Lea Library (more information) , 6th floor
10:00am – 4:00pm
Many thanks to the Kislak Center (link) for pulling an exciting selection of their rare books for us to see. Our access will be supervised and mediated by student workers, so unfortunately we will not be able to offer page turning or book handling options. You will need to leave all bags and belongings outside of the room and view only.
Ms Codex 109: Treatise on munitions and explosive devices, with many illustrations of the various devices and their uses, 1584. Opening 133v-134r https://colenda.library.upenn.edu/catalog/81431-p3pv6bb54 Ms. Codex 725: World and church history to the election of Pope Sixtus IV in 1471, with diagrams and drawings throughout the text. The first printed edition was published in Cologne in 1474; in editions published in 1479, the election of Sixtus IV in 1471 is mentioned within a longer entry for 1474 that is not present in this manuscript. Opening 16v-17r https://colenda.library.upenn.edu/catalog/81431-p3gp1m Ms. Codex 1070: Genealogy of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, tracing his descent from the earls of Leicester and Chester, beginning with individuals of the 11th and 12th centuries, and providing the heraldic devices of the principal members of these families. Although the genealogy may have been compiled in association with Robert Dudley’s appointment as lieutenant of the Order of the Garter in 1572 or the birth of his illegitimate son in 1574, Robert Dudley is mentioned in the introduction and is represented by the final coat of arms (f. 17v), although the lack of his name among those of his siblings is noted in a late 16th- or early 17th-century hand (f. 18r)., 1572. Opening 1v-2r https://colenda.library.upenn.edu/catalog/81431-p32646 Ms. Roll 1588: A chronicle with diagram from the first reign of Henry VI tracing the descent of the kings of England from Noah, through Brut, and breaking off after the kings Kimbelinus and Arvigarus in the central line of descent and the kings Ingils and Offa in another line left of center. The birth of Christ is marked just before the end of the fragment. Earlier the line of descent on the left includes the descent of northern peoples such as the Danes, Jutes, and Geates from Steldius, also known as Scyld Scefing from the poem Beowulf. On the verso (outer surface of roll) is an 18th-century inscription, Genealogy, Noa to [the kings] of England. 1425. Membrane 2 https://colenda.library.upenn.edu/catalog/81431-p3923m Ms. Codex 724: Vulgate Bible, with prologues for several books. France, 1275. Opening 3v-4r OR 159v-160r (opening of Job) Layout: Written in 2 columns of 56-58 lines, with illuminated border on the left edge of one or both columns on most pages.; Script: Written in a Gothic script, appears to be the work of a single scriptorium.; Decoration: Illuminated series of miniatures in a full-page initial at the beginning of Genesis, depicting the 7 days of Creation and the Crucifixion (f. 3v); historiated initials at the beginning of each subsequent book, a few integrated with an illuminated border; ornamented capitals, many with animals or animal faces in gold, rose, blue, red, and other colors on nearly every page; drolleries with animals and grotesques throughout.; Binding: 18th- or 19th-century pigskin with oak boards and the remains of clasps.; Origin: Possibly written and illuminated in Arras, France, in the last quarter of the 13th century. https://colenda.library.upenn.edu/catalog/81431-p3st7f229 Ms. Codex 1057: Ferial psalter, Germany, 1350. Opening 16v-17r. Ferial psalter, containing the psalms divided into eight sections: seven for the psalms for matins through the week and the eighth containing all the psalms for vespers, accompanied by indications of invitatories, antiphons, hymns, short chapter readings, and concluding with canticles, a litany and prayers. The eight sections are marked with illumination or penwork. The psalter is preceded by antiphons and hymns added in the 16th century and a 14th-century liturgical calendar including the feast day of Saint Vigilius, Bishop of Trent, and 17th-century entries for the deaths of members of the community of the Benedictine abbey of Saint Walburga https://colenda.library.upenn.edu/catalog/81431-p3dz03577 Ms. Roll 1066: An illuminated chronicle tracing the descent of Edward IV from Adam. An illuminated chronicle tracing the descent of Edward IV from Adam, through Brut and Arthur (generally following the 12th-century account of Geoffrey of Monmouth), and the historical kings of England. The text draws on other historical authors such as Roger of Wendover, Matthew of Paris, and Ranulf Higden. The latest event in the text is the marriage of Henry VI and Margaret of Anjou in 1445 and the appointment of Edward’s father, Richard, duke of York, as regent in France; the illustration of Edward IV as king must be from his accession in 1461 or later. On the verso (outer surface of roll) is the Compendium historiae in genealogia Christi attributed to Peter of Poitiers, illustrated with drawings, followed by a diagram of Roman emperors and Christian popes. Opening membrane 7-8 https://colenda.library.upenn.edu/catalog/81431-p3qk24 LJS 419: Illustrated herbal with three styles of illustration: one group of illustrations following medieval conventions, sometimes with fantastic elements such as human faces, on recto pages through most of the manuscript; another, rougher but more generally somewhat more naturalistic group in ink outline, on verso pages or added alongside earlier color illustrations; and a third group of naturalistic color illustrations of plants including roots, leaves, flowers and fruit on verso pages. Approximately a quarter of the illustrations are accompanied by notes on medicinal properties and preparations of the plants, written in the same ink as the ink outline illustrations, mostly in Italian (the Italian usage suggests the text was written in the Veneto), but occasionally in Latin or a mix of both languages; the notes are written around and sometimes over the illustrations. Binding: Contemporary (15th-century) limp parchment; remnants of ties on 3 sides; Erbario in ink on upper cover.; Origin: Written in northern Italy in the 15th century. Italy, ca. 1400. Opening 18v-19r https://colenda.library.upenn.edu/catalog/81431-p3n87308d Ms. Codex 1071: Coats of arms, some painted and some drawn in ink, for the monarchs and nobles of England from Edward the Confessor to Elizabeth I, 1597. Opening 78v-79r https://colenda.library.upenn.edu/catalog/81431-p3xd1w Ms Codex 1566: Book of hours, use of Metz, 1375. Opening 88v-89r https://colenda.library.upenn.edu/catalog/81431-p3rv0d30r Title supplied by cataloger.; Collation: Parchment, i (paper) + 180 + i (paper); 1¹² 2-5⁸ 6⁶ 7-10⁸ 11⁶ 12-15⁸ 16¹⁰ 17-18⁸ 19⁸ 20⁸(?) 21¹⁰ 22⁸; [1-180], modern foliation in pencil, lower right recto.; Layout: Written in 12 long lines; frame-ruled in faint ink.; Script: Written in a late Gothic book script.; Decoration: 10 half-page miniatures (Virgin and Child, nursing, f. 13r; arrest of Christ, f. 29v; Christ before Caiaphas, f. 46r; scourging of Christ, f. 54v; Christ carrying the Cross, f. 60r; Crucifixion, f. 65r; descent from the Cross, f. 70v; entombment of Christ, f. 81r; Christ in majesty, f. 89r; funeral scene with priests and monks, f. 113r) with 4- or 5-line initials and branching foliate borders with ivy leaves; 2- and 3-line initials in color on cusped gold grounds with colored ivy stems forming partial text borders; 1-line initials in gold on pink and blue grounds with white penwork; entries in calendar in red and blue; rubrics in pale red ink.; Binding: Modern red velvet over pasteboards with metal clasp.; Origin: Probably written in Metz in the late 14th century.