NICHOLAS OF LYRA, Postilla in Apocalipsim

In Latin, illustrated manuscript on parchment

Dalmatia [Montenegro], Cattaro [Kotor], dated 26
September 1!"


88 ff., complete (quires tipped in, but collation apparently as follows: i-viii
10
, ix
8
[10-, wit! last
two leaves of quire cancelled"#, written in a re$ular informal littera bastarda, in brown in%, on up
to & lon$ lines, parc!ment ruled in pale red and pale brown in% ('ustification 1(0 x 100 mm#,
!eadin$ in red, biblical excerpts underlined in red in%, )oman numerals indicatin$ c!apters in red
and blue in%, *-line !i$! decorated initials openin$ eac! c!apter in alternately blue or red paint
wit! c!aracteristic brown in% penwor% ornamentation, +-line !i$! openin$ !istoriated initial wit!
drawin$ in brown in%, representin$ saint ,o!n writin$ on -atmos, wit! an an$el and .od in
/eaven, coat-of-arms in a circular wreat! traced in brown in% in lower mar$in of f. (folded over
to meet new si0e constraints w!en t!e manuscript was rebound#. 1odern vellum over pasteboards,
boards stained in pin%, smoot! spine (2pper mar$in of fol. cropped, sli$!tly affectin$ !istoriated
initial, fire dama$e to a few leaves towards t!e end of t!e manuscript, else in clean, le$ible
condition#. 3imensions 188 x 14 mm.
One of a coherent group of five localized manuscripts signed by the scribe Johannes de Luxia in
Montenegro, this manuscript contributes to our knowledge of manuscript production in the
Venetian colonies, providing proof of the cultural hegemony of taly over these regions coexisting
with local !roatian "lagolitic culture# Manuscripts copied in $almatia and properly identified as
such are extremely rare#
PROVENANCE
%# !olophon &f# ''v( reveals that the present manuscript was copied in Venetian !attaro &medieval
town of )otor, Montenegro, off the coast of the *driatic( by Johannes de Luxia &Venetian notary
and chancellor of !attaro( a recorded scribe who copied two other manuscripts &+ologna, ,niv# M-
.//0, f# .01 2dated ' 3ovember %45/6, see 5tudi italiani di filolo$ia classica, %717, vol# %8, no#
%5.59 and Vatican, M- :eg# lat# 451 2dated . *pril %4/169 recorded in +ouveret, %785, , p# 500,
no# %158% and %158.(# ;e have located a third manuscript copied by Johannes de Luxia, in
!ambridge, <arvard ,niversity, <oughton Library, M- =yp .7.> this manuscript was copied in
%444 and contains ?etrus +erchorius, 6ibellus naturalium de fide contra vanos et curiosos
p!ilosop!os# nterestingly the <oughton manuscript presents a similar drawing in ink and wash &see
link to $igital -criptorium in Online :esources below and :# -# ;ieck, 6ate 1edieval and
)enaissance 7lluminated 1anuscripts 1&40-144 in t!e /ou$!ton 6ibrary, %7'5, p# %51, fig# '8(#
@inally the same Johannes de Luxia copied a deluxe manuscript for "iovanni +albi in %4/8,
containing a copy of the 8atasticus of the town of Aupa di !attaro &commissioned in %4.7( and
illuminated by a drawing similar in style that includes a representation of -t# =riphone &patron saint
of !attaro(, the winged lion of -t# Mark and the arms of the +albi family &:oanne, MBdiathCDue,
!ollection *uguste +ouillier, M- /( &for the digitized image of first folio, with drawings
highlighted in colored wash, see below(# =here are arms placed in lower margin of f# ., traced in
brown ink# Oddly this folio is longer in length, and the bottom part of the leaf has been folded over,
hiding the arms# t seems likely that originally the manuscript was larger in size and was cropped
when rebound# n order to preserve the arms drawn in the margin, the bottom of f# . was simply
folded over# =hese arms have not been identified and are not those of the Venetian +albi @amily as
found in two other manuscripts copied by "iovanni de Luxia &M--# <oughton and :oanne(#
.# ?rivate !ollection, Europe#
TEXT
f# %, =itleFpage, in a later hand, reads> G*nonimus episcopus !anonensis# -uper *pocalipsim -#
oannis inter prefatio# M!!!HHV 2%5.76I &date of composition alluded to in chapter %5,
according to a note on f# %v> G-cripsit autem anno millesimo tercentesimo 2sic6 vigesimo nono ut
patet ex cap# xiii# huius lib# prope finemI(9
ff# .F5, 3icholas de Lyra, -ostilla in 9pocalipsim, ?rologus super librum *pocalipsis, heading in
red, 9pocalipsis9 incipit, GOportet te iter propheticare populis et gentibus *pocalipsis x
o
# -icut dixi
in principio genesis vetus ac novum testamentumJI9
ff# 5F'', 3icholas de Lyra, -ostilla in 9pocalipsim, chapters % to .., incipit, G9pocalipsis i!esu
8!risti etc. ste liber dividitur in duas partesJI9 explicit, G2J6 et subdit eius oratio cum dicitur -ro
omnibus fidelibus. "ratia domini nostri yhesu christi sit cum omnibus vobis# *menI9 colophon,
GExplicit appocalipsis domini nostri yhesu christi scriptus per me Kohannem de luxia cancelarium
communitatis catari et completus die #xxvi# mensis septembri #mccccxxx# octavo 2%45'6 inditione
prima ad laudem et gloriam dei omnipotentisI 2<ere ends the *pocalypse of Our Lord Jesus !hrist,
written by Johannes de Luxia, chancellor of the city of !attaro and completed on .0 -eptember
%45'J69
=his manuscript contains 3icholas of LyraLs commentary on the *pocalypse, for which -tegmMller
records some 51 manuscripts, all in European collections &see -tegmMller, V, no# /7.5(# =his
commentary was studied and translated by )rey &%778(# =he -ostillae were a running commentary
on the Old and 3ew =estaments in reaction to the tendency of overFallegorization of the +ible, in
which the exegete chose to focus rather on the literal sense of -cripture# 3icholas of Lyra applied
his Gdouble literal senseI which allowed him to draw two interpretations from a prophetic passage>
one meaning for the readerLs own time and another for the future it promised &see )rey, %778, p#
%'(#
3icholas de Lyra O# @# M &%.81F%547( remains no doubt the greatest biblical exegete of the
fourteenth century# +orn near Evreux &3ormandy(, he became thoroughly acDuainted with <ebrew
exegetical works, which would have a profound influence on his own exegetical works &for a
comprehensive list of books and articles on 3icholas of Lyra, see )rey, %77. and %770(# =he
-ostillae of 3icholas of Lyra on the *pocalypse of -t# John was printed for the first time separately
without the +ible text in :ome in %48%F%48. by -weynheym and ?annartz and again as part of the
complete :iblia latina cum postillis ;icolai de 6yra, in Venice, J# <erbort for 3# Jenson and
*ssociates in %4'%#
+etween %4.1 and %878, the city of )otor &!attaro in Venetian( and its surroundings were under
the rule of the :epublic of Venice# =he "ulf of )otor &+oka )otorska( is one of the most indented
parts of the *driatic -ea# =he city of !attaro was part of the G*lbania VenetaI of the :epublic of
Venice from %4.1 to %878 except Ottoman administration between %/5'F%/8% and %0/8F%077#
&GVenetian *lbaniaI was the name for the possessions of the :epublic of Venice in -outhern
$almatia(# ;hile located geographically in Montenegro, the bishopric is part of the !atholic
!hurch in !roatia, as it was historically linked to !roatia# *n important portion of the population
living in the coastal towns in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries was Venetian or talian speaking,
and of ;estern Latin culture#
=he present copy is interesting in that it is signed and dated by the scribe Johannes de Luxia, notary
and chancellor of the Venetian $almatian town of !attaro &see ?rovenance above(# "iovanni de
Luxia was an active scribe, in the service of the Venetian count or podest< of !attaro "iovanni
+albi# =wo illustrated manuscripts copied by "iovanni de Luxia present the +albi coatFofFarms
&manuscripts in <arvard and in :oanne9 on the :oanne manuscript, see $empsey ed#, %770, p# 5/,
who discusses this copy of the 8atasticus for the town of Aupa de !attaro, and its Gtypically
centralFEuropean style, remote from anything that would have been produced in midFNuattrocento
VeniceI(# n all, we have localized a coherent group of / manuscripts copied by the !hancellor de
Luxia# =here is little information concerning the talian scribes, such as "iovanni de Luxia,
working in $almatia in the fifteenth century before the invention of printing, their ties to
continental taly and Venice in particular, the styles of decoration and script, the types of texts they
copied &on manuscripts copied in !roatia, mostly liturgical, see below 2Exhibition, .11469 some
information can be found in -tipcevic, %7'0, pp# .0F55(# =he present manuscript is a witness to the
development of GprivateI scribes &here a trained notary and chancellor( who copied books for
patrons, perhaps for sale, and for themselves, for their own spiritual edification and didactic needs#
* general survey of manuscripts copied, decorated and illuminated in G*lbania VenetaI would
likely yield the names of further scribes as well other examples of work signed and dated by
"iovanni de Luxia#
=his manuscript contributes to our knowledge of Latin and talian manuscript production in the
Venetian colonies &considerably understudied and poorly identified(, providing proof of the cultural
hegemony of taly over these regions in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, coexisting with the
local !roatian "lagolitic &ancient alphabet of -lavic languages( culture and script# Manuscripts
copied in $almatia, and properly identified as such, are extremely rare#
LITERATURE
+BnBdictins du +ouveret# 8olop!ons de manuscrits occidentaux des ori$ines au =>7e si?cle,
@ribourg, %785#
$empsey, !#, ed# @uattrocento adriatico. Aifteent!-century art of t!e 9driatic )im. -apers from a
8olloquium !eld at t!e >illa 5pelman, Alorence, 1BB*, +ologna, %770 &in particular, :# !# Mueller,
G*spects of Venetian -overeignty in Medieval and :enaissance $almatia,I pp# .7F/0(#
2Exhibition, .1146# Crois Dcritures-trois lan$ues: pierres $ravDes, manuscrits anciens et
publications croates < travers les si?cles. Exposition, :ibliot!?que royale, :ruxelles, & 'anvier-8
fDvrier 00*, :erlin, 5taatsbibliot!e%, + avril-8 'uin 00, Aagreb, .114#
)rey, ?# $# ;# GMany :eaders but @ew @ollowers> =he @ate of 3icholas of LyraLs *pocalypse
!ommentary in the <ands of his Late Medieval *dmirers,I 8!urc! /istory 04 &June %77/(, pp#
%'/F.1%#
)rey, ?# $# ;# G3icholas of Lyra, *pocalypse !ommentator, <istorian and !ritic,IAranciscan
5tudies /. &%77.(, pp# /5F'4#
)rey, ?# $# ;# ;ic!olas of 6yraFs G9pocalypse commentaryG, )alamazoo, Michigan, Medieval
institute ?ublications, %778#
-tegmMller, @# )epertorium biblicum medii aevi, Comus 7>, 8ommentaria, 9uctores ;-@, Madrid,
%7'7 2reprint6#
-tipcevic, *# G*spects de la production du livre croate au HVe siCcle,I in <# <eger and J# Matillon,
ed#, 6es 8roates et la civilisation du livre, ?aris, %7'0, pp# .0F55#
$empsey, !# ed# @uattrocento adriatico. Aifteent!-century art of t!e 9driatic )im. -apers from a
8olloquium !eld at t!e >illa 5pelman, Alorence, 1BB*, +ologna, %770, in particular, :# !# Mueller,
G*spects of Venetian -overeignty in Medieval and :enaissance $almatiaI, pp# .7F/0#
ONLINE RESOURCES
$igital -criptorium, !ambridge, <arvard ,niversity, <oughton Library, M- =yp .7.
http>OOds#cul#columbia#edu>'1'1OldpdOappOexistOscriptoriumOindividualO
MBdiathCDue de :oanne, !ollection *uguste +ouillier
http>OOwww#lectura#frOfrOgalerieOfiche#cfmPidgalQ55RidimageQ./1
<istorical *rchives in )otor &Montenegro(
http>OOwww#matf#bg#ac#yuOiakOiak#htm