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  • News
    • News & Views
    • Reviews
    • Highlights
  • Blogs
    • Manuscript Studies
      • Manuscript Studies: Contents List
    • International Congress on Medieval Studies
      • Abstracts of Congress Papers
        • Abstracts of Papers Listed by Author
        • Abstracts of Papers Listed by Year
  • About
    • Mission
    • People
      • Mildred Budny — Her Page
      • Adelaide Bennett Hagens
    • Activities
      • Events
      • Congress Activities
        • Sponsored Conference Sessions (1993‒)
          • Panels at the M-MLA Convention
        • Co-sponsored Conference Sessions (2006‒)
    • History
      • Seals, Matrices & Documents
      • Genealogies & Archives
    • Contact Us
    • RGME Privacy Policy Statement
  • Bembino
    • Multi-Lingual Bembino
  • Congress
    • Sponsored Conference Sessions (1993‒)
    • Co-sponsored Conference Sessions (2006‒)
    • Abstracts of Congress Papers
      • Abstracts Listed by Author
      • Abstracts Listed by Year
    • Kalamazoo Archive
    • Panels at the M-MLA Convention
      • Abstracts of Papers for the M-MLA Convention
  • Events
    • The Research Group Speaks: The Series
    • Seminars, Workshops, Colloquia & Symposia (1989–)
      • Seminars on ‘The Evidence of Manuscripts’
      • Symposia on ‘The Transmission of the Bible’
      • The New Series
        • 2019 Anniversary Symposium Program: The Roads Taken
        • 2019 Anniversary Symposium Registration
        • 2019 Anniversary Symposium Registration Open
    • Abstracts of Papers for Events
      • Abstracts of Papers for Seminars on ‘The Evidence of Manuscripts’
      • Abstracts of Papers for Symposia, Workshops & Colloquia
    • Receptions & Parties
    • Business Meetings
    • Photographic Exhibitions & Master Classes
    • Events Archive
  • ShelfLife
    • Journal Description
    • ShelfMarks: The RGME-Newsletter
    • Publications
      • “Insular, Anglo-Saxon, and Early Anglo-Norman Manuscript Art at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge” (1997)
        • Mildred Budny, ‘Catalogue’
        • The Illustrated Catalogue (1997)
      • The Illustrated Handlist
      • Semi-Official Counterfeiting in France 1380-1422
      • No Snap Decisions: Challenges of Manuscript Photography
    • History and Design of Our Website
  • Galleries
    • Watermarks & the History of Paper
    • Galleries: Contents List
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      • New Testament Leaves in Old Armenian
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    • Orders
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You are browsing the Blog for medieval forgery

Fit to Be Tied

May 9, 2017 in Manuscript Studies, Photographic Exhibition, Uncategorized

1320 Letter of Berengarius
Concerning a Dispute at Calahorra

Or Not!

Single-Sheet Document
of Cardinal–Bishop Bérengar de Frédul
dated 13 July 1320
in Latin on Vellum
with Red Cord Tie
and Docketing on the Dorse in Spanish

Budny Handlist 21

Budny Handlist 21 Dorse of Document of Berengar Fredul of 1320 with red cord tie and Docketing in Spanish. Photography by Mildred Budny.

Document of Pope John XXII for Berengarius, unfolded. Photography by Mildred Budny

Continuing our series on Manuscript Studies, our Principal Blogger, Mildred Budny (see Her Page) describes a single-sheet vellum Latin document, plus cord, which came within the span of her conservation, photography, and research for the Illustrated Handlist.

There, the document holds Number 21.  Unlike the other items (so far) in the Illustrated Handlist, this one appears to be a forgery, albeit skilled.  In a word:  Curious.

The Thing as Such

First some ‘statistics’.

Cameo of Pope John XXII. Photograph via Wikimedia Commons.

Cameo of Pope John XXII. Photograph via Wikimedia Commons.

Epistolary Document of
Bérenger Fredoli (circa 1250 – 1323),
Cardinal–Bishop (1309–1323)
of Frascati near Rome,
Issued Purportedly during
Year 4 of the Reign
of the Avignon Pope John XXII (1316–1377)
and dated 13 July 1320,
with knotted red cord tie

Circa 230 × 423 mm with flap closed; full height counting flap = circa 169 × 316 mm
Single column of 18 long lines
< written area circa 169 × 316 mm >
plus red knotted cord tie laced through the flap
with docketing in Spanish on the dorse

Provenance Interrupted

The document was acquired by gift in 1955.  The method and appurtenances of presentation provide the name of the donor, Philip Hofer, (1898–1984), his letter announcing and accompanying the gift as a thank-offering, and his custom-made box for the offering.

However, it provides no information whatsoever about the provenance, source of acquisition, the presentation provides other useful elements of information which the intermediary would have had.  We are stuck with those gaps.  Shame.

About those lamentable and noxious with-holdings of information in the transmission of materials between modern handlers, some of our blogposts already document the miseries in trying to piece together the traces.  See the blog’s Contents List.

We are entitled to wonder, also, about the caliber of the gift, which, itself doubtless well-meaning between equals at Harvard with stature and means, carries questionability in its own ‘right’ (or ‘wrong’), considering the dubious nature of the document itself.

Information about where and how the donor acquired the document is much to be wished.  Or what he thought it constituted.

As a Gift

Folded in half horizontally and then in thirds across, along its medieval folds, the document was contained in its custom-made 20th-century lined clam-shell box for presentation to the Owner by Philip Hofer, along with the letter describing that presentation, signed by Hofer and dated 14 December 1955.

With that presentation enclosure, I first came to know the shape and features of the object.  It took a while before the oddities came pressingly into the forefront.

Happy as a Clam-Shell

The Presentation Box

In and Out.  All About.

1.  Outside

Unfolded exterior of Custom Clam-Shell Box

2.  Inside
Unfolded Interior of Custom Clam-Shell Box with Donor's Presentation Letter

Unfolded Interior of Custom Clam-Shell Box with Donor’s Presentation Letter and Folded Document

CenterFold

Opening of Indulgence from Pope John XXIII for Berengarius, Cardinal-Bishop of Frascati. Photography © Mildred Budny

Who, What, Where, Wherefore?

The text of the document begins with an enlarged and decorated ink initial B, which stands upon the baseline of the first line of script and rises firmly into the upper margin.  The other letters of the name Berengarius ascend as a clustered, narrow group, before the document settles into the main script, which provides an upright, neatly written Gothic Textualis, with some curved, hook-like tips ascending or descending into the interlines.  Although the lettering, which employs some abbreviations, is, for the most part, clearly decipherable, the sense of the phrasing overall proves a puzzle.

A transcription and attempted translations of the text reveal that the Latinity leaves something to be desired in terms of clarity or comprehension.  Several of us looking at its challenges wonder about its command of the language.  Neatly put, as one scholar declared in a message:  “I cannot make out much of your document; the Latin is awful!”

The Bishop addresses the recipient of the letter, the Thesaurius (“treasurer”) of Calahorra in the province of La Rioja in northeastern Spain, with an appeal on behalf of the clergy of its churches of Saint Andrew and Saint Christopher.  The clergy claimed that they had “at one time” made a deal with the Thesaurius, who possibly had given them property to administer (or something).  The deal went sour.  They claimed that the Thesaurius had pulled a fast one on them; they appealed to the Bishop, who had authority from the Pope; and the Bishop turned to the official.  To whit, this Letter.  To quote our scholar again:  “That’s the best I can do.  I find most of the Latin incomprehensible.”

Panorama view of the historical district of Calahorra. Photograph: Own Work by De Zarateman via Creative Commons.De Zarateman - Trabajo propio, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=50474431

Panorama view of the historical district of Calahorra. Photograph: Own Work by De Zarateman via Creative Commons.

Cameo of Pope John XXII. Photograph via Wikimedia Commons.The letter declares its issue during the reign of Pope John XXII (1244–1334), the second Avignon Pope (reigned 1316–1334).  The issue of the letter relates to the span of “political and administrative correspondence of the Avignon popes, 1305–1378”, as surveyed, for example, by Patrick Zutschi in a paper presented in 1988 (published in 1990).  As such, it would hold interest as a relic of that contested period in the papacy.

*****

When the Dust Has Settled

An interior view of the fold:

Detail of Document of Berengarius, viewing the interior of the right-hand side of the folded flap at its bottom, to reveal the gathered dust and glimpse part of the red silk cord. Photography © Mildred Budny

We plan to write some more about this questionable document, but other tasks and challenges (including illnesses and a death in the family) have interfered with the completion of the report.  Returning somewhat to health, I decided that it might be useful to send forth these observations, questions, and images, to set the discussion going.  Do you have any views on this matter and material?  Please let us know.

Meanwhile, feast your eyes on its features.  Photography by Mildred Budny.

 

Document of Pope John XXII for Berengarius, unfolded. Photography by Mildred Budny

*****

Budny Handlist 21 Dorse of Document of Berengar Fredul of 1320 with red cord tie and Docketing in Spanish. Photography by Mildred Budny.

*****

Some Background Reading

Patrick Zutschi, “The political and administrative correspondence of the Avignon popes, 1305–1378:  a contribution to papal diplomatic”, in Actes de la table ronde d’Avignon (23-24 janvier 1988).  Publications de l’École française de Rome, 138 (1990), 371–384

*****

More to come.  Please watch this space.

Tags: Avignon Popes, Bérengar de Frédul, Budny Handlist, Calahorra, Document with Cord Tie, Documents of 1320, Forgeries & Imitations, Medieval Documents, medieval forgery, Pope John XXII
No Comments »

2015 Congress Report

May 23, 2015 in Abstracts of Conference Papers, Bembino, Business Meeting, Conference, Conference Announcement, ICMS, International Congress on Medieval Studies, Kalamazoo, Reception

Events Sponsored and Co-Sponsored
by the Research Group on Manuscript Evidence
at the 2015 International Congress on Medieval Studies

14–17 May

[First published with the Announcement of Programs on 6 January 2015, with updates;
revised with Schedule Assignments on 1 February, with updates;
issued with Program Updates plus Abstracts of Papers on 7 April, also with updates;
and now issued here on 23 May 2015 with the 2015 Congress Report
]

Corbel Head with handlebar moustache on Le Pont Neuf, Paris. Photograph by Ilya V. Sverdlov, reproduced by permission

Photography by Ilya V. Sverdlov

For the 50th International Congress on Medieval Studies, the Research Group had 2 sponsored and 3 co-sponsored Sessions. They build, in part, upon our 2014 Congress in our Anniversary Year.  The aims of the 2015 sessions are described in our 2015 Congress Call for Papers.

As before, we co-sponsored sessions with the Societas Magica (since 2006) and with the Center for Medieval and Early Modern Studies at the University of Florida (since 2014). Like last year, we sponsored a celebratory Reception — now with both the Societas Magica and the Index of Christian Art at Princeton University.

For the first time, our Business Meeting was open to all and listed in the Congress Schedule, which presents the Program as a whole (see below).

Here we announce the events as accomplished, with their Posters. We also post the Abstracts of Papers.  A new Feature of our website this year are the
Indexed lists of the Authors of Abstracts for our Congress Sessions
searchable
By Author and
By Year.

Read the rest of this entry →

Tags: ancient and biblical models for medieval kings, Carolingian Studies, Center for Medieval and Early Modern Studies at the University of Florida, Dream Books, Dream Interpretation Manuals, Early Medieval Art, Germanic folk prayers, Index of Christian Art at Princeton University, Lydgate, Manuscript Photography, Medieval astrological songs, medieval charms, medieval counterfeiting, Medieval Dream Interpretation, medieval forgery, Medieval Kingship, medieval princes in Central Europe, merovingian chronicles, Power of Words, pre-photographic reproduction, Reginald Scot, Saint Erkenwald, Saints Edmund and Fremund, Semi-Official Counterfeiting, Societas Magica, Solomonic Magic, Somniale Danielis, Songs of the Zodiac
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2015 Congress Program Updates Plus Abstracts

April 7, 2015 in Abstracts of Conference Papers, Bembino, Business Meeting, Conference Announcement, Events, ICMS, International Congress on Medieval Studies, Kalamazoo, Reception

Events Sponsored and Co-Sponsored
by the Research Group on Manuscript Evidence
at the 50th International Congress on Medieval Studies

14–17 May

[First published with the Announcement of Programs on 6 January 2015, with updates; revised with Schedule Assignments on 1 February, with updates; and now issued with Program Changes and the Abstracts of Papers on 7 April, also with updates]

For the 50th International Congress on Medieval Studies, the Research Group has 2 sponsored and 3 co-sponsored Sessions.  They build, in part, upon the accomplishments of the 2014 Congress in our Anniversary Year, described in the 2014 Congress Report. The aims of the sessions are described in our 2015 Congress Call for Papers.

As before, we co-sponsor sessions with the Societas Magica (since 2006) and with the Center for Medieval and Early Modern Studies at the University of Florida (since 2014).  Our Business Meeting (open to all) will take place at Friday lunchtime.  Like last year, we sponsor a Reception — now with both the Societas Magica and the Index of Christian Art at Princeton University.

Here we announce the events, with their assigned times and rooms.  We also begin to post the Abstracts of Papers.
A new Feature of our website are the indexed lists of the Authors of Abstracts for our Congress Sessions searchable
By Author and
By Year.

Read the rest of this entry →

Tags: astrological songs, Center for Medieval and Early Modern Studies at the University of Florida, Dream Books, dream interpretation, Germanic charms, Greek magical papyri, Index of Christian Art at Princeton University, Lydgate, magic in song, manuscript facsimiles, medieval counterfeiting, medieval forgery, Medieval Kingship, pre-photographic reproduction, Reginald Scot, Societas Magica, Solomonic Magic
No Comments »

2015 Congress Events With Programs

January 6, 2015 in Business Meeting, Conference Announcement, International Congress on Medieval Studies, Kalamazoo, Reception

Events Sponsored and Co-Sponsored
by the Research Group on Manuscript Evidence
at the 2015 International Congress on Medieval Studies
14–17 May

[Published on 6 January 2015, with updates
WebEditor’s Note:
Following the conclusion of the Call for Papers and the selection of our events for the 2015 Congress, this Post announces the Programs of our Sessions and our other Activities there.  The next Post about our 2015 Congress activities updates this Announcement with details of dates, times, and room assignments for our  2015 Congress Schedules.  Further posts provide updates with the Abstracts of Papers and then report the 2015 Congress Events with Programs, along with a few revisions to the Program and with Posters for the Sessions as well as a Program Booklet for one of them.]

For the 50th International Congress on Medieval Studies, the Research Group has 2 sponsored and 3 co-sponsored Sessions.  As before, we co-sponsor Sessions with the Societas Magica (since 2006) and with the Center for Medieval and Early Modern Studies at the University of Florida (since 2014).  Our Business Meeting (open to all) will take place at Friday lunchtime.  Like last year, we sponsor a Reception — now with both the Societas Magica and the Index of Christian Art at Princeton University.  Here we announce the events, before the assignment of their dates and rooms.

Read the rest of this entry →

Tags: astrological songs, Center for Medieval and Early Modern Studies at the University of Florida, Dream Books, dream interpretations, Germanbic charms, Greek magical papyri, Index of Christian Art at Princeton University, magic in song, manuscript facsimniles, medieval counterfeiting, medieval forgery, Medieval Kingship, pre-photographic reproduction, Reginald Scot, Societas Magica, Solomonic Magic
No Comments »

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