Introduction:
This manuscript contains the complete text of the Bible in a single volume. The text
was copied by an Italian scribe,
with the decoration being completed in England during the second quarter of the fourteenth
century. It exemplifies important
developments in how the Scriptures were copied, read, transmitted and mediated during
the late medieval period, changes that continued
to exert a guiding influence upon the production and reproduction of the Bible text
beyond the medieval period and into the era of the
printed book. Nothing is yet known of the circumstances in which it was made, or for
whom; by the mid-fifteenth century, however, it
appears to have been in the possession of St Paul's Cathedral in London.
The association of its decoration with later products of the Queen Mary Psalter workshop
suggests either London or East
Anglia as a possible locus of production for that part of the manuscript (see Sandler,
Gothic Manuscripts
(1986), no. 75). The female personifications of Synagoga and Ecclesia (5r) have been
painted in semi-grisaille; as Deidre Jackson and Nigel Morgan have noted, 'The purple
colour in particular...resembles grisaille in
contemporary Parisian manuscripts by Jean Pucelle, even to the extent of the use of
linear and dot stippling, a particular
characteristic of Pucelle's technique. It is possible,' they conclude, 'that the English
artists working in semi-grisaille had seen
French manuscripts painted in the Pucellian technique' (see Panayotova (2016), no. 66).
The dissemination of the Bible in one volume has a long history. The earliest complete
extant single-volume bible,
Codex Amiatinus (now at the Bibliotheca Laurenziana in Florence), was produced around
700 C.E. in the north-east of England, at the
Benedictine monastery of Wearmouth-Jarrow. Such bibles are commonly referred to as
'pandects': a Greek term of originally legal
application meaning 'cover all', it was used to describe Byzantine legal texts, in
particular a single volume that contained a
comprehensive legal code. Single-volume bibles came in and out of fashion. Books of
the Bible were, for centuries, circulated as
distinct and discrete books or groups of books, even alongside their single-volume
equivalents. The physical unwieldiness of the
complete Bible text, the lack of a set order for the constituent books, and the status
of some books as canonical and others as
apocryphal are factors that made the separation of the books of the Bible practicable,
even desirable. The development from the
mid-twelfth century onwards of glossed books of the Bible, in which the text was heavily
annotated with theological interpretation and
commentary, lent further weight - literally - to keeping them as separate entities.
Nevertheless, there were marked intervals in which single-volume bibles enjoyed a
revival. The twelfth century, in
particular, saw the production across Europe of very large, so-called 'giant' bibles.
Written in large script and often exquisitely
decorated with miniatures and ornamental initials, these prestige items were used
in institutional settings - primarily wealthy
monasteries and cathedrals - as lectern bibles for the cycle of communal readings,
as part of the liturgy but also in the
refectory.
Single volumes continued to be produced after the heyday of the 'giant' bible had
passed. CUL MS Dd.1.14, likely
produced for institutional use, included features that had been developed in smaller,
portable scholastic bibles. The constituent
books follow a historical sequence and are often preceded by a specific prologue (drawing
on the writings of Jerome or later
exegetes). Accompaniments to earlier bibles, such as the canon tables of Eusebius,
have been dispensed with; instead, clearer textual
articulation has been introduced in the form of chapter divisions, and guides to the
deciphering of the meaning of the text have been
incorporated (the Interpretationes nominum hebraicorum, for example).
Such changes were part of a larger transformation in the way that the Bible was disseminated,
read and mediated. As
research by Eyal Poleg has shown (Approaching the Bible in medieval England (2009)), there was a
'staggering paratextual uniformity in script and addenda, mise-en-page and textual
division' in bibles produced between c. 1230 and c.
1450. The Bible became a 'highly efficient reference book', its narrative qualities
taking second place to its use a source-book for
preaching and teaching. The articulation of the text through capitular numbering -
and their exploitation by theological treatises,
biblical aids and concordances - enabled discrete reading strategies dependent upon
the reader's priorities and the integration of
such manuscripts into other forms of Biblical mediation, such as preaching and the
performance of the liturgy.
Dr James Freeman| Medieval Manuscripts Specialist| Cambridge University Library
Language(s): Latin
Bible (Vulgate), with prologues
1. 2r-4v
Jerome,
Prologue to the Vulgate
1.1. 2r-4r
Epistula ad Paulinum presbyterum
Rubric:
2r: Incipit prologus Ieromini super totam bibliam
Incipit:
2r: Frater Ambrosius tua mihi munuscula preferens
Explicit:
4r: facile contempnit omnia qui se semper cogitat esse moriturum
PL 23:540-549
Stegmüller 284, 3306
CPL 620
CSEL 54 (1910), 442-65
1.2. 4r-4v
Prologue to the Old Testament
Rubric:
4r Incipit prologus beati Ieromini in pentachum
Incipit:
4r Desiderii meii desideratus accepi epistulas
Explicit:
4v possim eodem spiritu quo scripti sunt libri in latinum eos transferre sermonem
PL 28:177-184
Stegmüller 285
2. 5r-321v
Bible, Old Testament
Incipit:
5r: In principio creavit deus celum et terram
Explicit:
321v: non erit ut ingratus hic ergo erit consummatus.
2.6. 69v-70r
Jerome,
Prologue to the Book of Joshua
Rubric:
69v: Incipit prologus in librum Iosue
PL 28:503-506
Stegmüller 311
2.10. 88r-88v
Jerome,
Prologue to the Book of Kings
Prefatio Hieronymi in libros Samuel et Malachim
Rubric:
88r: Incipit prologus in librum regum
PL 28:591-604
Stegmüller 323
2.12. 100r-109r
II Samuel
2.15. 130v-131r
Prologue to the Books of Chronicles
Prefatio Hieronymi in librum Paralipomenon
Jerome
PL 28:1323-1328
Stegmüller 328
2.16. 131r-131v
Prologue to the Books of Chronicles
Prefatio Hieronymi in librum Paralipomenon iuxta lxx interpretes
Jerome
PL 29:401-404
Stegmüller 327
2.17. 131v-140v
I Chronicles
2.18. 140v-151v
II Chronicles
2.19. 152r
Prologue to the Book of Ezra
Prefatio Hieronymi in Ezram
Jerome
PL 28:1401-1406
Stegmüller 330
2.22. 159v-160r
Prologue to the Book of Tobit
Prefatio Hieronymi in Librum Tobiae
Jerome
PL 29:23-26
Stegmüller 332
2.24. 163r
Prologue to the Book of Judith
Prefatio Hieronymi in Librum Iudith
Jerome
PL 29:37-40
Stegmüller 335
2.26. 167r
Prologue to the Book of Esther
Prefatio Hieronymi in Librum Esther
Jerome
PL 28:1503-1506
Stegmüller 341
2.28. 171r-171v
Prologue to the Book of Job
Prefatio Hieronymi in Librum Iob
Jerome
PL 28:1137-1142
Stegmüller 344
2.31. 200r-200v
Prologue to the Book of Proverbs
Prefatio Hieronymi in Libros Salomonis; Chromatio et Heliodoro episcopis Hieronymus
Jerome
PL 28:1305-1308
Stegmüller 457
2.33. 207v
Prologue to the Book of Ecclesiastes
Commentarius in Ecclesiasten, Praefatio
Jerome
PL 23:1061-1062
Stegmüller 462
2.34. 207v-210r
Ecclesiastes
2.35. 210r-210v
Prologue to the Book of Song of Solomon
Commentarius in Ecclesiasten, Commentarius
Jerome
PL 23:1063
Stegmüller 456?
2.36. 210v-211v
Song of Solomon
2.37. 211v
Prologue to the Book of Wisdom
De libris et officiis ecclesiasticis; De scriptoribus et vocabulis sanctorum librorum
Isidore of Seville
PL 82:233
Stegmüller 468
2.39. 216v
Prologue to the Book of Ecclesiasticus
Biblical introduction to Ecclesiasticus, treated as a prologue
2.40. 216v-230r
Ecclesiasticus
2.41. 230r
Prologue to the Book of Isaiah
Praefatio Hieronymi in librum Isaiae
Jerome
PL 28:771-774
Stegmüller 482
2.43. 246r-246v
Prologue to the Book of Jeremiah
Prologus Hieronymi in Ieremiam
Jerome
PL 28:847-850
Stegmüller 487
2.45. 264v-266v
Lamentations
2.46. 266v
Prologue to the Book of Baruch
Prophetia Baruch, praefatio
Anselm of Laon
PL 114:63
Stegmüller 491
2.48. 268v
Prologue to the Book of Ezechiel
Praefatio Hieronymi in Ezechielem
Jerome
PL 28:937-940
Stegmüller 491
2.50. 284v-285r
Prologue to the Book of Daniel
Praefatio Hieronymi in Danielem prophetam
Jerome
PL 28:1291-1294
Stegmüller 493
2.52. 291v
Prologue to the Book of Hosea
Praefatio Hieronymi in duodecim prophetas
Jerome
PL 28:1013-1016
Stegmüller 500
2.54. 294r
Prologue to the Book of Joel
Synopsis Bibliothecae divinae
Jerome
PL 22:546
Stegmüller 510
2.56. 295r
Prologue to the Book of Amos
Synopsis Bibliothecae divinae
Jerome
PL 22:546
Stegmüller 512
2.58. 296v
Prologue to the Book of Obadiah
Synopsis Bibliothecae divinae
Jerome
PL 22:546
Stegmüller 516
2.60. 297r
Prologue to the Book of Jonah
Synopsis Bibliothecae divinae
Jerome
PL 22:546
Stegmüller 522
2.62. 297v
Prologue to the Book of Micah
Synopsis Bibliothecae divinae
Jerome
PL 22:546
Stegmüller 525
2.64. 298v
Prologue to the Book of Nahum
Synopsis Bibliothecae divinae
Jerome
PL 22:546
Stegmüller 527
2.66. 299v
Prologue to the Book of Habakkuk
Synopsis Bibliothecae divinae
Jerome
PL 22:546
Stegmüller 529
2.68. 300r
Prologue to the Book of Zephaniah
Synopsis Bibliothecae divinae
Jerome
PL 22:547
Stegmüller 532
2.69. 300r-300v
Zephaniah
2.70. 300v
Prologue to the Book of Haggai
Synopsis Bibliothecae divinae
Jerome
PL 22:547
Stegmüller 535
2.70. 301r
Prologue to the Book of Zechariah
Synopsis Bibliothecae divinae
Jerome
PL 22:547
Stegmüller 540
2.72. 301r-304r
Zechariah
2.73. 304r
Prologue to the Book of Malachi
Synopsis Bibliothecae divinae
Jerome
PL 22:547
Stegmüller 544
2.75. 304v
Prologue to the Books of Maccabees
Stegmüller 551
2.74. 304r-314v
I Maccabees
2.75. 314v-321v
II Maccabees
3. 321v-403r
Vulgate, New Testament
Incipit:
321v Mattheus ex Iudea sicut in ordine primus ponitur
Explicit:
403r Gratia domini nostri ihesu christi cum omnibus nobis; Amen.
3.1. 321v-322r
Prologue to the Gospel of Matthew
Stegmüller 590
3.2. 322r-332r
Gospel of Matthew
3.3. 332r
Prologue to the Gospel of Mark
Stegmüller 607
3.4. 332r-338v
Gospel of Mark
3.5. 338v-339r
Prologue to the Gospel of Luke
Stegmüller 620
3.4. 339r-349v
Gospel of Luke
Explicit:
349v Et ipsi loquebantur
Ends imperfectly, Luke 24:14
3.5. 351r-358v
Gospel of John
Incipit:
351r Ihesum filium Ioseph a Nazareth
Begins imperfectly, John 1:45
3.6. 358v
Prologue to the Epistle of the St Paul to the Romans
Stegmüller 677
3.7. 359r-362v
Epistle of the St Paul to the Romans
3.8. 362v
Prologue to the First Epistle of St Paul to the Corinthians
Stegmüller 683
3.9. 362v-366v
First Epistle of St Paul to the Corinthians
3.10. 366v
Prologue to the Second Epistle of St Paul to the Corinthians
In epistolam II ad Corinthios; Argumentum
Peter Lombard
PL 192:9
Stegmüller 699
3.11. 366v-369r
Second Epistle of St Paul to the Corinthians
3.12. 369r
Prologue to the Epistle of St Paul to the Galatians
Stegmüller 707
3.13. 369r-370v
Epistle of St Paul to the Galatians
3.13. 369r
Prologue to the Epistle of St Paul to the Ephesians
Stegmüller 715
3.14. 370v-372r
Epistle of St Paul to the Ephesians
3.15. 372r
Prologue to the Epistle of St Paul to the Philippians
In epistolam ad Philippenses; Argumentum
Peter Lombard
PL 192:221
Stegmüller 728
3.16. 372r-373r
Epistle of St Paul to the Philippians
3.17. 373r
Prologue to the Epistle of St Paul to the Colossians
In epistolam ad Colossenses; Argumentum
Peter Lombard
PL 192:257
Stegmüller 736
3.18. 373r-374r
Epistle of St Paul to the Colossians
3.19. 374r
Prologue to the First Epistle of St Paul to the Colossians
Stegmüller 748?
3.20. 374r-374v
First Epistle of St Paul to the Thessalonians
3.21. 374v-375r
Prologue to the Second Epistle of St Paul to the Colossians
In epistolam II ad Thessalonicenses; Argumentum
Peter Lombard
PL 192:311
Stegmüller 752
3.22. 375r
Second Epistle of St Paul to the Thessalonians
3.23. 375v
Prologue to the First Epistle of St Paul to Timothy
In epistolam I ad Timothaeum; Argumentum
Peter Lombard
PL 192:325
Stegmüller 765?
3.24. 375v-376v
Second Epistle of St Paul to Timothy
3.25. 376v
Prologue to the Second Epistle of St Paul to Timothy
In epistolam II ad Timothaeum; Argumentum
Peter Lombard
PL 192:363
Stegmüller 772
3.26. 376v-377r
Second Epistle of St Paul to Timothy
3.27. 377r
Prologue to the Epistle of St Paul to Titus
In epistolam ad Titum; Argumentum
Peter Lombard
PL 192:383
Stegmüller 780
3.28. 377v
Epistle of St Paul to Titus
3.29. 377v
Prologue to the Epistle of St Paul to Philomen
In epistolam ad Philomenem; Argumentum
Peter Lombard
PL 192:393
Stegmüller 783
3.30. 377v-378r
Epistle of St Paul to Philomen
3.31. 378r
Prologue to the Epistle of St Paul to the Hebrews
In epistolam ad Hebraeos; Argumentum
Peter Lombard
PL 192:399
Stegmüller 793
3.32. 378r-381r
Epistle of St Paul to the Hebrews
3.31. 381r
Prologue to the Acts of the Apostles
De viris illustribus
Jerome
PL 23:654
Stegmüller 627
3.33. 381r-392v
Acts of the Apostles
3.34. 392v
Prologue to the Catholic Epistle of St James
Prologus epistolarum canonicarum
Jerome
PL 29:821-832
Stegmüller 809
3.35. 392v-393v
Catholic Epistle of St James
3.36. 393v
Prologue to the First Epistle of St Peter
Epistola I Beati Petri; Argumentum
Anselm of Laon
PL 114:679
Stegmüller 812
3.37. 393v-394v
First Epistle of St Peter
3.38. 394v
Prologue to the Second Epistle of St Peter
Epistola II Beati Petri; Argumentum
Anselm of Laon
PL 114:689
Stegmüller 818
3.39. 394v-395v
Second Epistle of St Peter
3.40. 395v
Prologue to the First Epistle of St John
Epistola I Beati Iohannis; Argumentum
Anselm of Laon
PL 114:693
Stegmüller 822
3.41. 395v-396v
First Epistle of St John
3.42. 396v
Prologue to the Second Epistle of St John
Epistola II Beati Iohannis; Argumentum
Anselm of Laon
PL 114:703
Stegmüller 823
3.43. 396v
Second Epistle of St John
3.44. 396v-397r
Prologue to the Third Epistle of St John
Epistola III Beati Iohannis; Argumentum
Anselm of Laon
PL 114:705
Stegmüller 824
3.45. 397r-397v
Third Epistle of St John
3.46. 397v
Prologue to the Book of Revelation
PL 114:705
Stegmüller 824
3.47. 397v-403r
Revelation
403r-404r
Interpretationes nominum hebraicorum
Stephen Langton
Incipit:
403r Aaz apprehendes uel apprehensio ad testificans uel testimonium.
Explicit:
404rAchimai frater meus reductus uel fratris me reductio
Ends imperfectly.
Stegmüller 7708
Secundo Folio: 3r: et que non lingua
Form: codex
Support:
Parchment (FHHF)
Extent:
Codex:
i + 1 + 403 + i leaves.
430 × 260 mm.
Foliation:
20th-century foliation:
[a] + ii + 2-349, 351-405 + [b]
Numering in pencil in the upper right-hand corner of the rectos.
Folio numbers 1, 350 and 406 assigned to leaves no longer present in the volume (as
per historic foliation practice at
Cambridge University Library).
Collation
The manuscript consists of 34 quires, of 12 leaves each, except for Quire 10, which
comprises 10 leaves.
- Quire 112-1 (ff. 2-12: 1st leaf excised before f. 2,
probably blank)
- Quires 2-912 (ff. 13-108)
- Quire 1010 (ff. 109-118)
- Quire 11-2912 (ff. 119-346)
- Quire 3012-1 (ff. 347-358: 4th leaf missing before f.
351)
- Quire 31-3312 (ff. 359-394)
- Quire 3412-1 (ff. 395-405: 12th leaf excised after f.
405, probably blank)
Occasional leaf signatures, comprising a sequence of minuscule letters (a-f) and a
variety of different
additional strokes, such as a '+' sign (ff. 61r onwards), a vertical line above the letter (ff.
85r onwards) or below it (ff. 97r onwards), or curling
horiztonal line to the right of the letter (ff. 131r onwards). In some instances, signatures
have clearly been erased (see ff. 179r onwards and and 191r onwards).
Occasional catchwords (see ff. 166v, 178v,
190v), written in the ruled central margin at the foot of the page and enclosed in boxes.
Mostly lost to damage along the lower edge (at the front of the volume) or partially
or wholly trimmed away thereafter.
Condition
The lower edge and corner of the manuscript has been gnawed by rodents; the damage
is particularly noticeable on the opening
leaves (ff. 2r-72v). Thereafter, while damage continues to the lower corner, the lower edge has
been largely unaffected.
The opening leaf of text has been dirtied and a pronounced crease runs along the length
of the left-hand column on the recto
side, affecting the legibility of the text on both sides of the leaf (f. 2r-2v).
The manuscript has been affected by damp, with staining running along the upper edge
of the opening leaves (ff. 2r-50r). The text and decoration is largely unaffected, however in several places there
is further evidence of
rodent damage (ff. 14r-15v, 20r-28v).
Otherwise, the manuscript is in good condition, with the decorative initials and text
well preserved.
Layout
300 × 170 mm.
Ruled in crayon, frame and line, in two columns (three for the Interpretationes nominum
hebraicorum, ff. 403r-404r). 58 lines to the page, written below top line.
Running headers (giving the name of books of the Bible) and marginal chapter numbers,
in red and blue (Psalms
unnumbered)
Hand(s)
Written in littera textualis by a single scribe.
Decoration
Historiated initials:
-
2r: 11-line initial F (with stem extending the full length of the page) in pink, blue
and gold,
enclosing St Jerome reading at a desk under a gothic arch
on a gold ground.
-
5r: initial I enclosing the six days of
Creation with God resting on the seventh, each scene in an oval compartment formed
by twisting vines, on alternating
ground of blue chequerboard and red with white dots, edged in gold. Figures of Synagoga
and Ecclesia in the lower border.
-
179r: 12-line initial B in orange, enclosing David playing the harp on a ground of blue
chequerboard; the initial is on a rose-coloured ground with
white filigree infill and edged in gold.
Initials:
Numerous blue or rose initials at the openings of biblical books and prologues and
key Psalms (1, 26, 38, 52, 68, 80, 97 and 109 -
as well as 51 and 101) from 4 to 21 lines in size, on rose or blue and burnished gold
ground, patterned in white and filled with
green, orange, blue and rose oak-leaf foliage, geometric designs, dragons and hybrids.
Gold, blue and rose bars with orange and
green five-pointed, tri-lobed and ivy-leaf tendrils sprouting from illuminated initials.
Blue or red chapter, verse and Psalm initials, from 2 lines to half-page in size,
with red or blue penwork flourishing. Sometimes
accompanied by full-length rectilinear borders in red and blue. Flourishes projecting
from penwork initials often extend to the full
length of the page (in the form of rectilinear borders in red and blue, extended with
further flourishing into the upper and lower
margins), and incorporate floral designs, foliage, grotesques (e.g. 227r, 266v, 269r) or dragons (266v, 337r, 358v).
Capitals with yellow wash and occasional grotesques.
170r-v Two sketches of the crowned head of Artaxerxes in the margins.
Line-fillers of dragons and foliage (2r, 5v).
Additions
Sketches in ink of a crowned head, in profile, added in the 14th/15th century and
drawn in ink (ff. 170r, 170v).
Binding
Full red morocco over pasteboards with elaborate gold tooling (17th/18th century).
Origin:
Second quarter of the 14th century.
;
Italy.
Decoration completed in England, possibly London. E.G. Millar described the historiated initials as being in the style of the Queen
Mary Psalter (British Library, Royal MS 2 B.vii) (Millar (1928), no. 228), which Margaret Rickert considered
to be London work (Rickert (1965), pp. 127-28).
Provenance and Acquisition
Recorded as being in the treasury of St Paul's
Cathedral, LondonSt. Paul's Cathedral London, England, in 1458 (see
Dugdale, History of St Paul's (1818)), p. 397).
Folio 405r: largely erased inscription, ending 'Londonyensis', perhaps also relating to St Paul's Cathedral. The same hand has also noted the titles of two other books, 'Hugo de Venna postulata
…' (i.e. Hugh of Saint-Cher
, Postillae
in Bibliam) and 'petrus comestor historiarum' (i.e. Petrus
Comestor
, Historia
scholastica), as well as adding other mottoes: 'spes mea in deo est' and 'God spede all gode
men'. The latter may refer to
Cambridge, University Library, MS Gg.4.7, a copy of the 'Historia scholastica', which also from St Paul's and
also came to the University Library as a gift from
George I (see Williman, (1999), p. 443).
John Moore (1646-1714), bishop of Ely
: no. 1 (f. [a] recto) in Bernard, Catalogi librorum
manuscriptorum Angliæ et Hiberniæ (c. 1697).
Presented to the University Library in 1715 by
George I
: donation bookplate engraved by
John Pine
in 1736 on front pastedown.
