This codex, written in humanist minuscule, contains philosophical works by Marcus Tullius Cicero (106–43 BC): pp. 3–121 Tusculanae disputationes (“Tusculan Disputations”), pp. 121–248 De finibus bonorum et malorum (“On the Ends of Good and Evil”), pp. 249–344 De natura deorum (“On the Nature of the Gods”) and pp. pp. 345–416 De divinatione (“On Divination”). The coat of arms on p. 3 (four bearded male faces in profile, arranged in a circle) most likely was that of the later Pope Nicholas V, born Tommaso Parentucelli (1397–1455, Pope 1447–1455). Parentucelli used this coat of arms (“stemma delle quattro barbe”, Manfredi, p. 662) in the years before he was elected pope. It is found in 38 manuscripts in the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana in Rome as well as in a codex in the Biblioteca Capitolare in Padua (ms. C27). The white vine initials, typical of Florentine book decoration, are similar to those in the codex from Padua, whose illuminations Silvia Fumian attributes to the Florentine artist Bartolomeo Varnucci (* ca. 1412/1413). Perhaps Parentucelli commissioned this manuscript in 1439–1443, when he resided in Florence for the Council. (sno)

Online Since: 10/13/2016