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Welkom Persbericht Summary De handschriften Links Home |
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Welkom Persbericht Summary De handschriften Links Home |
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SummaryThis book presents eighteen medieval manuscripts from the holdings of Tresoar in Leeuwarden (The Netherlands); these holdings stem mainly from the Library of the former Academie at Franeker (the University for and in Frisia, 1585-1811). The contents of the eighteen manuscripts are all in Latin, and offer texts from or on Antiquity. Many important Classical authors are represented, such as Cicero, Euclid, Eutropius, Florus, Aulus Gellius, Horace, Justinus, Juvenal, Martial, Orosius, Ovid, Terence, Tibullus and Vitruvius; in addition there are two copies of the Alexandreis of Walter of Châtillon (c. 1180). Two biblical manuscripts are included: a Psalter from the thirteenth century, and a New Testament from the workshop of the Brethren of Common Life in Zwolle (dated 1 April, 1452). Attention is paid to the particularities of each manuscript, and also to such book-historical elements as early ownership and appearance at book-auctions. The - presumptive - date at which the books entered the Franeker collection is also discussed.In addition to the catalogue, with its eighteen book descriptions, four essays aim to introduce the material to a wider public. The first gives an overview of the transmission of Classical Texts in the Middle Ages, and indicates why, where and when most manuscripts were written. The following essay, with illustrations drawn mainly from the present material, gives an introduction to the production of the medieval manuscript, including a discussion of the ways in which modern scholars can discover important clues in elements in a codex which at first sight may seem insignificant. The third essay is concerned with the use of Classical texts in Medieval schools and teaching, and discusses what implications the intended audience had upon the factual presentation and lay-out of the texts. The fourth essay contains Capita Selecta, in which four manuscripts from very different backgrounds are presented. The oldest one of the latter probably comes from the monastery of Fulda, and may well have been produced around 836, during the abbacy of Hrabanus Maurus; the origin can be deduced from the correspondence between Einhard and Lupus of Ferrières. The second manuscript is an intriguing copy of Horace from the eleventh century, evidently shaped for use in teaching. The other two manuscripts derive from a kind of late-medieval commercial book production: the first is a copy of the New Testament according to the Windesheim Bible Revision (early 15th c.), written and decorated in Zwolle in 1452; the second contains texts by Cicero, and was written by the famous Florentine scribe Antonio Sinibaldi (till now unrecorded). The whole book is lavishly illustrated with excellent photographs by Eric & Petra Hesmerg (Sneek), and contains an elaborate index. This book is published on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the Library (1852-2002). An exhibition at the premises of the Library will run from 14 March till 19 July 2002, and a wide range of illustrations from the manuscripts will remain permanently available via the website: www.pbf.nl.
The authors and the Library hope that this publication, entitled Antiquity at Hand (De Oudheid in Handen), will bring this rather unknown collection from the North of The Netherlands, to the attention of a public as wide as it is scholarly. |