Yates Thompson MS 12

The Histoire d'Outremer, a French translation of the Historia rerum in partibus transmarinis gestarum by William, archbishop of Tyre (d. 1185), with a continuation to 1232. The manuscript must have been written after 1232, and probably before c. 1261, when a further continuation of the Histoire d'Outremer was written.

Decoration:

25 historiated initials, with zoomorphic extensions into the margins, in colours (and gold), at the beginning of each book (ff. 9r, 13v, 18v, 23v, 29r, 34v, 40v, 46r, 51v, 58v, 67v, 75r, 82v, 90r, 99v, 109v, 120r, 132r, 143r, 152v, 161r, 173v, 188v, 193r, 204r); another initial torn out from f. 1r. Small initials in red with blue (and red) pen-flourishing or in blue with red (and blue) pen-flourishing. Added drawing of a man's head (f. 211v).

The subjects of the scenes in the initials are:

f. 9r, Initial 'V'(enuz) of Godfrey of Bouillon and his train setting out on horseback.

f. 13v, Initial 'D'(e) of the siege of Nicaea.

f. 18v, Initial 'O'(r) of Baldwin being received by the clergy.

f. 23v, Initial 'V'(oiant) of the siege of Antioch.

f. 29r, Initial 'P'(asestoient) of the battle outside Antioch, with Bishop Adhemar of Le Puy carrying the Holy Lance.

f. 34v, Initial 'C'(ez) of the funeral of Bishop Adhemar of Le Puy.

f. 40v, Initial 'V'(erite) of the siege of Jerusalem.

f. 46r, Initial 'S'(i cum) of Godfrey of Bouillon being created the Lord of the city.

f. 51v, Initial 'R'(ois) of the funeral of Godfrey of Bouillon and the coronation of Baldwin as king of Jerusalem.

f. 58v, Initial 'E'(stez) of Bohemund and Daimbert, Patriarch of Jerusalem, sailing for Apulia.

f. 67v, Initial 'X'(erses) of Ebremars, the Archbishop of Caesarea, bringing the True Cross to Jerusalem.

f. 75r, Initial 'F'(orz) of the assault on Tyre, and Balac's severed head being held aloft.

f. 82v, Initial 'R'(ois) of the coronation and anointing of Foulques (or Fulk).

f. 90r, Initial 'A'(pres) of the Emperor John enthroned, with a courtier and a messenger who points to the lower part of the initial that extends into the margin, where John's knights are assaulting two men.

f. 99v, Initial 'N'(e) of Sanguius being murdered by his chamberlains.

f. 109v, Initial 'C'(ourarz) of a battle between Imperial knights and Saracen cavalry.

f. 120r, Initial 'O'(r) of the Patriarch of Antioch being bound to a tower and smeared with honey to attract bees.

f. 132r, Initial 'R'(eines) of Nureddin, the Sultan of Damascus fleeing on horseback from two knights (Godfrey Martel and Hugh de Lusignan the elder).

f. 143r, Initial 'V'(ane) of the marriage of Amaury and Mary.

f. 152v, Initial 'M'(olt) of a group of boys with bleeding arms; they include Baldwin IV, who is found btyWilliam of Tyre to have leprosy.

f. 161r, Initial 'B'(uymonz) of Saladin's soldiers forcing captives and livestock from the burning city.

f. 173v, Initial 'D'(evant) of men taking water from a well.

f. 188v, Initial 'O'(r) of King Philippe II of France welcoming King Richard I of England and Queen Berengaria to Acre.

f. 193r, Initial 'O'(r) of the Sultan of Egypt falling from his horse and breaking his neck whilst out hunting.

f. 204r, Initial 'O'(r) of archers assaulting a city.

Folda 1976 associated the style of the miniatures with London, c. 1250. Stones 1986 tentatively attributed the work to an itinerant Italian painter named Nicolaus. A marginal note of a contemporary hand with a Picard spelling (f. 193r) might suggest Piccard origin (but a note by the same hand (f. 188v) does not have a Picard spelling).