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Reflecting Medieval Manuscripts: RTI at Spencer Research Library

Caroline Minuscule

Caroline Minuscule or Carolingian Minuscule is the primary script of the early Middle Ages. Created in the late eighth century, it was the official book script in Charlemagne’s empire. The combination of uppercase letters, and lowercase letters, are attributed primarily to the Carolingian script. A sense of clarity was achieved with rounded letter forms and generous spacing between words

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MS C189 36 plain 1252061 2022-12-10T12:54:48-08:00
Genre/Form Heading
- Neumes
- Sermons
- Antiphonaries (Service books)
- Breviaries
- Chants
- Vellum bindings (Binding)
- Contemporary bindings (Binding)
- Manuscript waste (Binding)
Binding
Country: France?
Language: Latin
Assigned Date: s. XI
Searchable Date Range: 1050 - 1099
Script: Caroline minuscule
Number of texts: 1
Description:
- Parchment - 325 x 213 mm - 2 columns of at around 35-38 lines; ruled in drypoint
- Religious text
Binding: Contemporary, possibly original. Parchment case binding made from a reused bifolium with leather, alum-tawed split laced sewing supports. Some of the sewing supports are broken and missing.

The upper margin of the bifolium (now the fore-edge turn-in of the front cover) is trimmed with no loss of text, the edges of the cover are large enough to allow for turn-ins.

Contains text from Isidore of Seville’s Sententiae, Book 10.11 "De angelis" and a sermon titled "De misericordia" attributed to John Chrysostom, also known by its opening words: "Tria sunt quae in misericordiae opera."

Link to KU catalog entry.
Link to Digital Scriptorium entry.
MS 9A:1 29 plain 1252061 2022-12-10T12:43:04-08:00
Title: Homeliae in Evangelia
Author: Gregory I
Number of texts: 1
Number of parts: 1
Language: Latin
Script: Caroline minuscule
Country: Italy?
Century: 12th
Searchable Date Range: 1100 - 1115
Description:
- 1 leaf
- Fragment, recto-verso
- Parchment - 137 x 205 mm - 2 columns, probably ruled in drypoint
Notes:
- Contains parts of Homily 39, on Luke (on the recto: PL 76:1297A, 1297C and on the verso: PL 76:1297D, 1298A).
Incipit: //quam lapidem super lapidem ponitur. Sed in destructa civitate super lapidem //
Explicit: unde valeat proximis nocere. Sed quia contra per//

Link to Digital Scriptorium entry.
MS C189 Back Flyleaf 17 plain 2022-12-10T13:14:38-08:00
Back Flyleaf

Text:
- r1 v2-Hosea 6:5-6, Habakkuk 3:2-3, Exodus 12:1-8;
- v1 r2- Exodus 12:9-11, Psalm 139:2-14, John 18:1-5
Country: Italy
Language: Latin
Assigned Date: s. XI2
Date: c. 1150
Script: late Caroline minuscule
Figurative Decoration:
- Large initial decorated with the symbol of John the Evangelist: a nimed (haloed) eagle holding a book
Other Decoration:
- Section headings in red
Number of Texts: 1
Description:
- Parchment - 300 x 210 mm - 2 columns of at least (31?) 32 lines, ruled in hardpoint (drypoint)
- Liturgical text
- Breviary
Condition:
- The upper margin of the second back flyleaf is trimmed, with one line of text lost.
The parchment folio used for the back flyleaves likely comes from a breviary, dated around the first half of the twelfth century. It contains readings related to Maundy Thursday and Good Friday of the Christian Holy Week. The recto side of the first back flyleaf and the verso side of the second back flyleaf contains: Hosea 6:5-6; Habakkuk 3:2-3; reading for Maundy Thursday; Exodus 12:1-8. The verso side of the first back flyleaf and the recto side of the second back flyleaf contains: Exodus 12:9-11; Psalm 139:2-14; John 18:1-5.

r1 v2
Hosea 6:5-6
("[incipit] [do]lui [?] in p[ro]phetis occidi eos in verbis oris mei …
[explicit] scientiam D[e]i plus quam holocausta.")

Hosea 6:5-6, Douay-Rheims Bible (DRB) translation:
[5] For this reason have I hewed them by the prophets, I have slain them by the words of my mouth: and thy judgments shall go forth as the light.
[6] For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice: and the knowledge of God more than holocausts.

Habakkuk 3:2-3
("[incipit] Domine audivi auditum tuum [et] timui...
[explicit] op[er]uit c[a]elos maiestas eius [et] laude eius plena")

Habakkuk 3:2-3, Douay-Rheims Bible (DRB) translation:
[2] O Lord, I have heard thy hearing, and was afraid. O Lord, thy work, in the midst of the years bring it to life: In the midst of the years thou shalt make it known: when thou art angry, thou wilt remember mercy. [3] God will come from the south, and the holy one from mount Pharan: His glory covered the heavens, and the earth is full of his praise.

Exodus 12:1-8
"[rubric] [Et] libri exodi. [incipit] In dieb[us] illis dixit d[omi]n[u]s ad Moysen et Aaron; iste vobis principium mensium [...] [explicit] panes cu[m] lactucis agrestib[us]."

Exodus 12:1-8, Douay-Rheims Bible (DRB) translation:
[1] And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt: [2] This month shall be to you the beginning of months: it shall be the first in the months of the year. [3] Speak ye to the whole assembly of the children of Israel, and say to them: On the tenth day of this month let every man take a lamb by their families and houses. [4] But if the number be less than may suffice to eat the lamb, he shall take unto him his neighbour that joineth to his house, according to the number of souls which may be enough to eat the lamb. [5] And it shall be a lamb without blemish, a male, of one year: according to which rite also you shall take a kid (a goat or sometimes lamb was used for the sacrifice).
[6] And you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month: and the whole multitude of the children of Israel shall sacrifice it in the evening. [7] And they shall take of the blood thereof, and put it upon both the side posts, and on the upper door posts of the houses, wherein they shall eat it. [8] And they shall eat the flesh that night roasted at the fire, and unleavened bread with wild lettuce.

v1 r2
Exodus 12:9-11
("[incipit] quid nec coctum aqua sed assum tantum igni caput ...
[explicit] comedetis festinantes est enim phase id est transitus d[omi]ni"

Exodus 12:9-11, Douay-Rheims Bible (DRB) translation:
[9] You shall not eat thereof any thing raw, nor boiled in water, but only roasted at the fire: you shall eat the head with the feet and entrails thereof. [10] Neither shall there remain any thing of it until morning. If there be any thing left, you shall burn it with fire.
[11] And thus you shall eat it: you shall gird your reins, and you shall have shoes on your feet, holding staves in your hands, and you shall eat in haste: for it is the Phase (that is the Passage) of the Lord.

Psalm 139:2-14
("[incipit] eripe me d[omi]ne ab homine malo ... adversum me ne derelinquas; [cir]cuitus eo[rum] labor labio[rum] ipso[rum] coop[er]i[et] ... [explicit] habitabunt recti cum vultu tuo")

Psalm 139:2-14, Douay-Rheims Bible (DRB) translation:
[2] Deliver me, O Lord, from the evil man: rescue me from the unjust man. [3] Who have devised iniquities in their hearts: all the day long they designed battles. [4] They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent: the venom of asps is under their lips. [5] Keep me, O Lord, from the hand of the wicked: and from unjust men deliver me. Who have proposed to supplant my steps. [6] The proud have hidden a net for me. And they have stretched out cords for a snare: they have laid for me a stumblingblock by the wayside.
[7] I said to the Lord: Thou art my God: hear, O Lord, the voice of my supplication. [8] O Lord, Lord, the strength of my salvation: thou hast overshadowed my head in the day of battle. [9] Give me not up, O Lord, from my desire to the wicked: they have plotted against me; do not thou forsake me, lest they should triumph. [10] The head of them compassing me about: the labour of their lips shall overwhelm them. [11] Burning coals shall fall upon them; thou wilt cast them down into the fire: in miseries they shall not be able to stand.
[12] A man full of tongue shall not be established in the earth: evil shall catch the unjust man unto destruction. [13] I know that the Lord will do justice to the needy, and will revenge the poor. [14] But as for the just, they shall give glory to thy name: and the upright shall dwell with thy countenance.

John 18:1-5
("[rubric] Passio d[omi]ni n[ost]ri Ih[es]u Chr[ist]I s[ancti] Ioh[anne]m. [incipit] In ill[o] t[empo]r[e] egressus est d[omi]n[u]s Ih[esu]s cum discipulis suis trans torrentem ... [explicit] stabat aut[em] et Iudas qui tradebat")

John 18:1-5, Douay-Rheims Bible (DRB) translation:
1] When Jesus had said these things, he went forth with his disciples over the brook Cedron, where there was a garden, into which he entered with his disciples. [2] And Judas also, who betrayed him, knew the place; because Jesus had often resorted thither together with his disciples. [3] Judas therefore having received a band of soldiers and servants from the chief priests and the Pharisees, cometh thither with lanterns and torches and weapons. [4] Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth, and said to them: Whom seek ye? [5] They answered him: Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith to them: I am he. And Judas also, who betrayed him, stood with them.
MS C189 Inner Cover 15 plain 2022-12-10T13:05:16-08:00
Inner Cover
Text: “De misericordia” (On Mercy)
Author: John Chrysostom
Script: late Caroline minuscule
Description:
- Two columns of 38 lines, ruled in drypoint
Condition:
- The upper margin of the bifolium (now the fore-edge turn-in of the front cover) is trimmed
- No loss of text
John Chrysostom
(c.347 - 407 C.E.)
Born: Antioch, Turkey
Died: Comana, Turkey

“De misericordia”
The text on the inner cover of MS C189 is from a sermon credited to John Chrysostom, the Archbishop of Constantinople at the end of the fourth and early fifth century. He was called Chrysostom or “golden mouth'' due to his impactful messages. The sermon on MS C189 is titled, “De misericordia” (On Mercy). It begins, “Tria sunt quae in misericordiae opera” (“There are three things in the works of mercy… ”) This opening passage is not visible on the fragment.
MS C189 Outer Cover 12 plain 2022-12-10T13:01:27-08:00
Outer Cover
Text: Sententiae (Sentences)
Author: Isidore of Seville
Script: late Caroline minuscule
Description:
- Two columns of 38 lines, ruled in drypoint.
- The repurposed parchment bifolium used for the cover likely comes from a homiliary, dated to the second half of the eleventh century.
Condition: Fragile
- The cover is warped due to extensive water damage.
- The cover and the flyleaves are cockled.
- The cover and flyleaves have minor bookworm damage.
- Trimmed upper margin
- There seems to be no loss of text due to trimming
- Most of the text is still readable on the cover and the turn-ins.
Isidore of Seville
( c. 560 - 636)
Born: Cartagena, or Seville, Spain
Died: Seville, Spain

Sententiae
Instead of scraping away the text to reveal a blank surface, the scriptorium preserved the text as a protective wrapping. The parchment leaf that forms the outer cover (the recto side of the first of the two folios) likely comes from a homiliary, dated around the second half of the eleventh century. A homiliary, is a set of short texts and sermons on a moral theme. The cover contains text from Isidore of Seville's Sententiae, Book 10.11 "De angelis" (On the Angels.) Isidore of Seville’s Sententiae was popular and there are many copies from the Middle Ages. MS C54 is another manuscript at the Spencer Research Library that contains the Sententiae.
MS C189 Front Flyleaf 9 plain 2022-10-22T01:50:50-07:00
Front Flyleaf
Text: John 6:1-14
Country: Italy?
Language: Latin
Assigned Date: s. XI2
Date: c. 1150
Searchable Date Range: 1050-1099
Script: Late Caroline miniscule, Praegothica
Music: Neumes on a red, 1-line staff
Other Decoration:
- Section titles in red
- Red initials
- Red staff lines
- Part of a large strapwork initial in brown ink, decorated in red
Number of texts: 1
Description:
- Parchment - 300 x 210 mm - 2 columns of at least 32 lines, ruled in drypoint; 1 line of text accompanying each line of music
- Breviary, noted
- Antiphonary
Condition:
- The upper margin of the leaf (now the outer edge of the first front flyleaf) is trimmed, with at least two lines of text lost.
- Outer and inner margins of the leaf are trimmed, with some text lost on the outer margin (now the tail-edge).
John 6:1-14 and the following chants:
"Tunc acceptabis sacrificium justitiae si averteris faciem tuam" [Cantus ID: 005236]; "Aperiam in parabolis os meum loquar propositiones" [Cantus ID: g01030b]; "Adduxi vos per desertum quadraginta annos" [Cantus ID: 006030]; "Adduxit eos dominus in fortitudine magna cibavit" [Cantus ID: 006032].

John 6:1-14 NIV (new international version) modern translation:

1Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), 2and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the signs he had performed by healing the sick. 3Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples. 4The Jewish Passover Festival was near.
5When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?”6He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.
7Philip answered him, “It would take more than half a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!”
8Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, 9“Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”
10Jesus said, “Have the people sit down” There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). 11Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.
12When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.”13So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.
14After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.”