Peter Lombard, Libri Quattuor Sententiarum, in Latin, illuminated manuscript on vellum

140 leaves, 302mm. by 204-215mm., gatherings missing from beginning and end, individual leaves excised throughout, collation: i^{14, ii20, iii20 (xvii cut out and loose in volume, a number of other leaves excised from centre of gathering), iv20 (xii trimmed to edge of text, xiii cut out and loose in volume), v17 (ix a singleton), vi11 (xi a singleton), vii12 (2 leaves removed after xii), viii20, ix6 (vi trimmed, vii and viii wanting), horizontal catchwords, written space 160 mm. by 96mm., double column, 39 lines in black ink in a good Gothic bookhand, numerous later annotations in a number of hands, rubrics and line fillers in red, book numbers at head of page in red and blue, some initials touched in red, numerous 2-line initials in red or blue with penwork tracery to contrast}, four 5- to 7-line historiated initials in blue or pink with white penwork, on coloured ground to contrast, enclosing lacertine animals touched with liquid gold (fol. 1r, 5r, 67v, 75r), overall parchment fine and in good condition, but a number of leaves trimmed (especially in borders), sixteenth-century binding of brown tooled leather over wooden boards, large fragments from a fifteenth century Latin glossary of German origin reused to cover spine, traces of bosses and clasps

provenance

1. Written and illuminated in Paris in the second quarter of the thirteenth century.

2. Owned in the later medieval period by an east German convent on the border with the modern Czech republic, during which time it was rebound: the watermark on the initial pastedown is that of Briquet 4922 and was common to a number of towns in the region in the early sixteenth century, including Bamberg (1506), Halberstadt (1502-10), Leipzig (1507-13), Erfurt (1511), and Nuremberg (1524-5), and the tool-marks are similar to others known for this region (see E. Kyriss, Verzierte Gotische Einbände im Alten Deutschen Sprachgebiet, 1951, iii, pl. 269, item 3 (Stuttgart) & pl. 321, item 6 (Bamberg)); and in one case identical to that recorded by Kyriss only for Prague (i, pl. 152, item 8: a small letter-like symbol in a circle). It probably received the partially erased library mark Pro Conventu..., dated 1653 (fol. 1r), while there.

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."

text

The present volume is a substantial and handsome remnant of the magnum opus of the celebrated theologian Peter Lombard (c. 1100-1160). It was one of the greatest university texts, and remained fundamentally important for the study of theology throughout the Middle Ages - more commentaries were written on this Christian literary work than any other, except for the Bible itself, from the thirteenth to the sixteenth centuries.

A number of leaves and gatherings have been removed, and other leaves have been trimmed or cut, and the text now comprises the whole of book I, on the Trinity (fols. 1r-65r here), 10 folios of the beginning of book II, on Creation (65r-74v), and almost all of book iv, on the Sacraments (75r-140v). There are copious annotations throughout, and those in book iv appear to be of the right date to be additions made while the volume was in the east German convent. The method of the 'robbing' of leaves from this volume is interesting: the trimming away of rectangular pieces from the borders, such as from fols. 3, 25 and 140, and notably 66 and 92-95, argues for late medieval or early modern re-use of the volume as binding material, and it seems likely that fragments of it may still exist in the bindings of books from the convent which once owned it.