Dr. Jörn Günther • Antiquariat
www.guenther-rarebooks.com

CONTENTS

Manuscripts

  1. Glossed Gospels of St Luke and St John,
    Paris or northern France, c. 1210
  2. Psalter with calendar for the diocese of Trier,
    Germany,Trier, c. 1220-40
  3. Psalter and book of hours for the use of Paris,
    illuminated in the du Prat atelier, France, Paris,
    c. 1250-60
  4. Biblia latina, pocket bible, France, Paris, c. 1250
  5. Antiphonary, sanctoral volume, Italy,
    Emilia-Romagna, c. 1270-75
  6. Psalter for the use of Auxerre, France,
    Burgundy or Paris, c. 1300
  7. Antiphonary for a Franciscan convent,
    illuminated by Neri da Rimini, Italy,
    Emilia-Romagna, dated 1314
  8. Vita Sancti Antonii Eremitae – Inventio et
    Translatio, illuminated by the Maestro del 1328,
    Italy, Bologna, c. 1320
  9. Schönrainer Liederhandschrift. Middle High
    German Minnesang manuscript, Germany,
    Hesse, c. 1330
  10. Missale Romanum, illuminated in the workshop
    of Cristoforo Orimina, Italy, Naples, c. 1355
  11. Boethius, De consolatione philosophiae and
    Jean de Meun, Testament, France, Paris, c. 1400
  12. Guido de Columna, Historia destructionis Troiae
    and Giovanni Boccaccio, Il Filostrato, Italy,
    Naples, dated 1414 and 1413
  13. Book of hours for the use of Paris, illuminated
    by the workshop of the Bedford Master, France,
    Paris, c. 1405-10
  14. Compilation of pastoral and mystical texts
    from the library of the Celestines of Marcoussis,
    illuminated by the Hoo Master, France, Paris,
    c. 1425-35
  15. Book of hours for the use of Toul, illuminated
    by the Master of Pommersfelden 351, France,
    Toul or Metz, c. 1435-40
  16. Dominican hymnal, illuminated by the
    Master of 1446, Italy, Bologna, c. 1450
  17. Nicolaus de Lyra, Postilla litteralis super
    Vetus Testamentum, two volumes, Italy,
    Ferrara?, 1441-46
  18. Compilation of history bible and world chronicle,
    the Antichrist and the XV signs and other texts,
    Austria, c. 1450
  19. Book of hours and psalter in Dutch, illuminated
    by the Master of the Haarlem Bible, Masters of
    Otto von Moerdrecht, Masters of Gijsbrecht
    van Brederode et al., northern Netherlands,
    Haarlem, dated 1453
  20. Book of hours for the use of Rome, with
    calendar of Bruges, illuminated by the Master of
    Buchanan E.5, Flanders, Bruges, c. 1450-60
  21. Chronique anonyme universelle, parchment
    scroll, illuminated by the Master of Étienne
    Sauderat, France, Paris?, c. 1450 with additions
    after 1461 and 1467
  22. Psalter with hymnal, illuminated
    by the workshop of Bartolomeo Varnucci,
    Italy, Florence, c. 1460-70
  23. Martin Le Franc, L’Estrif de Fortune et de Vertu,
    illuminated by the Master of the Échevinage
    de Rouen, France, Rouen, c. 1465-75
  24. Book of hours for the use of Utrecht in the Dutch
    translation of Geert Grote, illuminated by one of
    the Masters of Gijsbrecht van Brederode, northern
    Netherlands, probably Utrecht, c. 1465-70
  25. Missale Fratrum Minorum for the convent
    of S. Francesco di Montone, near Perugia,
    illuminated by Bartelomeo and Giapeco
    Caporali, Italy, Perugia, 1469
  26. Book of hours for the use of Rome with
    adaptations for Poitiers and a calendar for
    Angers, illuminated by Maître François,
    France, Paris, c. 1470
  27. Psalter with hymnal, illuminated by the
    workshop of Mariano del Buono di Jacopo,
    Italy, Florence, c. 1470-75
  28. Book of hours for the use of Rome, illuminated
    by Martino da Modena, Italy, Ferrara, c. 1480-85
  29. Book of hours for Dominican use, illuminated
    by the workshop of Matteo Felice, Italy,
    Naples, c. 1480
  30. Giovanni Boccaccio, Elegia di Madonna
    Fiammetta, illuminated by Attavante degli
    Attavanti, Italy, Florence, c. 1480
  31. Book of hours for the use of Rome, Italy,
    Sicily or Naples, c. 1480-90
  32. Olivier de la Marche, Le chevalier délibéré and
    other texts, Flanders, c. 1484
  33. Prayerbook in German, Germany, Nuremberg,
    c. 1495-1500
  34. Fencing treatise with pen-and-ink drawings,
    southern Germany,Augsburg, c. 1490-1500
  35. Book of hours for the use of Paris in Latin
    and French, illuminated by an artist from the
    circle of Jean Pichore, France, Paris, c. 1500
  36. Passion prayerbook in Latin with a prayer for
    the Church of All Saints in Wittenberg, Flanders,
    Bruges, after 1517
  37. Diploma for Statilio Paolino on his award of a
    doctorate in law from the University of
    Perugia, Italy, Perugia, dated 29 October 1582
  38. Album with Italian, mainly Venetian, costumes and
    characters from the Commedia dell’Arte, Italy,
    Venice?, first quarter of the 17th century

    Miniatures

  39. Funeral mass for a dignitary, miniature from a
    breviary, France,Avignon, c. 1340-45 128
  40. A pope distributing the decretals, miniature from
    a manuscript of canon law, France, Languedoc,
    c. 1320
  41. The Adoration of the Magi, historiated initial ‘D’
    on a leaf from a missal, Italy, Siena, c. 1400-10
  42. Two martyr saints, historiated initial ‘P’ on a leaf
    from a gradual for Lucca Cathedral, illuminated by
    Martino di Bartolomeo. Italy, Lucca, c. 1394-95
  43. Investiture of St Clare on a cutting from a
    Franciscan antiphonary, Italy, Bologna or Veneto,
    c. 1430-40
  44. Trinity, historiated initial ‘G’ on a cutting from
    a choirbook, France, Savoy, c. 1450 138
  45. King David playing the psaltery, historiated
    initial ‘E’ on a leaf from a psalter, illuminated by
    Jacopo da Balsemo, Italy, Bergamo, c. 1450-55
  46. The Creation of Eve, historiated initial ‘I’ on a
    cutting from a choirbook, illuminated by
    Bonifacio Bembo, Italy, Lombardy, c. 1445
  47. Jesaia before the Almighty, historiated initial ‘A’
    on a leaf from an antiphonary, illuminated by
    a follower of the Maestro delle Vitae Imperatorum,
    Italy, Lombardy, c. 1460
  48. Batsheba bathing, miniature from the Hours of
    Guyot II Le Peley, illuminated by Jean Colombe,
    France, Bourges, c. 1480
  49. The miracle of St Michael on Mount Gargano,
    miniature from a choirbook, illuminated by
    Attavante degli Attavanti, Italy, Florence,
    between 1473 and 1502
  50. Christ taking leave of his mother, miniature
    mounted on wood, illuminated by Jacopo del
    Giallo?, Italy, Rome, c. 1540

    Key to bibliographical references

A unique witness of Middle High German Minnesang tradition

9 Schönrainer Liederhandschrift

Vellum leaves from a Middle High German compilation with fragments of the Wartburgkrieg, stanzas by Reinmar von Zweter, by the Litschauer and verses from the Trojanerkrieg by Konrad von Würzburg. Germany, Hesse, c. 1330.

Varying dimensions: c. 155 x 120 mm to 173 x 125 mm. 21 leaves plus one fragment, fol. 1 bound the wrong way. – Written space: 125 x 80 mm, ruled in brown with prickings, 21 lines to the page.A rather irregular Textualis Libraria in brown ink, with rubrications. Numerous mainly two-line stanza initials alternately in red and blue with red penwork. Beginning of the Trojanerkrieg introduced by a five-line initial in red and blue with elaborate penwork, versals stroked in red. – Majority of leaves in good condition despite folds and darkening of vellum, several leaves remargined. – Delicately restored and bound in modern brown calf on three raised bands with blind stamping, vellum endpapers and one flyleaf at the beginning. Several leaves with notes by earlier owners. 9

PROVENANCE: Büdingen, Schlossbibliothek.The manuscript owes its designation to the fact that the leaves had served as waste-paper to reinforce folders of the accounts department of Schönrain from the 16th and 17th centuries that were kept in the archive of Büdingen (Hesse). The first leaves were discovered in the 19th century, subsequently further fragments came to light, the last ones in 1980. The fact that the leaves were re-used in Büdingen does not imply that the parent manuscript originates from this region. The accounts of Büdingen repeatedly record the purchase of “geschrieben pergamen” for the “schreibery” of the castle at the autumn fair at Frankfurt (Brinzing 2001, note 5). Linguistic characteristics, however, allow us to locate the origin of the leaves in central Germany, probably Hesse.

COMPANION LEAVES: Fragments from the same manuscript survive in two public collections, in Basel (Öffentliche Bibliothek der Universität, Cod. N I 1,Nr. 73c, cf.Meyer 1873, pp. 80-83) and Kassel (Murhardsche Bibliothek, 2° ms. poet. et roman. 30. 3.4, cf. Hilbert 1993, pp. 29-30).

TEXT: The leaves at hand constitute the largest known portion of a unique manuscript dating from the first half of the 14th century, which contained various Middle High German poetry intended for recital in front of a mainly noble public. Thus our volume belongs to the genre of Liederhandschriften, the most prominent representative of which are of course the Manessische Liederhandschrift, also known as Heidelberger Liederhandschrift C (c. 1290-1300, Heidelberg, Universitätsbibliothek, cod. Pal. Germ 848) and the Weingartner Liederhandschrift (c. 1310-20, Stuttgart, Württembergische Landesbibliothek, HB XIII 1). Besides these luxuriously illuminated examples there are significant testimonies of simple text manuscripts, of which the Kleine Heidelberger Liederhandschrift (Heidelberg, Universitätsbibliotek, cod. Pal. Germ 357), written in Strasbourg around 1270 is the earliest. Surviving material of this genre is of great rarity, and except for the Nibelungenlied C (now: Karlsruhe, Badische Landesbibliothek, cod. Donaueschingen 63) no comparable document has appeared on the art market in the past decades. Our leaves bound in a volume today contain fragments of four different texts.The first two leaves contain the beginning of the Wartburgkrieg, a compilation of various compositions from the 13th to the 14th centuries. It records a fictive singing contest held at the Wartburg in the cycle of the landgrave Hermann of Thuringen. Only two complete manuscripts from the 14th century survive. They are the Heidelberger Liederhandschrift C and the Jenaer Liederhandschrift J. Our fragment is the third surviving document of this text, comprising three stanzas to which 16 in the leaves in Basel can be added. Poems by Reinmar von Zweter who flourished in the first half of the 13th century and who may have been a disciple of Walther von der Vogelweide form the second unity of our volume (fol. 3-14). The poet enjoyed immense popularity already during his lifetime. The stanzas contained in the present fragment and in the companion leaves in Basel and Kassel are once again one of the most important textual witnesses of this text besides the portions in the Heidelberger Liederhandschrift C and D (cod. pal. lat. 350). Interspersed with Reinmar von Zweter are a few verses of the Litschauer, an itinerate singer of the second half of the 13th century: His name probably comes from Litschau in Lower Austria, north of the Cistercian monastery of Zwettl, the same region from which Reinmar von Zweter originates. His small œuvre survives only in fragmentary state, once again the Heidelberger Liederhandschrift C and the Jenaer Liederhandschrift must be named, containing six stanzas. The largest textual portion besides the stanzas of Reinmar von Zweter is that of the Trojanerkrieg by Konrad von Würzburg. This author of an extensive œuvre was active in Basel in the second half of the 13th century. The Trojanerkrieg, composed for a clerical patron, is one of his smaller works. The only codex of the 14th century containing all 40 424 verses of the apparently unfinished work was destroyed in a fire in Strasbourg. Besides five manuscripts of the 15th century, of which four are illuminated, nine fragments of the 13th to 15th centuries have been handed down to us. Of them the Schönrainer Liederhandschrift is the most extensive, comprising seven leaves and one column of text (fol. 15-22). Despite the fragmentary state of its content the volume at hand forms a unique example of a compilation of four exceedingly rare texts and thus is invaluable for the history of Middle High German Minnesang tradition. The calligraphic script with sparse but delicately rendered decoration lends additional attraction to it.

LITERATURE: Roethe 1887, pp. 141-142; Kornrumpf 1985, cols. 851-852;Wachinger 1999, col. 743; Brinzing 2001. Meyer 1873, pp. 80-83;Wachinger 1973, pp. 1-89; Brunner 1987, cols. 272-303; Brunner 1989, cols. 1198-1207; Lienert 1990, pp. 325-406; Hilbert 1993, pp. 29-30; Lienert 1996; Brandt 2000.