Summary:
Manuscript 420 is a collection of two historical texts. The first
(ff. 1r-114v) is the Chronicon Pontificum et imperatorum of Martin
of Opava (Martinus Oppaviensis). Of this famed chronicle, Bruges
holds a second copy (ms. 48). Unlike the latter, ms. 420 does not
present the history of the papacy and the emperors in parallel
columns on the verso and recto pages, but consecutively. Each part
is introduced by a list of the dignitaries: the popes (ff. 1r-6v)
from Saint Peter to Nicholas V, and the emperors (ff. 81r-83v) from
Augustus to Frederick II, with the year of their ascension. The
lists show preferences and ideals. The list of popes lacks the
period 1342-1409 and then lists the papal claimants in Pisa, rather
than the Roman pontiffs. The list of emperors portrays the idea of
'translatio imperii' as it suggests a seamless transition of
supreme imperial dignity from the Roman emperors to the
Eastern-Roman/Byzantine emperors, and from 801 (sic) to Charlemagne
and the Holy Roman emperors. The full text of the chronicle on the
emperors is taken from Martin of Opava. The chronicle on the popes
follows Martin's text until Nicholas III; the rest of the text is
by an anonymous continuator. This continuation, however, does not
follow the Continuatio Pontificum Romana as edited in the MGH and
has not yet been identified. The scribe enlarged the chronicle with
other information. Many coronation dates have been checked with
other sources, as they are followed by 'alibi' and a variant date
(often a few years earlier or later). Others having been marked as
correct: 'bene'. In other instances he refers directly to his other
source(s): on f. 82v he notes in the margin that he could find
almost nothing about the emperors Nicephorus and Michael: 'de istis
duobus imperatoribus in alia cronica nichil inueni nisi quod ',
while he mentions an alternative list of popes: 'In cronica fratris
bernardi guidonis de qua addictions (sic) infrascripte sunt
extracte: ponitur post benedictum II Iohannes V, qui '. Many
marginal references are made to other chronicles. The second - much
smaller - text is a chronicle on the kings of the Franks. It is
introduced as 'De regibus Francorum', but this title is not found
in the other known copy of the text: BnF Latin 1523. The chronicle
presents an abridged history of the 'first king' Pharamund, a (most
likely legendary) fourth-century leader of the Salian Franks, and
runs until the year 1481 and the reign of Louis XI. The manuscript
dates to the fifteenth century; as the list of popes ends with
Nicholas V (r. 1447-1455), it is likely to have been written in the
written in the years following 1447. Both texts were copied
simultaneously by a single scribe, in a gothic hybrid script. The
text is written in a single column per page, but with many entries
in the margins. Decoration is sparse but consistent: red lombards
have been added throughout the manuscript, and the majuscules have
been highlighted in the same colour. Between the texts are several
blank leaves. The binding is seventeenth- or eighteenth-century
brown leather over cardboard. There are no provenance or ownership
marks. [Summary by Dr. Mark Vermeer] Title:
[Cronica fratris martini ordinis predicatorum dicta martiniana; De
regibus Francorum] Note:
Ff. 79r-80v, 94r en 132v-144v zijn leeg Topic general subdivision:
Godsdienst
Geschiedenis Material:
Artikelen Extent:
170 ff.
280 x 210 mm Script:
romein Genre/form:
Geschiedschrijving
