Hard-coded id of currently selected item: . JSON version of its record is available from Blacklight on e.g. ??

Metadata associated with selected item should appear here...

Harley MS 4947

Record Id:

040-002050791

Hierarchy Root Ancestor Record Id:

040-002050791

MDARK:

ark:/81055/vdc_100000000859.0x0001d2

LARK:

SLARK:

Format:

ISAD(G)

Reference (shelfmark):

Harley MS 4947

Title:

Caecilius Firmianus Lactantius, Divinae institutiones, De ira Dei, and De opificio Dei

Scope & Content:

The manuscript includes works by Caecilius Firmianus Lactantius (b. c. 240, d. c. 320), early Christian author and advisor to emperor Constantine I, preceded by his short biography by Jerome:

1. Jerome, Vita Lactantii, excerpt from De viris illustribus, incipit: 'Firminus qui est Lactantius Arnobii discipulus' (ff. 1r-1v);

2. Divinae institutiones, incipit: 'Magno et eccelenti ingenio' (ff. 2r-159v);

3. De ira Dei, incipit: 'Nullus vel negat vel dubitat' (prologue), and 'Animadverti sepe, donate' (ff. 160r-175v);

4. De opificio Dei, incipit: 'Quam minime sim quietus'(ff. 175v-189r);

4. Alphabetical index of terms (ff. 190r-204v).

Decoration:

1 large historiated initial of an angel supporting heraldic arms, and full foliate borders, in colours and gold (f. 2r). 9 large decorated foliate initials and partial foliate borders, in colours and gold, at the beginning of the books (ff. 3v, 27r, 48r, 70v, 96r, 114v, 138r, 160r, 175v). Large and small initials in gold on red and blue grounds.

Illumination attributed to Pseudo-Jacquemart by Meiss (1967).

Collection Area:

Western Manuscripts

Project / Collection:

Harley Collection

Hierarchy Tree:

[{ "id" : "040-002050791", "parent" : "#", "text" : "Harley MS 4947: Caecilius Firmianus Lactantius, Divinae institutiones, De ira Dei, and De opificio Dei" , "li_attr" : {"class": "orderable"} }]

Hierarchy Record Ids:

032-002045828
040-002050791

Is part of:

Harley MS 1-7661 : Harley Manuscripts

Harley MS 4947 : Caecilius Firmianus Lactantius, Divinae institutiones, De ira Dei, and De opificio Dei

Hierarchy:

032-002045828[4947]/040-002050791

Container:

View / search within Archive / Collection: Harley MS 1-7661

Record Type (Level):

File

Extent:

Parchment codex.

Digitised Content:

Languages:

Latin

Scripts:

Latin

Start Date:

1400

End Date:

1424

Date Range:

1st quarter of the 15th century

Era:

Access:

Please request the physical items you need using the online collection item request form.

Digitised items can be viewed online by clicking the thumbnail image or digitised content link.

Readers who have registered or renewed their pass since 21 March 2024 can request physical items prior to visiting the Library by completing
this request form.
Please enter the Reference (shelfmark) above on the request form.

If your Reader Pass was issued before this date, you will need to visit the Library in London or Yorkshire to renew it before you can request items online. All manuscripts and archives must be consulted at the Library in London.

This catalogue record may describe a collection of items which cannot all be requested together. Please use the hierarchy viewer to navigate to individual items. Some items may be in use or restricted for other reasons. If you would like to check the availability, contact our Reference Services team, quoting the Reference (shelfmark) above.

User Conditions:

Letter of introduction required to view this manuscript.

Physical Characteristics:

Materials: Parchment.

Dimensions: 345 x 250 mm (240 x 160 mm).

Foliation: ff. 204 (+ 3 unfoliated flyleaves: 1 paper and 2 parchment leaves at the beginning, and 2 paper leaves at the end). Catchwords and bifolium signatures.

Script: Gothic cursive.

Binding: British Museum/British Library in-house binding of diced brown calf.

Custodial History:

Origin: France (Paris).

Provenance:

Coat of arms, d'or au chevron de gueules accompagné de trois coquilles d'azur, probably of the family Le Faivre de Courcelles from Franche-Comté, France (see M. Borel d'Hauterive, Annuaire de la noblesse de France et des maisons souveraines de l'Europe, no. 23 (Paris: Henrui Plon 1866), pp. 387-88) (f. 2r).

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.

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.

Administrative Context:

France (Paris).

Information About Copies:

Select digital coverage available for this manuscript, see Catalogue of Illuminated Manuscripts http://www.bl.uk/catalogues/illuminatedmanuscripts/welcome.htm.

Publications:

A Catalogue of the Harleian Manuscripts in the British Museum, 4 vols (London: [n. pub.], 1808-12), III, no. 4947.

Millard Meiss, French Painting in the Time of Jean de Berry: The Late XIV Century and the Patronage of the Duke, 2 vols (London: Thames and Hudson, 1967), I, 264, 328, II, fig. 248.

Millard Meiss, with Sharon Off Dunlap Smith and Elizabeth Home Beaton, French Painting in the Time of Jean de Berry: The Limbourgs and Their Contemporaries, 2 vols (London: Thames and Hudson, 1974), I, 414.

Material Type:

Archives and Manuscripts

Legal Status:

Not Public Record(s)

Names:

Bentinck, Margaret Cavendish, duchess of Portland, née Harley, collector of art and natural history specimens and patron of arts and sciences, 11 Feb 1715-17 Jul 1785,
   see also http://isni.org/isni/0000000115857160,
   see also http://viaf.org/viaf/2356861
Harley, Edward, second earl of Oxford and Mortimer, book collector and patron of the arts, 2 Jun 1689-16 Jun 1741,
   see also http://isni.org/isni/0000000108078249,
   see also http://viaf.org/viaf/160524259
Harley, Henrietta Cavendish, Countess of Oxford and Mortimer, née Holles, patron of architecture, 4 Feb 1694-9 Dec 1755,
   see also http://isni.org/isni/0000000030125833,
   see also http://viaf.org/viaf/6045563
Harley, Robert, first Earl of Oxford and Mortimer, politician, 5 Dec 1661-21 May 1724,
   see also http://isni.org/isni/0000000083423906
Lactantius, Firmianus Cæcilius