A catalogue of Western manuscripts at the Bodleian Libraries and selected Oxford colleges

MS. Bywater 37

Collections (six manuscripts bound together); Italian (Venice, Verona, and Padua); 15th and 16th centuries (1460, 1536–40, 1551–64, etc.)

Physical Description

Secundo Folio: rosque refugere
Form: codex
Support: Paper.
Extent: i + ii + 24 (parchment) + ii + 31 + 57 + 58 + 69 + 80 + i leaves.
Dimensions (leaf): 200–20 × 95–160 mm.
(see the descriptions of individual parts)
Foliation: Foliated in modern pencil in the top right corner: 1–288, 289a-b, 290–324; Soranzo's 'bold foliation' in the centre of the lower margin occurs as follows: fols. 30–60: 358–389; fols. 61–117: 36–90; fols. 118–175: 377–434; fols. 176–244: 100–168; fols. 245–323: 1–80; the third and final sections also have older foliations (see individual descriptions).

Collation

See descriptions of individual parts.

Binding

Bound in 18th-century Italian three-quarter parchment over pasteboards covered with paper decorated with a wavy red pattern on a white ground (of the type described by Mitchell, 1969, 131); the spine with a red leather title-piece lettered 'OPUSCULI | VARII, and with a paper label inscribed 'Nicolai | Sagundini | epist. ad | Bessarionem | (etc.) | [remainder damaged, illegible]'; the base of the spine inscribed 'No. 53' (cf under Provenance).

History

Provenance and Acquisition

Jacopo Soranzo (1686–1761): with his characteristic 'bold' foliation, now out of sequence (cf. Mitchell, 1969, 129–30, 131–2).

Matteo Luigi Canonici (1727–1806) (on whom see Falconer Madan, A summary catalogue of western manuscripts in the Bodleian Library at Oxford, IV: (collections received during the first half of the 19th century) nos. 16670–24330 (Oxford, 1897), 313): inscribed with characteristic: (i) pressmark at the base of the spine: 'No. 53' (cf. Christopher de Hamel, Hidden friends: a loan exhibition of the Comites Latentes Collection of illuminated manuscripts from the Bibliothèque Publique et Universitaire, Geneva, on view at Sotheby's on the occasion of the Colloque of the Comité International de Paléographie 20–28 September 1985 (London, 1985), no. 23, with pl.); (ii) foliations (cf. Mitchell, 1969, pl. XVIa); and (iii) paper insert with 'No. 53' (cf. Mitchell, 1969; and de Hamel, op. cit.); the manuscripts bound together for him.

Giuseppe Canonici (d. 1807): Matteo died intestate, and his manuscripts passed to his brother.

Giovanni Perisinotti: on Giuseppe's death in 1807, the manuscripts, about 3550 in number, passed to Perisinotti, and after many attempts to sell them, 2045 of them were acquired by the Bodleian in 1817; another group was sold at Sotheby's in 1821; and the remainder, 915 in number, were sold to Sneyd in 1834.

Rev. Walter Sneyd, of Denton House, Cuddeston (1809–1888), 1834: the upper pastedown with his circular bookplate design printed on a rectangular piece of paper (cf. de Hamel, op. cit.); sold at Sotheby's, 16 December 1903 and three following days, lot 708; bought by Dobell for £1 7s.

Bertram Dobell: catalogue 118 (Feb. 1904), item 275, priced £2 5s.

Ingram Bywater: inscribed with his Elenchus number in pencil in the top left corner of the upper pastedown: 'By. | 3677'; the upper pastedown with a cutting from the Dobell catalogue, inscribed in ink by Bywater: 'Dobell 1904'.

Bequeathed to the Bodleian by Ingram Bywater in 1915 (originally catalogued after accession under the Summary Catalogue no. 40069).

MS. Bywater 37, fols. 2–29

Contents

(fols. 4r-27r)
Letter from Nicolaus Sagundinus to Cardinal Bessarion, asking for his patronage,

dated (fol. 27r) Venice, 21 August 1460

(see L. Mohler, Kardinal Bessarion (Paderborn: 1925–42), III, 647).
Language(s): Latin
(fol. 27v)
Epigrams

Fragments of two Greek epigrams; fols. 28r-29v are blank.

Language(s): Greek

Physical Description

Secundo Folio: 'eosque refugere'
Form: codex
Support: Parchment, paper watermark not fully visible; unidentified.
Extent: ii (paper) + 24 (parchment) + ii (paper)
Dimensions (leaf): 217–8 × 97–100 mm.
Foliation: Foliated in modern pencil: 1–29

Collation

Two quires of 12 parchment leaves each, the whole enclosed within two paper bifolia; each parchment leaf signed with a letter of the roman alphabet, just below the middle of the last line of each recto, a-z, skipping a leaf after u.

Layout

Ruled in drypoint in the 1st quire, with 25–6 lines, and frame-ruled in brown 'crayon' in the 2nd quire.

Hand(s)

Written in a sloping italic hand in brown ink as far as fol. 11r, line 7; thereafter in a more upright hand, in black ink.

Decoration

No colour is used.

History

Origin: Italian, Venice ; 21 August 1460

MS. Bywater 37, fols. 32–60

Contents

(fols. 32r-57r)
Felice Feliciano, Iusta vittoria
Incipit: Fve antiqvamente ne la victoria de Alexandro Magno
(ed. Mardersteig, 1943); pr. G. Papanti, Catalogo dei Novellieri Italiani (Livorno, 1871), II app. ix-xxiv; for other copies see C. H. Mitchell, 'Felice Feliciano Antiquarius', Proceedings of the British Academy 47 (1961), 220); fols. 30r-31r, 57v-60v are mostly blank, except for the Soranzo foliation.
Language(s): Italian

Physical Description

Secundo Folio: Ritruandomi(fol. 33r)
Secundo Folio: Comdemnato (fol. 34r)
Form: codex
Support: Paper.
Extent: 31 leaves
Dimensions (leaf): 205 × 135 mm.
Dimensions (ruled): × mm.
Foliation: Foliated in modern pencil: 30–60;, and with typical Soranzo 'bold foliation': 358–389.

Layout

Ruled in faint leadpoint with 22 lines.

Hand(s)

Written in a humanistic script with 21 lines per page, attributabe to Felice Feliciano.

Decoration

(fol. 31v) Ornamental frame, not filled in, in the form of an architectural monument, in watercolours(?) of blue, red, and dull yellow (Pacht and Alexander, II, pl. LXI.637).

(fol. 32r) Elaborate letter 'F'(ve), with a frame of knotwork on a trellis-like frame.

History

Origin: Italian ; 15th century; after 1474

MS. Bywater 37, fols. 61–117

Contents

(fols. 62r-115v)
Boccaccio (?), Urbano
Rubric: Raconto della Vita d'Vrbano Figlio di Federico Barbarossafol. 61r, under a cypher composed of the letters D and B joined by a cross.

Fols. 61r-v, 116–117v are ruled, otherwise originally blank

Language(s): Italian

Physical Description

Secundo Folio: chagione(fol. 63r)
Form: codex
Support: Paper.
Extent: 57 leaves.
Dimensions (leaf): 220 × 145–50 mm.
Foliation: Foliated in modern pencil: 61–117; also with typical Soranzo foliation: 36–90; an older foliation in the top right corner, in ink, numbers only the written leaves of the main text (fols. 62–115): 1–54, perhaps by the owner who wrote a title on fol. 61r.

Collation

catchwords written by the scribe vertically, downwards, on the right-hand vertical ruling line.

Layout

Mostly ruled faint leadpoint with 25 lines per page.

History

Origin: Italian

MS. Bywater 37, fols. 118–175

Contents

(fols. 119r-175r)
Livio Sanudo, Account of visions seen at Venice, 1551–64
Rubric: Le erudite narrationi et i saggi discorsi dello eccellentissimo sopra alcune visioni apparse in diversi tempi ad uno amico suo

An account, predominantly in Italian, of 144 visions seen by him at Venice, 1551–1564, written down, according to a note at the end (fol. 175r), by Livio Sanudo (c.1520–75; on whom see E. A. Cigogna, Inscrizioni Venziane (Venice, 1824), II, 293–7); fol. 118r-v is blank except for the Soranzo foliation; fol. 175v blank.

Language(s): mostly in Italian

Physical Description

Secundo Folio: tre raggi luminosi(fol. 120)
Form: codex
Support: Paper.
Extent: i + 58 leaves.
Dimensions (leaf): 210 × 160 mm.
Foliation: Foliated in modern pencil: 118–175; with typical Soranzo 'bold foliaton': 377–434.

Collation

Layout

Apparently not ruled. Approx. 19–20 lines of text per page.

Decoration

Several simple pen-drawn diagrams are incorporated into the text to illustrate it (e.g. fols. 124v, 130r, etc.).

History

Origin: Italian, Venice (?); 16th century, c.1564–75

MS. Bywater 37, fols. 176–244

Contents

Gian Carlo Persio, La nobilissima barriera della Canea
Language(s): Italian
(fol. 176r)

Title-page

Rubric: La barriera combattuta alla canea, posta in ottava rima da Gio:[vanni] Carlo Persio.

fol. 176v blank.

(fol. 177r-v)

Dedication to Matteo Zane , patriarch of Venice 1600–05

Incipit: (dedication) Hauendo inteso da tutta questa citta

fol. 178r blank

(fol. 178v-244r)

Text. Title as on fol. 176r

Incipit: (text) Canto il ricco torneo gli fatti eggregi

fol. 244v blank.

Physical Description

Secundo Folio: Il porto(fol. 179r)
Secundo Folio: Era il settimo(fol. 180r)
Form: codex
Support: Paper.
Extent: 69 leaves.
Dimensions (leaf): 215 × 155 mm.
Foliation: Foliated in modern pencil: 176–244; with typical Soranzo foliation: 100–168.

Layout

Apparently not ruled.

Hand(s)

Written with up to two eight-line verses on each page.

History

Origin: Italian ; 17th century, early

MS. Bywater 37, fols. 245–323

Contents

(fol. 245v-322r)
'V. S.', Dialogues

Ten dialogues in the Paduan dialect, dated 1536–40, dedicated to Pitro dall Chiesa (fol. 32r); the author gives his initials as 'V. S.' (fols. 276v, 294v, 322r, etc.); leaves are missing after fols. 254, 265, 287, and 305; fols. 245r, 257v, 294r, 314r, 321r, 322v-323v are blank except for foliations, etc.

Language(s): Italian (Paduan dialect)

Physical Description

Secundo Folio: S. No mo(fol. 247)
Form: codex
Support: Paper.
Extent: 80 leaves.
Dimensions (leaf): 200 × 150 mm.
Foliation: Foliated in modern pencil: 245–288, 289a-b, 290–323; with typical Soranzo 'bold foliation': 1–80; a foliation in the top right corner of rectoes, occasionally cropped, from [1]-88, is presumably by the original scribe, since it corresponds to a table of contents on fol. 321v; it was made before a number of leaves were lost.

Layout

Ruling not visible.

Hand(s)

Written in humanisctic script with with approx. 24–25 lines per page.

Decoration

Framed ink sketches:

  • (fol. 245v) Dialogue 1. Man in a landscape, standing on ploughed furrows (?); half-page.
  • (fol. 276v) Dialogue 6. Three cherubs, two of them holding a (?)ball; quarter-page.
  • (fol. 294v) Dialogue 8. Bearded man sitting under a tree, with several books; a banderole above is inscribed ' teris studio cognoscere multa'; quarter-page.
  • (fol. 314v) Dialogue 10. A tree-stump, from which a new branch is growing; a banderole above is inscribed 'Resurrexi et adhuc tecum sum.'; half-page.

History

Origin: Italian, Padua (?); 16th century, 1536–40

Additional Information

Record Sources

Draft description by Peter Kidd, late 1990s

Digital Images

Digital Bodleian (1 image from 35mm slides)

Bibliography

Last Substantive Revision

2017-07-01: First online publication.