Two leaves from a manuscript probably made around Soissons, which contained the Institutiones grammaticae of Priscian. The fragments, one of which bears the owner's note of Paul Petau, were possibly formerly used as book covers. In 1632, they came to Bern as part of the property of Jacques Bongars. (mit)

Online Since: 07/12/2021

This early 16th century manuscript contains book II of the Illustrations de Gaule et singularitez de Troye by Jean Lemaire de Belges (1473-1524), followed by the XXIV coupletz de la valitude et convalescence de la royne trescrestienne and the virelai “Espritz haultains“. This is the only known manuscript to contain these three texts. It was signed by Lemaire de Belges's own hand (f. 199v). (des)

Online Since: 06/14/2018

Noël de Fribois, notary, secretary and advisor to King Charles VII, wrote the Abrégé des chroniques de France, which he presented to the King in June 1459. He began his chronicle with the siege of Troy and concludes it in 1383. The Geneva copy has two anonymous sequels, one on the reign of Charles VII and one on that of Louis XI. This first part of the manuscript is decorated with 27 illuminated scenes. The text continues with the Mémoire sur les rois de Sicile by Giovanni Candida, translated into French by Charles Guillart, and with various chronicles, stories and other writings added in the 16th century. (hoc)

Online Since: 06/18/2020

The Livre de bonnes meurs, dedicated to the Duke of Berry, draws its inspiration from the Sophilogium by the same author. In essence this is a moral and religious work. As part of the “mirror for princes”, it broaches the topic of the virtues and moral qualities that an ideal prince should possess. This Geneva manuscript represents the first version, dated 1404. It was illuminated by the master of Philippe de Commynes' Froissart and contains a single beautiful illumination for the frontispiece. (hoc)

Online Since: 10/10/2019

This book of hours in the Parisian fashion is richly illuminated and was made for the diocese of Nantes in the third quarter of the 15th century. It was owned by the Petau family during the 17th century. In 1720 it was purchased by Ami Lullin of Geneva and donated to the Bibliothèque de Genève. (jeg)

Online Since: 12/09/2008

This manuscript from the second half of the 15th century is a book of hours for use in the Abbey of St. Martin of Tours. Six large miniatures remain, of which two pertain to the life of Christ, two are dedicated to the Annunciation, one to St. Joseph, and the last to St. Barbara. The calendar indicates the thirteen unlucky days (dies eger) of the year. With its old crimson velvet binding, its painted decorations and careful script, this manuscript had enriched the collection of the Petau family before it came to Geneva. (jeg)

Online Since: 12/18/2014

This small, elegant, illuminated book of hours for the use of Rome was probably produced in the workshop of Jean Colombe, the famous book illustrator from Bourges, who was active in the last third of the 15th century. Some of the 14 miniatures that decorate the manuscript can in fact also be found in other books of hours that were illuminated by the master of Bourges, such as the cord situated in the ornate margins that frame the miniatures (Paris, BnF, n.a. lat. 3181). This motif has been interpreted in different ways, either as a sign of belonging to the Third Order of Franciscans, or as a sign of widowhood, in which case the addressee would have been a woman – but this is contradicted by the masculine forms of address in the prayers. The manuscript later became the property of Paul Petau, and in 1756 it became part of the collection of the Bibliothèque de Genève as part of the bequest of Ami Lullin. (rou)

Online Since: 06/14/2018

This sumptuous manuscript contains the Chronicle of Eusebius of Caesarea translated by St. Jerome and presented in columns, together with continuations by Jerome and Prosper of Aquitaine. It was produced in about 1480 in Padua or Venice and was illuminated by Petrus V…, who created a masterful full-page illustration on Fol. 10r. A binding error unfortunately reduces the overall esthetic appeal of the volume: the first and second fascicles have been placed in inverse order. (jeg)

Online Since: 04/15/2010

This manuscript contains the Latin translation of the Roman de Troie by Benoît de Sainte-Maure, prepared in 1287 by Guido de Columnis. The text is divided into 35 books, of which only 9 are introduced by miniatures, most of them whole-page miniatures (f. 1r, 5v, 16v, 46r, 72v, 83v, 89v, 107v, 124v). Set in Renaissance-style frames, the paintings illustrate various important moments in the destruction of Troy. This manuscript was part of the collection of Paul and Alexandre Petau before it became the property of Ami Lullin, pastor and theologist in Geneva, who donated it to the Bibliothèque de Genève in 1756. (rou)

Online Since: 03/22/2018

This manuscript dates from about 1420 and contains the "Conspiracy of Catilin " and the "Jugurthine War" by Sallust. Miniature illuminations in grisaille were added by Bedford-Meister and assistants in his workshop, followed by a commentary by Jean Lebègues, who wrote a guide to the illustration of historical scenes in the above-named works of Sallust in 1417. During the 17th century the manuscript was owned by the Petau family. In 1720 Ami Lullin of Geneva purchased the codex and donated it to the Bibliothèque de Genève. (jeg)

Online Since: 12/09/2008

The Bibliothèque de Genève's Ms. lat. 55 is an exceptional document because it consists of six wax tablets listing the expenditures for the royal household of the French King Philip IV the Fair for the years 1306-1309. Over time, the wax turned black and hard, which makes it harder to read. But the images of the tablets are accompanied by a transcription and by a facsimile prepared in 1720-1742 by the Genevan Gabriel Cramer. Preserved as „Ms. lat. 55 bis“, this handwritten facsimile makes it possible to access the content of the tablets and to compare the current state with that of 1720-1742 and thus to recognize the loss of pieces of the wax. (jeg)

Online Since: 03/17/2016

“Lives of philosophers” constitute a subcategory of the ancient literary genre of “lives of illustrious men” that was considered anew beginning in the 12th century. The Latin text of this manuscript, the Liber de vita et moribus philosophorum veterum, attributed to Gautier Burley (actually an anonymous Italian author from the early 14th century), consists of a collection of moral maxims from various philosophers, whose names are indexed at the end of the work (f. 93r-94r). This copy, dated 1452, may be from the Abbey of Saint-Denis and later was the property of Paul and Alexandre Petau, before becoming part of the holdings of the Bibliothèque de Genève as part of the bequest of Ami Lullin. (rou)

Online Since: 10/10/2019

This manuscript contains three medical texts translated from Arabic and Greek into Latin. It begins with a small medical encyclopedia in ten books, the Kitâb al-Mansuri by Rhazes (ff. 4-126), in the translation attributed to Gerard of Cremona (d. 1187); this is immediately followed by a treatise on fever (ff. 126-144v) inspired by Johannitius (Latin name of the doctor and translator Hunain ben Ishāq al-Ibādī from Baghdad, 808-873). The collection concludes with the text Twelve books of medicine by the Byzantine physician Alexander of Tralles, divided here into three books and followed by the Treatise on fever (ff. 146-289v). The extensively annotated manuscript is adorned with decorated initials from which very beautiful red and blue "Italian extensions" emerge. (rou)

Online Since: 12/12/2019

This collection, dated to the end of the 15th century or the beginning of the 16th century, contains ten scientific treatises (astronomy, physics, mechanics, etc.) written in Latin or French and accompanied by several technical drawings. While four texts remain anonymous, the others were written by Christian of Prague, Petrus Peregrinus, Franco de Polonia, Philo of Byzantium, Marbod of Rennes and Jean Fusoris. The topics cover various areas, such as the astrolabe, magnetism, precious stones,the clavichord, etc. (jeg)

Online Since: 10/08/2015

With a beautiful binding à la "Du Seuil", this 15th century manuscript contains the Policraticus (The government of the state), a work of reflections on the vanities of courtiers, written by John of Salisbury (1115/1120-1180). It was copied in a careful hand, and the text was decorated with a large miniature showing an author reading his text before the king of France. (jeg)

Online Since: 12/18/2014

This manuscript dates from the beginning of the 16th century and contains two poems by Raoul Bollart, the first of which celebrates the siege of King Ludwig XII of France against the Venetians in 1509. The second poem treats the subject of moral values and relates the supplications made to a rich person by the poor. All miniatures found in this manuscript, illustrating various scenes in the poems, were made in Rouen. The way in which they follow the morality text is similar to the style of modern comics. During the 17th century this manuscript was owned by the Petau family. In 1720 Ami Lullin of Geneva purchased the codex and donated it to the Bibliothèque de Genève. (jeg)

Online Since: 12/09/2008

At the request of his friend Othman Lillo Ferducci of Ancona, Gian Mario Filelfo composed the Amyris in the years 1471-1476. This long Latin poem was intended to thank Sultan Mehmet II for having freed Ferducci's brother-in-law, who had been taken prisoner by the Turcs during the capture of Constantinople in 1453. Gian Mario Filelfo had the manuscript decorated in Florence with "bianchi girari” ornamentation, had it bound in Urbino with a very beautiful Italian Renaissance binding, and then gave it to the Duke of Urbino, Federico da Montefeltro, at whose court he was staying in 1477 and 1478. (jeg)

Online Since: 12/18/2014

These 63 sheets written in uncial script on papyrus and parchment contain several letters and several homilies by Augustine of Hippo. The manuscript was clearly written in France, possibly in Luxeuil or Lyon, at the end of the 7th century or the beginning of the 8th century. The volume originally consisted of at least 30 quires in all, including these 63 sheets, which belonged to quires 4-11. An additional seven quires constitute Genève, Bibliothèque de Genève, lat. 16. The fragmentary surviving 8th quire included a single now separated sheet, St. Petersburg, NLR, Lat.F.papyr. I.1, which was originally between f. 26 and f. 27. (flu)

Online Since: 07/04/2012