The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1883-06-23

media, or portions of it, there are be-
tween twenty and thirty codices of the
fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, some
remarkable for their readings, others for
the beauty of their writing and ornament
alton. In addition there are some fifteen
volumes which contain commentaries on
the ''Commedia," as well as other works
of Dante, notably his ode Monarchia.
This simple statement is enough to show
that we have here collection which sur
passes any private library of manuscripts
of the great italian poet, and fairly rivals
the national collection. Add it to the lat
ter, and the result will be series which
might almost compete with the great
libraries of Florence.
We cannot here do more than name
the best of the numerous French roman
ces and poems which enrich the collec-
ton. A very handsome and highly val
liable manuscript of Perceval la Galols,
the work which stands at the head Of the
Saint Graal literature, is of the thirteenth
century; of the same date are two copies
of Agolant, one of the Charlemagne
chansoms de gestes, a Garin la Loherain,
an excellent text of Parthenopex de Blois,
and Renard OF rather later date are
most valuable manuscript containing
Guiron lie Courtois and other pieces,
unique romance of the Round Table, and
a Chatelin de Coucy And lastly, there
is collection of saints lives, ETC., in
volume written in England in the twelfth
century.
Students of early English also will have
nothing to complain of when they turn for
material to the Ashburnham collection.
They will find Psalter of the eleventh
century, with Anglo-Saxon gloss a volume
of homilies Of the end Of the twelfth
century: texts of Piers Plowman, Of
Chaucer, Cover, Occleve, Hampole, and
other writer's of the fourteenth and fif-
teenth centuries one Of those rare collec-
tions of mysteries or plays of the fifteenth
century, and nearly a score Of Bibles and
New Testaments and portions of the Bible
of Wycliffe's version and Wyclifite tracts
We have reserved to the last our notice
of that portion Of the collection which ap
peals more especially to the eye. First to
mention the various specimens of binding,
of which there are many which have finely
cut worries inserted in the covers. The
earliest one is very beautiful example of
Italian work of the seventh century. A
grolier and several fine specimens of richly
fooled leather bindings are also to be seen.
But all these are cast into the shade by an
ancient copy of the Gospels, of the tenth
century, magnifcently bound in covers of
silver-gilt and engraved metal enriched
with perfect blaze of jewels and enamels.
For its splendor and costliness, and still
more for the artistic merit of its repOusse
work, this binding is certainly one Of the
finest in existance.
The Illuminated manuscripts are of i'm
mense value The schools of England,
France Italy, Flanders, and Germany are
represented, the first three by numerous
examples, and all by one or more manu-
scripts of the very first order of excellence.
OF English manuscripts the first to attract
attention is a psalter of the fourteenth
century, ornamented with miniatures and
borders drawn with extreme delicacy and
colored with the most exact harmony.
But this is eclipsed by Book of Hours
a perfect marvel of the finest workmanship
of the fifteenth century, which probably
stands alone among the productions of our
native artists of the period. Nothing can
surpass the richness of the designs of the
borders or the minute working of the
details of the miniatures. The French
school is well represented by delicately
Illuminated psalter of the middle Of the
fourteenth century, ornamented in the
style which is conspicuous in the manu-
script executed for that great collector,
Charles "; by a Boethius of the fifteenth
century, Illustrated with miniatures of the
finest execution; by several volumes of the
same period, filled with miniatures in colors
or camaIeugris and by a Livre dHeures
of the time of Francis l., in which is a
series of paintings of the most perfect
finish. OF the Italian school there are
several beautiful volumes, but we must be
content with noticing two only of excep-
tional interest. First, 'Book of Hours,
written in the beautiful handwriting of the
famous scribe, Sinibaldo, of Florence, in
1885, probably for Lorenzo de Medici.
The miniatures of this volume are remark
able for the small scale on which they are
drawn and for the finish of the painting,
while the borders are some of the richest
examples of the fine star patterns which
give so much grace to Italian manuscripts
of this period The second manuscript is
one of those rare volumes which render
famous any collection to which they may
happen to belong Known rs the CAL
bani Missal," after its former owners, it
was purchased in Rome in 1913 by the
late Mr.. James Dennistoun 1t is man
uscript of officers, and was executed appa-
rently for Alemanno Salviati, gonfaloniere
of Florence and brother-in-law of Lorenzo
de Medici, and given by him to one of his
relatives of the house of Baroncelli. The
calendar at the beginning is ornamented
with most exquisite medallions in the best
Florentine style, and the borders and
initials throughout the volume are in no
way inferior. But the glory of the book
consists in five fullgage miniatures, each
the work of master The first is by the
hand of AMIGO Aspertini, of Bologna, the
pupil of Francia, and is signed by him.
The next is attributed, with apparently
good reason, to Lorenzo di Credi, and the
third and fourth, though unassigned, are
of the highest excellence. The fifth
crowns the book with a ST. Sebastine, a
composition full of tenderness and grace,
which at once proclaims itself to the de-
lighted gaze as the work of Perugino, and
renders needless the inscription, 'Petrus
Prusinus pinxit," which is to be read at
the foot of the painting.
Such are few of the specimens of this
extraordinary collection. In autographs,
again, it is singularly rich. The Libri
collection of the letters of Italian scholars
and men of letters of the Renaissance
period is wholly unmatched and wholly
beyond the reach of any possible rivalry
the materials are not in existence for
making any similar collection. This, in