Thomas Aquinas | Quaestiones de potentia dei. Quaestiones de malo | Italy, Naples | 30 December 1480

378 x 260 mm, illuminated manuscript on vellum, St Thomas Aquinas, Quaestiones de potentia dei and Quaestiones de malo, attributed to copyist Venceslaus Crispus and illuminator Matteo Felice, Italy, Naples, signed 30 December 1480; complete, ii (paper) 378 + i (paper) leaves, i-v8, vi6, vii10, viii-xlvii8, xlviii2; with vertical catchwords, text block 243 x 160 mm, ruled in two columns of 46 lines in pale brown ink, written in dark brown ink in a regular and very elegant Littera Rotunda; running titles and headings in red, colophon (f.376r) in red, paragraph marked alternately in blue and red, opening words of each Quaestio in burnished gold capitals; the two opening leaves (ff.1 and 177) illuminated with a large 13 line-high initial extending into a full-length bar border with knots and leaves sprouting in the margins into elaborate sprays of leaves and flowers in blue, purple, and green, with burnished gold bezants on penwork stems and tendrils, the lower margin of the first leaf bearing the royal arms of the Kings of Aragon and Naples emblazoned in a wreath supported by two winged putti and surmounted by a crown; 179 exquisitely illuminated initials, 7 to 9 lines-high, containing coloured flowers and leaves with delicate white penwork on burnished gold grounds, some with short extenders, fol.1r bearing the Royal Arms of the Kings of Aragon contained in a wreath with crown on top supported by two winged putti; vertical creases in ff.2, 8, 26, 50 and 375, old crease mark to f.1, partial crease in f.38, f.1 slightly soiled and with small area of damp-stain at top near hinge affecting the uppermost portion of the illuminated border, chipping to the large initial on that page; some fading or rubbing to ink of the creased leaves and a few faded areas in fewer than 10 other pages; a few wormholes in first 10 leaves, 1 or 2 marginal wormholes in last few leaves; small stain to fol.84v, very occasional tiny chips to initials; apart from these minor flaws in extremely fine, pristine condition; Bound in early 19th-century diced Russia leather over wooden boards, sides with blind roll-tooled borders, spine with olive morocco lettering-piece, edges gilt and gauffred at an earlier date. Worn, joints split; in a modern morocco-backed folding case. c.380 x 260 mm.

AN EXTREMELY FINE ROYAL COMMISSION WITH AN ALMOST UNBROKEN PROVENANCE, INCLUDING THREE KINGS, THREE CARDINALS, A PRINCE, AND AN EARL

PROVENANCE

During the exile of Frederick of Naples, many of the manuscripts from the Royal Library were sold to the bibliophile Cardinal d’Ambroise, initiating the interesting and impressive chain of provenance the manuscript boasts today. Cardinal d'Amboise purchased 38 manuscripts from the Royal Library of Naples.

1. Dated in colophon (30 December 1480, f.376v). Written and illuminated for Ferdinand I of Aragon, King of Naples (1456-1485), preeminent patron of Renaissance arts, collector, bibliophile, soldier and despot as well as entrenched opponent of Innocent VIII. The manuscript bears his royal arms on the first leaf. The manuscript was completed on December 30^th in 1480, cf. colophon on fol.367r Anno a Jhesu Christi millesimo quadringentesimo et octagesimo die xxx^o Decembris. De Hamel notes that December 30^th 1480 fell on a Saturday and suggests that the scribe might have been working relentlessly to finish the manuscript in time for the royal New Year’s celebrations.

2. By descent to his son, Federico of Aragon (d.1504), King of Naples (1496-1501), until he was forced to yield his kingdom to Louis XII of France.

3. Bought form the former king, by Georges d’Amboise (1460-1510), Cardinal, Archbishop of Rouen, prime minister of the Kings of France, twice candidate for the papacy, bibliophile and patron of the arts; this manuscript is described in 1508 in the inventory of his Château de Gaillon (Delsile 1868, p.234, no.16), an extravagant renaissance palace, which he built with the intention to fill it with art and books. Employing 40 artists, 8 sculptors, 5 glass painters, 3 goldsmiths, and a dozen scribes, the Cardinal spent over a thousand livres on manuscripts in the year 1502-3. He bequeathed his Latin manuscripts to subsequent archbishops of Rouen. Destrez-Chenu (1953) lists 22 manuscripts, and later, 2 more were found, not listed in the inventory, creating a total of 24 manuscripts.

4. Cardinal Charles II de Bourbon-Vendôme (1550-1590) and Cardinal Charles III de Bourbon-Vendôme (1562-1594), both Archbishops of Rouen. The latter left part of the archepiscopal library to the Jesuits of the Collège de Clermont, and the other part to his nephew, the king of France (cf. Delisle, pp.258-60, and Guigard 1890, I, p.243-44).

5. Henri IV, King of France (1589-1610), who took possession of the entire library and added it to the Cabinet du Roi. Part of the Cabinet was housed in the then-abandoned Collège de Clermont in Paris. In 1604, the Jesuits reclaimed this building, which had originally belonged to them, as well as their share of the books, including this manuscript.

6. The Jesuit Collège de Clermont in Paris, with their 17^th-century ownership inscription on f.1r, Collegii Paris. societatis Jesu, and, in the inner margin, the later note Paraphé au désir de l’arrest du 5 Juillet 1763, the latter referring to the closing of the College following suppression of the order in 1764. The books were sold in Paris in 1764, cf. Catalogus manuscriptorum codicorum collegii Claramontani, lot 539, purchased by:

7. Gerard Meerman (1722-1771), author of Origines Typographicae, who bought a large portion of the Clermont manuscripts (but was forced to present a certain number of them to the Royal Library of Louis XV obtain permission to export the remainder; by descent to his son Jean Meerman (1753-1815), for whom the manuscript was rebound, their joint sale, The Hague, Biblioteca Meermanniana […], part IV, 2 July 1824, lot 480, to:

8. Bertram, Fourth Earl of Ashburnham (1797-1878), no.88 in his Catalogue of the Manuscripts at Ashburnham Place, Appendix, [1861].

9. Henry Yates Thompson (1839-1928), who bought the manuscripts of the Ashburnham Appendix in 1897, then sold a selection of them, including this one, under the Ashburnham name, at Sotheby’s, 1^st May 1899, lot 39, to Emich.

10. Tammaro De Marinis (1878-1969), the bookseller and scholar of the Neapolitan Royal Library. When he closed his shop in 1925, the book was sold by him at Hoepli, 30 November 1925, lot 355, illustrated.

11. An unidentified owner; apparently, at this time, two engraved bookplates were affixed to the front pastedown, that of the Prince de Soragna (1773-1865), and a large 18^th-century engraved armorial bookplate.

12. Private collection, Lugano, Switzerland.

12. An anonymous consignor, Sotheby’s London, 23 June 1998, lot 59. Sold to:

13. H. P. Kraus his catalogue 220/251.

14. Jonathan Hill 2014, his catalogue 213, lot 14.

15. Jörn Günther, his catalogue 2015, no.31.

COMMENTARY

This beautifully illuminated manuscript of impressive royal provenance contains two of Thomas of Aquinas’ major philosophical textbooks, Quaestiones de potentia dei (eng. On the power of God) and Quaestiones de malo (eng. On Evil). Aquinas’ Quaestiones are presented in the form of debates for the university classroom. During Aquina’s lifetime, the practice of debates was a quintessential part of taking a university degree and to assess students’ understanding of the material.

The two treatises discuss central issues of God’s omnipotence and the nature of Evil, taking a multifaceted philosophical-theological approach that is characteristic of Aquinas’ writings. Both texts engage with some of the most fundamental questions of human existence, therefore skilfully bridging the gap between their historical and current readers. While both texts are part of Aquinas’ major works, manuscript copies are relatively rare (see Dondaine and Shooner 1967-85).

The manuscript at hand is the result of an extraordinary bibliophile effort to create a complete set of Aquinas’ works for the Royal Library of Naples under Ferdinand I, King of Naples and Aragon. Ferdinand, following in his predecessor’s footsteps, was a prolific patron of Renaissance art and humanism, with his court attracting leading artists, among them the Bohemian scribe Venceslaus Crispus. Ferdinand I likely wanted to create a set of exemplars for the Royal Library, which had been built over multiple generations, initiated by King Alfonso V. Having studied at Montecassino and Naples before joining the young Dominican Order in 1244, Aquinas was regarded as Neapolitan, which partially explained the King’s interest in his works. 

Between 1484 and 1493, 16 manuscripts were copied by Venceslaus Crispus, a prolific output, particularly considering the calligraphic and elegant nature of his hand that can be identified in the more than 16,000 lines of manuscript. In his 1998 cataloguing, De Hamel described Venceslaus’ hand as “almost flawless in its perfection” (De Hamel, Sotheby’s, 23^rd June 1998, lot 59), which aptly captures the distinguished humanist nature of his handiwork. 20 of the 24 recorded manuscripts from this monumental project survive, showing not only the long-lasting legacy and enduring importance of Aquinas’ work for Western philosophy, but also the appreciation of Venceslaus’s and Felice’s workmanship. 15 of the 20 manuscripts are published in the Europeana Regia database. Besides the manuscript at hand they include: ‘s-Heerenberg, Castle Huis Bergh, ms.14, Grenoble, BM, ms. 344, Louviers, Bibliotheque de la Ville, mss. 5, 7, 8; Naples, Biblioteca Nazionale, ms. VII B 4, Paris, BN ms. lat. 495, 674, and 6525, Smith-Lesouef ms. lat. 14; Valencia, Bibl. Univ., mss.47, 53, 380, 395, 764, 840, 847, 1377, 1718, 2296 and 2301; Vatican, Rossiano ms. 292; and one other manuscript in private hands (sold at Drouot, 19 May 1976, lot 48).

Thomas Aquinas’ influence and long-lasting importance for Western theology and philosophy are pivotal and cannot be overstated. His achievements in the field of theology are akin to Dante’s literary output and Leonardo’s work as an artist and inventor. Aquinas was the first European medieval theologian to adapt the teachings of Aristotle in his works, therefore creating and shaping an enduring legacy for theologians, scholars, and philosophers to build upon. Much like Aristotle’s impactful achievements, Aquinas’ work changed and influenced the landscape of human thought for centuries.

DECORATION

A BOOK OF ROYAL PROVENANCE AND QUALITY MADE BY VENCESLAUS CRISPUS AND MATTEO FELICE

The manuscript encompasses an impressive number of 179 illuminated initials with burnished gold and colours of velvet-like quality. Both initials and border decorations are attributable to the illuminator Matteo Felice (fl.1467–93), one of the leading artists working for the Royal Library of Naples. The slender putti and elegant initials are characteristic of Felice’s work, revealing their close relationship to other manuscripts illuminated by the artist in Naples around 1480 (cf. De Marinis, II, pp.157-60 and Alexander 1994, p.68).

The copy at hand is one of the earliest manuscripts from the collaboration of Matteo Felice and Venceslaus Crispus, who collaborated on four other Aquinas manuscripts between 1489 and 1493. The production of these manuscripts and their payment are recorded in the royal accounts (cf. De Marinis, II, docs. 763, 847, 876 and IV, pls.236-38).

Felice’s work uses motives and palettes characteristic of Paduan and Ferrarese illumination, which became popular in the 1470s following the marriage of Eleanora of Aragon (1450-1493) and Ercole d’Este (1431-1505), Duke of Ferrara, in 1473. The vegetal and geometric border decoration in this manuscript is reminiscent of beautiful margins in high-end Breviaries and Missals produced for the influential dukes of Este and Gonzaga. Matteo Felice not only incorporated these relatively new decorative influences but further developed and refined them.

The manuscript at hand offers two fundamental works of Western theology, in a precious and attractive execution fit for a royal library.

LITERATURE

Christopher de Hamel, Sotheby’s 23^rd June 1998, lot 59.

Dante Petrarch Boccaccio. Dr. Jörn Günther Rare Books. Stalden 2015, no.31.

De Marinis, Tammaro. La biblioteca napoletana dei re d’Aragona. 1952-1957, vol. II, p.160.

Delisle, L. Le Cabinet des Manuscrits de la Bibliotheque Imperiale (1868), I, pp.228, 245.

Destrez, Jean and Marie-Dominique Chenu. “Une collection manuscrite des oeuvres complètes de S. Thomas d’Aquin par le roi Aragonais de Naples 1480-1493.” Archivum Fratrum Praedicatorum, 23 (1953), pp.309-26.

Deville, L. Comptes de dépenses de la construction du Château de Gaillon. Paris 1850. Une Renaissance en Normandie. Le cardinal d’Amboise bibliophile et mécène. Exh. cat.

Dondaine, H. F. and H. V. Shooner. Codices Manuscripti Operum Thomae de Aquino, I-III. 1967-85.

Guigard, Nouvel Armorial du Bibliophile. Paris 1890.

Mazzatinti, G. La biblioteca dei re d’Aragona in Napoli. 1897, p.183, no.617 (see online: http://archive.org/details/labibliotecadei00mazzgoog ).

FURTHER READING

Alexander, J.J.G. The Painted Page: Italian Renaissance Book Illumination, 1450-1550. 1994, p.68.