Otto F. Ege: Fifty Original Leaves From Medieval Manuscripts

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  Bible: Biblia Sacra Latina, Versio Vulgata

  Leaf 11. "In the XIIIth century Italy was distraught by the long struggle between the papal and anti-imperialistic Guelphs and the autocratic and imperialistic Ghibellines. Little encouragment was given to either party by the arts. This leaf reveals, however, the skill and keen eyesight which were necessary for the writing of ten of those lines to the inch" (Ege).
  Original medium: Manuscript
  Date: 13th c.
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  Psalter: Psalterium

  Leaf 10. "The line endings of a fish, elongated or shortened as the space required, and the grinning expression of the fish emblem have in some book circles given these German Psalters the nickname "Laughing Carp" Psalters" (Ege). "The lozenge heads on top of many of the vertical pen strokes are characteristic of German manuscripts."
  Original medium: Manuscript
  Date: 13th c.
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  Bible: Biblia Sacra Latina, Versio Vulgata

  Leaf 9. "These minature or portable manuscript copies of the Jerome version of the Bible were nearly all written by the young wandering friars of the newly founded order of Dominicans" (Ege). "They were used sparingly, as is evidenced by their still fine condition." "The precision and beauty of the text letters and initials executed in so small a scale, twelve lines to an inch, with letters less than one-sixteenth of an inch high, are among the wonders in book history."
  Original medium: Manuscript
  Date: 13th c.
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  Gradual: Graduale

  Leaf 8. "Graduals are the books containing the chants for celebration of the mass. Engish manuscripts of this early date are rare. This volume, with the uncertain strokes in the script, seems to indicate that the transcriber was unaccostomed to writing in this small scale. There are four and five line staves, and the "F" and "C" lines are indicated. Most of the various forms of written notes can be found on each leaf of this book.Those occuring more frequently are punctum (L. punctum, prick), a single note; virga (L. virga, rod), a square note with a thin line attached; podatus (L. pes, foot), two square notes, one above the other; climacus (L. climax, ladder), a virga note with two or more diamond shaped notes"(Ege).
  Original medium: Manuscript
  Date: 13th c.
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  Aurora: Aurora

  Leaf 7. This famous paraphrase of the Bible in Latin verse was one of the most popular Latin books of poetry of the late XIIth and XIIIth century" (Ege). "The format of this page, twice as long as it is wide, demonstrates the English custom of folding the skins lengthwise. The practice of setting off by a space the initial letter of each line also helps to give the page an unusual appearance. It is written in a very small script, six lines to an inch, in a hand characteristic of Northern France and England at this period."
  Original medium: Manuscript
  Date: 13th c.
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  Cambridge Bible: Biblia Sacra Latina, Versio Vulgata

  Leaf 6. "The only Bible known to Western Europe for the thousand years from 400 to 1400 was this version by St. Jerome" (Ege)."The decorative initials, color of ink, and texture of vellum are the clues which aid in assigning provenance, as in this instance. Not many fragments of this age and size are known to have survived the destruction and dispersal of English monastic libraries which was ordered by Henry VIII in the year 1539."
  Original medium: Manuscript
  Date: 13th c.
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  Bible: Biblia Sacra Latina, Versio Vulgata

  Leaf 5. "This translation of the Bible was made by Jerome at the request of Pope Damasus" (Ege). "The angular book hand, executed with amazing skill and precision, reflects the spirit of contemporary architecture of the early XIIIth century. Closely spaced perpendicular strokes and angular terminals have supplanted the open and round character of the preceding century."
  Original medium: Manuscript
  Date: 13th c.
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  Psalter: Psalterium

  Leaf 4. "This text is from a special arrangment of the Psalms.""The author of the arrangment represented by this leaf is unknown" (Ege). "The words which were inserted in the margin are not corrections but were added as guides to the content of the page."
  Original medium: Manuscript
  Date: 12th c.
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  Lectionary: Lectionarium

  Leaf 3. "The fine large book hand shown here, suited to easier reading in a dark cathedral, is a revival of the script developed nearly four centuries earlier in scriptoria founded by Charlemagne" (Ege). "Ink of brown tone is generally found in early manuscripts, less frequently after 1200 A.D."
  Original medium: Manuscript
  Date: 12th c.
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  Missal: Missale Plenarium

  Leaf 2. "Many Missals, Bibles, and Psalters of the XIIth century were written in this fine bold script" (Ege). "Some of the letters in this book, however, have been carefully compared with those in a manuscript known to have been ordered in Spain in 1189 A.D. by a certain Abbot Gutterius, and it was found that the resemblance is striking."
  Original medium: Manuscript
  Date: 12th c.
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  New Testament: Testamentum Novum, cum Glossis Bedae, Hieronymi, et Gregorii

  Leaf 1. "The chief interest of this text is the interlinear glosses and commentaries from the writings of Bede, Jerome, Gregory, and other church fathers" (Ege). "The beginning of the trend to compactness and angularity is seen in many of these later editions. This manuscript shows through marks of ownership that it was in Geneva for centuries."
  Original medium: Manuscript
  Date: 12th c.