Add MS 17275

Contents:

The Vie des Saints (Lives of the Saints), a Legendary partially taken from Jacobus de Voragine's Legenda Aurea (Golden Legend). The translation is attributed to Jehan Beleth (or Jean Belet) (d. c. 1185), liturgist and theologian of Amiens and Paris: the preface to the table of rubrics (f. 3r) states, 'Ci commence[n]t les rebriches de la vie des sains laquele maistre Jehan Beleth translata de latin en roma[n]s.'

This manuscript is one of Meyer's group 'G' of large-format legendaries of the 14th century, known as légendiers méthodiques because the saints are ordered by typology, not by the liturgical calendar. The other manuscripts in this group are Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, fr. 183 + Brussels, KBR 9225 and Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, fr. 185 (see Meyer, 'Trois légendiers français', 1901). The contents of this manuscript are the most comprehensive of the group, comprising 154 saints lives and extensive prefatory material.

One of the scribes has been identified as Jean de Senlis, who also worked on the other group G manuscripts: Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, fr. 183 and Bibliothèque nationale de France, fr. 185 (see Rouse & Rouse, Manuscripts and their Makers, (2000), I, pp. 192-93). The life of the Welsh saint, Teilo (ff. 195v-199v), translated by Geoffroi de Nés on 29 September 1325, provides a terminus post quem for the manuscript's completion. This and a unique copy of the life of St David, the Breton missionary to the Welsh, (ff. 199v-201v), indicate that the patron may have had ties to Wales or Brittany. Two other unique texts are the life of St Mathurin (ff. 281-286v) and this version of the life of St Colombe de Sens.

Contents:

f. 1v: Coat of arms of the Chateauvillain family.

f. 2r: A note in a modern hand on the contents and dating of the manuscript.

ff. 3r-6v: Table of rubrics with an introduction in which the translator's name is given, beginning, 'Ci commence[n]t les rebriches..'; ending, 'Ci fenissent les chapitres de la legend des sains. Si come elle sensuit par ordre. tout premiereme[n]t des iiii temps. Et ce qui se[n]suit apres. des apostres. des martirs. des confessors. et des vierges.'

A cycle on the Life of Christ (see Labie-Leurquin, 'Cycle christique' (2010) consisting of :

ff. 7r-9v: Avenement de Nostre Seigneur (the Advent of Christ) a prologue from the Legenda aurea (Golden Legend).

ff. 9v-10r: An adaptation of the sermon of Maurice de Sully on the Nativity.

ff. 10v-11v: The Massacre of the Innocents, from the Legenda aurea.

ff. 11v-13r: Adaptations of the sermons of Maurice de Sully on the Epiphany and the Purification of the Virgin.

ff. 13r-15r: Four texts on the Sundays preceding Lent in the incorrect order (Septuagesima, Quinquagesima, Quadragesima and Sexagesima) from the Legenda aurea.

ff. 15r-20r: The apocryphal gospel of Nicodemus on the Passion of Christ.

Texts on festivals in the Temporal, mostly from the Legenda aurea:

ff. 20r-21v: Litanies or Rogations.

ff. 21v-24v: The Ascension.

ff. 24v-26v: Pentecost.

ff. 27r-30r: Nativity and miracles of the Virgin.

ff. 30r-32v: Purification of the Virgin.

ff. 33r-34v: The discovery of the True Cross (not from the Legenda aurea; repeated in the Life of St Helena on ff. 290v-292v).

ff. 35r-37r: The Assumption of the Virgin.

ff. 37r-40v: The life of St Mary Magdalene (not from the Legenda aurea).

ff. 40v-352v: Lives and passions of the Saints, ordered by typology: Apostles, Martyrs, Confessors, and Virgins (see the image descriptions below for the names and order of the saints included). 62 of the saints' lives are translated from the Legenda Aurea, while the remainder are from other sources. Though Jean Beleth, is the translator named in this manuscript, some of the saints' lives have been attributed to the following authors or translators: Geoffroi de Nés (St Teilo), Rogier de Longastre (St Leonard), Jean Pretre de Larchant (St Mathurin), Wauchier de Denain (Confessors' lives on ff. 220v-262r), and 25 of the lives to the Cistercians of the abbey of Sainte-Marie de Vaucelles (see 'IHRT, Jonas webpage: London British Library, Addit. 17275').

Decoration:

The artist of the manuscript has been identified as Maître de Thomas de Maubeuge, active in Paris between 1303 and 1342, who illuminated a copy of the Grandes chroniques de France in 1318 (Paris BnF fr. 10132) and worked on another hagiographical collection (Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Arsenal MS 5204), according to Rouse & Rouse, Manuscripts and their Makers (2000), I, pp. 192-93.

160 miniatures, mostly two columns in width, on diapered grounds, each accompanied by a framed initial in colours on a gold ground with foliate pen-flourishing, some forming partial borders. An added full page coat of arms in colours and gold (f. 1v). Numerous initials in blue or red with pen-flourishing in the other colour. Rubrics in red. Cadels.

The subjects of the images are:

f. 3r: A scholar, Jehan Beleth, is seated at a writing desk, holding a knife, and presenting a small book with clasps to a king; above, the Lord in the clouds extends his right hand in blessing; he holds a book in his left hand; a figure stands behind the king indicating the scene.

f. 7r: Christ in Majesty with the Virgin Mary, John the Baptist, and kneeling worshippers.

f. 9v: The Nativity with the ox and ass.

f. 10v: The Massacre of the Innocents, with Herod seated on a throne holding a knife.

f. 11v: The Circumcision of Christ; the Adoration of the Magi.

f. 12v: The Presentation in the Temple: St Simeon holds out his hands, and the Virgin Mary's companion holds a candle and a basket with doves.

f. 13r: Teaching and worship in the Temple.

f. 15r: Christ is brought before Pilate by the Jewish elders.

f. 15v: Pilate washes his hands and Judas kisses Christ on the cheek; they are surrounded by the Jewish elders.

f. 16v: The Crucifixion; a soldier holds up a sponge and another pierces Christ's side with a spear; the two thieves are on on either side.

f. 17r: Joseph of Arimathea places the body of Christ in the tomb; the three Marys watch and an angel keep watch at the tomb while soldiers sleep.

f. 17v: Joseph of Arimathea, on a donkey, is met by representatives of the Jewish elders.

f. 19v: Christ rescues Adam and Eve from a hell mouth; behind him is a figure with a halo in a hair tunic.

f. 20r: Christ with Adam meeting St Michael at the gates of Heaven; a figure carries a cross and two female figures follow.

f. 20v: A procession with two angels holding rods or candles, followed by clerics, one holding an open book.

f. 21v: The Ascension, with the Virgin Mary and the Disciples.

f. 24r: Pentecost, with a dove, the Virgin Mary and the Disciples.

f. 27r: The birth of the Virgin Mary (left); as a child, she climbs the steps to the Temple, with Joachim and Anne watching (right).

f. 28r: The Virgin Mary’s suitors approach the High Priest in the Temple.

f. 29r: Miracles of the Virgin Mary: she rescues the baby of a woman in prison (left); she frees a condemned thief (right).

f. 29v: Theophilus surrenders his soul to the devil in exchange for wealth (left); the Virgin takes back his deed of surrender from the devil (right).

f. 30r: The Purification of the Virgin Mary, and the Presentation of Christ in the Temple, with a servant holding a candle and doves.

f. 33r: The Battle of Milvian Bridge, with Constantine’s vision of the True Cross represented as a cross held by a knight.

f. 34r: The True Cross is identified to St Helena in Jerusalem, when a Jew named Judas uses it to bring a dead person in a tomb to life.

f. 35: An angel appears to the Virgin Mary to announce that she will be called to Heaven.

f. 36r: Disciples carry the coffin at the Virgin Mary’s funeral and St John the Evangelist carries a palm leaf; they are confronted by Jews.

f. 37r: The Assumption of the Virgin, with four angels (left); ‘Noli me tangere’: Christ, wearing a shroud, shows his wounds to a kneeling Mary Madgalene (right).

f. 40r: St John the Evangelist writes in a book.

f. 43v: St Philip in Scythia: he heals the sick and confronts pagans with idols on an altar.

f. 44r: St Matthew in Ethiopia: his prayers defeat two sorcerers, Zaroes and Arphaxat and their dragons; idols fall from a pedestal.

f. 48r: St Simon or St Jude preaching to a crowd.

f. 52v: St Mark preaching in Cyrene; three idols on an altar.

f. 53v: St Bartholomew in India, confronting two demons who encourage people to pray to an idol.

f. 56r: St James the Greater and the disciples at Pentecost, speaking in tongues; a dove descends.

f. 59r: St James frees prisoners.

f. 60: A mother and father on pilgrimage to the tomb of St James; their son, who has been unjustly put to death, is raised by St James; all three wear pilgrims’ hats.

f. 61v: St James appears to a pilgrim and lends him a donkey to carry his children to Compostela.

f. 63v: A soldier is converted and prays to St James.

f. 64v: St James saves a man who has been tricked by the devil into castrating and stabbing himself to atone for fornication.

f. 67r: St Peter is crucified upside down.

f. 70r: St Paul is greeted by Jews in Rome.

f. 74r: St Paul is in a room preaching to a seated crowd outside.

f. 77r: The crucifixion of St Andrew; he is tied to a saltire, or x-shaped cross.

f. 85v: St Andrew preaches on the Passion of Christ.

f. 87v: St Thomas is seated beside a king at a wedding feast in India; a dog holds in his mouth the severed hand of the steward who struck St Thomas; the steward kneels holding a cup, and with blood flowing from his arm.

f. 90v: St James the Lesser preaches outside Jerusalem.

f. 91v: St Luke teaches the people of Antioch.

f. 92r: St Luke and the Apostles debate.

f. 93r: Saint John the Baptist baptises Christ; an angel hands a robe down from Heaven.

f. 96v: The martyrdom of St Stephen; he is stoned.

f. 97v: The martyrdom of St Laurence; he is burned on a gridiron.

f. 99v: The martyrdom of St Hippolytus: he is dragged by horses on the instructions of Decius, who is portrayed as a king.

f. 102v: The martyrdom of St Vincent; he is roasted on a gridiron and stabbed with spikes, on the instructions of Dacian, who is portrayed as a king.

f. 103v: St Julian the Hospitaler kneels in penance before a bishop in a chapel.

f. 109r: St Julian, having just returned home on his horse, murders his mother and father who are asleep in his bed.

f. 110v: St Julian in a boat with his wife, rescues a pilgrim with leprosy.

f. 111v: St Cosmas and St Damien in an apothecary’s shop, cure the sick..

f. 114v: St Eustace kneels before a deer with a vision of the Crucifix between its horns.

f. 118r: St Denis (Dionysius the Areopagite) in Athens; he holds a sword and a king points to idols falling from an altar.

f. 119v: St Denis is baptised by St Paul (left); he is crowned archbishop (right).

f. 121v: St Denis is captured while preaching in France and brought before the ‘prevost’ or Roman governor, Fescennius.

f. 123r: St Denis, and his companions, Rusticus and Eleutherius are bound and lashed.

f. 123v: St Denis is thrown in an oven while Rusticus and Eleutherius watch (left); he tames hungry wild beasts.

f. 124v: Saints Denis, Rusticus and Eleutherius are beheaded by three executioners with axes, instructed by Fescennius, as a king with a sword.

f. 125r: St Denis, holding his severed head, is carried to Heaven by angels.

f. 126v: St Valentine as a bishop, converts the philosopher Craton and cures his son, who is seated beside him.

f. 127v: St Hilary speaks to King Childeric at a conference of bishops (the rubric ‘ci commence la vie monseigneur saint lambert’ here replaces the correct one, which is on f. 129r, preceding the life of St Lambert).

f. 128r: St Anthony gives bread to the poor (left) and stands at an altar with an acolyte holding a book (right).

f. 129r: St Lambert becomes Bishop of Maastricht at an early age (the rubric, ‘Ci commence la vie Monseigneur saint hylaire’ here replaces the correct one, which is on f. 127v, preceding the life of St Hilaire).

f. 132v: St Remy is shown as a recluse (right) and as a bishop with Genebald and his wife.

f. 133v: St Donatus blesses a kneeling figure and prays before a chalice which was broken.

f. 134r: The martyrdom of St Symphorian; as he is beheaded, his mother calls to him from the city wall and the lord blesses him from above.

f. 134v: The martyrdom of St Sixtus; he and Felicimus (or Agapitus) are beheaded and Laurence is taken prisoner.

f. 135r: The martyrdom of John the Baptist; he is imprisoned and beheaded while Herod and Salome are feasting (left).

f. 136v: The martyrdom of St Felix; his body parts are fed to wolves and dogs.

f. 137r: The martyrdom of St Savinian; he is beaten and burned in a fire.

f. 137v: St Adrian (or Hadrian) is imprisoned, watched by his wife, Natalia.

f. 139r: The martyrdom of St Gorgonius and St Dorotheus; they are stretched on the rack, have their flesh torn and vinegar and salt poured on their wounds (above). The martyrdom of St Protus and St Hyacinthus; they are beheaded (below).

f. 140r: The martyrdom of St Cornelius and St Cyprian; they are beheaded.

f. 140v: St John Chrystostum sits, writing golden letters in a book, and is confronted by the devil.

f. 143r: The martyrdom of Sts Severin, Severianus, Corpophores and Victorius; they are beaten and whipped and their bodies thrown in the river.

f. 143v: St Chrysogonus is brought food by St Anastasia while he is in prison.

f. 144r: St Blaise orders a wolf to return a widow’s pig to her.

f. 145r: St Ignatius prays to the Virgin Mary, who holds his letter.

f. 145v: The martyrdom of St Cyriacus; he is boiled in pitch before the Emperor Diocletian.

f. 146r: The martyrdom of St Thomas Becket; he is attacked by four knights with swords, one of whom cuts off the hand of a cleric holding a cross, while another attacks Becket in the Canterbury Cathedral.

f. 148r: The martyrdom of St Longinus; he has his teeth and tongue cut out and smashes the idols.

f. 149v: The martyrdom of St Arnoul (Arnoult) of Tours and his brother, St Patrice (Patrick); they are stretched on racks and clubbed to death.

f. 152v: The martyrdom of St George; he is tortured on a wheel.

f. 155v: St Panteleimon (Panthaleon) heals a child in front of Emperor Maximian, with the mother standing behind.

f. 159v: The martyrdom of St Sixtus; his head is cut off by two executioners with axes.

f. 161r: St Christopher (Cristofle) stands before the emperor with the two women converts, Nicaea and Aquilina.

f. 162v: Four soldiers who were converted by St Christopher are beheaded.

f. 166v: St Arsenius lies on his deathbed, with two young men, perhaps Arcadius and Honorius lamenting and a doctor with a vial.

f. 167: St Fursey (Foursin) constructs his monastery, directing two builders with picks.

f. 168v: St Vaast (left) and St Amand (right) preaching to seated groups.

f. 169r: St Calixtus, Pope, preaching to a seated crowd.

f. 169v: St Julian the Apostate, monk and thief, carry a sack of gold.

f. 170r: The martyrdom of St Marcellinus; he is beheaded before the Emperor Diocletian.

f. 170v: The martyrdom of St Vital (left); the martyrdom of St Gervais and St Prothais (right); all are beheaded.

f. 171v: The Seven Sleepers of Ephesus are watched by the Emperor Decius.

f. 172v: Saint Germain. Bishop of Auxerre blesses a kneeling figure.

f. 173v: St Dominic preaches to a seated crowd.

f. 178v: St Bernard of Clairvaux, seated with a book, blesses a kneeling figure.

f. 181v: St Augustine teaches a group of tonsured monks holding books.

f. 185v: St Lupus (Loup) as a bishop, preaches to a woman and receives a book from an angel.

f. 186r: St Felix leads a procession to an altar with a ciborium on it.

f. 187v. St Eligius (Eloi) as a smith, forges a shoe on a horse’s detached leg (left); forges an ornament (right).

f. 187v: St Gregory the Great, as Pope with a book on a lectern, teaches a group of tonsured monks.

f. 191v: The nobleman Nicholas comes to the mouth of Purgatory; behind him, St Patrick holds a book and leads a procession of monks, one with a cross.

f. 192v: Nicholas enters Purgatory and meets the twelve men in white habits in the chapel.

f. 195v: St Teilo (Teliau), as a bishop, blesses a kneeling figure.

f. 199v: St David as a bishop, blesses a kneeling figure; a monk holds a crozier behind him.

f. 201v: St John the abbot, blesses a kneeling figure.

f. 202r: St Pelagius as Pope, preaches to the Lombards.

f. 204r: The soul of St Macarius (Macaire), asleep on a tomb, is attacked by demons.

f. 204v: St Marcellus (Marcel) cares for animals (left); St Paul the hermit is brought bread by a crow.

f. 205r: St Basil as a bishop, preaching to a crowd and blessing the daughter of Heradius.

f. 206v: St John the Almsgiver gives bread to beggars.

f. 209r: St Vedast (Vaast), Bishop of Arras, preaches and converts a child, with a king watching.

f. 209v: St Julian, Bishop of Le Mans, supervises builders (left); St Julian de Vienne and St Ferreolus preach (right).

f. 210r: St Hilary (Hilaire), Bishop of Poitiers, is confronted by two heretical bishops.

f. 210v: The temptation of St Anthony the hermit, represented by two pigs with bells around their necks; he blesses a kneeling figure.

f. 211v: St Remi prays at an altar, with a crowd of followers.

f. 213r: St Edward the Confessor accompanied by knights, gives bread to Godwin and others.

f. 214r: The martyrdom of St Theodore; he is hung from a limb and two men tear his flesh with iron hooks.

f. 214v. The martyrdoms of St Maurice and his soldiers under Emperor Diocletian.

f. 216: The martyrdom of St Clement, Pope; Emperor Trajan has an anchor tied around his neck and he is thrown into the sea.

f. 218v: St Leonard de Noblat preaches.

f. 220v: St Giles (Aegidius) and his deer are wounded by an arrow fired by the hunter, Wamba of the Visigoths.

f. 223v: St Nicholas gives gold through a window to three maidens whose father lies ill in bed.

f. 231: St Jerome, watched by three monks, heals a lion’s paw.

f. 232v: The translation of St Nicholas at Bari; his body, wrapped in a shroud, is carried to a new tomb.

f. 234v: A bishop and procession carry the coffin of St Nicholas into the basilica at Bari.

f. 237v: A miracle of St Nicholas; he appears to a sleeping prior and beats him with a rod; two monks talk outside.

f. 238r: St Benedict (Benoit) lets down a rope from his hermitage and he is brought food and drink.

f. 245v: St Martin on a horse cutting his cloak to give half to a beggar; a man is served drink in a goblet.

f. 247r: St Martin is served food and drink; he gives half of his cloak to a beggar.

f. 254r: The translation of St Martin; his tomb is carried in procession; a figure rejoices.

f. 254v: St Brice is attacked by townspeople; a woman accuses him.

f. 255r: St Paulinus (Paulin) of Nola helps a widow rescue her son who has been imprisoned by a Vandal prince.

f. 256v: St Malchus is saved from pursuers by a lion.

f. 258v: St Paul the Simple becomes a monk and hermit.

f. 259v: St Alexis is married; he leaves on a journey.

f. 262r: St Brendan and his fellow monks are attacked by monsters at sea.

f. 269v: The passion of St Victor, who is tortured on a millstone (left); the passion of St Couronne, who is tied to a pole and beaten.

f. 270v: St Francis of Assisi instructs a friar to pick up a pouch from which a serpent emerges.

f. 272v: The Archangel Michael holds scales containing a soul and a devil, and kills a dragon with his spear.

f. 276v: The festival of All Saints, with Christ in Majesty surrounded by kneeling saints and angels above.

f. 278r: The festival of All Souls, with Christ in Majesty, with the Virgin Mary and a female saint kneeling on either side of him and with four angels, two holding a spear and a cross, and two holding swords; beneath, souls, including a pope, escape from their tombs.

f. 281r: St Maturinus (or Mathurin) drives away a demon, watched by four figures.

f. 283v: St Maturinus on a voyage to Rome with the Emperor Maximian's messengers, chases off a devil who is trying to overturn their ship.

f. 285r: St Maturinus is brought before Emperor Maximian in Rome (left) and exorcises a devil from the mouth of his daughter, Theodora (right).

f. 289v: St Euphemia stands at a doorway, with a monk handing over a robe.

f. 287v: The martyrdom of St Justina; she is boiled in a cauldron with St Cyprian, watched by the prefect of Antioch.

f. 288v: The martyrdom of St Juliana (Julienne); she is tortured on a wheel (left) and drags a demon along the ground (right).

f. 289r: St Petronilla (Petronille), dying in bed, is visited by maidens sent by Flaccus; her companion Felicula is tortured and her body thrown into a sewer.

f. 289v: The martyrdom of St Agatha; she has her breasts torn off on the orders of Quintianus, the consul of Sicily.

f. 290v: St Helen is shown the location of the True Cross by the Jews of Jerusalem.

f. 292v: St Elizabeth of Hungary enters a convent with female followers.

f. 297v: The martyrdom of St Columba; she is defended from an attacker by a bear, then burned in a fire.

f. 298r: St Paulina leaves her children (left) and gives her possessions to the poor (right).

f. 299v: The Virgin of Antioch stands before the emperor (left) and confronts two male figures (right).

f. 301r: St Genevieve's candle is grasped by the devil and an angel intervenes.

f. 311v: St Pelagia of Antioch is visited by the devil and a black bird while she is asleep in bed; Bishop Veronus blesses her.

f. 312r: St Margaret, formerly Pelagia, is found dead in her hermitage by a deacon and his followers.

f. 312v: St Thais the courtesan, burns her earnings including gold plate in front of Abbot Paphnutius.

f. 313r: The martyrdom of St Euphemia; she is tortured on a wheel over a fire under the Emperor Diocletian.

f. 313v: The martyrdom of St Faith (Foy); she is burned on a brazier under the Emperor Diocletian.

f. 315r: The martyrdom of St Margaret; she emerges from the dragon in prison (left); she is beheaded with a sword (right).

f. 318v: The martyrdom of St Ursula and the 11,000 virgins; they are beheaded by Attila.

f. 321r: The martyrdom of St Christina; she is tortured on a millsstone and beaten in front of a judge.

f. 325v: The martyrdom of St Cecilia, who is burned, and of St Tiburtius (Tyburce), St Valerian and St Urban; one is beheaded and one is thrown in the river.

f. 329v: St Catherine debates with Emperor Maxentius (left); she defeats the orators and masters of logic, whose books are thrown in the fire (right).

f. 334r: St Catherine kneels, praying; wheels are broken by angels and fly over the heads of the people.

f. 335v: Eutychia, in bed, is cured by St Agatha and St Lucy; Lucy's suitor denounces her.

f. 337r: St Agnes debates with the prefect (left); she is visited in the brothel by young men (right).

f. 339v: St Martha welcomes Christ to her home.

f. 340r: St Martha prays as Christ raises Lazarus (the rubric has 'Symon le liepreus', Simon the Leper).

f. 341: St Martha and Mary Magdalene cross the sea with St Maximian.

f. 343r: St Mary of Egypt stands beside Abbot Zosimus and the Virgin Mary.

f. 347r: The martyrdom of St Anastasia; she is beheaded before the emperor by two figures with an axe and a sword.