Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, MS 091: Histoire des Seigneurs de Gavres

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Abstract/Contents

Summary
CCCC MS 91 contains one of only two surviving copies of the long version of the fifteenth-century French romance of Histoire des Seigneurs de Gavres (the other being in Brussels, Bibliothèque Royale MS 10238). Histoire was probably composed in Flanders in the 1450s, and the Corpus version is illustrated c. 1470-80 with a large frontispiece miniature by an anonymous Flemish artist who is known to have worked on a number of other volumes for patrons with connections to Edward IV. The artist has been named the Master of the Harley Froissart. This has led to speculation that this manuscript may have been produced for Edward IV or possibly William, Lord Hastings, c. 1475. Whoever the patron was, he was a Knight of the Garter, as evidenced by the garter surrounding the now erased blank shield on f. 1r. How the codex came into Parker's possession is unknown.
Contents
Histoire des Seigneurs de Gavres

Description

Alternative title Histoire des Seigneurs de Gaures
Type of resource mixed material
Extent ff. 200 + 3
Date created [ca. 1450 - 1499]
Language French, Middle (ca. 1400-1600)
Material Vellum
Layout double columns of 30 lines
Height (mm) 360
Width (mm) 253
Collation 2 flyleaves, 1(8)-25(8), 1 flyleaf.
Writing in clear black hand approaching lettre bâtarde
Foliation ff. a-b + i-ii + 1-200 + iii + c-e
Research The text was printed in 1845 at Brussels by Van Dale (Histoire des Seigneurs de Gavres, Roman du xve siècle) with introduction and illustrations, and a glossary by Emile Gachet

Bibliographic information

M.R. James Date xv, second half
Downloadable James Catalogue Record
Title
https://stacks.stanford.edu/file/druid:cs661dj2572/MS_91.pdf
Superseded Interim Catalogue Record
Title
https://stacks.stanford.edu/file/druid:kj254dm5129/91.pdf
Contains
Title
Histoire des Seigneurs de Gavres. 1r-200v
James
Histoire des Seigneurs de Gaures. 1r-200v
Note
The text begins
Incipit
(1r) Les tres haulx et courageux faiz de noz anchiens predecesseurs escripz pour exemple et memoire ala loenge diceulx
Note
(1r) This first page has a picture and full border of conventional and natural flowers and foliage on plain ground. In the lower margin a shield surmounted with crest and surrounded by the garter with motto. Shield and crest have been carefully erased and so has a banner in the R. margin The picture, rather rubbed, but in fine Flemish style, represents the interior of a room with wooden roof. On L. stone fire-place with fire. On R. bed in alcove: green tiled floor. Before the fire lies a nude infant. The mother, in tall headdress, sits wringing her hands on seat (along the wall). Two maids kneel on L. in consternation. In C. the Seigneur de Gaures in gown with stick, gesticulating. Two men and two women on R. in consternation Along the back wall is a settle ending on R. in a kind of desk. The wall is hung with an arras, deep red ground, gold birds in pairs, two rows of trees, on each a scroll bearing one word of the garter motto. The incident shown is the Seigneur de Gaures throwing his infant son into the fire (see f. 8r)
The text ends
Explicit
(200v) Ceste histoire a este translatee de grec en latin et de latin en flamenc. Et depuis a este transmuee en langaige franchoiz le derrenier jour de mars lan mil iiic lvi. Cy fine lystoire des seigneurs de gaures
Note
(200v) After this an erasure, possibly only a scribbled repetition of the colophon, such as occurs on the flyleaf: Sy fine lyst
TJames 15
Stanley B. 3
Location https://purl.stanford.edu/sf288jz3772
Location MS 091
Repository UK, Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, Parker Library

Access conditions

Use and reproduction
Images courtesy of The Parker Library, Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. For higher resolution images suitable for scholarly or commercial publication, either in print or in an electronic format, please contact the Parker Library directly at parker-library@corpus.cam.ac.uk
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 4.0 International license (CC BY-NC).

Collection

Parker Manuscripts

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