This antiphonary from the 2nd half of the 14th century includes the texts from Pentecost to the end of the liturgical year, as well as the corresponding saints' days and texts for the Commune sanctorum. The origin is unknown, but based on the inclusion of certain saints' days, the manuscript originated in the Cologne area. Written in a uniform script, with neumes on four lines throughout and a few later additions with neumes on five lines; signs of usage and later notes. Five larger and five smaller initials are covered in gold leaf, and in addition there are 36 plainer initials; all initial letters are set off in red or blue, the rubrics are in red. A father from Marienstein, who worked at the Kollegium of Altdorf, received the manuscript second-hand. From there the manuscript came to Mariastein in 1981. Not published.
Online Since: 06/22/2017
This codex from the end of the 15th century contains several appealing initials and select shorter works by Bernard of Clairvaux. Among them are also several works attributed to Bernard. The scribe ist the Cistercian Johannes Fabri, professed member of the monastery of Heilbronn. According to an old entry (17th century?), the book belonged to Beinwil Abbey, which was relocated to Mariastein in 1648.
Online Since: 06/22/2017
This booklet, with notes and decorated with three initials, contains the texts for the Office of the Dead, the seven penitential psalms, and prayers for a deceased Dominican nun, probably in the convent in Colmar. Judging by the script, it is from the first half of the 15th century. The book belonged to Sister Martha Gosslerin. In 1782 it was acquired by Philipp Jakob Steyrer, Abbot of St Peter's Abbey in the Black Forest; through him, the booklet came to Mariastein Abbey.
Online Since: 09/26/2017
This composite manuscript from the middle of the 15th century is from the Augustinian hermitage in Basel. Since 1470, several brothers there cared for the pilgrimage site Mariastein. This volume was probably left there and was found by the monks from Beinwil, when they took over the pilgrimage site in 1636. It contains, among others, sacred (S. Bonaventura), profane (Cicero, Sallust), historical (Piccolomini/Pius II.) and rhetorical (Laurentius de Aquileja) texts. The second part of the volume, containing the Rhetorica , was written in 1465/66 by the Augustinian Matthias Glaser from Breisach in Basel. A fragment glued to the interior of the front cover gives information regarding the content of the volume.
Online Since: 09/26/2017
This work by brother Alonso de Oropesa OSH († 1469) must be considered in the context of the attacks on converted Jews in Spain (and above all in Toledo), the so-called conversos. As a general of the Order of the Hieronymites (since 1457), but also as a close confidant and adviser of King Henry IV of Castile (1454-1474), Alonso advocated a tolerant attitude towards converted Jews. In 1450, he began writing the 'Lumen ad revelationem gentium et gloria plebis Dei Israel' - De unitate fidei et de concordia et pacifica equalitate fidelium (f. 1-203, Tabula 204-207); in 1465, he dedicated the completed book of 52 chapters to the Archbishop Alfonso Carrillo of Toledo (1410-1485). The announced second part of the work apparently was never written.In 1979, Luis A. Diaz y Diaz prepared a Spanish translation based on the three manuscripts then known. The present manuscript has not yet been acknowledged in research; it thus constitutes the fourth manuscript known so far. It was certainly written still in the 15th century and is made up of parchment and paper leaves. Despite its significance, no Latin text edition of the work has yet been prepared.
Online Since: 12/17/2015
This 10th century Latin manuscript originated in the St. Gall scriptorium. It belonged to the Bishop of Strasbourg Erchembald (965-991) and was kept in the Cathedral of Strasbourg. The humanist Wimpheling mentions consulting it in Strasbourg in the early years of the 16th century. This manuscript appeared in the sales catalog of the Ambroise Firmin-Didot collection and was bought by the Mulhouse alderman Armand Weiss (1821-1892); after his death, he left it to the Industrial Society of Mulhouse. The Carolingian Gospel Book was written on vellum and contains 300 initials decorated with gold and silver. The beginning and end of the manuscript contain historical annotations. The original binding no longer exists; it was replaced with a contemporary binding during restoration at the Bibliothèque Nationale around 1970.
Online Since: 12/18/2014
Fragment of an evangeliary written around 800. It contains the pericopes necessary for the entire liturgical year. The surviving parts begin with the pericope for Septuagesima Sunday and suggest that, in addition to Sundays and holidays, gospels were chosen for every Wednesday and Friday, and during Lent - as in the Missale Romanum - for every day of the week. The final part contains the gospels for the votive Mass, however only four pericopes have survived. The script indicates a scriptorium in Raetia Curiensis as place of origin.
Online Since: 09/26/2017
This manuscript lacks a beginning, has much-trimmed margins, and was written by a variety of hands, is datable to the second half through the end of the 9th century. It contains readings from the Gospel texts for the feasts from Christmas through Pentacost as well as those of a few saints. The first words of the Gospel texts were augmented later (12th century) in the outer margin. The text for the feast celebrating the birth of the Archangel Michael (129v-131v) is specially highlighted with a pen sketch of the saint in the margin and a marker in the lower corner. The flyleaf is a notarial document dated 1373 in favour of Isabelle von Neuenburg.
Online Since: 03/22/2012
A manuscript without beginning. The titel was added later (18th century?). The parchment used is very uneven in quality. In the late Middle Ages, probably towards the end of the 15th century, the manuscript was carefully restored, with parts of the text re-copied. This is a choir book in several volumes, which was used for daily Mass by a community of clerics. Numerous additions from the 14th and 15th century attest to its use at Notre-Dame Abbey in Neuchâtel. Two (of four?) volumes have survived. It can be deduced that they follow the calendar in use at St. Jean Cathedral in Besançon. The first volume contains the sanctoral cycle from May 6th until November 30th. In 1813, the governing council donated the volume to the library of Neuchâtel.
Online Since: 12/17/2015
A manuscript without beginning. The titel was added later (18th century?). The parchment used is very uneven in quality. In the late Middle Ages, probably towards the end of the 15th century, the manuscript was carefully restored, with parts of the text re-copied. This is a choir book in several volumes, which was used for daily Mass by a community of clerics. Numerous additions from the 14th and 15th century attest to its use at Notre-Dame Abbey in Neuchâtel. Two (of four?) volumes have survived. It can be deduced that they follow the calendar in use at St. Jean Cathedral in Besançon. Volume II contains the temporal cycle from Holy Saturday until the last Sunday after Pentecost as well as the sanctoral cycle from April 14th until May 3rd. In 1813, the governing council donated the volume to the library of Neuchâtel.
Online Since: 12/17/2015
A book of hours following the liturgical usage of Rome, richly illustrated with full-page miniatures, borders, and initials, written in cursive script (bastarda) which can be dated to about 1500, with texts in Latin, French, and Flemish. The style of the miniatures, especially that of the naturalistic borders with flowers and insects, but also with complete scenes, seems typical of the Ghent-Bruges school.
Online Since: 03/22/2012
Part of a leaf from the third volume (May-June) 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 Passio sanctorum Marci et Marcelliani as well as of the Vita s. Bodardi; it was probably 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). Other fragments from this third volume are in Basel and Solothurn. It shows that this volume, and at least the 6th volume (November-December) of the legendary as well, reached Basel, where both evidently were used as manuscript waste around 1580.
Online Since: 06/13/2019
A Franciscan Gradual written and illuminated in northern Italy (Padua or Bologna), dateable to the first decade of the 14th century. The manuscript was used in the Franciscan cloister of St. Francis of Locarno, which received it together with the antiphonaries de tempore Codice II and Codice III as well as the antiphonary de sanctis Codice IV on the occasion of the re-dedication of the church in 1316. At the end of the text (fol. 181r) is a Praefatio (Statutum pro libris choralibus scribendis), which would normally be placed at the beginning, containing the guidelines for editing choral books for the order. On the last page Brother Giacomo di Rastelli Orelli transcribed some records concerning the cloister: a note about the provision of the library cabinets, the dedication document from the year 1316, and a note about a donation for the purchase of liturgical paraphernalia.
Online Since: 10/04/2011
This Antiphonary contains the first part of the Proprium de Tempore (from the eve of the first Sunday of Advent to the fifth Sunday after Epiphany) and a selection of holy days from the Proprium Sanctorum (from St. Andrew's eve to the Annunciation) for use by the Fransciscans. Written and illuminated in northern Italy (Padua or Bologna), is dateable to the first decade of the 14th century. The manuscript was used in the Franciscan cloister of St. Francis in Locarno, which received it together with the Gradual and the Antiphonaries de tempore Codice III and de sanctis Codice IV on the occasion of the re-dedication of the church in 1316.
Online Since: 10/04/2011
This Antiphonary contains the second part of the Temporale (from the eve of Septuagesima Sunday through the first Sunday in the November calendar) for use by the Franciscans. Written and illuminated in northern Italy (Padua or Bologna), is dateable to the first decade of the 14th century. The manuscript was used in the Franciscan cloister of St. Francis in Locarno, which received it together with the Gradual and the Antiphonaries de tempore Codice II and de Sanctis Codice IV on the occasion of the re-dedication of the church in 1316.
Online Since: 10/04/2011
This Antiphonary contains songs for saints' days, the Office of the Dead, and an Office for Anthony of Padua. It was written and illuminated in northern Italy (Padua or Bologna) and is dateable to the first decade of the 14th century. The manuscript was used in the Franciscan cloister of St. Francis in Locarno, which received it together with the Gradual and the Antiphonaries de tempore Codice II and II Codice III on the occasion of the re-dedication of the church in 1316. The front pastedown had a sheet of paper affixed to it, detached during the most recent restoration, on which both sides contained an annotated plan for a "rivellino", a type of bulwark normally found in fortifications.
Online Since: 10/04/2011
This breviary, which contains only the winter part, is dated to the first half of the 14th century. It is from the diocese of Besançon (with which Porrentruy was also affiliated), as indicated by certain saints that appear in the litanies, such as St. Ferreolus or St. Germanus, the responsories for the Sundays of Advent, as well as the Holy Triduum.
Online Since: 06/22/2017
15th century parchment missal, made for Bishop Johann von Venningen (1458-1478). The expenditure records of Bishop Johann von Venningen permit tracing the individual stages of the making of this missal. This manuscript was created at the same time as ms. 2 and ms. 3. In 1462/1463, the final touches were added to the almost completed manuscript, the illumination, the initials, the fleuronné initials, and especially the attachment of the cover. For convenience, the order of the Ordo and the Canon was changed. Originally meant to be at the beginning of the manuscript, they were finally placed in the middle.
Online Since: 04/09/2014
Pontifical of Johann von Venningen, Bischop of Basel (1458-1478), produced at his request (first part). The expenditure records of Bishop Johann von Venningen permit tracing the individual stages of the making of this Pontifical. This manuscript was created at the same time as ms. 1 and ms. 3. In 1462/1463, the final touches were added to the almost completed manuscript, the illumination, the initials, the fleuronné initials, and especially the attachment of the cover.
Online Since: 04/09/2014
Pontifical of Johann von Venningen, Bischop of Basel (1458-1478), produced at his request (second part). The expenditure records of Bishop Johann von Venningen permit tracing the individual stages of the making of this Pontifical. This manuscript was created at the same time as ms. 1 and ms. 2. In 1462/1463, the final touches were added to the almost completed manuscript, the illumination, the initials, the fleuronné initials, and especially the attachment of the cover.
Online Since: 04/09/2014
This manuscript contains a Latin version of Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, translated and glossed by Robert Grosseteste (1175-1253), Bishop of Lincoln. The decoration of monochrome as well as red and blue fleuronné initials at the beginning of the chapters (e.g., 3r) and the colorfully decorated initials at the beginning of the books (e.g., 1r) attest to an origin in Southwestern Germany in the third quarter of the 15th century. The manuscript was originally part of the episcopal library; during the French Revolution it came to the library of the Jesuit College of Porrentruy; in the 20th century it finally became part of the collection of the Library of the Canton of Jura.
Online Since: 09/23/2014
Missal following the liturgical custom of the Diocese of Basel, datable to around 1300. In the 15th century, a part containing the Ordo Missae was added, preceded by a Crucifixion miniature. The binding was restored in 1992 and replaces the unpreserved original binding.
Online Since: 04/09/2014
First part of a Bible (second part in Ms. 6b) containing the books of the Old Testament from Genesis to Iesus Sirach. The manuscript was produced in the same workshop as Ms. 6b and 6c; based on the style of the initials, it was made in Southwestern Germany during the second third of the 15th century. The decoration consists of small red and blue filigreed initials for the prologues and of larger ornamental initials at the beginning of the books. The manuscript is mentioned in the inventory of Prince-Bishop Philipp von Gundelsheim (1487-1553); according to a note on f. 1r, during the 19th century it became the property of the Jesuit College of Porrentruy, after which it became part of the collection of the Library of the Canton of Jura.
Online Since: 09/23/2014
Second part of a Bible (first part in Ms. 6a) which, as also Ms. 6a and 6c, was produced in Southwestern Germany during the second third of the 15th century. The manuscript consists of two parts: the first part contains the remaining books of the Old Testament (Isaia to II Maccabeorum), the second part contains those of the New Testament. The books in the second part (105r-219v) are introduced by historiated or ornamental initials, while the beginnings of the chapters have blue red filigreed initials. The manuscript is mentioned in the inventory of Prince-Bishop Philipp von Gundelsheim (1487-1553); according to a note on f. 1r, during the 19th century it became the property of the Jesuit College of Porrentruy, after which it became part of the collection of the Library of the Canton of Jura.
Online Since: 09/23/2014
Missal following the liturgical custom of the Diocese of Basel, commissioned by Christoph of Utenheim, prince-bishop of Basel between 1502 and 1527; he had his coat of arms, crossed with that of the Diocese of Basel, painted in the lower margin of f. 2r. The Canon of the Mass, decorated with a historicized initial depicting the Mass of St. Gregory, is not original but was added later. The border with flower decoration in the side margin and the presumed miniature of the Crucifixion in the beginning were removed.
Online Since: 04/09/2014
Given the liturgy and the presence of the Office for the Saint, this breviary originated in St. Lebuinus Church in Deventer (Netherlands). It belonged to Swibert de Keyserswerth (died after 1551), paternal grandfather of the Dutch organist and composer Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck (1562-1621).
Online Since: 04/09/2014
Book of Hours following the custom of the Diocese of Besançon, with the calendar in French. Its decoration is incomplete, which makes it possible to reconstruct the various stages of its production.
Online Since: 04/09/2014
15th century Pontifical. The ceremonies are represented as full page miniatures with ornamental initials, marginal decorations and several lines of text on the model of books of hours; in the text there are many colorful borders and ornamental initials, often with depictions of the liturgical objects mentioned in the text. In addition to the frequently recurring coat of arms of Melchior von Lichtenfels, Archbishop of Basel (1554-1575), there is the coat of arms of Charles de Neufchâtel, Archbishop of Besançon (1463-1498; visible on f. 1r), which gives an indication of the manuscript's date of origin. As many other manuscripts from religious institutions, this manuscript came into the possession of the Jesuit College of Porrentruy during the French Revolution, until in the 20th century it became part of the collection of the Library of the Canton of Jura.
Online Since: 09/23/2014
This manuscript contains the De institutis coenobitorum and the Collationes patrum by John Cassian. It was acquired new by Schönensteinbach Cloister (France), thanks to a donation for this purpose from the nun Magdalena Bechrerin. The manuscript belonged to Franz Joseph Sigismund von Roggenbach, Bishop of Basel from 1782 to 1794. A manuscript with identical content and similar colophon, dated 1408, originated in the Dominican Convent of Nuremberg and is now held in that city's library.
Online Since: 04/09/2014
Paper manuscript dated 1457; it contains a register of canon law with glosses, attributed in the codex itself to Dominicus de S. Geminiano.
Online Since: 04/09/2014
According to the colophon on f. 329v, this Vocabularius brevilogus was copied by the scribe Martinus Hartmann in Hildesheim in 1452. The lemmas are set off by rubricated initials; space was left for larger initials which, with few exceptions, were not realized. In 1505 the then-owner of the manuscript, Johannes Hertlin from Augusta Regia, donated it to the Church of Sts. Alexander and Theodor in Ottobeuren; in the 20th century it has been in the possession of the Library of the Canton of Jura.
Online Since: 09/23/2014
A 15th century Psalter following the liturgical custom of the Collegiate Church of Saint-Ursanne; in form and content it is a perfect copy of the Basel manuscript AN VIII 39. Both pastedowns consist of fragments of Vincent of Beauvais' Speculum historiale; on f. 36r there is a 16th century pen drawing of the Virgin Mary. The manuscript remained in the Collegiate Church of Saint-Ursanne until it came into the possession of the Library of the Canton of Jura in the 20th century.
Online Since: 09/23/2014
Gradual dating from the 12th century, used by the Prémontré order at the Abbey of Bellelay.
Online Since: 04/26/2007
This missal is preceded by a calendar of saints (September-December) containing saints from the regions of Lausanne and of Basel, as well as by a dedication to the cathedrals of these two dioceses. Some parts of the text follow the usage of the diocese of Lausanne, others follow that of the diocese of Basel. A note on the inside cover indicates that the missal comes from Saint-Ursanne.
Online Since: 03/17/2016
This manuscript contains the Legenda aurea by Jacobus de Voragine. Lacunas in the manuscript are due to the loss of several sheets which probably contained historiated initials. The presence of the legend of St. Antidius as well as characteristics of the decoration suggest that the manuscript originated in Besançon.
Online Since: 04/09/2014
This breviary was meant for use in the diocese of Basel. There are still partially visible traces of coats of arms that were painted on ff. 33r, 41r, 129r and 279r and were later erased; these allow the codex to be attributed to Arnold of Rotberg, Bishop of Basel from 1451 to 1458. His successor, Jean de Venningen (1458-1478) noted on f. 5r the repurchase of the manuscript from Porrentruy Castle on June 29th 1461.
Online Since: 03/17/2016
A 9th century volume containing the Gospels, originally from Saint-Ursanne.
Online Since: 03/24/2006
This manuscript, entitled “Protocol 3”, contains election documents, credentials and other documents by Louis, Abbot of Lucelle: “Protocol 3, anno 1473 super varia instrumenta electioni chartas visitatorias, litteras commendatitias credentiales, coeteraque formularia à Ludovico abbate Lucellensi”. It comprises an index (ff. 159r-162v) and an ex-libris dated 1630 on the flyleaf (V1r).
Online Since: 10/08/2020
This complete Gradual (square notation) contains the temporal (f. 1r-70v), the sanctoral and the Commune Sanctorum (f. 70v–103v), votive masses (f. 103v-107v), the Kyriale and litanies (f. 107v–111v), antiphons and processional responsories (f. 112r–113v), the tropes of the Kyrie Cunctipotens and Fons bonitatis (f. 113v–115r) and several additions from the 14th century (f. 115r-127v). According to the analysis of the calendar, this copy could date back to the middle of the 13th century, between 1246 (mention of Saint Lambert by the first hand, f. 100r) and 1255 (no mention of the mass for Saint Dominic on August 5th, f. 95r). Contrary to what is suggested by the labels (back and inside cover), this codex was copied before the end of the 1260s, since the mass of Saint Anthony (f. 75v) was noted by a second hand. In addition, f. 98v contains no mention of an octave of St. Bernard, which is usually included in all Cistercian books from 1295 on. A study of the musical and liturgical content shows that manuscript FiD 5, which is a faithful copy of the older Gradual of the order (Abbazia Tre Fontane 47, around 1140/1143), probably originated in Hautcrêt Abbey (Oron VD), which was the motherhouse of Fille-Dieu until 1536.
Online Since: 03/22/2018
This missal is from the church of Glatt an der Glatt in Southern Germany, a property of Muri Abbey. It was created in the second half of the 13th century. Numerous marginalia from the 14th-15th century testify that it was intensively used.
Online Since: 12/20/2016
This Missale speciale was created in 1333, probably at Muri Abbey, for the Chapel of St. Lawrence in Wallenschwil. It contains the texts for those masses that were read in the chapel in the course of the year.
Online Since: 12/20/2016
This Book of Hours is from a Bavarian Franciscan nuns' convent. It contains the Office of the Virgin, the Penitential Psalms and the Office of the Dead. Its presence in Muri has been attested since 1790.
Online Since: 10/08/2015
This small 12th century prayer book, the oldest in the German language, was written for a woman. It contains various prayers in German and Latin, including the famous "Mary Sequence of Muri" ("Mariensequenz aus Muri"), the oldest known German language version of the Latin sequence model, the Ave preclara maris stella. During the 19th century the manuscript was linked to Queen Agnes (ca. 1281-1364), who had lived in the Cloister of Königsfeld. It is listed in the manuscript catalog of the monastery of Muri as of 1790.
Online Since: 06/22/2010
This large-format manuscript from the 14th century contains the oldest version of an illustrated copy of the so-called Klosterneuburger Evangelienwerk, a German prose translation of the Gospels, together with the Lives of the Apostles and various Apocrypha from the New Testament. Over 400 pen and ink wash drawings, irregularly interspersed throughout the manuscript, accompany and illustrate the text.
Online Since: 12/09/2008
This large-format paper manuscript containg the German rendition of the Franciscan Nicholas of Lyra's commentary on the Psalter (Postilla super Psalterium) was given to the Stadbibliothek in 1646 by Sebastian Grübel (note of donation, f. 2r). Contrary to what has long been assumed, Heinrich von Mügeln was not responsible for the translation, but rather an anonymous person known to the scientific community as the “Österreichischer Bibelübersetzer” [“Austrian Bible-translator”], who is also deemed the author of the “Klosterneuburger Evangelienwerk” (cf. Stadtbibliothek Schaffhausen, Gen. 8). The manuscript, written in northeastern High Alemannic, was copied in a book cursive by at least two hands, probably in southwestern Germany in the third quarter of the fifteenth century. Ornamentation is limited to red lombards, some of which are pen-flourished (f. 178v) and a five-line green leaf and flower initial (fol. 2r).
Online Since: 12/14/2022
This manuscript of 182 leaves can be dated to the last quarter of the 15th century and can be placed in the area between Ulm and Memmingen (linguistically Swabian). The binding, made of wooden boards covered in leather and featuring a clasp, was made by a bookbinder who was active in Memmingen. The three treatises in the manuscript are from the field of pharmacology/medical science: the “Büchlein der Ordnung der Pestilenz” (2r-47v) by Heinrich Steinhöwel, the Ulmer Wundarznei (50r-144r) and “Von den gebrannten Wässern” by Michael Puff (147r-179v). The text is augmented with drawings of instruments (96v, 97r, 98v, 99r, 148v). Magnus Bengger (who names himself on 179v) should be considered the scribe; he also copied manuscript Schaffhausen Gen. 9, which likewise contains medical works. He uses a cursiva libraria. In several places, drolleries in the shape of faces spread from individual letters, always in the first line (e.g., 45v, 50r). The chapter titles, the (decorated) initials at the beginning of a chapter, dots at half-height, as well as individual, usually Latin words in the text generally are rubricated. Sentence-initial lexemes, however, are marked by Lombard initials in red. In keeping with the character of a medical housebook, to which one can add one's own recipes, there are additions by four other hands (mostly between or after the treatises, such as 48r, 145r, 180r).
Online Since: 10/04/2018
Part of a complete bible in four volumes, three of which have survived (Min. 2, Min. 3, Min. 4), listed in the Allerheiligen Abbey register of books from about 1100 (Min. 17, f. 306v). Contents: Samuel, Kings, Chronicles. Written in two columns, by one hand, with numerous corrections on erasures. The initial I on the incipit page (f. 7v) corresponding to 24 lines, the F on the ornamental page (f. 10v) corresponding to 22 lines, and the initials with scroll ornamentation at the beginning of the individual books and prologues are executed in pen with red ink; their inner grounds are pale blues and greens, which differ from the rich colors in Min. 3 and Min. 4. Signs of wear and discoloration on f. 1r and f. 261v suggest that the manuscript remained unbound until it received its current binding in the 15th century. The wooden boards are covered with brown Cuir de Cordoue embossed with animal and plant motifs; the same motifs also decorate the perforated base plate of the two central brass bosses.
Online Since: 06/22/2017
Part of a complete bible in four volumes, three of which have survived (Min. 2, Min. 3, Min. 4), listed in the Allerheiligen Abbey register of books from about 1100 (Min. 17, f. 306v). Contents: poetic books (Proverbs to Sirach), Tobias, Judith, Esther, Ezra, Maccabees. Written in two columns, by one hand, with contemporaneous corrections. Later marginalia and glosses by various hands attest to intensive use of the manuscript into the 14th century. The P on the ornamental page (f. 7v) corresponding to 15 lines and the initials with scroll ornamentation at the beginning of the individual books and prologues are executed in pen with red ink. As in Min. 4, their inner grounds are in rich blues and greens, which differ from the pale colors in Min. 2. 12th century Romanesque leather binding with decorative lines and two clasps.
Online Since: 06/22/2017
Part of a four-volume Latin Bible in parchment, produced in the scriptorium of Allerheiligen monastery in Schaffhausen shortly after 1080. The codex has numerous initials with scroll ornaments, a page decorated with colours and gold featuring an initial V (the vision of Isaiah), and a historiated inital with scroll ornaments (the calling of Jeremiah), in which the influence of manuscripts from Reichenau can be recognized. Along with Min. 18, Min. 4 is one of the most important codices from the prime of Allerheiligen, when the monastery, founded in 1049, supported, under Abbot Siegfried (d. 1096), the reforms of Hirsau and, for this purpose established a library.
Online Since: 10/04/2011
A complete Latin Bible in fine, extremely white parchment, copied and illuminated in the region of Lake Constance in the first half of the fourteenth century. Two- to eight-line framed, mostly figurated initials in colors and gold introduce the prologue and the Biblical books. At the beginning there are two illuminated pages, each with six medallions (colored pen-drawings) in which are depicted episodes from the history of Creation up to the expulsion from Eden, Noah's ark and the sacrifice of Isaac. The manuscript is attested in Schaffhausen from the fifteenth century. Min. 6 is one of the most beautiful manuscripts of the Ministerial Library, and present a unity of parchment, script and book decoration.
Online Since: 10/04/2011
Gospel book in parchment, produced in the tenth century, probably in Halberstadt. The tables of canons are rendered under red arched columns, and a pen drawing depicts each evangelist on an entire page, along with his symbols. Min. 8 is one of the oldest manuscripts of the Ministerial Library; the codex is attested in the library of the monastery of Allerheiligen since 1357.
Online Since: 10/04/2011
A copy on parchment of Part 1 of the Commentaries on the Minor Prophets by Jerome. An otherwise unknown artist contributed to this manuscript, created after 1100 in the scriptorium of the monastery of Allerheiligen in Schaffhausen. The initial “I” in gold and opaque paints on the Incipt page (1v) is his work: a bear, two birds of prey, and a dog frolic among grape-covered vines; a lion tears into a rabbit, a rooster and a fox feast on the grapes, and a hunter spears a boar. The beginning of the text (4r) has been decorated by the same artist with an initial “V”, in the gold tendrils of which four animals (dragon, dog, bird of prey, deer) are artfully entwined.
Online Since: 12/19/2011
This manuscript, a copy of 59 letters by Jerome created in the scriptorium of the monastery of Allerheiligen (All Saints) in Schaffhausen, is mentioned in the supplements to the booklist of the monastery in Schaffhausen (Min. 17, f. 306v). Evidence for dating the manuscript around 1100 comes from the Romanesque binding and the style of the initials with scroll ornamentation. A note of ownership by the monastery from the year 1365 and a note that the manuscript was borrowed by Frater Jacobus Winkelshan in that same year testify to the use of the codex in the late Middle Ages.
Online Since: 12/13/2013
This copy of Augustine's Enarrationes in psalmos 1–50, written in two columns, is listed in the supplements to the Allerheiligen Abbey register of books from about 1100 (Min. 17, f. 306v); together with Min. 16, it completes the older Min. 17. Beautiful parchment, the same layout with large margins as in Min. 16, several hands. The initials with scroll ornamentation are rather small and often are not completed. The ornate decorative capital on the incipit page (f. 1v) confirms that it was created later. Judging by its shape, the leather binding is Romanesque and was equipped with five bosses and clasps in the 14th/15th century. The handwritten note of ownership on the front pastedown and the title label on the back cover probably are from the same period.
Online Since: 09/26/2017
This copy of Augustine's Enarrationes in psalmos 51-100, written in two columns, is listed in the supplements to the Allerheiligen Abbey register of books from about 1100 (Min. 17, f. 306v); together with Min. 15, it completes the older Min. 17. Beautiful parchment, the same layout with large margins as in Min. 15, several hands. The I on the incipit page (f. 1r) and the Q on the page with the decorative initial (f. 3v) are executed in gold and opaque paint and are protected by sewed-on fabric. The 12th century binding was redone and historiated in the 19th century.
Online Since: 09/26/2017
This copy of Augustine's Enarrationes in psalmos 101-150 is written in two columns; several hands contributed to this manuscript. Although it is the third of three volumes, Min. 17 is older than Min. 15 and Min. 16, which complete it. The I on the incipit page (f. 1r), the E on the page with the decorative initial (f. 2v), and the initial E with scroll ornamentation on f. 1v are drawn in red and have light blue and light green inner grounds. There are red pen and ink drawings of initials with scroll ornamentation stretching over 12-15 lines at the beginnings of the psalms. The binding probably is from the 19th century. Discolorations and reinforcements on f. 1r and f. 307v suggest that the manuscript remained unbound for a while, which may explain the loss of a quire after f. 199. The great significance of Min. 17 arises from its listing in the Allerheiligen Abbey register of books from about 1100 (f. 306v), which mentions books that were acquired or were copied in the abbey's scriptorium during the time of Abbot Siegfried (deceased 1094) and in the first years after his death.
Online Since: 09/26/2017
A parchment copy of Augustine's treatise on the Gospel of John, which was produced shortly after 1080 in the scriptorium of the monastery of Allerheiligen in Schaffhausen. The manuscript contains numerous initials with scroll ornaments, a decorated page in colors and gold with an initial I in the margin and a historiated C (Last Supper) in gold, in which the influence of the manuscripts of Reichenau can be observed. Along with Min. 4, Min. 18 is one of the most important codices from the prime of Allerheiligen, when the monastery, founded in 1049, supported, under Abbot Siegfried (d. 1096), the reforms of Hirsau and, for this purpose established a library.
Online Since: 10/04/2011
This copy of Augustine's De civitate Dei, written in two columns and executed by several hands, has numerous corrections, variants and Nota monograms in the margins; it is listed in the supplements to the Allerheiligen Abbey register of books from about 1100 (Min. 17, f. 306v). The volume opens with an incipit page and an ornate decorative page with the initial E in a red pen and ink drawing on a light green background. Red initials with scroll ornamentation stretching over 10-12 lines mark the beginning of individual books. A quire was lost between f. 137/138 and between f. 193/194, before this codex, like many others, received a new binding in the 15th century with metal bosses, two clasps and the title written on the front cover; as with Min. 20, Min. 24, Min. 40, Min. 53, Min. 55 and Min. 104, fragments from a 14th century necrology of Allerheiligen Abbey were used as back flyleaf and pastedown (f. 292, 293).
Online Since: 09/26/2017
This is a meticulous copy of Augustine's De trinitate, written in a single-column; it has an opening page and a page with a decorative initial, as well as several initials with scroll ornamentation of varying heights at the beginning of each book. The manuscript is listed in the Allerheiligen Abbey register of books from about 1100 (Min. 17, f. 306v). In the 15th century this codex, like many others, received a new leather binding with metal bosses and two clasps; as with Min. 24 and Min. 40, fragments from a 14th century necrology of All Saints Abbey were used as pastedowns and flyleaves.
Online Since: 06/23/2016
This copy of a collection of authentic and spurious sermons by Augustine, written in a single-column and undecorated except for an initial with scroll ornamentation, is listed in the Allerheiligen Abbey register of books from about 1100 (Min. 17, f. 306v). In the 15th century this codex, like many others, received a new leather binding with metal bosses and two clasps; fragments of a 14th century necrology were used as pastedowns.
Online Since: 06/25/2015
This manuscript is a copy of a collection of authentic and spurious sermons by Augustine containing Collectio quinquaginta homiliarum as well as a sermon by Haymo of Halberstadt; it is written in a single-column and undecorated except for an initial with scroll ornamentation. The manuscript is listed in the Allerheiligen Abbey register of books from about 1100 (Min. 17, f. 306v). In the 15th century this codex, like many others, received a new leather binding with metal bosses and a clasp as well as a title label on Ir. In the 20th century a narrow fragment of an Irish manuscript, used as a reinforcing strip, was discovered and removed.
Online Since: 06/25/2015
This copy of Augustine's De doctrina christiana was written by a single hand in one column; it has a beautiful opening page and explicit in display script. The manuscript is listed in the Allerheiligen Abbey register of books from about 1100 (Min. 17, f. 306v). In the 15th century this codex, like many others, received a new leather binding with an inscribed front cover, metal bosses and a clasp, as well as a title label on 1r.
Online Since: 06/25/2015
This copy of several works by Augustine was written by a single hand in one column; it has a beautiful opening page with a table of contents as well as an initial with scroll ornamentation. The manuscript is listed in the Allerheiligen Abbey register of books from about 1100 (Min. 17, f. 306v). In the 15th century this codex, like many others, received a new leather binding with an inscribed front cover, metal bosses and a clasp, as well as a title label on 1r.
Online Since: 06/25/2015
This single-column manuscript contains five partly incomplete texts by Augustine; it consists of two parts that clearly differ from one another, but that have been a single unit since before 1100, as can be seen from the entry in the Allerheiligen Abbey register of books from about 1100 (Min. 17, f. 306v). While the second part (69 ff.) is undecorated, the first part has an incipit page and an initial with scroll ornamentation. In the 15th century this codex, like many others, received a new leather binding with an inscribed front cover, metal bosses and a clasp, as well as a title label on 1r; a fragment from a 12th century missal with neumes was used for the front pastedown.
Online Since: 06/25/2015
This single-column copy of five texts by Augustine is undecorated except for an initial with scroll ornamentation; the manuscript is listed in the All Saints Abbey register of books from about 1100 (Min. 17, f. 306v). In the 19th century this codex received a new binding using the original Romanesque wooden boards.
Online Since: 06/25/2015
This single-column manuscript contains, in addition to two works by Augustine, the Allerheiligen Abbey Library's only copy of a work by Alcuin (commentary on Genesis); the manuscript is listed in the Allerheiligen Abbey register of books from about 1100 as an addendum (Min. 17, f. 306v). The display script in the beginning, the three initials with scroll ornamentation, and the incipit page of the Genesis commentary stylistically suggest a later origin. Particular mention should be made of the original period Romanesque binding; only the labels on the spine are a later addition.
Online Since: 06/25/2015
This copy of texts and letters by Augustine is written in a single column and is undecorated except for two initials with scroll ornamentation; the manuscript is listed in the All Saints Abbey register of books from about 1100 (Min. 17, f. 306v). The period table of contents (1r) underscores the unity of the manuscript, to the writing of which numerous hands contributed. Particular mention should be made of the Romanesque binding, which has been preserved without later alterations.
Online Since: 06/25/2015
This manuscript is a copy of Augustine's De Genesi ad literam; it is written in a single-column and undecorated except for one page with a decorative initial. The manuscript is listed in the Allerheiligen Abbey register of books from about 1100 (Min. 17, f. 306v). In the 15th century this codex, like many others, received a new leather binding with metal bosses and two clasps. As with Min. 44, a fragment from a 13th century manuscript was used as front pastedown; in addition, a bifolium from Cassiodors Historia ecclesiastica was bound into the front.
Online Since: 06/23/2016
This is a mostly undecorated copy of the second book of Gregory's Homeliae in Ezechielem, written in a single-column. The manuscript is listed in the Allerheiligen Abbey register of books from about 1100 (Min. 17, f. 306v). Onto the verso of the first leaf and the recto of the last, which perhaps were originally intended as pastedowns, there later were copied documents from the 12th century. In the 15th century this codex, like many others, received a new leather binding with metal bosses and two clasps.
Online Since: 06/23/2016
This unadorned, single-column copy of Gregory's Dialogues, in which many hands had a share, has numerous gaps as well as later erasures and corrections. The manuscript is listed in the Allerheiligen Abbey register of books from about 1100 (Min. 17, f. 306v); however, except for an addition to the text from the 12th century (f 58 r/v), it was not written in Schaffhausen. It remains to be determined whether it served as (one of) the models for Min. 48. Signs of wear on the first (f 1r) and last (f 121v) page suggest that the manuscript remained unbound until the 15th century when, like many others, it received a leather binding with metal bosses and two clasps.
Online Since: 10/13/2016
This manuscript, listed in the supplements to the Allerheiligen Abbey register of books from about 1100 (Min. 17, f. 306v), consists of two parts. The first part contains a careful copy of Gregory's Dialogues in a single-column, which is also transmitted in Min. 47; it has a page with a decorative initial (f 1r) and a portrait of the author (f 1v). Especially remarkable are the life of Benedict in Book 2 (f 23r) and the beginnings of Book 3 (38r) and 4 (69r), which exhibit large initials with scroll ornamentation. The binding is Romanesque; it is not clear whether quire V between f 32v and f 33r was missing from the start or whether it was lost during a modern restoration. The second part (from f 104r, quires XV to XVIII) contains a mostly undecorated copy of the life of John Eleymon by Leontios of Neapolis.
Online Since: 10/13/2016
This is the first part of a six-volume copy of Gregory's Moralia in Iob (Min. 50-55), containing Books 1-5; it is listed in the Allerheiligen Abbey register of books from about 1100 (Min. 17, f. 306v). It is written in a single column and is mostly undecorated except for the incipit page (f. 1r) and an initial with scroll ornamentation (f. 1v). On f. 129 sermo by Odo of Cluny. Discolorations and signs of wear on the first (f. 1r) and last (f. 132v) page suggest that the manuscript remained unbound until the 15th century when, like many others, it received a leather binding with metal bosses and two clasps. Two leaves from Min. 110 (2nd half of the 12th century) were used as pastedowns.
Online Since: 10/13/2016
This is the fourth part of a six-volume copy of Gregory's Moralia in Iob (Min. 50-55), containing Books 17-22 and designated as IIII. Pars on f. 1r; it is listed in the Allerheiligen Abbey register of books from about 1100 (Min. 17, f. 306v). It is written in a single column, is clean, and is undecorated except for an initial with scroll ornamentation. In the 15th century this codex, like many others, received a new leather binding with metal bosses, two clasps and a title label (1r). As with Min. 20, Min. 24, Min. 40 and Min. 55, fragments from a 14th century necrology of All Saints Abbey were used as flyleaves (f. 169r-v; the front flyleaf has been lost).
Online Since: 03/22/2017
This is the fifth part of a six-volume copy of Gregory's Moralia in Iob (Min. 50-55), containing Books 23-27 and designated as quinta pars on f. 3r; it is listed in the Allerheiligen Abbey register of books from about 1100 (Min. 17, f. 306v). It is written in a single column and is undecorated except for a full-page, not entirely completed initial with scroll ornamentation on the incipit page (f. 3r). Bifolios from another copy of Book 23 of the Moralia (f. 1v–2v, 100r–101v), also produced at All Saints Abbey, were used as pastedowns/flyleaves for the Romanesque binding.
Online Since: 03/22/2017
This is the sixth part of a six-volume copy of Gregory's Moralia in Iob (Min. 50-55), containing Books 28-35; it is listed in the Allerheiligen Abbey register of books from about 1100 (Min. 17, f. 306v). It is written in a single column, is clean and is written by several hands, with an incipit page (f. 2v), a full-page initial with scroll ornamentation (f. 3r), and more initials with scroll ornamentation at the beginning of each book. At the end (f. 183v–185v) there are copies of four documents from the years 1090-1122. In the 15th century this codex, like many others, received a new leather binding with metal bosses, two clasps and a title label (f. 1r). As with Min. 20, Min. 24, Min. 40 and Min. 53, fragments from a 14th century necrology of All Saints Abbey were used as flyleaves (f. 1r-v and 186r-v).
Online Since: 03/22/2017
Second volume of the libri II omeliarum et sermonum per totum annum, with Sermones de tempore (f. 1v), Sermones de sanctis (f. 136v) and Sermones de communi sanctorum (f. 237v) for the period from Pentecost until the end of the liturgical year; it is listed in the supplements to the Allerheiligen Abbey register of books from about 1100 (Min. 17, f. 306v). This manuscript is written in two columns and, except for the last, incomplete page, by one and the same hand; with numerous initials with scroll ornamentation in red ink stretching across up to 20 lines and with emphasized fonts, it is among the most beautiful manuscripts created at All Saints Abbey. In the 15th century, this codex, like many others, received a new leather binding with metal bosses and two clasps; f. 1 (detached since then) served as pastedown, the back pastedown (after f. 287) is missing.
Online Since: 09/26/2017
This manuscript consists of four parts from different eras. The first part (ff. 1r-59v, 2nd half of the 13th century) contains Bonaventure's Breviloquium; the second part (ff. 60r-153v, 13th-14th century) contains excerpts from the Talmud; the third part (ff. 154r-239v, 14th century) contains sermons by the Franciscan Gualterus de Brugis as well as the text Pharetra by Pseudo-Bonaventure; finally, the fourth part (240r-268v, first half of the 14th century) contains the collection of sermons Rusticani by the Franciscan Berthold of Regensburg. The Extractiones de Talmud are especially interesting since they represent the largest surviving corpus of Latin translations of the Talmud and since they were produced in Paris in 1244/1245, at the time of the revision of the condemnation of the Talmud, which had been proclaimed in 1240/1241. The version in this codex has the translations organized not following the order of the treatises, but instead thematically, according to the various arguments. The binding from the last century, for which parts of an old binding were reused and which shows traces of a chain, indicates that the manuscript originated in the Franciscan monastery of Schaffhausen.
Online Since: 03/29/2019
This Pontifical contains, in addition to the characteristic liturgical texts, instructions (ordines) for the bishops in case of election, appointment and coronation of a king, or for the coronation of an emperor or empress. The manuscript contains three full-page pen drawings: A dedication picture (2v), a coronation scene (29r) and, on the verso of the coronation scene, a depiction of an emperor enthroned (29v). The mention in the text of St. Nonnosus, whose relics were transferred to Freising Cathedral around the middle of the 11th century, suggests that the manuscript originated at a Benedictine monastery in southeastern Germany. The manuscript has been held in Schaffhausen for more than 900 years, where it is mentioned in the manuscript catalog of Allerheiligen around 1100.
Online Since: 10/08/2020
Most parts of this missal, some of with neumes, were produced in about 1100. After 1200 they were bound together with a more recent addition. The characteristic initials with twining branches, the inclusion of the feast days of local saints in the calendar, the additional section, and other addenda indicate that the missal was produced in the monastery of Allerheiligen (All Saints) in Schaffhausen and remained in use there over the course of many centuries. It is one of the few liturgical manuscripts from this monastery that survived the Reformation.
Online Since: 12/19/2011
The first part of a breviary intended for use by a Franciscan, perhaps a Poor Clare, was referred to as Horae canonicae in earlier literature. It was written in 1459 on high quality parchment by the well known scribe Johannes Frauenlob. The coats of arms of Constance families Schatz and Guldinast allow us to make inferences about who commissioned it. Rich book decoration includes gold-grounded initials, filigree, and margin borders. About 30 figured and illustrated initials by two stylistically distinct hands, of which the first is distinguished by particular virtuosity: «Der mit zahllosen Farbpunkten vorgenommene Farbauftrag, die heitere Rankenmalerei […] und auch das geschärfte Verständnis für Fernwirkung bei Landschaftsdarstellungen sind beinahe einzigartig für diese Zeit in der Bodenseemalerei.» (Bernd Konrad).
Online Since: 12/19/2011
The second part of a breviary intended for use by a Franciscan, perhaps a Poor Clare, was referred to as Horae canonicae in earlier literature. It was written in 1459 on high quality parchment by the well known scribe Johannes Frauenlob. Rich book decoration includes gold-grounded initials, filigree, and margin borders. 12 figured and illustrated initials by two stylistically distinct hands, of which the first is distinguished by particular virtuosity. Together with the preceding volume Min. 98, this manuscript is considered «zu den schönsten Büchern des 15. Jahrhunderts am Bodensee». (Bernd Konrad)
Online Since: 12/19/2011
This copy of seven hagiographic texts, to which a Vita Longini (f. 143v) was added a short while later, is listed in the Allerheiligen Abbey register of books from about 1100 (Min. 17, f. 306v); it is written in a single column and is undecorated except for a few initials with scroll ornamentation. The yellowish discoloration of f. 1r and f. 145v suggests that the manuscript remained unbound until the second half of the 15th century, when like many others, it received a leather binding with metal bosses and a clasp. As with Min. 19, Min. 20, Min. 24, Min. 40, Min. 53 and Min. 55, fragments from a 14th century necrology of All Saints Abbey were used as pastedowns (f. I, f. 146).
Online Since: 06/22/2017
This copy of excerpts from books 3 to 6 of the Vitas Patrum (Palladius Helenopolitanus, Evagrius Ponticus, among others) is listed in the Allerheiligen Abbey register of books from about 1100 (Min. 17, f. 306v); it is written in a single column and is executed by several rather unpracticed hands on rough parchment with holes and patched areas. Except for two initials with scroll ornamentation in red with pale blue and green inner grounds (f. 3r), the manuscript is undecorated. The discoloration on f. 1r and f. 148v suggests that the manuscript remained unbound until the second half of the 15th century, when it received a yellowish leather binding with decorative lines. Documents from 1414 and 1413 were used as front and back pastedowns, respectively; the watermark of the flyleaves (f. I, 149) can be dated to 1455.
Online Since: 06/22/2017
According to an ownership seal this parchment manuscript was completed before 1318. Scribe and place of origin are unknown. It contains commentaries in Latin by the Dominican Albertus Magnus (ca. 1200-1280) on the six foundation texts of medieval instruction in logic. Their wording was altered during the 14th century using a text handed down by a separate tradition, familiar today mainly through Italian Renaissance manuscripts. The resulting hybrid text, with good, though often singular, textual variations, is of particular importance for the edition of these commentaries. The manuscript has been held by the Schaffhausen Bibliotheca Publica in the Church of St. Johann since 1589.
Online Since: 06/22/2010
The 13th-century manuscript is composed of three parts. The first part contains Aristotelian and pseudo-Aristotelian works in Latin translation. The second part contains 'De mineralibus' and 'De natura loci' by Albertus Magnus. The third part consists of a commentary by Michael Scotus on Johannes de Sacrobosco's work about the heavenly spheres, an anonymous commentary on the Arithmetic of Boethius, and the commentary by Averroës on Aristotle's 'De longitudine et brevitate vitae'. This manuscript is among the finest examples of Italian secular book production from the last third of the 13th century, and it is one of the earlier illuminated Aristotelian manuscripts.
Online Since: 03/24/2006
Missal preceded by a calendar of the Diocese of Sion. The decoration consists of pen-flourish initials at the beginning of the most important holidays (e.g. 8r, 14v, 82r, 92r) and an image of the crucifix in the Canon of the Mass (101r). Thomas Züren of Unterwassern, one of the three copyists, explains in the colophon (193vb) that the volume was produced on the order of Clemens of Ulrichen for the altar of the Virgin in Aragno (Ernen).
Online Since: 10/13/2016
This impressive gradual contains the sanctorale, the Commune Sanctorum, votive masses and a Kyriale. The registered feasts for the two saints Francis of Assisi and Anthony of Padua, the most important saints of the Franciscans, prove that it is intended for the use of the Friars Minor. The first of the eight decorated initials (f. 1r, 7v, 29r, 32r, 34v, 43r, 46v, 121v) also confirms the Franciscan use: the D(ominus secus mare) contains the name of Jesus in the form of the trigram "yhs" surrounded by rays of sunlight, which is the attribute of the Franciscan preacher, St. Bernard of Siena (1388-1440). The beautiful initials on a gold ground extend into the borders with leaves, multicolored flowers and gold dots arranged in a fan shape, some of which even contain birds and butterflies (f. 1r, 34v, 46v). The origin of the manuscript is completely unknown. At best it can be compared with another manuscript from the State Archives of Valais, the Franciscan Antiphonary AVL 507, since both works were bound in the same workshop in the 18th century, an indication that their common origin is probable. The binding has since been restored by Andrea Giovannini (1989).
Online Since: 12/10/2020
This antiphonary (winter part of the temporale), copied by a single hand, has a number of gaps in the text (for example, the beginning is missing). The chants in square notation are separated either by simple alternating blue and red initials, or by larger initials, in part with pen flourishes. In addition, the manuscript is decorated with four historiated initials, from which extend elegant, straight and ringed shafts with gold dots, ending in long, colored leaves that curl and uncurl (f. 54v, 89v, 108v, 210r). In terms of color and style, they are close to late 13th century production in Emilia. Instead of the traditional iconography of King David praying before God, the initial introducing the chant "Domine ne in ira" (f. 108v) depicts a cleric with tonsure – St. Francis or a Franciscan? –, which probably refers to the fact that the manuscript was intended for the use by the Minorites. Both the monastery for which the manuscript was originally intended and its later provenance history are unknown. This copy can at most be associated with one other manuscript from the State Archives of Valais, the Franciscan gradual AVL 506; both works were bound in the same workshop in the 18th century, which likely is an indication of their common origin. The binding has since been restored by R. Bommer in Basel (1998).
Online Since: 12/10/2020
The original parts of the calendar indicate that this missal was meant for use in the Diocese of Lausanne, whereas the later entries attest to its presence and use in the celebration of the Mass in the Diocese of Sion at the latest since 1300. Three special sequences suggest that the missal originated in the Abbey of St. Maurice (188v: sequence of Theodulf Collaudetur rex virtutum; 190r: sequence of Augustine Augustino laude demus and 189r: sequence of Maurice Pangat Syon dulce melos). The Canon of the Mass is decorated with an illuminated initial, with the Vere dignum, and with a frame showing the crucifixion, the Virgin and St. John (97v). The most important holidays are introduced with decorated initials on a gold background (4v, 13rb, 17ra, 18ra etc.). In 1981, the Valais State Archives purchased this codex on the antiquarian book market.
Online Since: 10/13/2016
This manuscript of Six âges du monde, created in France at the end of the 14th century or at the very beginning of the 15th century, appears towards the end of the Middle Ages in the library of the Supersaxo family, one of the most important libraries of Valais, which today is held in the Médiathèque Valais-Sion and (this manuscript) in the State Archives of Valais in Sion. The work is remarkable in more ways than one: first, it was created in the rarely-used scroll format, a format reserved for, among others, universal chronicles, a genre to which this manuscript belongs. Second, a complex family tree, showing the descendants of Adam until the birth of Christ, runs the entire length (eight meters) of the manuscript. The columns of text of this impressive graphic document are accompanied by numerous drawings that resemble the style of Parisian works. Finally, this exemplar is not unique, since the municipal library of Reims owns a similar scroll (ms. 61), which certainly was illustrated by the same master.
Online Since: 03/22/2017
Antiphonary with musical notation whose text transmits the Sion Ordinal, contains the winter portion of the Proprium de tempore and, as an appendix, the Officium Defunctorum. This two-part parchment codex was probably written in the year 1347 by the same hand that produced Codex Ms. 2, held by the Sion Chapter Archive.
Online Since: 12/21/2010
This antiphonary with musical notation from the year 1347 is by the same hand as Codex Ms. 1 from the Sion Chaper Archive. The manuscript contains the Officium visitationes BMV, the Proprium de sanctis (from Andreas to Katharina), the Commune sanctorum and, in a section that was added later, additional short texts. Like the Proprium de tempore in Codex Ms. 1, the text in this antiphonary transmits the Sion Ordinary.
Online Since: 12/21/2010
This manuscript, which is missing the first two leaves, contains a colophon on the verso side of the last leaf (299v). The 13th century colophon informs us that this three-volume Valère Bible was a gift from Willencus of Venthône, dean of the lower church of the Cathedral of Our Lady of Sion (Glarier), to the community of canons of Sion around 1195, on the occasion of the feast of the Epiphany. This work can be associated with certain Carthusian bibles, especially with a bible in four volumes that belonged to a daughter of the Grande Chartreuse (Grenoble, B.M., Mss 14, 13, 25, 15 rés. (19-21 and 25)). The order of the Old Testament Books in the Valère Bible does indeed show agreement on all points with that in the “Bible in four volumes.” Furthermore, the initial in the Book of Genesis from the Sion bible is practically identical with the “I” of Genesis from the Carthusian bible.
Online Since: 10/13/2016
This manuscript, the end of which is damaged, belongs to the genre of giant Bibles created in central Italy between the mid-11th and mid-12th centuries in the context of the Gregorian reform. In the form that we know it today, this manuscript presents the first volume of a complete Bible which was composed of two separate and independent volumes. The second volume is missing at this time. The giant Bible of Sion contains the first part of the Old Testament according to the Vulgate: the Octateuch (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth), the books of Kings, the Major Prophets, the twelve Minor Prophets, Job, and in the last part an incomplete selection of Psalms (Ps. 1-93:22a). This Bible has been held since its creation in the Cathedral Chapter Archive of Sion, to which it was probably presented by Bishop Ermenfroid (1055-1087/1092), who was among the leading figures behind the Gregorian reform in the dioceses of the Second Kingdom of Burgundy.
Online Since: 12/21/2010
This Missale Speciale Sedunense was written for the Sion bishop William of Raron (Guillermus de Rarognia) († 1451) in 1439 by Johannes Thieboudi. The parchment codex contains, in addition to a calendar, the Proprium de tempore, the Ordo et canon missae, the Commune sanctorum, the Proprium de sanctis (from Hilarius to Thomas the Apostle) and the Missae pro defunctis. An appendix includes three votive masses.
Online Since: 12/21/2010
This manuscript from the library of the Capuchin monastery of Sion is divided into three parts, which were executed by three different copyists. The first part (ff. 1-113) consists of a treatise on the Inquisition from 1359, the De jurisdictione inquisitorum in et contra christianos demones invocantes (with the chapter De suspicione: beginning on f. 95r) by the Catalan Dominican Nicolau Eymeric, General Inquisitor of Aragon. This first part was produced in Naters in 1460 for Walter Supersaxo (ca. 1402-1482), Bishop of Sion, by the priest Cristoferus in Domo Lapidea (Im/Zum Steinhaus, Steinhauser) of Lalden, rector of the altar at the church in Naters. Three more manuscripts in the Supersaxo library are due to this same scribe, S 96, S 98 and especially S 97, which among other texts contains a second copy of the De jurisdictione inquisitorum, produced in the same year, 1460. The second part (ff. 114-134), with rubricated and partly decorated initials (e.g., on ff. 114r and 127r), contains the Historia Karoli Magni et Rotholandi (also referred to as The Chronicle of Pseudo-Turpin ; about the middle of the 12th century, sometimes attributed to Aimery Picaud), a tale about fictional wars conducted by Charlemagne in Spain and France. This work of propaganda for the Spanish Crusade and for the Pilgrimage to Compostela, which was particularly inspired by the Chanson de Roland, experienced great success in the Middle Ages. The third part (ff. 135-157) contains synodal statutes issued by Walter Supersaxo in 1460; another copy thereof is preserved in the archives of the Cathedral Chapter of Sion (drawer 3, number 67/5). An note of ownership on the flyleaf f. V1r indicates a certain Johannes Huser of Selkingen as the owner of RCap 73; he is attested in Sion between 1532 and 1561 as rector of two altars.
Online Since: 03/22/2018
This portable Latin-Bible contains the Old (ff. 5v-344v) and the New Testament (ff. 346r-435v), preceded by St. Jerome's prologues to the whole Bible and to the Pentateuch (ff. 4r-5v) and followed by the interpretation of Hebrew names (ff. 436r-471v). There are illuminated initials (ff. 5v, 190v, 364v und 377v), and gilded ones and initials decorated with pen flourishes in red and blue. Some leaves (2, 3, 345, 357, 472) are missing or were cropped. As we come to know from the explicit on f. 471v, this manuscript was copied in 1440 by Jean Comte (Comitis) of Warmarens (Vuarmarens, FR), parish priest in Billens (FR). RCap 243 is from the library of the Capuchin monastery of Sion, an order present in the city since the 17th century. A handwritten note of ownership on the front pastedown indicates that in 1785 this Bible was owned by the Capuchin Josef Alexius [Eggo] von Leuk (1761-1840; guardian in Saint Maurice from 1805 to 1808, in Sion from 1808 to 1811 and from 1819 to 1822).
Online Since: 03/22/2018
This Latin Bible contains the Books of the Old Testament (Octateuch, Kings, Chronicles, Ezra, Tobit, Judith, Esther, Job and Maccabees). They are preceded by Jerome's prologue to the whole of the Bible (in logical order: ff. 11, then 13-14r; the beginning is incomplete), by an excerpt from De doctrina christiana 2, 8-9 by Saint Augustine (f. 14) and by Jerome's prologue to the Pentateuch (in the order: f. 14v then f. 9). Several leaves at the beginning have been lost or were not bound correctly; the manuscript currently begins with Genesis 19.26. The incomplete text of Genesis should be read in this order: ff. 9v-10, 15-16, 12 (Gn 10.30-19.26 are missing), 1-8 (Gn 31.28-36.19 are missing), 17-26r. Similarly there are defects at the end of the manuscript: the text is interrupted on f. 379v at 2 Maccabees 14.6. There are several errors in the modern foliation: 3 leaves between ff. 161 and 162 were not counted; the foliation jumps from f. 188 to f. 190, and there is a f. 256a. RIKB 8 has a blue initial with red pen flourishes (f. 9v), as well as several simple initials in red, in part with geometrical motifs (e.g. on ff. 69r or 112r). As we learn from the explicit on f. 227v, this manuscript was transcribed in 1433. It belonged to the Swiss entrepreneur Kurt Bösch (*1907 in Augsburg - † 2000 in Augsburg), bibliophile, collector and patron of the arts, who notably founded l‘Institut Universitaire Kurt Bösch (IUKB) in Brämis/Sion (VS). In 2012, the UIKB donated several valuable books, including this manuscript, to the Médiathèque Valais.
Online Since: 03/22/2018
At once a travel memoir and a geography book, the Voyages by John Mandeville, probably written around 1355-1357, were a great success in the Middle Ages. Numerous handwritten copies make it possible to distinguish three different versions of the French text, which gave rise to translations into Latin and into the vernacular languages. The oldest German translation, going back to about 1393-1399, is by Michel Velser, a member of the von Völs family (Völs, South Tyrol). This copy, S 94 from the library of Walter Supersaxo (ca. 1402-1482), Bishop of Sion, and of his son Georges (ca. 1450-1529), contains numerous ornamental initials, some zoomorphic or anthropomorphic. The endpapers are parchment. Based on the language, the manuscript should be from Northern Switzerland. An ownership note on f. 120v mentions an uncle “G”, which may suggest Georges Supersaxo himself. In the binding, there was a fragment of a papal document that can without doubt be dated to the middle of the 13th century, from a Pope Innocent and addressed to the Abbot of Kempten. Ms. S 94 can be compared to another manuscript from the Supersaxo library, namely with S 99, which contains a French version of the Voyages.
Online Since: 12/14/2017
This manuscript from the library of Walter Supersaxo (ca. 1402-1482), Bishop of Sion, and of his son Georg (ca. 1450-1529) is a collection of literary French texts with moralizing tendencies; it contains the romance Pontus and Sidonia as well as 15th century texts in verse. The major part of the manuscript (ff. 1r-122r; initial in red, yellow and black on f. 1r) is taken up by Pontus and Sidonia, a work that experienced great success in the 15th and 16th century. This prose version of the Anglo-Norman romance Horn, sometimes attributed to Geoffroy de la Tour Landry, was written towards the end of the 14th century or the beginning of the 15th century in France. It is followed by two texts by Alain Chartier (*1385-1395, †1430), secretary and ambassador for the kings Charles VI and especially Charles VII: on ff. 122r-131r is the famous Bréviaire des nobles (ca. 1422-1426) and on ff. 131r-136v is the Lay de paix (ca. 1424-1426). The following part (ff. 136v-145r) contains a less-known work, the Songe de la Pucelle by an unknown author. At the end, on ff. 145v-149r, are six anonymous ballads a pleysance et de bon advis. This manuscript was transcribed in Martigny in 1474 (at least the first part, the romance of Pontus and Sidonia) by Claude Grobanet, whom one also finds as the copyist of two more manuscripts in the Supersaxo library, S 99 (Voyages by Mandeville) and S 100 (Statutes of Savoy). Grobanet was in the service of Antoine Grossi Du Châtelard, Lord of Isérables (†1495). In the beginning of the 16th century, the family of Antoine Du Châtelard apparently fell into financial difficulties; their property - and presumably the three manuscripts as well - passed into the hands of Georg Supersaxo.
Online Since: 03/22/2018