Lansdowne Roll 1

Contents:

Peter of Poitiers (b. 1193, d. 1205), Compendium historiae in Genealogica Christi, a biblical chronicle in roll form consisting of a series of roundels accompanied by brief biographical entries. The genealogy of Christ from Adam and Eve is depicted in the central line, with series of contemporary historical figures, including Roman emperors and kings of Israel, on either side. The material is arranged in six historical periods corresponding to the six ages of the world inaugurated by Adam, Noah, Abraham (membrane 1), David (membrane 2), Zedekiah or Sedechias (membrane 3) and the birth of Christ (membrane 5). The genealogy ends with Christ's Ascension and the commentary ends at the year of the Assumption of the Virgin (membrane 5). The text begins, 'Considerans historiae prolixitatem necnon difficultate[m] scolariu[m]', explaining that the diagrammatic chronicle is designed to help students memorise complex biblical material.

The dorse of the roll is blank (dorse abbreviated as d).

Decoration:

A large initial in gold with foliate decoration and a foliate partial border in colours and gold (membrane 1). The main line of descent in blue and gold. Diagrams in red, green and brown. Large roundels with square frames in brown and green for key figures. Roundels with square frames in brown or green, or slightly larger with frames in both colours for key figures. Iniitals in blue with pen-flourishing in red. Rubrics in red.

The subjects of the diagrams are:

Membrane 1: Two cross-sections of Noah's ark;

Membrane 2: An architectonic diagram of the 42 'Mansiones' of the Israelites in the desert; a circular diagram of the 12 tribes of Israel around the Tabernacle; two law tablets (left);

Membrane 4: A circular diagram of Jerusalem; a circular H-shaped world map with the four points (labelled oriens, occidens, septe[n]trio and meridies); a square diagram of the ancestry of Joseph.