The Fécamp Bible (London,
British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...
, Yates Thompson MS 1) is an
illuminated
Illuminated may refer to:
* "Illuminated" (song), by Hurts
* Illuminated Film Company, a British animation house
* ''Illuminated'', alternative title of Black Sheep (Nat & Alex Wolff album)
* Illuminated manuscript
See also
* Illuminate (disambi ...
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
Bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts ...
. It was produced in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
during the third quarter of the 13th century, and had previously belonged in the collection of
Henry Yates Thompson
Henry Yates Thompson (15 December 1838 – 8 July 1928) was a British newspaper proprietor and collector of illuminated manuscripts.
Life and career
Yates Thompson was the eldest of five sons born to Samuel Henry Thompson, a banker from a lead ...
.
Description
The
codex contains the text of the
Old and
New Testament
The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chri ...
s, with prologues (folios 1 recto to 524 verso). The text of the Bible is followed by the "Interpretations of Hebrew Names" (folios 526 recto to 572 verso). Following the main texts, a table of
Epistle and
Gospel
Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...
readings (folios 573 recto to 576 verso), and a
litany
Litany, in Christian worship and some forms of Judaic worship, is a form of prayer used in services and processions, and consisting of a number of petitions. The word comes through Latin '' litania'' from Ancient Greek λιτανεία (''lit ...
(folios 576 verso 577 recto) were added to the manuscript.
The manuscript has 578
vellum
Vellum is prepared animal skin or membrane, typically used as writing material. Parchment is another term for this material, from which vellum is sometimes distinguished, when it is made from calfskin, as opposed to that made from other anima ...
folio
The term "folio" (), has three interconnected but distinct meanings in the world of books and printing: first, it is a term for a common method of arranging sheets of paper into book form, folding the sheet only once, and a term for a book ma ...
s. The folios are gathered into 26
quires
Various measures of paper quantity have been and are in use. Although there are no S.I. units such as quires and bales, there are ISO''ISO 4046-3:2002 Paper, board, pulps and related terms – Vocabulary – Part 3: Paper-making terminology'' ( ...
, the majority of which have 24 folios per quire. Seven folios (ff. 71, 290, 299, 300, 301, 302, 303) were replaced in the 15th century. The folios measure 140 mm by 90 mm. The text is written in a
Gothic script in two columns and is written in area 95 mm by 60 mm. The current binding of purple velvet, with two strap-and-pin fastenings was done in the 19th century for Yates Thompson.
Each book of the Bible and the major sections of
Psalms
The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived ...
is introduced by a large historiated initial in colors and gold. Exception are the books of
Deuteronomy,
Isaiah
Isaiah ( or ; he, , ''Yəšaʿyāhū'', "God is Salvation"), also known as Isaias, was the 8th-century BC Israelite prophet after whom the Book of Isaiah is named.
Within the text of the Book of Isaiah, Isaiah himself is referred to as "the ...
and
Haggai
Haggai (; he, חַגַּי – ''Ḥaggay''; Koine Greek: Ἀγγαῖος; la, Aggaeus) was a Hebrew prophet during the building of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, and one of the twelve minor prophets in the Hebrew Bible and the author of ...
. The openings to Deuteronomy and Isaiah are on folios replaced in the 15th century (folios 71 and 301). Folio 301 has large decorated initials at the beginning of the Book of Isaiah. The Book of Haggai has large 13th-century flourished initial (folio 391v). In all there 79 extant large historiated initials. The beginnings of the prologues have large zoomorphic and foliate initials. The beginning of each chapter is marked by a small initial in red with blue pen flourishes or in blue with red pen flourishes.
Attribution of artists
Robert Branner
Robert Branner (January 13, 1927 – November 26, 1973) was an American art historian, archaeologist, and educator. A scholar of medieval art, specializing in Gothic architecture and illuminated manuscripts, Branner was Professor of Art History a ...
has attributed the initial in the Bible to four anonymous artists. The first artist, called "A" by Branner, painted the initial for the
Genesis
Genesis may refer to:
Bible
* Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind
* Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...
on folio 4 verso (see illustration). This artist also painted the initial at the beginning of the
Gospel of John
The Gospel of John ( grc, Εὐαγγέλιον κατὰ Ἰωάννην, translit=Euangélion katà Iōánnēn) is the fourth of the four canonical gospels. It contains a highly schematic account of the ministry of Jesus, with seven "sig ...
in a manuscript now in the
Vatican Library
The Vatican Apostolic Library ( la, Bibliotheca Apostolica Vaticana, it, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana), more commonly known as the Vatican Library or informally as the Vat, is the library of the Holy See, located in Vatican City. Formally es ...
(Vat. lat. 120, f. 274). The second artist, "B", painted the initials from
Exodus through the
Book of Isaiah (folios 15 verso to 321 recto). This artist was related to the workshop of
Pierre le Bar. The third artist, "C", painted the initials from the
Book of Jeremiah through
2 Maccabees
2 Maccabees, el, Μακκαβαίων Β´, translit=Makkabaíōn 2 also known as the Second Book of Maccabees, Second Maccabees, and abbreviated as 2 Macc., is a deuterocanonical book which recounts the persecution of Jews under King Antiochus I ...
(folios 321 recto to 419 verso). This artist also painted a manuscript in the Vatican Library (Reg. lat. 16) and another in Paris (
Bibliothèque nationale
A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vi ...
, lat. 16082). The final artist, "D", painted the initials in the New Testament (folios 419 verso to 572 verso). This artist was related to the
Mathurin atelier.
History of Bible
Based on the
saints included in the litany, the manuscript was owned in the 13th century by a person associated with the
Benedictine
, image = Medalla San Benito.PNG
, caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal
, abbreviation = OSB
, formation =
, motto = (English: 'Pray and Work')
, foun ...
abbey
An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns.
The con ...
of
St. Taurinus,
Evreux, or the Abbey of
Fécamp
Fécamp () is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in north-western France.
Geography
Fécamp is situated in the valley of the river Valmont, at the heart of the Pays de Caux, on the Alabaster Coast. It is aroun ...
,
Normandy
Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
. An unidentified French owner in the 15th century was responsible for the replacement of the folios mentioned above, and for neat marginal annotations. Henry Yates Thompson, a British manuscript collector, bought the manuscript in 1893 from
Bernard Quaritch
Bernard Alexander Christian Quaritch ( ; April 23, 1819 – December 17, 1899) was a German-born British bookseller and collector.
The company established by Bernard Quaritch in 1847 lives on in London as Bernard Quaritch Ltd, dealing in rare ...
for £30. In 1941 it was bequeathed to the British Museum by Yates Thompson's widow.
References
*British Library
Digital Catalogue of illuminated manuscripts(accessed February 11, 2007).
Further reading
*Montague Rhodes James, ''A Descriptive Catalogue of Fifty Manuscripts from the Collection of Henry Yates Thompson'' (Cambridge: University Press, 1898), no. 2.
*''Illustrations from One Hundred Manuscripts in the Library of Henry Yates Thompson'', 7 vols (London: Chiswick Press, 1907–1918), VI: Consisting of Ninety Plates Illustrating Seventeen MSS. with Dates Ranging from the XIIIth to the XVIth Century (1916), pp. 3–4, pl. XI.
*
Seymour de Ricci, ''Les Manuscrits de la Collection Henry Yates Thompson'', Extrait du Bulletin de la Société Française de Reproductions de Manuscrits à Peintures (Paris:
. pub. 1926), no. 2 p. 12.
*Robert Branner, ''Manuscript Painting in Paris During the Reign of Saint Louis: A Study of Styles'', California Studies in the History of Art, 18 (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1977), pp. 81–82, 212, 215, 220, pl. XIV, fig. 202.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fecamp Bible
Illuminated biblical manuscripts
13th-century biblical manuscripts
Yates Thompson manuscripts
13th-century illuminated manuscripts