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Detailed record for Royal 20 C III
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| Author |
Quintus Curtius Rufus, translated by Vasco da Lucena |
| Title |
Historia Alexandri Magni |
| Origin |
Netherlands, S. (Bruges) |
| Date |
c. 1485 - 1490 |
| Language |
French |
| Script |
Gothic cursive |
| Artists |
Master of Edward IV |
| Decoration |
2 large miniatures in colours and gold with full scatter borders and large initials (ff. 12, 15). 8 column miniatures in colours and gold with partial scatter borders and large initials (ff. 42, 63, 104, 129, 156, 183, 214v, 238). Champ initials in colours and gold, some with foliate extensions. Capitals marked in yellow. Rubrics in red. |
| Dimensions in mm |
385 x 270 (240 x 180) in two columns |
| Official foliation |
ff. 257 (+ 1 unfoliated paper and 1 unfoliated parchment flyleaf at the beginning + 3 unfoliated ruled parchment leaves at the end) |
| Form |
Parchment codex |
| Binding |
Post-1600. White parchment; marbled endpapers; gilt fore-edges. |
| Provenance |
Contains the Historia Alexandri translated as Quinte Curse Ruffe des faiz du grant Alexandre by Vasco da Lucena, a Portuguese in the service of Isabella of Portugal and then of Margaret of York, first presented to Charles in 1468; preceded by a table of contents (ff. 1-11v).
?Shelfmark of a very large number in brown ink (Carley's 'Old Large Number') '49' (f. [ii]).
The Old Royal Library (the English Royal Library): included in the catalogue of 1666, Royal Appendix, 71, ff. 12v, 13, or 14v.
Presented to the British Museum by George II in 1757 as part of the Old Royal Library. |
| Notes |
For the text, see also Royal 15 D IV and 17 F I. |
| Select bibliography |
Henri Omont, 'Les manuscrits français des rois d'Angleterre au château de Richmond', in Etudes romanes dédiés à Gaston Paris (Paris: É. Bouillon, 1891), pp. 1-13 (p. 7).
George F. Warner and Julius P. Gilson, Catalogue of Western Manuscripts in the Old Royal and King’s Collections, 4 vols (London: British Museum, 1921), II, p. 371.
Robert Lucas, 'Medieval French Translations of the Latin Classics to 1500', Speculum: A Journal of Mediaeval Studies, 45 (1970), 225-53 (p.237).
The Mythical Quest: In Search of Adventure, Romance and Enlightenment, intro. by Penelope Lively (London: British Library, 1996), pl. on p. 34.
Scot McKendrick, 'Illustrated Manuscripts of Vasco da Lucena's Translation of Curtius's Historiae Alexandri Magni: Nature Corrupted by Fortune', in Medieval Manuscripts of the Latin Classics: Production and Use, ed. by Claudine A. Chavannes-Mazel and Margaret M. Smith (Leiden: Anderrson-Lovelace and the Red Gull Press, 1996) pp. 131-50 (pp. 133, n. 13, 144, ns. 43, 44).
J. P. Carley, 'Marks in Books and the Libraries of Henry VIII', Papers-Bibliographical Society of America, 91 (1997), 583-606 (p. 605).
The Libraries of King Henry VIII, ed. by J. P. Carley, Corpus of British Medieval Library Catalogues, 7 (London: The British Library, 2000), H1.38.
Thomas Kren and Scot McKendrick, Illuminating the Renaissance: The Triumph of Flemish Manuscript Painting in Europe (Los Angeles: The J. Paul Getty Museum, 2003), p. 295.
Scot McKendrick, Flemish Illuminated Manuscripts 1400-1550 (London: British Library, 2003), pl. 83. |
| Last revised: 18 September 2009 |
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f. 12
Charles the Bold and Vasco da Lucena |
f. 15
Birth of Alexander the Great |
f. 15
Birth of Alexander the Great |
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f. 42
Surrender of Celaenae |
f. 63
Darius' letter being delivered |
f. 129
Alexander attends funeral |
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f. 156
Death of Alexander Lyncestes |
f. 183
Alexander and his army |
f. 214v
Sacrifices to the sun |
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f. 238
Cleander and others beheaded |
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