Collection of leaves from various German liturgical manuscripts, in Latin, from decorated manuscripts on vellum

8 leaves (4 bifolia) including (a) a bifolium (263mm. by 160-179mm.) from an annotated Calendar for the end of March and the beginning of April, listing the saints of regions such as Africa, Thessalonica, Sicily, Antioch and Rome with some brief discussions of their cults, arranged chronologically day-by-day presumably for public reading, written space 196mm. by 95mm., single column, 30 lines in dark brown ink in a good early Gothic bookhand, titles, rubrics and small initials in red, one large 6-line white-vine initial 'K' incorporating a cross into the ascender and with scrolling foliage terminating in complex trefoil leaves, on pale blue and green grounds, slightly trimmed but with no loss to text, slight discolouration to leaf, else in very good condition, Germany, first half of the twelfth century; (b) a bifolium (396mm. by 230-306mm.) from a monumental Vulgate Bible, Jeremiah 48-50, written space 315mm. by 220mm., double column, 33 lines in black ink in an accomplished early Gothic bookhand, two small 1-line initials in red, four 2-line simple initials in red, some trimming to edges with small loss of text from outer columns on second folio, glossed in a fourteenth-century German hand, in good condition with wide and clean margins, probably Germany, first half of twelfth century; (c) a bifolium (340mm. by 265-288mm.) of a Lection-book with readings from Isaiah 9:8 to the beginning of 11:1 and readings for the 1^{st Sunday of Advent, with neumes over the responds "Obsecro Domine ...", "A solis ortu ...", "}Letentur celi ...", "Ecce dominator dominus", and "Ecce dies veniunt ..." and "In diebus illis salvabitur Juda ...", rubrics and reading numbers in red, some initials touched in red, written space 305mm. by 207mm., double column, 30 lines of dark brown ink in an accomplished early Gothic bookhand, three 1-line initials in elaborate letters decorated with red dots, four 1-line initials in red, two 2-line initials in red with dots at mid-point of bowls of letters, discoloured and trimmed but with no effect to text, probably Germany, mid-twelfth century; (d) bifolium (282mm. by 138-195mm.) with antiphons and readings for Good Friday ("Christus factus est pro nobis obediens ...") and Easter day (beginning with a reading from Apocalypse: John 1:5), written space 205mm. by 120mm., single column, 19 lines in black ink in a rounded early Gothic bookhand, rubrics and titles in red, fifteen 1-line initials in red, one 3-line white vine initial 'G' on pale green and blue ground, trimming to second leaf with loss of outer strip of text, wear to other leaf obscuring same amount of text on verso, somewhat discoloured, else in good condition, probably German, mid-twelfth; all recovered from bindings and somewhat defective

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing where appropriate.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

German manuscripts from the twelfth century are rare, and the present lot includes eight such leaves, of which two have white vine initials. All are recovered from bindings and were originally from monumental liturgical manuscripts. The first of these initials (item a) is clearly German in origin, and belongs to the school of German art which in the late eleventh and twelfth centuries adopted the white vine initial from Italy and domesticated it, adding the distinctive angularity and the trefoil leaves. The features here compare well with other German manuscripts of the eleventh to twelfth century: see F. Avril and C. Rabel, Manuscrits enluminés d'origine germanique, 1995, item 75, a copy of M. Junianus Justinus, Historiae Philippicae with other texts, made in Metz c. 1100 (in particular pl lxxxvii, especially that for fol. 130v of the manuscript), and item 97, a copy of Annalista Saxo made in Halberstadt or Magdeburg in the last quarter of the twelfth century (pl. ciii, especially that for fol. 35v); and furthermore, a striking comparison of composition and script can be made to a manuscript sold in our rooms 16 June 1997, lot 6 (and illustrated there), which was made in the monastery of Lambach, 40 miles northeast of Salzburg, in the third quarter of the twelfth century, and which has been ascribed to the scribe Gottschalk of Lambach.