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Harley MS 2803
- Record Id:
- 040-002048634
- Hierarchy Root Ancestor Record Id:
- 040-002048634
- MDARK:
- ark:/81055/vdc_100000000761.0x000049
- LARK:
- SLARK:
- Format:
- ISAD(G)
- Reference (shelfmark):
- Harley MS 2803
- Title:
-
Bible (the 'Worms Bible'), Genesis to Job
- Scope & Content:
-
First volume of a two-volume monumental Bible (the second volume is Harley MS 2804, Psalms to Acts 16:17, imperfect), containing the Latin Vulgate from Genesis to Job.
Decoration:
1 large miniature in colours and gold of Jerome writing, before his preface (f. 1v). 19 very large historiated initials in colours and gold (ff. 6v, 176r, 199r, 226v, 229r, 253r, 264r, 267v, 269r, 272r, 273r, 274r, 276v, 278r, 279v, 281r, 282r, 286v, 288v). Large or very large initials in colours and usually gold with foliate or interlace decoration and usually clasps (ff. 1v, 5r, 28r, 45v, 58v, 76v, 92v, 93v, 104v, 115, 116v, 133v, 146v, 162r, 175v, 229r, 252v, 263r (x2), 267r, 269r, 272r, 272v, 274r, 276r, 277v, 279r, 282r, 286v, 288r), some also with faces, men, or dragons, and one with a linen curtain (f. 93v). Large zoomorphic initial in colours (f. 280v) . Large initials in red or brown, some with penwork decoration. Small initials in brown or red. Rubrics in red. Marginal drawing in ink of Samson (f. 111v). Marginal drawing of a head, and of other figures in green and black (ff. 122r, 126v, 133v).
The subject of the historiated and decorated initials includes:
f. 1v: Miniature of St Jerome writing the first words of his preface to the Bible ('Frater ambrosius'), seated at a desk and holding a pen and knife, with an assistant kneeling below him, holding an inkwell.
f. 1v: Large decorated initial 'F'(rater Ambrosius) at the beginning of Jerome's preface.
f. 5r: Decorated initial 'D'(esiderii).
f. 6v: Large historiated initial 'I'(n principio) with roundels of the creation of light and the creation of Eve from Adam's side, at the beginning of Genesis.
f. 28r: Large inhabited initial 'H'(aec sunt nomina) at the beginning of Exodus.
f. 45v: Decorated initial 'V'(ocavit) at the beginning of Leviticus.
f. 58v: Decorated initial 'L'(ocutusque) at the beginning of Numbers.
f. 76v: Decorated initial 'H'(ec sunt) at the beginning of Deuteronomy.
f. 93v: Decorated initial 'E'(t factum est) at the beginning of Joshua, with a silk curtain above.
f. 104v: Inhabited initial 'P'(ost) at the beginning of Judges, with rewritten text on a pasted scrap of parchment just above.
f. 115r: Inhabited initial 'I(n diebus) with a face and animal heads, at the beginning of Ruth.
f. 116v: Decorated initial 'V' at the beginning of the prologue to I Kings (now I Samuel).
f. 126v: Marginal drawings of of David with the lion and sheep, and David with Goliath, in the text of I Kings (now I Samuel).
f. 133v: Inhabited initial 'F'(actum) at the beginning of II Kings (now II Samuel), with a marginal drawing of a man impaled on an upright sword.
f. 146v: Inhabited initial 'E'(t rex David) of a man among foliage, at the beginning of III Kings (I Kings).
f. 162r: Inhabited initial 'F'(actum est autem) at the beginning of IIII Kings, Chapter 2 (II Kings, Chapter 2).
f. 175v: Decorated initial 'N'(emo) at the beginning of the prologue to Isaiah.
f. 176r: Historiated initial 'V'(isio) of Isaiah holding a scroll, at the beginning of Isaiah.
f. 199r: Historiated initial 'V'(erba Ieremiae) of Jeremiah holding a scroll, at the beginning of Jeremiah.
f. 226v: Historiated initial of 'Q'(uom) of a bust of Jeremiah, holding a scroll, from Jeremiah.
f. 229r: Decorated initial 'I'(ezechiel), at the beginning of the prologue to Ezekiel; historiated initial 'E'(t) of a standing figure of Ezekiel with a scroll among foliate interlace and clasps, at the beginning of Ezekiel.
f. 252v: Decorated initial 'D'(anielem) at the beginning of the prologue to Daniel.
f. 253r: Historiated initial 'A'(nno) of Daniel, holding a scroll, at the beginning of Daniel.
f. 263v: Decorated initial 'N'(on idem) at the beginning of the prologue to the twelve prophets; decorated initial 'T'(emporibus) at the beginning of the prologue to Hosea.
f. 264r: Historiated initial 'V'(erbum Domini) of Hosea, holding a scroll, at the beginning of Hosea.
f. 267r: Decorated initial 'S'(anctum) at the beginning of the prologue to Joel.
f. 267v: Historiated initial 'V'(erbum Domini) of Joel, holding a scroll, at the beginning of Joel.
f. 269r: Decorated initial 'O'(hias) at the beginning of the prologue to Amos, with thread (from a curtain) visible; historiated initial 'V'(erba) of Amos with a scroll, at the beginning of Amos.
f. 272r: Interlace initial 'I'(acob) at the beginning of the prologue to Obadiah; historiated initial 'V'(isio Abdiae) of the prophet Obadiah holding a scroll, at the beginning of Obadiah.
f. 272v: Decorated initial 'S'(anctum) at the beginning of the prologue to Jonah.
f. 273r: Historiated initial 'E'(t factum est) of a standing Jonah holding a scroll, at the beginning of Jonah.
f. 274r: Decorated initial 'T'(emporibus), at the beginning of the prologue to Micah; historiated initial 'V'(erbum Domini) of the prophet Micah holding a scroll, at the beginning of Micah.
f. 276r: Decorated initial 'N'(aum) at the beginning of the prologue to Nahum.
f. 276v: Historiated initial 'O'(nus ninive) of the prophet Nahum holding a scroll, at the beginning of Nahum.
f. 277v: Decorated initial 'S'(anctum) at the beginning of the prologue to Habakkuk.
f. 278r: Historiated initial 'O'(nus) of Habakkuk holding a scroll, and an entwined man among foliage, at the beginning of Habakkuk.
f. 279r: Decorated initial 'T'(radunt) at the beginning of the prologue to Zephaniah.
f. 279v: Historiated initial 'V'(erbum domini) of the prophet Zephaniah standing with a scroll inscribed 'erbum Domini'), at the beginning of Zephaniah.
f. 280v: Decorated initial 'I'(eremias) at the beginning of the prologue to Haggai.
f. 281r: Historiated initial 'I'(n anno) of the standing prophet Haggai holding a scroll, at the beginning of Haggai.
f. 282r: Decorated initial 'S'(ecundo) at the beginning of the prologue to Zacharias; anthropormorphic initial 'I'(n mense octavo) of the standing prophet Zacharias, at the beginning of Zacharias.
f. 286v: Decorated initial 'D'(eus) at the beginning of the prologue to Malachi; historiated initial 'O'(nus) of the standing prophet Malachi, at the beginning of Malachi.
f. 288r: Decorated initial 'C'(ogor) at the beginning of the prologue to Job.
f. 288v: Historiated initial 'V'(ir) of a leprous Job being prodded by a devil, at the beginning of Job.
- Collection Area:
- Western Manuscripts
- Project / Collection:
- Harley Collection
- Hierarchy Tree:
- [{ "id" : "040-002048634", "parent" : "#", "text" : "Harley MS 2803: Bible (the 'Worms Bible'), Genesis to Job" , "li_attr" : {"class": "orderable"} }]
- Hierarchy Record Ids:
- 032-002045828
040-002048634 - Is part of:
- Harley MS 1-7661 : Harley Manuscripts
Harley MS 2803 : Bible (the 'Worms Bible'), Genesis to Job - Hierarchy:
- 032-002045828[2804]/040-002048634
- Container:
- View / search within Archive / Collection: Harley MS 1-7661
- Record Type (Level):
- File
- Extent:
- Parchment codex; 301 folios.
- Digitised Content:
- http://www.bl.uk/manuscripts/FullDisplay.aspx?ref=Harley_MS_2803 (digital images currently unavailable)
- Thumbnail:
-
- Languages:
- Latin
- Scripts:
- Latin
- Start Date:
- 1125
- End Date:
- 1174
- Date Range:
- 2nd-3rd quarter of the 12th century
- Era:
- CE
- Access:
- Restrictions to access apply please consult British Library staff
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- User Conditions:
- Letter of introduction required to view this manuscript.
- Physical Characteristics:
-
Materials: Parchment codex.
Dimensions: 535 x 355 mm (text space: 390 x 230 mm).
Foliation: ff. 301 (+ 6 unfoliated paper flyleaves; 3 at the beginning and 3 at the end).
Script: Protogothic miniscule.
Binding: British Museum/British Library in-house binding. Rebound in 1929.
- Custodial History:
-
Origin: Germany (Frankenthal, near Worms, Middle Rhineland).
Provenance:
Possibly written or illuminated c. 1148 in the Augustinian abbey of Mary Magdalene in Frankenthal, 10 kilometers south of Worms: inscription 'anno m.c.xlviii [inceptus est liber] ?' (f. 1r); see Cohen-Mushlin, A Medieval Scriptorium, 1990.
The Augustinian monastery of St Mary, outside of Worms: 17th-century inscription 'Hic liber pertinet ad Ecclesiam Beatae Mariae Virginis in Suburbio Wormatiensis', signed 'J. G.' (f. 1r). J. G. might be Joannes Georgius Renner, dean from 1597-1605; see Cohen-Mushlin, The Making of a Manuscript, 1983.
The Harley Collection, formed by Robert Harley (b. 1661, d. 1724), 1st earl of Oxford and Mortimer, politician, and Edward Harley (b. 1689, d. 1741), 2nd earl of Oxford and Mortimer, book collector and patron of the arts, probably acquired by George Suttie, their agent, in Germany in either 1717 or 1720.
Edward Harley bequeathed the library to his widow, Henrietta, née Cavendish Holles (b. 1694, d. 1755) during her lifetime and thereafter to their daughter, Margaret Cavendish Bentinck (b. 1715, d.1785), duchess of Portland; the manuscripts were sold by the Countess and the Duchess in 1753 to the nation for £10,000 (a fraction of their contemporary value) under the Act of Parliament that also established the British Museum; the Harley manuscripts form one of the foundation collections of the British Library.
- Source of Acquisition:
- Harley Collection.
- Administrative Context:
- Germany (Frankenthal, near Worms, Middle Rhineland).
- Information About Copies:
- Full digital coverage available for this manuscript; see Digitised Manuscripts: http://www.bl.uk/manuscripts/.
- Publications:
-
A Catalogue of the Harleian Manuscripts, in the British Museum, 4 vols (London: [n. pub.], 1808-12), I, nos 2803-4.
David Casley, Catalogue of the Harleian Manuscripts (1736), II, p. 713, and I, p. 31.
Walter de Gray Birch and Henry Jenner, Early Drawings and Illuminations: An Introduction to the Study of Illustrated Manuscripts (London: Bagster and Sons, 1879), p. 5.
J. A. Herbert, Illuminated Manuscripts (London: Methuen, 1911), p. 154.
Georg Swarzenski, Die Salzburger Malerei, 2 vols (Leipzig: Hiersemann, 1913), I, 69 n. 4, 76 n. 4.
[Eric G. Millar], British Museum Reproductions from Illuminated Manuscripts, Series 4 (London: British Museum, 1928), pl. 11.
Meyer Schapiro, 'From Mozarabic to Romanesque in Silo', Art Bulletin 21 (1939), 313-74 (p. 342 n. 91).
Ernst Kitzinger, Early Medieval Art with Illustrations from the British Museum Collection (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1940), pl. 42.
D. H. Turner, Romanesque Illuminated Manuscripts in the British Library (London: British Museum, 1966), p. 19, pl. 10.
C. R. Dodwell, Painting in Europe: 800 to 1200 (London : Penguin Books, 1971), p. 163.
Andrew G. Watson, Catalogue of Dated and Datable Manuscripts c. 700-1600 in The Department of Manuscripts: The British Library, 2 vols (London: British Library, 1979), no. 706.
Walter Cahn, Romanesque Bible Illumination (Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, 1982), no. 9, p .238, pls.146, 149, 201.
Aliza Cohen-Mushlin, The Making of a Manuscript: The Worms Bible of 1148 (British Library, Harley 2803-2804), Wolfenbütteler Forschungen, 25 (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1983).
Aliza Cohen-Mushlin, A Medieval Scriptorium: Sancta Maria Magdalena de Frankendal, Wolfenbütteler Mittelalter-Studien, 3, 2 vols (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1990), passim, esp. I, 154-5; II, figs 4-6, 20, 340, 342, 344, 345, 349, 350-54, 357, 364, 366-68.
Aliza Cohen-Mushlin, 'The Twelfth-Century Scriptorium at Frankenthal', in Medieval Book Production: Assessing the Evidence, ed. by Linda l. Brownrigg, Proceedings of the Second Conference of The Seminar in the History of the Book to 1500, Oxford, July 1988 (Los Altos Hills, California: Anderson-Lovelace, 1990), pp. 85-101 (esp. pp. 88, 94).
Walter Cahn, Romanesque Manuscripts: The Twelfth Century, 2 vols (London: Harvey Millar, 1996), II, 179.
Janet Backhouse, The Illuminated Page: Ten Centuries of Manuscript Painting in the British Library (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1997), no. 36.
Christopher de Hamel, The Book: A History of the Bible (London: Phaidon, 2001), p. 83, pl. 58.
Justin Clegg, The Medieval Church in Manuscripts (London: British Library, 2003), p. 6, pl. 2.
Edgar J. Hürkey, Schätze aus pergament: mittelalterliche handschriften aus Frankenthal (Frankenthal: Erkenbert-Musuem, 2007), no. 3 [exhibition catalogue].
Scot McKendrick and Kathleen Doyle, Bible Manuscripts: 1400 Years of Scribes and Scripture (London: British Library, 2007), pp. 10 and 94, fig. 81.
Aliza Cohen-Mushlin, 'A School for Scribes,' in Teaching Writing, Learning to Write: Proceedings of the XVIth Colloquium of the Comité International de Paléographie Latine, ed. by P. R. Robinson (London: King's College Centre for Late Antique & Medieval Studies, 2010), pp. 61-87.
Alfried Wieczorek and others, Die Wittelsbacher am Rhein: Die Kurpfalz und Europa. Begleitband zur 2. Ausstellung der Länder Baden-Württemberg, Rheinland-Pfalz und Hessen, 2 vols (Regensburg: Schnell and Steiner, 2013), I, pp. 69-70.
- Material Type:
- Archives and Manuscripts
- Legal Status:
- Not Public Record(s)