Illuminated Bifolium, C15th | Vincent Beauvais, Speculum historiale in Latin bifolium on vellum with large illuminated historiated initial, Netherlands, c.1430

Illuminated initial from Vincent Beauvais, Speculum historiale in Latin, Netherlands, c.1430

Bifolium with illuminated initial 'D', 550 mm x 388 mm (initial approx. 8 cm x 9 cm), c. 49 lines, 15th century clear Gothic bookhand and Gothic minuscule; large initial on burnished gold, showing God in a white tunic, hand held in blessing; minute darkening of margins.

HEAVENLY SPLENDOUR: OPENING INITIAL OF VINECENT DE BEAUVAIS' SPECULUM MAIUS

The glistening initial depicts the figure God (see the running title: De deo cratore mundi) clothed in a white shift, holding a book, his hand raised in a blessing. Elegant acanthus leaves in shades of blue with white tracings form the body of the initial which is executed on a bed of burnished gold, mirroring the heavenly splendour of Christ. The descender, the tail of the letter, reaches the full length of the column and is decorated with geometric patterns reminiscent of gothic architecture. Delicate floriate sprays of red, blue, and gold trefoil leaves surround the head and foot of the right column.

The initial provides an impressive opening to Vincent de Beauvais' Speculum Historiale, Chapter 1, accompanying the incipit: "Deus est substancia in corpore a simplex et in commutabilis..." The first eight lines of the text are executed in a large decorative Gothic bookhand before continuing in a smaller and heavily abbreviated Gothic minuscule. On the facing leaf, we find the table of contents with rubrications for the individual chapters.

Vincent de Beauvais (c. 1184-1264) was a Dominican friar and author of at least thirteen works. He likely began his career at Paris's Dominican house around 1215-1220 before moving to the monastery in Beauvais. The Speculum Maius (Great Mirror), is his most extensive and widely read work. Vincent worked on the compendium for almost thirty years it was intended to bring together the most important knowledge of its time. The Speculum is divided into three books: The Mirror of Nature (Speculum Naturale), The Mirror of Doctrine (Speculum Doctrinale), and The Mirror of History (Speculum Historiale).

Of the three books, the Mirror of History was the most popular. The work opens with the mysteries of God and the heavens and concludes with with a short narrative of the crusade of St Louis in 1250. Vincent's dedicated efforts provided an incredible wealth of literary sources, as he devoted multiple chapters to classical authors, offering extracts from Cicero, Ovid, and Origen alongside clerical authors such as Augustine, John Chrysostom, and Jerome.

The eye catching initial pays homage to one of the most influential texts of the 13th century.

PROVENANCE

1. UK, Private Collection

2. Bought by current owner from Catawiki 2024.

LITERATURE

Franklin-Brown, Mary (2012). Reading the world: encyclopedic writing in the scholastic age. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.