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Middle Dutch Alexander compilation

F-eadz

Antwerpen, Universiteitsbibliotheek Antwerpen Bijzondere Collecties, MAG-P 64.19

Laurent Breeus-Loos, Vlaamse Erfgoedbibliotheken, 2021 (Born Digital)

General Information

Title Middle Dutch Alexander compilation
Shelfmarks Antwerpen, Universiteitsbibliotheek Antwerpen Bijzondere Collecties, MAG-P 64.19
Material parchment
Place of Origin Low Countries, Brabant, possibly the region around Brussels
Date of Origin middle of the 14th century
Persons The fragment was copied by the Ferguut scribe, an anonymous scribe who was active in the Brabant region around the middle of the 14th century, and whose hand has been identified in seven other manuscripts.
Script, Hands

The verses are written in a northern gothica textualis libraria. Distinctive features are the round ‘d’ with a stroke to the right (resembling the Greek δ), the characteristic small ‘D’ and the suspension sign with an elegant hairline.

Original Condition

Line Height 5 – 6 mm
Ruling Lead-point ruling
More about the Condition

Since the fragment originates from an otherwise unknown Middle Dutch compilation on Alexander the Great, it is not possible to reconstruct the layout of the original manuscript with certainty. However, Schoenaers et al. 2021 have argued that it may be a three-column manuscript with 50-56 written lines per column.

Current Condition

Extent 1 strip (part of a leaf)
Dimensions 250–259 x 65 mm

Book Decoration and Musical Notation

Description

The fragment contains a richly decorated pen-flourished parted initial with reserved interior shapes: the pen flourishes are executed in red and dark blue, the body of the initial is executed in red and blue. The inside of the initial is filled with foliage of white ivy leaves with curved stems on a green background.

Content

  • Content Item
    • Text Language Middle Dutch
    • Title Middle Dutch Alexander compilation
    • Content Description

      The fragment is the sole remnant of a Middle Dutch Alexander compilation, which included Middle Dutch versions of the Old French Voeux du paon and Fuerre de Gadres. Before the discovery of the fragment, it was not known that a Dutch translation of the latter text existed. The fragment is edited and studied by Schoenaers et al. 2021.
    • Edition Schoenaers, Dirk, Laurent Breeus-Loos, Farley P. Katz, and Remco Sleiderink, ‘Reconstructing a Middle Dutch Alexander Compilation’, Fragmentology, 4 (2021), 29–54

History

Persons and Institutions In 2018, the fragment was acquired by Farley P. Katz from a Parisian bookseller. Katz contacted researchers of Middle Dutch literature in early 2019. Katz then donated the fragment to the Special Collections of the University Library of the University of Antwerp (Antwerpen, Universiteitsbibliotheek Antwerpen Bijzondere Collecties).

Host Volume

Remarks

The fragment functioned as spine lining (host volume unknown).

Bibliography

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