Sermons, in Latin, decorated manuscript on vellum

54 leaves, 194 mm. by 127mm., gatherings missing after quires iii & iv, collation: i-iv^{10, v12, vii2, horizontal catchwords, written space 129mm. by 82mm., single column, 23 lines in dark brown and black ink in three rounded Italian Gothic hands, some initials touched in red, fifty-two 2-line initials in red with guide-letters occasionally present in margin, one 3-line initial in red with penwork infill and simple marginal extension in same, rust stain to fols. 2v-3r from a pair of scissors left in the book perhaps as an impromptu bookmark, small horizontal splits in fols. 29-30 and last three lines of text damaged by erasure, otherwise parchment in good condition with clean and wide margins, contemporary binding of approximately 10mm. thick wooden boards (with some minor worm damage) with parchment spine support, remnants of fastening-tags on front board, holes for pegs on back board}

provenance

Commissioned for an Italian patron, most probably an ecclesiastic, in the mid-fourteenth century, and costing 1 pound and 1 ducat: scribbled inscription on verso of last endleaf: liber in q(uart)o su(n)t s(er)mo(ne)s / p(re)cij(m) ducati j ll(ib)r(e) j.

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 manuscript contains a collection of sermons, beginning: Cum intendite intrare per augustam portam Duo sunt quorum unum ..., and including sermons on abstinence and innocence, the correct actions of sensible and good young women, the emptiness of men who do not know God, and the numerous tortures of purgatory and hell. To these has been added a further sermon on the importance of charity in a near-contemporary hand (fols. 51r-52v). They are unknown to Schneyer, Repertorium der Lateinischen Sermones, 1969-1990, and apparently not in the In Principio database, and may very well be a unique copy of these texts.

A rare addition to the present manuscript is the inscription on the last endleaf recording that the manuscript was an expensive commission, costing over 1 ducat. The ducat was a gold coin in common use in Italian cities in the fourteenth-century, and is recorded by Cennino D'Andrea Cennini, at the very end of that century, in his Il Libro dell'Arte, ch. 139, as enough for a good artisan to produce 100 leaves of gold leaf, or for an unscrupulous one to make 145.