley in Ticino, was written in 1568 at the request of the vicini (the original members of the municipal corporate body) of Torre and Grumo, in order to replace the older version. It contains the list of annuali, i.e., of the annual celebrations for the death days of deceased members of the Church, the inventory of movable and immovable property, of the monacharia and of the luminaria, that is, the requisites for illuminating the church. At the beginning of the manuscript there is a watercolor drawing of the church patron St. Stephen.
Online Since: 12/13/2013
This martirologio-inventario (an annal followed by an inventory of property) of the Church of S. Stefano in Torre in the Blenio Valley inTicino, was written in 1639 at the request of the vicini (the original members of the municipal corporate body) of Torre and Grumo, in order to replace the 1569 copy, which was not up to date. It contains a description of the old church of S. Stefano before its reconstruction during the baroque period; the list of furnishings, of liturgical vestments, and of gold items in the church treasury; the list of annuali, i.e., of the annual celebrations for the death days of deceased members of the Church; and the church revenues. At the beginning of the manuscript there is a partially gilded drawing of the church patron St. Stephen.
Online Since: 12/13/2013
The design concept of this manuscript, both the text and the execution, typify the Parisian 'Horae' tradition of the early 15th century ('Boucicaut-Meister'). The top-level organizational elements in the book's decorative program are seven pages decorated with miniatures; multi-line colorful initials mark the secondary textual divisions. The extremely squared illustrations on the decorated pages include scenes with figures enclosed on three sides by staffs entwined by tendrils with decorative gold, red and blue thorny leaves which completely fill the broad parchment margin. Four lines of text, introduced by a large colorful initial, are inserted between the illustration and the lower decorative staff. The beginning of each of the various offices is marked with such an ornamental page. This book of hours is not only the oldest item in the Carl Meyer collection in the Cantonal Library of Appenzell Ausserrhoden, it is one of its best and most valuable items. It is not know who originally commissioned the manuscript.
Online Since: 05/20/2009
The layperson who commissioned this book of hours is not known by name, but left definite personal traces on the book: he had a full page portrait miniature of himself painted on Fol. 11v, kneeling and accompanied by a coat of arms. The presence of such a prominent portrait of the benefactor indicates considerable ambition on the part of the book's commissioner, who was probably a member of the merchant class. In addition, the portrait was painted by a more talented artist than the other miniatures in the manuscript, which are made in the style of woodcuts. The book of hours could have been intended for use in eastern France. Stylistically, the work displays a provincial character.
Online Since: 05/20/2009
This book of hours is patterned after the liturgical format of the Parisian 'Horae'. It differs, however, in its richer, yet qualitatively narrower range of illustrations: each of the Gospel selections is accompanied by a portrait of its author, and the Marian Office by a complete cycle illustrating the childhood of Jesus. The artist's indirect reception of the originals by the well known Paris illuminator, via a series of intermediate steps, displays numerous misunderstandings or intentional revisions. To the modern eye, accustomed to modern aesthetic norms, the shallow fields, bold juxtaposition of colors, and extremely foreshortened perspective used in these illustrations come across as expressive and inventive. The commissioner of the work is unknown.
Online Since: 06/08/2009
The origin of this manuscript in the northern French-Flemish border region can be determined from its liturgical features, its leather binding with stamped designs and the inscription Robiers Plovrins as well as by a comparison with stylistically similar manuscripts. Another book of hours illustrated by the same artist is held at Claremont near Berkeley, California (USA). This exemplar is a somewhat cruder imitation of the style of scribe and book illustrator Jean Markant, who was quite popular around 1500 in Lille. The commissioner of this volume is unknown.
Online Since: 06/08/2009
This book of hours with a tall, narrow format is a true pocket book, and the framing of the miniatures with architectural elements, crowned volutes, putti, and garlands displays a definite Renaissance influence. The book is illustrated with 16 full-page illuminations and 21 smaller, simpler miniatures by a different artist. One of the full-page illustrations shows the coat of arms of the person who commissioned the book: he was a certain Michel de Champrond (d. August 1, 1539), Lord of Ollé, Advisor and Paymaster of the King. This would indicate that a well-to-do personage, not of noble birth, but part of the court circle, had an elaborate, richly decorated and partially customized prayer book made by a middle quality manuscript workshop as late as the 1530s, when printed Books of hours were already widely available.
Online Since: 06/08/2009
This highly unusual textual object contains three pastiches of cut-out colored initials and twelve Flemish miniatures from the second half of the 16th century, glued to newer parchment pages and outlined during the 19th century, such that the composite images are presented as if they were painted on a single, matted page. The miniatures were taken from a personal prayer book that belonged to Anne of Cleves (1515-1557).
Online Since: 07/31/2007
Paper manuscript setting forth moral and social wrongdoings by means of illustrations of stories from biblical, classical and medieval history as well as of contemporary works about manners and social customs. In the lower third of each page is a proverb in rhyme calling to mind the Christian virtue that forms a counterpoint to the moral wrong depicted.
Online Since: 04/26/2007
This paper manuscript – a Liber Amicorum for Ladislaus von Törring – contains 49 deptictions of costumes and four of coats-of-arms: all are high quality watercolors and probably all are by the same hand. The costumes mostly show high-ranking persons, mainly from France (Paris), Spain and Veneto. Means of transport, such as ships and carriages, from the same time period are also depicted. Some of the people pictured are identified by captions in French and Italian. Aphorisms and dedications, mostly in Latin, are added on seven pages. The dedicatee is Ladislaus von Törring (1566-1638), Baron in Stein and Pertenstein, Rector of the University of Ingolstadt, a relative of the Bavarian royal family.
Online Since: 03/19/2020
Album with depictions of members of the Zellweger family of textile merchants from Trogen, with biographical texts on the male representatives of the family. From the early modern era until the middle of the 19th century, the Zellwegers shaped the economy and politics of Appenzell Ausserrhoden. Victor Eugen Zellweger, the author of these texts, saw to the reproduction of family-owned paintings, drawings and prints, making use of the most modern techniques of photography. For the calligraphic design and illustration of the 3-volume work, he engaged the illustrator Salomon Schlatter from St. Gall.
Online Since: 03/29/2019
Album with depictions of members of the Zellweger family of textile merchants from Trogen, with biographical texts on the male representatives of the family. From the early modern era until the middle of the 19th century, the Zellwegers shaped the economy and politics of Appenzell Ausserrhoden. Victor Eugen Zellweger, the author of these texts, saw to the reproduction of family-owned paintings, drawings and prints, making use of the most modern techniques of photography. For the calligraphic design and illustration of the 3-volume work, he engaged the illustrator Salomon Schlatter from St. Gall.
Online Since: 03/29/2019
Album with depictions of members of the Zellweger family of textile merchants from Trogen, with biographical texts on the male representatives of the family. From the early modern era until the middle of the 19th century, the Zellwegers shaped the economy and politics of Appenzell Ausserrhoden. Victor Eugen Zellweger, the author of these texts, saw to the reproduction of family-owned paintings, drawings and prints, making use of the most modern techniques of photography. For the calligraphic design and illustration of the 3-volume work, he engaged the illustrator Salomon Schlatter from St. Gall.
Online Since: 03/29/2019
Chronicle of Appenzell by Bartholomäus Anhorn (1566-1640, 1623-1626 priest in Speicher, 1626-1640 parish priest in Gais both in Appenzell Ausserrhoden). The manuscript describes events from the history of the undivided canton of Appenzell and the canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden (Outer Rhodes), created in 1597, with special emphasis on the Reformation and the Counter-Reformation.
Online Since: 12/20/2012
Collection of drawings of flags captured as booty, as well as Appenzell stained glas heraldic panels, landscapes and buildings from the 17th and 18th centuries, created by the illustrator Johann Ulrich Fitzi, with commentary by the historiographer and commissioner of the work, Johann Caspar Zellweger.
Online Since: 12/13/2013
Three volumes of scientific treatises by Johann Georg Schläpfer on historical, biological, geological, medical and philosophical topics as well as several drawings and watercolors of landscapes, plants, animals and anatomical specimens, made by Johann Ulrich Fitzi.
Online Since: 04/09/2014
Three volumes of scientific treatises by Johann Georg Schläpfer on historical, biological, geological, medical and philosophical topics as well as several drawings and watercolors of landscapes, plants, animals and anatomical specimens, made by Johann Ulrich Fitzi.
Online Since: 04/09/2014
Three volumes of scientific treatises by Johann Georg Schläpfer on historical, biological, geological, medical and philosophical topics as well as several drawings and watercolors of landscapes, plants, animals and anatomical specimens, made by Johann Ulrich Fitzi.
Online Since: 04/09/2014
These are two well preserved fragments of a Psalterium iuxta Hebraeos, which were probably written in the 10th century at the monastery of St. Gall, following the model of Cod. Sang. 19. In 1963 both fragments were detached from a messenger bag; they are held in the town archive of Urnäsch (Appenzell Ausserrhoden).
Online Since: 10/08/2015
A collection of German prayers, most likely copied for a lay patron ca. 1500-1520.
Online Since: 04/26/2007
According to the colophon at the end of the Gospel of John, this copy was completed by Ibrāhīm ibn Būluṣ ibn Dāwūd al-Ḥalabī in Cairo. It is written in a clear nasḫī script; the illustrations, provided by the Aleppo illustrator and icon-painter Ğirğis bin Ḥanāniyā, portray the four Evangelists, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, as well as 43 scenes from the life of Jesus. The Arabic title, "This book is the holy, pure Gospel and the illuminating, shining light", is given at the end of the Gospel of John. This codex is currently on long-term loan from the Pandeli family to the library of St. Gall Abbey.
Online Since: 11/03/2009
This liturgical manuscript (Sharaknots or Sharakan) contains a collection of over a thousand hymns, organized into eight groups, for use in the Armenian Church. Many of these hymns were composed by prominent figures in the Armenian Church, while others are early translations from sacred hymns of the early Christian Church. The texts include Armenian khaz notation. This manuscript was written by the scribe Simeon in the year 1662 in the city of Brnakot, in the province of Siounik, an important center for liturgical manuscript production in southern Armenia. The book decoration consists of 8 headpieces, 120 ornamental and zoomorphic initials, and numerous simple red initials. The manuscript features its original Moroccan limp vellum binding with blind tooling.
Online Since: 07/04/2012
Liturgical manuscript (Sharaknots), written by the copyist Awetis in Khizan in the province Van in the year 1647 (1096 according to the Armenian calendar). It contains 11 large miniatures and 28 miniatures in the margins, executed and signed by the painter Yovanes Gharietsi. He was one of the most fascinating artists of the late School of Vaspurakan. The manuscript is part of certain hymnals, created for private customers in the region of Lake Van and characterized by bright colors and interlace ornamentation. The manuscript features the Armenian Khaz-notation. The text contains the collection of hymns in use in the Armenian Church, in the same order as in a Hymnarium printed as a first edition in Amsterdam in the year 1664. Three more hymnals of this type, also the result of the collaboration of these two artists, are known: two in Jerusalem and one in Jerewan. Attached in the beginning and at the end are two sheets of parchment containing a part of the Proprium de Sanctis from a Latin breviary from the 13th/14th century.
Online Since: 04/23/2013
This volume contains a collection of 213 documents from the years 1324-1327, copied by nine notaries in a tiny, very careful cursive script. The collection contains the documentation of property rights of the Castropola de Sergi, the lords of Pula (Croatia), regarding their properties in the area of Pula, in Istria and in Venice. The notarial documents are organized according to the city or location where the property was located; the place name is noted in the top margin of the first page of the section; each section contains a detailed list of properties and their associated auxiliary buildings, together with their exact locations.
Online Since: 12/20/2016
Sephardic Bible in Hebrew, produced in the first half of the 14th century in Spain, probably in Castile. The manuscript opens and closes with Masoretic lists (ff. IIr-IXv and 463v to 466v), which, framed by illuminated borders, form “carpet pages”. The biblical text, copied into one or two columns, is accompanied by the Small and Large Masora (rules from the rabbinic tradition regarding the reading and vocalization of the sacred texts), which were written in tiny letters in the margins and in the gutters. These micrographic elements are sometimes enlivened in the lower margins of the pages (about 70 occurrences) or on all four sides of the pages (e.g., ff. 42r-43r, 461v-463r), where they form magnificent geometrical figures and interlace. The first biblical books are introduced by titles that are executed in browned gold on background fields of pink and blue with white scrollwork (f. 1v/Gn, 33v/Ex, 59v/Nb, 77v/Dt, 102v/Js, 125v/Jg). According to a note of ownership (f. 467v) dated 1367 (?), this Hebrew Bible was probably owned by David ha-Cohen Coutinho, member of a family of Portuguese marranos. In the 15th century, it was the property of Moses Abulafia, until his widow sold it, as shown by the sales contract, dated and signed in 1526 in Thessaloniki and placed in the beginning of the book (f. Ir). In the 16th century, the Bible was owned by the Talmudist and Rabbi Abraham di Boton of Thessaloniki (f. 467v). Thereafter its presence is attested in the Zaradel Synagogue of Alexandria in the 19th century (R. Gottheil, „Some Hebrew Manuscripts in Cairo“ in: Jewish Quarterly Review 17, 1905, p. 648). After the Bible entered the fine arts market, it has been in a private collection since 1996.
Online Since: 12/14/2017
Register of the assets of the inhabitants of the communities Bergün, Filisur, Latsch and Stuls, compiled by the public notary and chancellor at the time, later Landammann (magistrate) and pastor Tumesch Zeuth; it was updated about every ten years, first in German and, towards the end, also in Romansh. Its significance is not well documented; perhaps originally it served as a basis for financing the communities' buying their freedom from the Bishop of Chur in 1537, later perhaps it served as a key for distributing the communities' income from, among other things, the Valtellina districts, from pensions, from tariffs on goods and tolls on roads, etc. Currently this is the oldest known manuscript from Bergün; it is the property of Werner Dübendorfer of Eglisau. The book containing its continuation, probably up to 1799, has been lost.
Online Since: 12/14/2017
This parchment fragment from Martin le Franc's Champion des Dames (Book I, v. 3901-v. 4062 + Book II, v. 4313-v. 4470) is from the 15th century. The text corresponds to that of the Deschaux edition (1999). Carefully copied in two columns, the different stanzas of the poem are introduced by colored initials, alternating red and blue, and by champie initials. Book II opens with a decorated initial on a gold background, badly worn due to the fragment's use as binding for a land register during the 17th century. This land register belonged to Jaques Etienne Clavel, co-ruler of Marsens, Ropraz and Brenles (fol. 2r).
Online Since: 12/14/2018
This small-format handbook about ritual slaughter is from 14th century Italy. It contains the laws of shekhitah (ritual slaughter) and of treifot (possible defects of kosher animals) by Judah ben Benjamin ha-Rofe Anaw from Rome (13th century). These laws are followed by excerpts of laws on shekhitah from the Torat ha-Bayit ha-Arokh, a legal work on the laws governing Jewish households by Salomon ben Abraham ben Adret from Barcelona (1235-1310).
Online Since: 10/10/2019
A book of hours following the liturgical custom of Rome in Latin, with a calendar in French and a selection of saints venerated in Paris. It contains 17 miniatures created in Paris around 1408/10 in the artistic circle of the Master of Boucicaut, one of the most influential illuminators of the early 15th century. The Master of the Mazarine contributed to the ornamentation, as did pseudo-Jacquemart, who belongs to an older generation of artists and whose contribution can be recognized in the famous Books of Hours of the Duke of Berry. The image of David was painted on an inserted double leaf; it can be attributed to a follower of the artist who illuminated the Breviary of John the Fearless.
Online Since: 12/20/2012
A book of hours in Latin and French, written in the second quarter of the 15th century in Paris, but not illuminated until 1490 in Paris or perhaps in Tours by various artists who shared the work. Two miniatures as well as the decoration of the calendar and of the Office of the Dead are the work of an artist from the circle of the Maître François, a close collaborator of the Master of Jacques of Besançon, who honors Notre-Dame in a veduta of the city of Paris (f. 93r). The luminous colors and the monumental forms of the other miniatures attest to the influence of Jean Bourdichon of Tours. This artist can probably be considered responsible for the Master of the Chronique Scandaleuse, who, during the creation of this manuscript, was still working under the guidance of Jean Bourdichon.
Online Since: 12/20/2012
A book of hours following the liturgical custom of Rome, with a calendar in French. The miniatures are framed by borders decorated with plants that were executed with great botanical precision. This examplar from the late period of the French Book of hours, preserved in its entirety, was illuminated by an important master from this late phase of French book illumination. He was influenced by the Master of Claude de France und was recently identified as the Master of the Lallemant-Boethius. In the small pictures on the borders, he tries to compete with Jean Bourdichon, who introduced realistic flower borders in the marginal decoration of Anne of Brittany's Grandes Heures and in other major works. The Master of the Lallemant-Boethius is also guided by Flemish book illumination of his time. On f. 1r one can read the name of Agnès le Dieu, the owner of the codex in the year 1605.
Online Since: 12/20/2012
A book of hours following the liturgical custom of Rome, with a calendar containing a selection of saints for Langres. The manuscript was illuminated and dated in 1524 by a Master of Bénigne Serre, who was known by the name of his client, a highly-ranked official of the King of Burgundy. The artist was a hitherto unknown illuminator from the circle of the “1520s The Hours Workshop,” which framed the miniatures with Renaissance architecture or added naturalistic flowers and animals to borders. This manuscript contains a number of unusual images, e.g., for the Lauds of the Office of the Virgin, the meeting of Joachim and Anna at the city gate of Jerusalem replaces the usual image of the Visitation. In the 18th century, the manuscript was owned by the family Bretagne of Dijon, whose family members wrote a „Livre de raison“ on several appended pages.
Online Since: 12/20/2012
Two artists, active around 1440/50, contributed to the decorations of this book of hours: the older one, who created only the three miniatures on f. 13v, 105v and 140v, is part of the “Goldrankenstil,” while the younger one is characterized by greater physicality and more vibrant coloring because he was influenced by the innovations of the contemporary painting of the van Eyck brothers. This second artist is responsible for the completion of the Turin-Milan Hours in the year 1440 and also contributed to the Llangattock Book of hours. In 1813 the manuscript was given to the prioress of the Cloister of the Bernardine Sisters of Oudenaarde by the Prince of Broglie.
Online Since: 12/20/2012
A book of hours following the liturgical custom of Rome, with a calendar for the use in Poitiers. All main miniatures are by the Master of Poitiers 30, whose name is derived from two of the miniatures he created in a missal for use in Poitiers, which is kept in the local city library. Earlier he was known by the name Master of Adelaide of Savoy, for whom he created the book of hours Ms. 76 in the Condé Museum in Chantilly. He belonged to the circle of the Master of Jouvenel des Ursins, but was most active in Poitiers, where he influenced later local book illumination.
Online Since: 12/20/2012
A latin book of hours with calendar, containing a selection of saints for Paris as well as several French prayers. At the end of the book, there are tables for the changing holidays beginning with the year 1640; thus it can be assumed that the manuscript was completet around this time. The majority of the miniatures are by the Master of Coëtivy, who presumably also created all compositions and thus also the preliminary drawings. The hand of a second illuminator, who can be identified as the Master of Dreux Budé, is found in the faces of Mary in the image of the birth of Jesus (f. 83v), the Adoration of the Magi (f. 92v) and the Coronation of the Virgin (f. 107r).
Online Since: 12/20/2012
The manuscript contains a psalter for use in Evreux, episcopal city and preferred residence of the kings of Navarre.This is a liturgical book which contains the calendar, the litany and the Office of the Dead, that is, the most important texts of a book of hours. The illumination is the work of an artist who was active in Paris around 1400 and who depicts elegant figures in a picturesque landscape, still on a gold background, while his color palette is already that of the 15th century. This hand is to be attributed to the workshop of the Parisian Josephus-Master. At least two miniatures – the jester miniature (f. 44r) and the miniature of the Office of the Dead (f. 131r) – are attributed to the pseudo-Jacquemart.
Online Since: 12/20/2012
This book of hours, addressed to a woman, contains an entry that can only be read in ultraviolet light (f. 27v) and that mentions a Jaquette de la Barre; she probably was part of the Parisian family of organ builders who, between 1401 and 1404, built the organ of Notre-Dame. The miniatures were created around 1410 by a leading Parisian master, who can be identified as the Master of the Mazarin. Subsequently, borders were added to the manuscript, probably by a Provençal hand. Several scenes stand out from the conventional iconographic program: instead of the penance of David, there is the glory of Christ on Judgment Day (f. 101r); instead of the Mass for the dead, there is the Raising of Lazarus (f. 141r); also unusual is the depiction of the prayer of St. Jerome (f. 139v) in the full vestments of a cardinal.
Online Since: 12/20/2012
Various artists contributed to the illumination of this book of hours. Some simple miniatures are the work of an artist who trained in the circle of the Master of John the Fearless. Many faces of Mary were created by the Master of Marguerite of Orléans, an important book illuminator around 1430. In the 15th century, the manuscript belonged to Guillaume Prevost, as attested by the baptismal entries written in the “Livre de raison” (f. 186v).
Online Since: 12/20/2012
In addition to the unusual book for King Charles VIII described in Utopia Cod. 111, there is another book of hours that was painted by the same artist. Its border decoration remained incomplete, and all the large images follow not the usual canon of images for books of hours, but instead depict unconventional motifs. What strikes the eye in both manuscripts is the motif of the family tree of Adam, which creates an optical link between the volumes and which is not found in other of the book decorator's manuscripts. The almost identical mass of foliage also suggests that the two volumes could belong together, produced for the king at a certain time interval from one another. The premature and unexpected death of Charles VIII after his accident at the Château d'Amboise may explain why the second manuscript was never completed.
Online Since: 10/13/2016
This book of hours was a present from the Parisian publisher Anthoine Vérard to the French King Charles VIII (1470-1498). The monarch was one of the most important figures for the French book trade from 1480 on. His collecting is inextricably linked with the luxurious printed materials of the bookseller and publisher Anthoine Vérard. Especially remarkable are the borders: the margins of all pages are decorated with a pictorial narrative of eight consecutive images showing events from the Old and New Testament. Also noteworthy is the didactic value of this book of hours, since each pair of images has a commentary of several explanatory verses in Middle French. Stylistically this book is closely related to Cod. 110, which was probably also created for the king and was by the same artist.
Online Since: 10/13/2016
This volume is part of an antiphonary in three volumes that was produced in duplicate for the liturgy of Bern's Collegiate Church of St. Vincent, founded in 1484/85. The manuscript contains the entire winter portion of the Temporale, of the Sanctorale and of the Commune Sanctorum according to the liturgy of the Diocese of Lausanne. This volume is the duplicate of volume I, today held in the Catholic parish Saint-Laurent in Estavayer-le-Lac. Originally the volume was decorated with eight initials, of which only two remain (p. 71 and p. 429); they are attributed to the illuminator and copyist Konrad Blochinger, who also added corrections and annotations of the text to the other volumes of this group. After the introduction of the Reformation in the year 1528 and the subsequent secularization of the chapter, the entire group of antiphonaries was sold: four were sold to the city of Estavayer-le-Lac and were used there for the liturgy of the Collegiate Church of St. Lorenz; the other two — including this manuscript — reached Vevey under circumstances that remain unexplained. They are currently held in the historical museum there.
Online Since: 06/25/2015
This volume is part of an antiphonary in three volumes that was produced in duplicate for the liturgy of Bern's Collegiate Church of St. Vincent, founded in 1484/85. It contains the Proprium de sanctis and the Commune Sanctorum of the summer portion (March 25 to November 25) according to the liturgy of the Diocese of Lausanne. This volume is the duplicate of volume II, today held in the Catholic parish Saint-Laurent in Estavayer-le-Lac. The three miniatures (p. 207, p. 271 and p. 397) that still adorn this volume are attributed to an itinerant artist who was active in Switzerland — in Fribourg, Bern, and Sion —, and afterwards in Piedmont and in the Aosta Valley. He is known by the names Master of the Breviary of Jost von Silenen and Miniaturist of Georges de Challant. After the introduction of the Reformation in the year 1528 and the subsequent secularization of the chapter, the entire group of antiphonaries was sold: four were sold to the city of Estavayer-le-Lac and were used there for the liturgy of the Collegiate Church of St. Lorenz; the other two — including this manuscript — reached Vevey under circumstances that remain unexplained. They are currently held in the historical museum there.
Online Since: 12/20/2016
Collection of recipes for preparing medicines. The form in which the recipes are presented ranges from a list of ingredients to more or less detailed texts including information about the preparation as well as the use of the medication. In the index, the recipes are divided into 10 chapters according to dosage form (pp. 456-479). At the end of each chapter there are several pages that have been left blank for additional recipes. The manuscript, which was created in 1739, is from the pharmacy of the former Capuchin Convent of Wattwil. It contains numerous 18th century additions in various hands. Since the dissolution of the Capuchin Convent St. Mary of the Angels of Wattwil in 2010, the manuscript, as part of the convent pharmacy, belongs to the Foundation Kloster Maria der Engel Wattwil.
Online Since: 06/13/2019
Collection of recipes for preparing medicines. The form in which the recipes are presented ranges from a list of ingredients to more or less detailed texts including information about the preparation as well as the use of the medication. There is no index. The manuscript, which was written in 1755, is from the chapter of the noble secular canonesses of Schänis (fol. Br). Several recipes are later additions. The numerous blank pages indicate that it had been planned from the beginning to leave room for additional recipes. It is not known when the manuscript became part of the pharmacy of the former Capuchin Convent of Wattwil. Since the dissolution of the Capuchin Convent St. Mary of the Angels of Wattwil in 2010, the manuscript, as part of the convent pharmacy, belongs to the Foundation Kloster Maria der Engel Wattwil.
Online Since: 06/13/2019
Collection of recipes for preparing medicines. The form in which the recipes are presented ranges from a simple list of ingredients to more detailed texts including information about the preparation as well as the use of the medication. There is an index (pp. 262-264). The manuscript is from the pharmacy of the former Capuchin Convent of Wattwil; in 1881 it was “improved and written” (“verbessert und geschrieben”) based on an older original (p. E). The book contains a few additions up to the 20th century. Since the dissolution of the Capuchin Convent St. Mary of the Angels of Wattwil in 2010, the manuscript, as part of the convent pharmacy, belongs to the Foundation Kloster Maria der Engel Wattwil.
Online Since: 10/10/2019
This herbal contains descriptions of medicinal herbs in alphabetical order along with the medicinal effects attributed to them. An index (p. 94) is appended to the recipes, but it ends already at number 5 “anise”. This manuscript is from the pharmacy of the former Capuchin Convent of Wattwil and was written in the first half of the 20th century. Since the dissolution of the Capuchin Convent St. Mary of the Angels of Wattwil in 2010, the manuscript, as part of the convent pharmacy, belongs to the Foundation Kloster Maria der Engel Wattwil.
Online Since: 10/10/2019
This manuscript contains the Psalms, ordered according to the arrangement of the liturgy of the hours, in Latin and each followed by the German translation. It was copied by two woman scribes, nuns in the Dominican Convent of St. Katharina in St. Gall. One hand is probably that of Angela Varnbühler. The binding consists of simple wooden tablets, covered in leather without any ornamentation, which is typical for the first phase of the St. Katharina scriptorium; it constitutes an additional element to attest to the origin of the manuscript.
Online Since: 04/23/2013
This small volume contains various prayers in Latin, some of which are preceded by rubrics in German. All in one hand, without note of ownership; the limp vellum binding probably is original.
Online Since: 10/04/2018
This small volume consists of two parts, containing prayers and meditations on various topics, to be read in 30 days. One part (ff. 1r-45r) – today at the beginning of the manuscript, but originally probably at the end – was written by Maria Ferrin, as can be read on f. 45r. The current second part was copied by two hands from the second half of the 15th century – beginning of the 16th century. A parchment fragment from a lectionary was used for the limp vellum binding.
Online Since: 10/04/2018
After the city council of St. Gall ended the enclosure of the convent of Dominican sisters at St. Katharina on May 2, 1528 and the convent gradually broke up, only Regula Keller and two sisters remained in its buildings, where they continued to work throughout 1543, copying the Augustinian Rule and Constitutions. The reading of the Rule and the Constitutions was more strongly emphasized in the reformed cloisters, in keeping with the character of their religious observance.
Online Since: 07/31/2009
This work presents a guide to the Christian life in 24 speeches, each following a particular theme, put together using brief selections from more than 100 authors. In the late Middle Ages this was a favorite text for reading aloud at meals, especially the long and detailed life of Mary attributed to the “12th elder“, which combines the story of Christ's Passion with an account of the fate of Mary.
Online Since: 07/31/2009
This manuscript contains a previously unknown copy of the German translation of De reparatione hominis, the principal work of the Franciscan Marquard of Lindau. In addition, it transmits several of the „Engelberger Predigten,“ thus completing the collection contained in Cod. Sang. 1919. It bears mentioning that both of these manuscripts are based on an earlier model, to which also the manuscripts Cod. Sang. 1004 and Wil M 47, which were created 50 years earlier, owe their (complementary) selection of „Engelberger Predigten“.
Online Since: 10/07/2013
This manuscript, written by the Benedictine Friedrich Kölner and meant for the Hermitage of St. George, contains, among others: a translation of the letters of Jan van Schoonhoven, which survive only in this manuscript; a sermon by Tauler (Vetter no. 70); and excerpts from Chapter 49 of the Vita by Henry Suso. In addition, it transmits several of the “Engelberger Predigten“, thus completing the collection contained in Cod. Sang. 1004. It bears mentioning that both of these manuscripts are based on an earlier model, to which also the manuscripts Cod. Sang. 1919 and Wil M 42, which were created 50 years later, owe their (complementary) selection of “Engelberger Predigten“. In the fold of the twelfth quire (set of sheets), there can be found remnants of a two-columned, rubricated German parchment manuscript from the first half/middle of the 13th century.
Online Since: 10/07/2013
Formerly referred to in the reseach literature as the "Chronic" or "Chronicle", this was in truth the convent record book of the Cloister of St. Katharina in St. Gall (61r:...und sol dis also in des convents buoch gesetz werden...). The content consists of chronologically ordered entries concerning the business transactions of the convent. The manuscript was produced in the course of the reform period, as the convent was converted from private to communal ownership. Thus this convent book served as a record of the transfer of administrative authority of St. Katharina to the convent community itself and made it possible for the sisters to maintain oversight of the goods they had brought with them when they joined the convent. Records concerning building projects, decoration, scriptorium, legal conflicts and donations, entries concerning individual sisters, pastoral staff and employees as well as sporadic entries about the history of the convent were also set down in this manuscript.
Online Since: 07/31/2009
This parchment manuscript written about the end of the 15th century, with musical notation and book decoration, contains the Proprium de tempore (Winter portion, First Sunday of Advent through Good Friday). The text breaks off at the bottom of a page in the Good Friday antiphon, at the end of the third Psalm for Lauds. The antiphonary was held by the St. Gall Dominican convent of St. Katharina, where it may also have been written. The same hand also wrote the convent's manuscript containing the summer portion of the antiphonary (Wil, Dominikanerinnenkloster St. Katharina, M III).
Online Since: 12/21/2010
This Antiphonary for the feast days of saints (Proprium de sanctis, Andreas through Dominikus), with the Signature M II, was written by the same hand as the Antiphonary containing the winter portion of the Proprium de Tempore (Wil, Dominikanerinnenkloster St. Katharina, M II). Like M II, this manuscript with musical notation and book decoration was also written about the end of the 15th century, probably at the Dominican convent in St. Gall.
Online Since: 12/21/2010
Processionale copied by the Dominican nuns of the Convent of St. Katharina of St. Gall in the second half of the 15th century. The manuscript is written in textualis by the hand of the same nun who copied the Processionale M VIII, perhaps also the Processionale M VI as well as the manuscript which today has the signature Cod. Sang. 1914. It might be the manuscript ij nv́wi procesional, which was mentioned in the Chronicle (now Konventsbuch) in 1484 and which, according to the same source, was re-bound in the year 1485. The binding consists of simple wooden tablets, covered in leather without any ornamentation, which is typical for the first phase of the St. Katharina scriptorium; it constitutes an additional element to attest to the origin of the manuscript.
Online Since: 04/23/2013
This breviary from the second half of the 15th century, written by the Dominican nuns Cordula von Schönau and Verena Gnepser of the cloister of St. Katharina in St. Gall, contains a calendar as well as the summer portion of the Proprium de tempore (Easter Sunday through the 25th Sunday after the octave of Pentecost), the In dedicatione ecclesiae, the Collectae de sanctis et de communi sanctorum (Tiburtius and Valerian through Dominicus), the Officium commune sanctorum as well as two psalters and a hymnal. In the calendar, which opens the paper manuscript, are some entries in the hand of Verena Gnepser containing the names of relatives. This indicates personal use of this breviary by Verena Gnepser.
Online Since: 12/21/2010
This manuscript contains a Dominican breviary preceded by a calendar with various necrological annotations. The codex was written by Cordula von Schönau, Dominican at the Abbey of St. Katharina in St. Gall, who signed the inside front cover and wrote the dated ex-libris on the first flyleaf. Cordula von Schönau's hand can also be found in Cod. Sang. 406 of the Abbey Library of Saint Gall, in Ms. 22 of the Leopold-Sophien-Bibliothek in Überlingen, and in Wil in Ms. 3 as well as in several parts of the “Schwesternbuch” (Book of sisters) and of the “Konventsbuch” (Chronicle).
Online Since: 10/04/2018
This manuscript contains various liturgical and ascetic texts. The volume was written by various more or less practiced hands; one wrote a date .I.5.I.3. with his initials J. ae. (f. 47v), another only his initials J. h. L. (f. 101v). A parchment fragment of a document from the bishop of Konstanz from the year 1441 was used as binding.
Online Since: 10/04/2018
The first half of this manuscript contains two sermons on charity translated from Latin. They were copied in 1589 by a scribe who signed as F. C. A. (f. 7v). The rest of the manuscript is the work of two different scribes who were active in the second half of the 15th century; this part contains a sermon for members of religious orders (ff. 8r-30r) and a treatise about sin and repentance (ff. 31r-49r). A calendar page (November/December, 14th century) containing several obituary notes was used for the binding.
Online Since: 10/04/2018
The title of this manuscript is misleading: it does not mean, as it would in formal research, a collection of short biographies of the sisters of a particular cloister written by close associates in the following generation of sisters. On closer examination, the contents of the St. Gall Book of Sisters has two parts, probably composed at the beginning of the 1480s: Part 1, fols. jr-xxiiijv (pp. 5-14r of the new pagination): digests of the history of the cloister during the years 1229-1488, with references to supporting documents. Part 2, fols. xxvir-xxxvjr: letters exchanged between the Dominican nuns of St. Gall and those of the convent of St. Katherine in Nurnberg; fols. xlviijr-CClvjr are not in letter form (without salutations and formulas of greeting, etc.), but rather are records of Nurnberg usances (financial transactions) edited in report form, grouped by themes; fols. CCLIXr-CCLXIVv: a register.
Online Since: 07/31/2009
Described in fols. Ir-lxxxjv: a catalog of properties, farms and land holdings together with information on their productivity and income generated; after fol. 84 an inserted fascicle contain an index, in a hand from about 1600, with alphabetical locators on to the right-hand edge of the spread.
Online Since: 07/31/2009
Beginning in 1797, the Wädenswil reading society, which was founded in 1790, kept a handwritten annal that chronicled all local events of any given year. A member of the society would be designated as chronicler, who had the task of describing, by the end of the year, all events in Wädenswil that, from his point of view, were of importance. Detailed obituaries of individual personages are contained in the chronicle. For most years, it also includes descriptions of the weather, statistics regarding the population and an overview of food prices. In addition to local events, it also touches on cantonal and federal issues (among them the Bocken War, the Ustertag, the Sonderbund War). The chronicle was handwritten until 1886; the handwritten part consists of two volumes in folio-format. Later volumes consist of pasted newspaper clippings (1890 until 1945) and of typed pages, bound by year (1948-1974). The two volumes for the period from 1797 to 1886 are considered one of the most important sources for the history of Wädenswil in the 19th century.
Online Since: 12/17/2015
This manuscript of the 'chess book', an allegorical treatment of the social order based on the game of chess, originated during the 1420s, probably in Lucerne. 24 ink-wash drawings show representatives of various social positions.
Online Since: 07/31/2009
The Etymologies of Isidore of Seville appears in this St. Gall manuscript from the second third of the 9th century, which is characterized by reorgainizations of the text as well as numerous corrections and additions made during the same period. The schematic drawings are in color, and the flyleaf contains a fragment with Anglo-Saxon minuscule from the end of the 8th century.
Online Since: 07/31/2009
This manuscript contains the full text of the Pentateuch and haftarot (weekly readings from the Prophets). The manuscript has six illuminated initial word panels found at the beginning of each of the books of the Pentateuch and at the heading of the haftarot. The semi-cursive Sephardic Hebrewscript and other codicological features of this manuscript point toward a Sephardic origin from the second half of the fifteenth century. It is likely that the Braginsky Pentateuch was the work of an artist who was active in the Lisbon School, which is known for producing around 30 distinctive manuscripts characterized by their largely non-figurative decoration: filigree initial word panels, floral and abstract pen work in purple ink, and multicolored dots and flowers.
Online Since: 10/13/2016
The "Counting of the Omer" is the ritual counting of the 49 days between Passover and Shavuot, the Feast of Weeks. In this manuscript, these days and their corresponding numbers, are inscribed in 49 quatrefoils. F. 18r shows a menorah with the seven verses of Psalm 67 inscribed in microscript on the seven arms of the candelabrum. The scribe Baruch ben Shemaria from Brest-Litovsk (Belarus) created this manuscript in Amsterdam in 1795 for Aaron ben Abraham Prinz, of Alkmaar in the Netherlands, as noted on the title page. The drawing on f. 1r, a page of calligraphic decoration, depicts the giant Samson as Atlas, since, according to rabbinical tradition, he was endowed with superhuman strength.
Online Since: 12/18/2014
Shelomo bar Joshua Adeni (1567-1625) was a Jewish scholar who devoted himself primarily to the study of the Mishnah (the first major written redaction of the Oral Torah). According to tradition, he spent three decades working on his commentary, writing his own thoughts and remarks in the margins next to and around the text of his printed edition of the complete Mishnah. His notes became so crowded that he himself had difficulty deciphering them, whereupon a patron enabled him to rewrite his collection of thoughts into a coherent work; the result is this Mishnah commentary. The Mishnah consists of six orders; this text is a commentary on the first part, the Zera'im ("Seeds"), pertaining to blessings, prayers and laws related to agriculture. The Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York holds a corresponding commentary on the sixth order of the Mishnah, the Tohorot ("Purities") (MS Rab33). It is dated 1611, so we can assume that our manuscript was written earlier.
Online Since: 03/19/2015
The Roman rite, generally known as Nussah Roma, is the oldest order of prayer outside the ancient lands of Israel and Babylonia, retaining many old Palestinian traditions. The ornamentation of this manuscript includes many attractive initial word panels, decorated with geometric designs and floral pen work, usually in red and blue ink. The illuminated opening page contains the initial word Ribbon (Master [of all Worlds]), which is set within a rectangular panel with red and blue filigree pen work and gold-leaf letters. In the bottom border there is an unidentified family emblem depicting a rampant lion. The manuscript was copied by Samson ben Eljah Halfan, a member of the Halfan family of scribes and scholars, whose ancestors were among a group of Jews who were expelled from France in 1394 and found refuge in Piedmont, in northern Italy.
Online Since: 10/13/2016
This codex contains prayers for the circumcision ceremony. The ceremony, depicted on f. 10r, takes place in a synagogue. The prophet Elijah, who will come in order to announce the advent of the Messiah, is considered to be present at the ceremony. An illustration on f. 18r depicts the blessing over wine. The decoration is the work of the illustrator Uri Fayvesh ben Isaac Segal, who was a prominent representative of the so-called Hamburg-Altona school for the production of 18th-century illuminated manuscripts, and who, according to current research, produced at least five more manuscripts in addition to this one. The title page bears the name of the owner, Joseph ben Samuel, as well as a not yet identified coat of arms with the Order of the Elephant, the highest order of the Royal House of Denmark.
Online Since: 12/18/2014
Apart from the daily prayers, this manuscript also contains kabbalistic commentaries and kavvanot (mystical intentions). In the kabbalistic school of Safed (Upper Galilee), the mystical aspect of prayer, as “the vehicle of the soul's mystical ascent to God,” is of great importance. The authorship of this prayer books is generally attributed to Isaac ben Solomon Luria (1534–1572). The manuscript begins with an unfinished title page that contains a decorative floral border in red, yellow and green, but without any text. In the ornamental colorful border there is the inscription “Samuel ha-Kohen, cantor in Broda,” who is either the copyist or perhaps the person for whom the book was written. The manuscript was a part of the collection of Naphtali Herz van Biema (1836-1901), an Amsterdam collector, whose books were auctioned in 1904. Many of these books had previously belonged to his wife's family of prominent orthodox philanthropists and bibliophiles known as the Amsterdam Lehren family.
Online Since: 10/13/2016
In 1728 Meir Cohen Belinfante copied this decorated psalter from the 1670 printed edition by the Amsterdam printer of Hebrew and Spanish books, David de Castro Tartas, who was active between 1662 and 1698. The manuscript has a decorated title page, which depicts David, the psalmist, and Aaron, making a clear reference to the first name of the patron, whereas the bottom part of this page portrays a scene of the biblical Joseph, making a correlation with the patron's father, also named Joseph. All decorations, including the title page, were executed in brown ink similar to the text ink. At the end of the manuscript, there is a text by the corrector, Isaac Saruk, who praised the precision of the manuscript and wrote a poem in honor of the patron Aaron de Joseph de Pinto, from whom the manuscript takes its name.
Online Since: 10/13/2016