Lausanne, Bibliothèque cantonale et universitaire de Lausanne

Lausanne, Bibliothèque Cantonale et Universitaire, IS 4254

Parchment · 22 ff. · 20.4 x 15.5 cm · first third of the 15th century

Othon de Grandson, Poems

Othon de Grandson, knight and poet, distinguished himself both through his verses and through his heroic deeds during the Hundred Years War. He was an adviser to Count Amadeus VII of Savoy. After the death of the count, he fled to England. After his return to the land of Vaud he died in an ordeal by battle in the form of a duel in Bourg-en-Bresse in the year 1397. In addition, Othon de Grandson's poetry introduced Valentine's Day to a broader public, though it had previously been celebrated only in Anglo-Saxon regions. (swe)

Lausanne, Bibliothèque Cantonale et Universitaire, M 454

Parchment · 124 ff. · 28.5 x 20.0 cm · France · first half of the 14th century

Roman de la Rose

This codex dates to the first half of the 14th century and contains a copy of Roman de la Rose, an Old French allegorical dream vision by Guillaume de Lorris and Jean de Meun composed in the 13th century. This copy, which is one of more than 300 that survive in full or in part, is heavily annotated and shows evidence of extensive use by several different readers. (sti)

Lausanne, Bibliothèque Cantonale et Universitaire, Ms 350

Paper · 181 ff. · 22 x 14.5 cm · about 1430

Othon de Grandson, Les Responses des cent Balades

Othon de Grandson, knight and poet, distinguished himself both through his verses and through his heroic deeds during the Hundred Years War. He was an adviser to Count Amadeus VII of Savoy. After the death of the count, he fled to England. After his return to the land of Vaud he died in an ordeal by battle in the form of a duel in Bourg-en-Bresse in the year 1397. Othon de Grandson probably wrote his poetic works between 1366 and 1372. This collection volume also contains ballads by thirteen different authors. (swe)

Lausanne, Bibliothèque Cantonale et Universitaire, U 964

Parchment · VI + 522 + VI ff. · 33 x 24.5 cm · France · end of 13th century

Biblia Porta

The Latin Porta manuscript, which bears the name of its last private owner, is an illuminated Bible from the Franco-Flemish region, produced at the end of the 13th century. The value of this unique and extraordinary work lies in the quality of its textual illustrations: 447 scenes of great artistic refinement, very lively and expressive. The illustrations consist of historiated initials, ornamental initials, drolleries and marginal illustrations. The text, which is written in extremely carefully formed calligraphy on very fine parchment, is St. Jerome's Vulgate version of the Bible in Latin, revised in Paris in the second quarter of the 13th century. This document is one of the few remaining works from this particular school of book decoration in northern France. (min)