MAGNA GLOSSATURA IN EPISTOLAS PAULI

France, ca. 1180. Approximately 438 x 585 mm. (17 1/4 x 23") unfolded and at longest points. Main text in single column, up to 47 lines, in a fine proto-gothic hand; gloss in two columns, approximately 68 lines, in a smaller hand.
Rubrics in red, many slightly larger than one-line initials in red or blue, TWO LARGE INITIALS IN COLORS AND BURNISHED GOLD, the central part of each measuring about 65 mm. square, with tails measuring approximately 150 mm. long, the capitals standing in adjacent columns in the center of the page, each with a different design incorporating thick swirls of gold, and acanthus and other patterns painted predominantly green, orange, blue, and pink. With the word "table" written twice on one page in ink by a later hand (undoubtedly when it was used as a binding). ◆Recovered from a binding and thus with overall darkening as well as some general staining, soiling, folds, and small holes to vellum, one leaf with significant loss of text at the top and (less severely) the bottom, its outer column just slightly trimmed away, but the other leaf quite intact, text on one side of bifolium rather scuffed and faded, but the other side much better and almost entirely legible, initials noticeably rubbed, but much of the color and gold still present; with very obvious condition issues, but on the whole a large and pleasing specimen with initials that still evoke some of the very considerable grandeur of its past.

From what was undoubtedly a luxuriously appointed codex of very high quality, this memorable leaf is a remarkable survival, being a bifolium that remains intact (having previously been used in a binding) and retains two wonderful initials that give us a small taste of the splendor of the original manuscript. The initials here open II Corinthians 1 and its gloss ("P[aulus] apostolus iesu christi per voluntatem Dei et thimotheus"; and "Paulus apostolus et cetera hanc item") with great fanfare; despite the inevitable loss that has occurred, we can still see how thickly the gold was applied, the choice of vivid colors, and the splendid Romanesque design elements, including small creatures nestled within the initials. Though the gold and paint are now somewhat worn, the sheer size of the double initials has obviously not been diminished with time, and their unusual parallel placement on the page makes a striking appearance. Born near Novarra and educated in the schools of northern Italy and northern France, Peter Lombard (ca. 1100-60) taught theology at Paris and in 1159 became bishop there. Besides the present commentary on the Pauline epistles, Peter Lombard also wrote glosses on the Psalms. These two works, taken together, came to be called the "Magna Glossatura," as they replaced earlier versions of this part of the "Glossa Ordinaria." It is extraordinary to think that the present manuscript, probably executed around 1180 and almost certainly before the end of the century, was nearly contemporary with the Lombard himself..