This manuscript was produced in the second half of the 12th
century, probably at the Benedictine monastery of St Martin at
Tournai. It most likely remained there until the abbey’s
dissolution in 1796 by French Revolutionary forces. The manuscript
contains two works on sacred places by Pseudo-Antoninus of Piacenza
also known as the Anonymous Pilgrim of Piacenza (fl. c. 570) and
the English Benedictine monk Bede (b. 672/3, d. 735), commentaries
on biblical books, and Bede’s glossaries of Latin and Hebrew
biblical names. Both the medieval table of contents on f. 1v and a
catalogue of 1641 (see Sanderus, Bibliotheca , I (1641), pp. 133-34
(‘H. 1’)) state that the manuscript’s final item is the
Tractatus de coloribus (Treatise on Colours), a work by Petrus
Pictor (fl. c . 1110), a canon of Saint-Omer, but this item is no
longer part of the manuscript. A pencil inscription next to this
item in the table of contents notes that it has been ‘Taken away
(?)’ on ‘8 Nov. (?) 1829’. This fragment has not been located
elsewhere. The manuscript is especially known for its detailed
two-page drawing of St Martin of Tours. One page shows the saint,
according to a well-established iconographic tradition, sharing his
cloak with a beggar. The other page, however, shows men and women,
apparently companions of St Martin, engaged in falconry. This
setting is unique and is one of the earliest chivalric
representations of St Martin (Holcomb, Pen and Parchment (2009), p.
136). Contents: ff. 3r-11r: Bede, De locis sanctis (On Sacred
Places), beginning ‘Procedente beato Antonino martyre una cum
collega’. ff. 12v-19v: Bede, De locis sanctis (continued),
beginning ‘Libellus bede patri de locis sanctis · quem de
opusculis maiorum ad brevando composuit · versus eiusdem · numero
sex’. ff. 20r-54v: Gloss on the biblical books of Genesis (and St
Jerome’s prologue), Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy,
Joshua (and St Jerome’s prologue), Kings (and St Jerome’s
prologue) , Chronicles, Ezra, Esther, Tobit, Judith, Maccabees,
Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Canticle of Canticles, Wisdom, Sirach, Job,
Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Twelve Minor Prophets, Gospels,
and Epistles, beginning ‘Glose in prologo sancti ieronimi super
Genesim’. ff. 55r-74r: Bede, Interpretatio Nominum Graecorum (The
Interpretation of Greek Names), ‘Apocriphus . grecae . latinae
dicitur’. ff. 75r-92r: Bede, Interpretatio Nominum Hebraeorum
(The Interpretation of Hebrew Names), ‘Aleph . doctrina. vel
deus’. The manuscript contains a number of additions: f. 1v: A
table of contents, added in the 13th (?) century. ff. 2r-2v:
Pseudo-Antoninus of Piacenza, De Locis Terrae Sanctae (On the
Places in the Holy Land), imperfect, added in the 12th century.
[ff. 1r, 62r, 74v (except for a red initial ‘A’), 92v, 93r, 93v
are empty].Decoration:Two full-page drawings in ink, perhaps added
later, with captions. The subjects of the drawings are as
follows:f. 11v: A group of men and women on horses, hawking.f. 12r:
St Martin of Tours cutting his cloak for a beggar. 1 marginal
drawing in brown ink, with a caption. The subject of the drawing is
as follows:f. 14r: The pillar on which Christ was flagellated
(‘hic columna stat marmorea cui adherens dominus flagellatus
est’). 1 large initial in red with green pen-work decoration (f.
3r). Large and small initials in red, capitals highlighted in red,
and rubrics throughout the manuscript.
