Contents:ff. 1r-v: A fragment of a Missal, written in the 2nd
quarter of the 12th century. ff. 2r-184r: Isidore of Seville (d.
636), bishop of Seville, Etymologiae (Etymologies), followed by a
versified colophon of four lines, beginning: 'Laudetur christus
nostros qui perficit actus / Et sumat grates quia nobis contulit
artes / Non quas debemus sed quas offerre valemus / Auxilio cuius
finem capit iste meatus'. ff. 184r-v: Anonymous verses entitled
'Versus amici missi ad amicum', beginning: 'Tristis et obtusa quid
adhuc torpes mea musa? / Vultum commuta, precingere, curre, salute
/ Fratrem G nunc ut quondam tibi fidum'. f. 184v: Two tables
entitled 'Manus dextera obediencie' and 'Manus sinistra obedencie',
beginning: 'Brevitas laboris: possibile, facile, necessarium/
Remedium fatigationis: idoneum, gratum, salubre'. f. 184v: A
fragment of a letter from Pope Clement IV (b. c 1195, d. 1268), to
the King of Sicily, Charles d'Anjou, concerning the exemption of
Cistercian monasteries from taxes collected in 'regno Francie tuo'
(your Kingdom of France), beginning: 'Clemens episcopus servus
servorum Dei, dilectissimo filio regi Sicilie illustrissimo',
copied in an early 14th-century chancery script. Copied by the same
scribe as Add MS 10943, also from the abbey of Notre-Dame de La
Charité (according to Turcan-Verkerk, Les manuscrits de la
Charité (2000)) Decoration:A historiated initial of a bishop
(Isidore of Seville) writing (f. 1r). A full-page framed ink
diagram of the degree of consanguinity, including geometrical
features, human figures in a medallion and animal figures (f. 93r).
A geometrical diagram of the generations in red and green (f. 94r).
A diagram of a labyrinth in red and green (f. 142v). Decorated
initials with penwork and pen flourished decoration throughout in
red, blue and green (e.g., ff. 8v, 29r). Pen-flourishing in black
with red highlights added later (e. g., 99v, 111r). The same
illuminator has added marginal decorations in black with red
highlights, some with zoomorphic features (e. g., ff. 111r, 114r,
121v, 123r, 138r, 144r). A lion and a leopard (lower margin, f.
113v). Initials highlighted in red. Paraphs in red and blue. Rubric
in red. Running titles in brown. The historiated initial on f. 1r
is probably by the artist who painted the initial in Yates Thompson
MS 17 (f. 42v) and illuminated Rome, Biblioteca Casanatense MS 1077
(see Turcan-Verkerk, Les manuscrits de la Charité (2000), p. 123).
Place
Preferred form
Neuvelle-lès-la-Charité. Abbey La Charité (France)
