Petrarch, Rime; Trionfi, in Latin and Italian; Ferrara, Italy, s. xv2

Title

Petrarch, Rime; Trionfi, in Latin and Italian; Ferrara, Italy, s. xv2

Shelfmark

Exeter College MS. 187

Place of origin

Ferrara, Italy

Date

s. xv2

Language

Italian

Contents

Form

codex

Support

parchment HFFH

Physical extent

180 leaves preceded and followed by one post-medieval paper flyleaf

Hands

Humanistic cursive (presumably by a Ferrarese scribe: see History, below) with gold rustic capitals at beginning of text, fol. 1r, and rustic capitals in alternate black and sanguine at beginning of text, fol. 143r. Punctuated by virgula and medial point, singly and together.

Decoration

Confined within a rectangular E-shaped frame on fol. 1r is an illuminated border with white vine tendrils on a green, blue, and crimson background spattered with gold spots. On fol. 143r is an initial in a similar style but not illuminated.

Throughout there are plain two-line blue and red capitals for verses. Headings are in sanguine. Not recorded by Alexander and Temple.

Binding

Sewn on three bands, between millboards covered with plain parchment, 18th century; probably Italian. On the spine is ‘Petrarca M.S.’ and a label bearing a number (see History below).

Provenance

Probably of Ferrarese origin: see Mann (above, headnote), 507 n. 1, for features shared with other manuscripts that can be connected with Ferrara.

A coat of arms has been erased from the foot of the border on fol. 1r.

On a label on the spine is an unidentified library number ‘300’ (s. xviii) and, less certain, ‘176’.

After 1853 the book was given to Exeter by the Fellow Librarian, C. W. Boase, who acquired it from Thomas Thorpe. The mark l/lg/—or 1/1g/—on the front pastedown is presumably Thorpe’s and ‘[£]4/4/0’ there is also probably his, but ‘P’ is less certainly his and ‘1108’ is probably not.

Exeter library identifications are, on the front pastedown, the Eric Gill bookplate of 1931 and on it ‘CLXXXVII’ and ‘169 I’.