Vatican, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana MS Vat. lat. 4351

Binding

  • Modern binding: maroon leather covers with gold decorative inlay borders on the front and back. There is a gold decorative badge on the centre of the front and back covers. On the spine there are four raised bands in addition to the endbands.

Writing support

  • Paper (folio 141 is a parchment endleaf which has been used as a folio)

Folios and foliation

  • Folios: i + 4 (A-D [my reference; not foliated as such]) + 141 + i
  • The manuscript has been foliated (from folios 1-40) at the top right of each recto folio in Arabic numerals by a medieval hand in ink.
  • The manuscript has been foliated (from folios 41-140) at the top right of each recto folio in Arabic numerals by a modern hand in ink (early-modern hand but modern numerals).
  • The manuscript has been foliated (from folios 103-140; foliated as 1, 2 etc.) at the top right of each recto folio in Arabic numerals by a medieval hand in red ink.

Collation

  • Collation: I20, II12, III16, IV-V12, VI6, VII-VIII12, IX-X14, XI10 [tentative]
  • Catchwords present.

Dimensions of manuscript

  • 202 x 145 mm

Layout and frame

  • Number of columns: 1 (Ara-Dvb: 2 columns; subsequent tables are divided into 2 or 3 columns)
  • Number of lines per folio: 32 (2r)
  • Marginal borders have been ruled. Horizontal lines for writing have not been ruled.

Size of written space (2r)

  • 157 x 120 mm
  • Distance from top: 10 mm
  • Distance from bottom: 35 mm
  • Distance from spine: 5 mm
  • Distance from fore-edge: 20 mm

Contents

  • Ara-Dvb: Table of all examples included within the Liber de exemplis et similtudinibus rerum
  • 1r-102va: Johannes de Sancto Geminiano, Liber de exemplis et similtudinibus rerum [At least some chapters are abridged]
  • 1r-1v: First prologue to the Liber
  • 1v-64v: Book One, De celo et elementis
  1. De abstinentia
  2. De accidia
  3. De actiua vita
  4. De amore multiplici [divided into four chapters]
  5. De angelis
  6. De anima
  7. De aptitudinibus naturalibus ad virtutes et vitia et artes
  8. De auaritia
  9. De aureolis
  10. De beatitudinibus
  11. De bonitate et malitia humane vite
  12. De caritate
  13. De carne et spiritu
  14. De concupiscentia carnis
  15. De compunctione lacrimarum
  16. De conuersione penitentium
  17. De corpore humano
  18. De cupiditate
  19. De discordia
  20. De diuitijs mundi
  21. De doctoribus ecclesie
  22. De doctrina spirituali
  23. De donis spiritus sancti
  24. De ecclesia cristianorum
  25. De electis dei
  26. De elemosinarijs
  27. De exaltatione et etiam casu superborum
  28. De feruore fidei et penitentie vel compunctionis
  29. De fide
  30. De fructibus spiritus
  31. De gloria eterna
  32. De gratia gratum faciente
  33. De gratia gratis data
  34. De hereticis
  35. De humilitate
  36. De incarnatione cristi
  37. De inconstantia
  38. De ignorantia
  39. De ira diuina [ira has been replaced with gracia]
  40. De ira humana [ira has been replaced with gracia]
  41. De iustitia
  42. De lacrimis
  43. De lingua
  44. De locorum aptitudine
  45. De maria matre domini
  46. De obedientia
  47. De ordine predicatorum
  48. De peccatis
  49. De peccatoribus
  50. De penitentia
  51. De penitentibus
  52. De perseuerantia
  53. De prelatis
  54. De preseruatione anime a putredine peccati
  55. De religione
  56. De sanctis
  57. De sapientia sanctorum
  58. De solitaria vita
  59. De spiritu sancto
  60. De statu quadruplici hominis in vita spirituali
  61. De superbia
  62. De temperantia
  63. De trinitate
  64. De virtutibus
  65. De vita hominis naturali
  66. De vita hominis morali
  67. De cristo
  68. De cristianis, iudeis et sarracenis
  • 64va-65rc: Table of examples included within Book One
  • 65ra-65rc: Table of chapter headings included within Book One
  • 65v-66r: Prologue to Book Two
  • 66r-77v: Book Two, De metallis et lapidibus
  1. De amatoribus dei
  2. De anima
  3. De continentia
  4. De dilectione
  5. De eloquentia
  6. De fide
  7. De gratia dei
  8. De humilitate
  9. De humilibus
  10. De igne gehenne
  11. De iustitia
  12. De maria matre domini [divided into two chapters]
  13. De penitentia [divided into two chapters]
  14. De penitentibus
  15. De prudentia
  16. De purificatione cordis et purificatione peccati
  17. De querendo cristum
  18. De sanctis
  19. De sapientia
  20. De superbia
  21. De temperantia
  22. De tribulatione
  23. De virtutibus
  24. De cristo
  • 78ra: Table of chapter headings included within Book Two
  • 78rb: Table of examples included within Book Two
  • 78v: Blank
  • 79r-79v: Prologue to Book Three
  • 79v-101r: Book Three, De vegetabilibus et plantis
  1. De abdicatione temporalium
  2. De abiectis a mundo
  3. De abstinentia
  4. De aduersitate
  5. De amore dei
  6. De bonis hominibus
  7. De bonorum et malorum differentia
  8. De caritate
  9. De contemplatione siue de vita contemplatiua
  10. De cupiditate
  11. De dignitate temporali
  12. De doctrina sacre scripture
  13. De eloquentia sapientum
  14. De exhortatione ad bonum
  15. De feruore
  16. De fide
  17. De filijs et parentibus
  18. De fortuna
  19. De gratia
  20. De gula
  21. De humilitate
  22. De ypocrita
  23. De malis hominibus
  24. De maria matre domini
  25. De martiribus
  26. De operibus bonis
  27. De operibus contemplantium
  28. De operibus docentium
  29. De passione cristi
  30. De paupertate spiritus
  31. De peccatoribus
  32. De penitentia
  33. De perfectione boni propositi
  34. De perseuerantia
  35. De religione
  36. De sanguine cristi
  37. De sanctis viris
  38. De societate bona
  39. De tribulatione
  40. De virginitate
  41. De virtuosis
  42. De cristo
  • 101va-101vb: Table of chapter headings included within Book Three
  • 102ra-102va: Table of examples included within Book Three
  • 103r-103v: Heading: ‘Exempla ex diuersis loris excerpta’. Text begins: ‘Legitur quod quidam dux habuit ex vxore’ [Gesta Romanorum?] (subsequent incipits: [2] ‘Legitur in scriptis monachore cistersiensium’ [3] ‘Coram salonem fuit proposita’ [4] ‘Legitur in dictis sapiencie tum greciore’ [5] ‘Nota quod sententiis ad corrigendum prudentis iuuenis’ [6] ‘Legitur in miraculis virginis marie’)
  • 104r-105r: Heading: ‘Prologus in libro de donis. De timore mundano’ [additional heading in red: ‘Incipit tractatus ad habundancium exempla in sermonibus ad omnem materiam’]. Text begins: ‘Quoniam plus exempla quam uerba mouent secundum gregorium et facilius interdum capiuntur’.
  • 105v: Blank
  • 106r-108v: Heading [in red]: ‘De habundancia. Incipit ad habundancia exemplore in sermonibus ad omnem materiam habet incipit prologus’. Text begins: ‘Quoniam plus exempla quam uerba mouent’.
  • 109r-141r: Heading [in red]: De timoris mundano. Text begins: ‘Species timoris dicuntur esse 7 scilicet timor mundanus humanus seruilis naturalis’.

Rubrication, decoration and annotations

  • Rubrication: red headings, underlining and paragraph marks (most of Book 2 of the Liber de exemplis is unrubricated).
  • Initials: 1r: 2 line red/blue pen flourished initial; thereafter, 1-3 plain red initials.
  • Annotations: the examples have been written in the margin by a different hand.

Script and scribes

  • Script: Ara-Dvb: cursiva libraria; 1r-102va: cursiva currens in a single hand; 103r-105r, 106r-141r: cursiva currens in multiple hands
  • Scribes: Petrus Pinellia/Pinella
  • Colophons: Dvb: ‘Explicit tabula vltimi tractatus presentis voluminis scripta per mag’ fratris petri pinella magistris [?] libero anno 1447. Vigilia vigilie beati petri magistris.’

Date and provenance

  • Date: 1447 (Dvb)
  • Ex-libris note: Av: ‘Iste liber est fratris petri pinellia ordinis predicatorum 29th ylerde [?] et sunt hic tres libri Primus de celo et planetis et proprietatibus eorum Secundus de mineralibus et propriis effectibus Tercius de plantis et herbis et earum virtutibus.’