Petrus Riga, Aurora, a verse summary of the Bible, in Latin, decorated manuscript on vellum [France, first half of the thirteenth century]

115 leaves (plus 1 original flyleaf at end), 282mm. by 210mm., complete, collation: i-xiv^{8, xv3 (last leaves blank and cancelled), contemporary quire-signatures on verso of last leaf of each gathering, double column, 38 lines in black ink in a fine early gothic bookhand, simple initials in alternate red and blue (2- to 13-line), the largest on the first leaf with contrasting penwork tracery, some slight discolouration to first leaf and some cockling throughout, else in outstanding condition, pastedowns from early printed book, sewn on double alum-tawed thongs,} contemporary binding of bevelled wooden boards, no covering so sewing structures at spine exposed, boards now detached, the whole held together by a leather thong passed through the uppermost thong-channels and looped around the entire volume, marks from clasp and peg on lower board

provenance

Sir Thomas Phillipps (1792-1872), his MS.2301; acquired en bloc with 500 other manuscripts from Thorpe during the 1820s; his sale in our rooms, 6 June 1898, lot 115, to Young; afterwards Professor H. A. Ormerod (1884-1964) of Newberry; and by descent.

text

This is a large and elegant Romanesque copy of this text, probably the best known poem of the Middle Ages. Petrus Riga studied in Paris in 1165 in the early days of the schools there. He later became an Augustinian and a canon of Rheims cathedral, where he most probably died in 1209. This text is a distillation of the historical passages of the Bible, but with the addition of much allegory and commentary. "For those who could read Latin, it supplied Scriptural lore in a popular form and it also served as a book of popular theology, devotional reading, moral instruction and entertainment ... not only was it widely read in monasteries and convents but it was also recommended reading for the sons of nobles" (Beichner, Aurora, 1965, p.xi). The large format of the present copy and the simplicity of its decoration suggests a monastic rather than university or secular audience.