Summary:
This early manuscript, dated to the third quarter of the twelfth
century, is one of the first traces of scribal activity in the Ten
Duinen abbey. The volume is a compilation of three texts: (ff.
1v-60r) De archa Noe; (ff. 60r-78v) De formatione arche; and (f.
79r-139r) De duodecim patriarchis sive Beniamin minor. The first
two works were written by Hugh of Saint-Victor (d. 1141), an
important pre-Thomist scholastic theologian and a prolific writer.
Both deal with the subject of Noah's ark. In the De archa Noe, the
ark is presented from three different perspectives: historically as
a vessel; typologically as a precursor to the 'ark' that Christ
built: the Church; and finally tropologically as an ark of wisdom,
held in each person's heart. In the second text, De formatione
arche but also known as De archa Noe mystica, a detailed
description of the ark is provided. As is commonly found, in this
manuscript the two texts were copied as a single work; thus
reaching the total of four arks mentioned in the title. The third
work was written by Richard of Saint-Victor (d. 1173), a fellow
member of Hugh's monastery and one of his pupils. Just as his
teacher, Richard uses a Biblical narrative (here the story of
patriarch Jacob) to introduce his aim to the reader, in this case
contemplation. This manuscript presents the text in a single column
per page, with little decoration other than initials in red, green,
and occasionally blue ink, and red accents in most majuscules. The
edges of the pages have been cropped, as parts of a contemporary
title are visible in the upper margin of fol. 1v. This volume has
remained in the Ten Duinen abbey since its production. On the first
leaf, we find an mark of ownership and a book curse: "Iste liber
est ecclesie beate Marie de Dunis. Si quis eum abstulerit anathema
sit." The first and last leaves carry the abbey's cross-shaped
stamp. The binding is early Cistercian (12th- or 13th-century) and
consists of brown leather over wooden boards, with traces of five
metal mounts on each cover and one clasp. [Summary by Dr. Mark
Vermeer] Title:
Hugo de quattuor archis. Richardus de duodecim patriarchis [titel
fenestra] Note:
Verzamelband afkomstig uit scriptorium Ten Duinen (cf. Janzen
2019) Topic general subdivision:
Godsdienst Material:
Perkament Extent:
139 ff. Dimensions:
230 x 160 mm Decoration and binding:
Duinenfoliëring
lombarden
gedecoreerde initialen
Vroege cisterciënzerband (12de-13de eeuw) Script:
gotische textualis Provenance:
Cisterciënzerabdij Ten Duinen (S.O.Cist.)
