{"id":8779,"date":"2016-10-30T02:50:48","date_gmt":"2016-10-30T02:50:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/manuscriptevidence.org\/wpme\/?p=8779"},"modified":"2019-08-13T20:30:05","modified_gmt":"2019-08-13T20:30:05","slug":"a-reused-part-leaf-from-bedes-homilies-on-the-gospels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/manuscriptevidence.org\/wpme\/a-reused-part-leaf-from-bedes-homilies-on-the-gospels\/","title":{"rendered":"A Reused Part-Leaf from Bede’s Homilies on the Gospels"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bede on the Gospel of Mark<\/em><\/h2>\n
\"asdcv1<\/a>

Recto of the Part-Leaf<\/p><\/div>\n

A Part-Leaf from a 14th-Century Large-Format Copy
\nof Bede’s Homilies on the Gospels<\/em>
\n(Perhaps Other Texts Too)
\nin Double Columns of 26 or More Lines
\nin Latin,
\nPerhaps Made in France,
\nReused as a Part-Cover for Something Else, Now Discarded & Lost<\/h4>\n

Yes, we know.\u00a0 Don’t know much about this part-leaf.\u00a0 Why should we bother you?<\/p>\n

You might know something, and\/or, you might like to know something.\u00a0 (My Kind of Person.)<\/p>\n

I’m going ahead on the principle that Something Is Better Than Nothing.\u00a0 (Ever the Optimist.\u00a0 Gotta Hope For Something Good.)<\/p>\n

Here Goes.<\/p>\n

[Continuing our series on Manuscript Studies<\/a>, Mildred Budny<\/a> reports the identification of a reused and cut-down vellum Latin manuscript leaf extracted from a copy of Bede’s <\/em>Homilies on the Gospels, made probably in the first half of the 14th century, perhaps in France.\u00a0 Identifying the text makes it possible to recognize which side of the leaf was the original recto, and which the verso.\u00a0 And there’s more to tell.<\/em>]<\/p>\n

\"Poster<\/a>The extracted and reduced leaf was converted through reuse into part of the cover or wrapper for some volume or other, now unknown.\u00a0 At some point, at least by the year 2016, the part-leaf was removed from that interim position and offered for sale on its own online.\u00a0 It has come to its present owner recently, without record of the provenance of the leaf, or the nature and contents of its former volume, let alone of its original manuscript.<\/p>\n

As characteristic for the problems presented by such discarded and commercially transferred medieval manuscript materials, we must resort to examining the evidence of the material itself.\u00a0 Good thing, it may be, that we and other colleagues have some experience with such tasks.<\/p>\n

Have a look, for example, at the discoveries reported in our our blog on Manuscript Studies<\/a> and our colleagues’ contributions to meeting the challenges which dismembered and dispersed fragments pose, as for our 2016 Symposium on Words & Deeds<\/a> and its downloadable Program Booklet<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The Thing’s The Thing<\/h3>\n

This time, let’s start with the Thing Itself.\u00a0 Perhaps that is the (rather than a) Way To Go.<\/p>\n

Whatever Works, Could Be?<\/p>\n

And so, here we Go.\u00a0 First some Pictures, then Descriptions and Observations.\u00a0 We conclude with Questions.\u00a0 The Questions leave upon some Better-Informed Questions.\u00a0 Dig In!<\/p>\n

*****<\/p>\n

\"985<\/a>\"986<\/p>\n

Starting Points<\/h3>\n

The text is identifiable as parts of one (or more) of the Homilies on the Gospels<\/em> in Latin by the prolific Anglo-Saxon author Bede<\/a> (672\/673 \u2013 26 May 735).\u00a0 Studies of that author, his texts, their intentions, their transmission, his influences, his impact, and his world are many, as listed in part in an ambitious Bede Bibliography<\/a>, and the studies continue to increase on many fronts.\u00a0 Some of my own publications include close study of some manuscripts of his works in prose and poetry, including his Life of Saint Cuthbert<\/a><\/em>, his Ecclesiastical History of the English People<\/em>, and his treatises On Orthography<\/em> and On the Reckoning of Time<\/em>.\u00a0 (See here<\/a>, Numbers 12, 15, 32, and 49.)<\/p>\n

Here we focus on the artefact in question.<\/p>\n

\u00a0 Size & Shaping Up<\/h3>\n

The remnant now measures at most circa 30.5 cm \u00d7 21.3 cm.\u00a0 As far as we can tell, it is \u2014 and was \u2014 a single leaf, rather than a bifolium (or folded pair of leaves from a single animal).\u00a0 The Owner, inspecting its characteristics for these purposes, finds no trace of any folding, or any stitching holes, in the space between columns.<\/p>\n

The mitred corner cut across the lower outer corner of the leaf and the single foldline respectively at the outer edge and along the lower edge (more-or-less along the baseline of the penultimate line of script) attest to the pattern of reshaping the leaf for its next use as the wrapping of a pasteboard cover.\u00a0 At the side of the leaf, the fold produces a narrow stub extending farther into the original outer margin of the leaf.<\/p>\n

Despite their appearances, the foldline and stub cannot pertain to an original “gutter” of the leaf, by which it and its conjoint stub were nested into the gathering of leaves in its medieval binding.\u00a0 The course of the original text from one side of the leaf to another establishes that the surviving portion represents most of the outer column on each side and shreds of the inner column next to it, with the broad, and perhaps full original, expanse of the outer margin at the edge along which the foldline intrudes.<\/p>\n

The leaf may have been wider, perhaps as much as by 14 cm, and higher, perhaps as much as by 5 cm.\u00a0 While the lower edge of its columns of text survives, the upper edge of its columns has lost a line or two of script, to judge by the gap in its text, turning from the bottom of the recto to the top of the verso, when measured against the standard editions of the homily.\u00a0 (Cited below.)<\/p>\n

Two Sides:\u00a0 Front & Back<\/h3>\n

First comes Front and Back.\u00a0 How do we know which is which?\u00a0 OK, we “cheated” (not the right word) by making the choice for showing you the pictures in an order on the basis of educated observation.\u00a0 It Is What We Do.\u00a0 (Choosy.)<\/p>\n

Besides, we don’t want to waste your time before revealing the Answer to the Question we had to try to answer anyway.\u00a0 Front Or Back Or What?\u00a0 First we show, then we tell.\u00a0 You can do the same, and we’d like to hear from you.<\/p>\n

Side 1<\/h4>\n

\"985<\/a>Side 2<\/h4>\n

\"986<\/a><\/h4>\n

The Leaf<\/h3>\n

Yes, you saw 2 different views of both sides of the leaf.\u00a0 Here we offer some more.<\/p>\n

Why should we bother you with any other views?\u00a0 Your time is valuable.<\/p>\n

Why, indeed, bother you?\u00a0 Because the different photographs show other things. (Demonstrated, for example, in the 2015 version of our Style Manifesto<\/a>, downloadable here<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

You know, like your School Yearbook photograph, your Driver’s License photograph, your Graduation photograph, or any other photographs that record a Moment Worth Photographing in your Life.\u00a0 (Wedding, Divorce, Mugshot, whatever. Meaning No Disrespect.)<\/p>\n

I don’t presume that you have any, or many, of such occasions in your life to merit Mugshots.\u00a0 People have different voyages, just as Manuscripts (emanating from People) do.<\/p>\n

Simply, and respectfully, here I make some suggestions that might correspond with one or another of your own experiences.\u00a0 Just to exemplify that Manuscripts show different sides, including their various sides.<\/p>\n

Remaining on Point, I mention.\u00a0 PhotoOps for some Manuscript Divas are described and illustrated happily for obliging Manuscript Groupies<\/a>.\u00a0 You know, they helped to launch our blog on Manuscript Studies<\/a>.\u00a0 Love ’em!<\/p>\n

But let’s focus on this bedraggled leaf.\u00a0 A candidate, don’t you think, for the “Foundling Hospital” for Manuscript Fragments<\/a>?<\/p>\n

Front & Center<\/h3>\n

\"5369\"<\/a>Back-Up Plan<\/h3>\n

\"5371\"<\/a><\/h3>\n

Bits of Information About Provenance<\/h3>\n

The Recent Seller<\/h4>\n

Now in a private collection, the leaf was purchased online from a seller with the address of “33380 mios, Aquitaine<\/a>“, in southwestern France.\u00a0 The Commune of Mios<\/a> lies in the D\u00e9partment of Gironde<\/a> in the Region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine<\/a>. As far as we know, the seller has nothing more from this manuscript, nor do we know of other leaves in other hands.<\/p>\n

Of course, it is not necessary, nor even appropriate, to conclude that the original came from nearby, was made nearby, or dwelled for most of its history nearby, just because the manuscript or this part of it landed in the hands of that seller.\u00a0 Added to that, the wonders of internet commerce allow for the seller to use an address which might or might not correspond with his\/her place of residence and\/or wherever the item was discovered or recovered.<\/p>\n

Wonders never cease, hey?<\/p>\n

The Modern Binding and Its Contents<\/h4>\n

The odd “scraps of pulped document” (reported by the Owner) remaining here and there pasted upon the surface of the fragment indicate that the binding for which the leaf was re-purposed as a cover or wrapper would have been made sometime between circa 1650 to 1700.\u00a0 After removal from that modern volume, the remnants of those pasted bits are visible, for example, over parts of the lower lines of column b on the original verso.\u00a0 Here:<\/p>\n

\"5371<\/a><\/p>\n

So, that binding seems to have been made circa 1650\u20131700. Presumably it formed the cover for some sort of ledger.\u00a0 A few threads from its sewing remain in a pair of tufted groups extending from the lower left-hand side of the recto.\u00a0 The remains of vellum ties appear opposite the binding-cords.\u00a0 They are visible in the photograph shown at the top of this post.<\/p>\n

The Reuse, Title Included<\/h3>\n

A photograph under black light reveals more traces of the reuse and its intended purposes.\u00a0 Here:<\/p>\n

\"Detail<\/a>

Detail of the Recto of the Part-Leaf Turned Sideways. The Added Title. Under Black Light. Photograph by the Owner, used by Permission.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Detail<\/a>

Close-Up of the Recto of the Part-Leaf Turned Sideways. The Added Title. Under Black Light. Photograph by the Owner, used by Permission.<\/p><\/div>\n

Turned sideways in the margin at the right-and-side of the recto, a set of very faded notes in ink in 4 lines occurs in a 17th-century hand.\u00a0 Set out in 4 lines, the script is somewhat sprawling.\u00a0 Even with the aid of black light, the lettering is not readily or fully decipherable, but that form of lighting enhances the forms.<\/p>\n

As a “best guess”, under that lighting, the inscription appears to read, in parts:<\/p>\n

. . . terres de Losguonn<\/em> . . . sur la<\/em> . . . ” in line 3, with the name of a “Margott<\/em>” in line 2.<\/p>\n

Could you take it from there?<\/p>\n

A Sense of Place<\/h3>\n

Presumably the note or title reports that the enclosure was some sort of land inventory or ledger. (“Terres<\/em>” = “Land” in French.)<\/p>\n

Considering the name of the place, we observe that the word losgann<\/a> in Scottish Gaelic means “frog”, “toad”, “wretch”, “childhood” (rarely), “spawn”, and “jellyfish”. Some places, including a loch<\/a>, carry that name.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>

‘Cover Up’ for a French Notebook of ‘Recettes’<\/p><\/div>\n

Among possible candidates for the place name closer to the recent seller (as a point of departure), we observe that a place spelled Lesguenn<\/em> appears within the Department of Maine-et-Loire<\/a> in west-central France.\u00a0 For example, it is recorded as such in the issue for “Samedi 31 Janvier 1903”<\/a> of Le Finist\u00e8re<\/em>, listing the amount of a subscription by “M. Guichard, instituteur \u00e0 Lesguenn<\/em> (Maine-et-Loire<\/em>), 2 fr. 20<\/em>” in support of a delegation to Paris by the “marins-p\u00eacheurs<\/em>“.\u00a0 Occurrences of the personal name Lesquen<\/em> are recorded, for example, in Maine-et-Loire.\u00a0 Variants appear to include such forms as Lesven<\/em>.\u00a0 More work might reveal more precisely the terms of the note.<\/p>\n

The process could resemble the information obtainable in our blogpost on a Cover Up<\/a> involving a reused medieval Psalter leaf and a modern French paper notebook, which still stand together, after reaching its American collector from a source in France.\u00a0 That relic also has a double pair of vellum ties, like the New Leaf (or rather Part-Leaf) from a 14th-century copy containing Bede’s Gospel Homilies<\/em> or part thereof.<\/p>\n

More clues, perhaps?\u00a0 Faint notes in a modern hand stand at a diagonal rising to the right in the outer margin on the verso.\u00a0 Can you decipher them?<\/p>\n

\"Marginal<\/a>

Marginal note in the outer column of the verso<\/p><\/div>\n

\u00a0The Original Text<\/h3>\n
\"Recto<\/a>

Large-Format Lectionary Part-Leaf<\/p><\/div>\n

The surviving portion of the leaf mostly retains parts of at least one of Bede’s Homilies on the Gospels<\/em>.\u00a0 Bede’s homiletic works comprise only his Homilies on the Gospels<\/em> in Latin.\u00a0 They are devoted to specific occasions around the course of the liturgical year.<\/p>\n

The text of these homilies could serve for reading in sections, or lections, like the Homilies on the Gospels<\/em> by Bede’s model Gregory the Great<\/a>.\u00a0 (See here<\/a>, Number 5, for an early Anglo-Saxon copy of Gregory’s Gospel Homilies<\/em>, Book II only surviving.)<\/p>\n

Such a case for lections from Gregory’s Gospel Homilies<\/em> and from other texts (in a copy probably made in Italy) is exhibited in our blogpost on a Part-Leaf from a Large-Format Lectionary<\/a>.\u00a0 There, too, the discarded leaf was cut down and reshaped for its post-medieval use as a folder or wrapper.\u00a0 There, too, the reused leaf was removed from its secondary contents and sold on its own in Europe to arrive in the United States \u2014 although that owner could inspect the item for sale in the shop of the seller at a known address in Florence.<\/p>\n

Editions of Bede’s Homilies<\/em>
\n(Plus Access Issues for Scholarship)<\/h3>\n

Before tackling the portions of text on the New Part-Leaf, we provide some reference points.\u00a0 Plus some observations about access to reference materials.<\/p>\n

As always nowadays, there are the Haves and the Haves Not-So-Much when it comes to researching on the internet.\u00a0 Some scholars,\u00a0 academics, and others have available at their fingertips the full range of resources, hefty subscriptions for access included, or subsidized.\u00a0 Some do not.<\/p>\n

A bad concomitant of this commercially-driven series of portals or barricades to available knowledge via digital sources is that some research simply cannot advance, except by resourceful access to what might be freely available.\u00a0 Often those sources, with out-of-copyright materials, may be long out-of-date.<\/p>\n

It may surprise you, but neither the Research Group on Manuscript Evidence, although a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational organization, nor its Director (Yours Truly) is granted access, unless we might pay for them, to institutional educational libraries which require admission fees of one or another financial form to outsiders as so defined, because we are regarded as outsiders.\u00a0 These admission fees are steep, and getting steeper.\u00a0 It is necessary for our Director, if she requires such access and can pay for it, to devote monies from her part-time work (usually dedicated to subsidizing other parts of her\/our research and activities).\u00a0 Plus the costs of travel, parking, and other aspects of journeying to consult one or another of those collections, even as a paying outsider, which to not grant online access to their subscription materials to any “paying outsider” except on the premises and during working hours.\u00a0 Nor do they (so far as I have encountered) permit access at all to such features as Direct Borrowing from other institutions.\u00a0 Such conditions do not allow the research to progress speedily, and it is costly.<\/p>\n

If you believe that it would be useful to encourage the research work of the Director for the Research Group on Manuscript Evidence by contributing a donation toward the fees of library access, please visit our Contributions & Donations<\/a> Page. We would be glad for your support and encouragement.<\/p>\n

Back to the specific editions for the research in hand. (And now you know some of the gymnastic logistics which had to go behind it.)<\/p>\n

A free website presents a scanned copy of a Latin edition of<\/p>\n