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Burney MS 169
- Record Id:
- 040-002237050
- Hierarchy Root Ancestor Record Id:
- 032-002236305
- MDARK:
- ark:/81055/vdc_100000001311.0x0000d9
- LARK:
- ark:/81055/vdc_100161519638.0x000001
- SLARK:
- Format:
- ISAD(G)
- Reference (shelfmark):
- Burney MS 169
- Title:
- Livre des Fais d’Alexandre le Grant, a French translation of Quintus Curtius Rufus, Historia Alexandri Magni
- Scope & Content:
-
Quintus Curtius Rufus, Historia Alexandri Magni, translated into French by Vasco da Lucena (b. c. 1435, d. 1512) as Livre des Fais d’Alexandre le Grant and dedicated to Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy (b. 1433, d. 1477).
ff. 1r-10r: Table of contents with incipit stating the translator's name, date and dedication: 'Cy commence la table des rubriches de ce present volume intitule Quintus Cursius Ruffus des Fais du grant Alexandre tra[n]s-late du latin en francois par ve-nerable personne Vasque de Luce-ne portugalois en lan de grace mil quatre cens soixante huit adres-chant son oeuvrea tres hault tres puissant et tres excellent prince Charles par la grace de dieu duc de Bourgogne.'
ff. 11r-13r: Translator's prologue, beginning, 'Treshualt tres pu-issant et tres excellent prince mon tresredoute seigneur Charles ...'
f. 13r-33v: Book 1, imperfect at the beginning; the text begins in chapter 2 at ‘riens en hostaige’ (f.14r).
ff. 34r-49v: Book 2, the first leaf is lacking.
ff. 50r-83v: Book 3.
f. 84r-100v: Book 4.
ff. 101r-121v: Book 5.
ff. 122r-142r: Book 6, the first leaf (following f. 121) is lacking
ff. 142v-172v: Book 7.
ff. 173r-186r: Book 8.
ff.186v-202v: Book 9.
Decoration:
Large miniatures in full colour, those at the start of books with full borders of flowers, fruit, and other designs on black (ff. 11r, 50r, 167r, 186v) or gold (ff. 84r, 101r, 142v) grounds; in the lower border of the first miniature (f. 11r) the initials ‘R F’ joined by a knot, below a full achievement of arms: argent a lion rampant azure armed and langued gules, with red-lined blue mantling, surmounted by a helm, and a crest of a ram’s head gorged; above this between the columns of text is an escutcheon with the (inaccurate) arms of the order of St. John of Jerusalem: argent, a cross gules. Offsets (ff. 13v, 33v) suggest that there were miniatures on the missing leaves with similar borders.
Large framed miniatures without borders (ff. 21v, 31r, 42v, 57v, 69r, 95r, 111r, 127r, 135v, 149v, 156r); all but the last four are at the top of the page.
13 column-wide miniatures in full colour (ff. 66r, 88r, 92r, 100r, 108r, 119r, 119v, 125r, 131v, 139r, 147v, 158v, 189v) and 21 in semi-grisaille (ff. 14r, 17v, 18v, 25r, 36r, 40r, 46v, 48v, 73r, 75v, 82r, 83r, 114v, 165v, 174v, 176v, 179v, 182r, 191v, 193v, 200r).
Foliate initials, some with partial borders (ff. 18v, 165v, 174v, 176v), accompanying large and some small miniatures.
Gold initials on blue and rose grounds with white ornament; matching line-fillers and paraphs. Rubrics in red, often with calligraphic flourishes, occasionally with human faces.
Several leaves with miniatures were removed: ff. 11 and 84 have been re-inserted.
The subjects of the miniatures are:
f. 11r: Vasco da Lucena presents his translation to Charles the Bold at court, with courtiers; one has a hawk on his wrist.
f. 14r: The conception of Alexander; Olympias, his mother, is naked in bed with a dragon (Nectanebus in disguise) while Philip, her husband, spies on them through an opening.
f. 17v: Alexander as a young boy, kneeling before a group of soldiers, is made lieutenant of Macedonia by Philip, who presents him with a sceptre.
f. 18v: Philip is stabbed to death by Pausanius (Pausames), with two dogs barking in the foreground.
f. 21v: The destruction of Thebes; Alexander and his army watch the city burning from across the moat; one soldier is firing a cannon.
f. 25r: Alexander debates with Diogenes, who is in a barrel.
f. 31r: Battle between Alexander and Memnon's armies, with soldiers on horseback crossing a river;
f. 36r: The Persian army in procession, with Darius seated in a chariot among his lancers on horseback.
f. 40r: Alexander and his army enter the city of Issus.
f. 42v: Alexander and his army make a sacrifice at dawn before the battle of Issus; Darius's army is in the valley below.
f. 46v: Darius's mother, Sisigambis, and his wife and daughters are taken captive by Alexander, with bodies in the foreground.
f. 47v: Parmenion kneels before Alexander, who sends him to Damascus to claim Darius's treasure.
f. 50r: The armies of the Macedonians and Persians face one another; in the background Darius flees, abandoning his chariot.
f. 57v: A sea battle between Alexander's fleet and ships defending the city of Tyre.
f. 66r: Hector, son of Parmenion, is drowned when an overloaded boat capsizes.
f. 69r: Alexander the Great consults his astrologers about an eclipse of the moon after the battle of Arbela or Gaugamela.
f. 73r: Darius commanding his troops.
f. 75v: Aristander the seer prays to Jupiter and Minerva for victory; later Alexander sleeps while his soldiers prepare for battle.
f. 82r: Darius and his troops cross a bridge over the Euphrates River.
f. 83r: A battle between Darius and Alexander's soldiers on horseback before a city.
f. 84r: A medieval tournament representing the competition held by Alexander for his soldiers at Sittacene in the winter of 331-332 BC before arriving at Susa.
f. 88r: Tauron and the Macedonians capture Medates's citadel on a rock.
f. 92r: The destruction of Persepolis by Alexander's followers.
f. 95r: Darius, lying in a cart, having been stabbed by the conspirators, Bessus and Narbazanes; Artabazus and his men pursue them.
f. 100r: Darius dying in his chariot, with Polystratus holding his hand.
f. 101r: The death of Alexander, King of Epirus during a battle.
f. 108r: Alexander's men enter a building and attack the Mardians; a kneeling woman wrings her hands.
f. 111r: Athibarzanes' army is attacked on a high rock and many fall to their death.
f. 114v: Philotas, son of Parmenion, is arrested and taken to Alexander's quarters.
f. 119r: Bolon rouses Alexander's followers against Philotas.
f. 119v: Philotas is tortured by Hephaeston and Craterus.
f. 125r: Parmenion is decapitated by Cleander.
f. 127r: Alexander's army storm a city in the Caucasus mountains; their weapons include handguns and a cannon.
f. 131v: The city of the Branchidae is attacked; Bessus comes before Alexander.
f. 135v: Menedemus and two thousand of Alexander's men are killed in an ambush by Spitamenes and his troops.
f. 139r: A battle with the Sogdians.
f. 142v: Alexander kills a lion in the forest of Bazairia.
f. 147v: Spitamine's wife cuts of his head carries it to Alexander.
f. 149v: The wedding of Roxane and Alexander, with courtiers before a palace.
f. 156r: Alexander has conspirators executed; in the background the philosopher Callisthenes is tortured to death.
f. 158v: The city of Nysa is besieged and Alexander feasts and drinks wine.
f. 165v: A battle with Porus and elephants.
f. 173r: Alexander addresses his army after the defeat of Porus.
f. 174v: Alexander leads his men to scale the walls of the city of the Sudracae.
f. 176v: Alexander in his tent between two ships, showing his men that he is alive.
f. 179v: Alexander watches Corratas the Macedonian and Dioxippus the Athenian fighting.
f. 182r: Alexander's army burn the city of the Patalii in India and lay waste to the fields, then sail away.
f. 186v: Alexander has satraps of the provinces including Astaspes executed for corruption; a bay and fortresses in the background.
f. 189v: Alexander pays the old soldiers and sends them home.
f. 191v: Alexander addresses the armies of Asia.
f. 193v: Alexander at a banquet is given a poisoned drink by Antipater's son.
f. 200r: Perdiccas has Meleager and his footsoldiers trampled to death by elephants.
The miniatures are attributed to the Master of Vienna Chroniques d'Angleterre and an assistant, perhaps the Master of the Harley Froissart (see Kren and McKendrick, Illuminating the Renaissance (2003), p. 67).
- Collection Area:
- Western Manuscripts
- Project / Collection:
- Burney Manuscripts
- Hierarchy Record Ids:
- 032-002236305
040-002237050 - Is part of:
- Burney MS : Burney Manuscripts
Burney MS 169 : Livre des Fais d’Alexandre le Grant, a French translation of Quintus Curtius Rufus, Historia Alexandri Magni - Hierarchy:
- 032-002236305[0164]/040-002237050
- Container:
- View / search within Archive / Collection: Burney MS
- Record Type (Level):
- File
- Extent:
-
1 volume
- Digitised Content:
- https://access.bl.uk/item/viewer/ark:/81055/vdc_100161519638.0x000001 (digital images currently unavailable)
- Thumbnail:
-
- Languages:
- French, Middle
- Scripts:
- Latin
- Start Date:
- 1468
- End Date:
- 1475
- Date Range:
- 1468-1475
- Era:
- CE
- Access:
-
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- User Conditions:
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- Physical Characteristics:
-
Material: Parchment.
Dimensions: 430 x 310 mm (text space 285 x 205 mm), in two columns of 36 lines. Ruled in red and purple inks.
Foliation: ff. iii + 205 + 10*, 10** (ff. i-iii and 203-205 are paper flyleaves). Original foliation in the upper left margin in roman numerals in gold on blue and rose grounds I-IICVIII, and matching book numbering in the upper right margin I-IX. Burney pagination 1-408.
Collation: i8 (ff. 1-8), ii4 (ff. 9-10**), iii8-2 (the central bifolium missing after f. 13; ff. 11-16); iv-v8 (ff. 17-32), vi8-1 (2nd leaf excised; ff. 33-39), vii-xi8 (ff. 40-79), xii4 (ff. 80-83), xii-xvi8 (ff. 84-115), xvii8-1 (7th leaf missing after f. 121; ff. 116-122), xviii-xxvii8 (ff. 123-202). Several leaves with miniatures removed; ff. 11 and 84 re-inserted.
Vertical catchwords (ff. 63v, 170v).
Script: Gothic cursive (formal bâtarde).
Binding: Post-1600. 18th-century (before 1789) binding of pale brown morocco, probably by Richard Weir (d. 1792): the covers framed by a ‘broken cable’ design, and the major tool used in the spine compartments appears to be the same as that used in the corners of the covers illustrated in Ramsden 1953, pp. 247-57 pl. 1; the second and third compartments of the spine with ‘Qunte [sic] Curse [sic] / par / Vasque de Luce’ and ‘MSS sur vellin / avec mineature [sic] / 1466 [sic]’ in gilt italic capital letters (cf. the spelling ‘vellin’ on Yale, Beinecke, MS. 498, also bound by Weir for MacCarthy-Reagh).
Flyleaves have watermarks ‘LC’ and a bunch of eight grapes.
- Custodial History:
-
Origin: Bruges, Southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium).
Provenance:
Philippe de Cluys, knight of St. John of Jerusalem (d. 1491): purchased by him in 1475, when he was commander of Le Blizon in Touraine: the inscription, ‘Cest le liure des fais et croniq(ue)s dalexandre legrant. Lequel est et appartient a phelippe de cluys ch(eva)l(ie)r de lordre saint iehan de iherusalem co(m)mandeur du blison et de la vaude. achete par lui en lan Mil CCCC lxxv’ in a formal cursive hand on f.13r. After 1486, when he was Bailly of the More, a further inscription and signature was added beneath in a less formal cursive hand: ‘Ita est. Phe(lippe)s de cluys. bally de la moree’ (f. 13r). His crest, arms and the arms of his order are included in the decorated border on f. 11r.
R. F.: initials 'R F' (Reverend Frère’) joined by a knot (f. 11r).
D. G: linked initials 'DG' (f. 194v), and 'quand Dieu voudray'? (f. 159r, lower margin).
Count Justin de MacCarthy-Reagh (b. 1744, d. 1811): possibly his binding; sold in an anonymous sale, Leigh and Sotheby, including McCarthy-Reagh manuscripts, 18 May 1789, lot 1644, bought by Jackson for £8 18s 6d.
John Jackson, F.S.A. (d. 1794), his sale, 28 April, 1794, lot 370, bought by Gough for £11 11s.
Richard Gough (b. 1735, d. 1809), antiquary: not identified in his sale catalogues (5 April and 19 July, 1810).
Charles Burney (b. 1757, d. 1817), D.D., classical scholar.
Acquired by the British Museum as part of Burney’s library from his son Charles Parr Burney in 1818.
- Information About Copies:
- Select digital coverage available for this manuscript in the Catalogue of Illuminated Manuscripts
- Publications:
-
Catalogue of Manuscripts in The British Museum, New Series, 1 vol. in 2 parts (London: British Museum, 1834-1840), part II: The Burney Manuscripts (1840), p. 54, pl. 3.
Charles Ramsden, 'Richard Weir and Count MacCarthy-Reagh', The Book Collector, 2 (1953), 247-57, pl. 1.
Flemish Art 1300-1700, Winter Exhibition 1953-4 (London: Royal Academy of Arts ,1953-54), no. 582.
Robert H. Lucas, 'Medieval French Translations of the Latin Classics to 1500', Speculum: A Journal of Mediaeval Studies, 45 (1970), 225-53 (p. 237).
David J. A. Ross, Alexander Historiatus: A Guide to medieval illustrated Alexander Literature, 2nd edn, Athenäum Monografien, Altertumswissenschaft, Beiträge zur Klassischen Philologie, ed. by Ernst Heitsch and others, 186 (Frankfurt: Athenäum, 1988), p. 70, no. 13.
Scot McKendrick, 'The Illustrated Manuscripts of Vasco da Lucena's Translation of Curtius's Historiae Alexandri Magni: Nature Corrupted by Fortune?', in Medieval Manuscripts of the Latin Classics: Production and Use, ed by C. A. Chavannes-Mazel and M. Smith, Conference Papers from the Seminar in the History of the Book to 1500, Leiden, 1993 (Los Altos Hills, California: Red Gull Press, 1996), 131-49 (p. 133 n. 13; p. 137 n. 21; p. 145, n. 50).
Scot McKendrick, The History of Alexander the Great: An Illuminated Manuscript of Vasco da Lucena's French Translation of the Ancient Text by Quintus Curtius Rufus (Los Angeles: [n. pub.], 1996), pp. 24-25.
Pamela Porter, Medieval Warfare in Manuscripts (London: British Library, 2000), pp. 47, 57, 59.
Scot McKendrick, Flemish Illuminated Manuscripts 1400-1550 (London: British Library, 2003), pl. 19.
Thomas Kren and Scot McKendrick, Illuminating the Renaissance: The Triumph of Flemish Manuscript Painting in Europe (Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum, 2003), p. 67 fig. 36a; p. 298 n. 4. [exhibition catalogue].
Chrystèle Blondeau, ‘Imiter le Prince? La diffusion des “Faits et Gestes d’Alexandre” de Vasque de Lucène à la cour de Bourgogne’, in Hofkultur in Frankreich und Europa im Spätmittelater (Berlin: Akadamie Verlag, 2005), 185-208 (p. 206 n.52, p. 207 nn. 62, 68, 70, 71, 72, p. 208 n. 73).
Joe Flatman, Ships and Shipping in Medieval Manuscripts (London: British Library, 2009), pl. 91.
Ilona Hans-Collas and Pascal Schandel, Manuscrits enluminés des anciens Pays-Bas méridionaux, I: Manuscrits de Louis de Bruges (Paris: Bibliothèque nationale de France, 2009), p. 183.
Bernard Bousmanne and Thierry Delcourt, Miniatures flamandes, 1404-1482 (Paris: Bibliothèque nationale de France; Bruxelles: Bibliothèque royale de Belgique, 2011), p. 323 [exhibition catalogue].
- Material Type:
- Archives and Manuscripts
- Legal Status:
- Not Public Record(s)