Johannes de Deo

190x140mm, manuscript on vellum, i+61+i leaves, the first unwritten, COMPLETE, mainly in quires of 12 leaves (except i4-1 and vi12-2: the first and last two blanks cancelled), 2 columns, 34 lines, c.130x100mm, flourished initials at the beginning of the main divisions (ff.4r, 9r, 12r, 14v, 19r, 30v, 34v, 40r), some water-staining and cockling, not affecting legibility, half bound with gilt spine title, by Charles Lewis (as recorded by Drury, f.ir, Drury's favourite binder), somewhat scuffed

The condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing.
"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."

PROVENANCE

(1) Written for his own use by Petrus, priest of the DUOMO DI SANTA MARIA ASSUNTA, MONTEPULCIANO, in the diocese of Siena, and completed on 27 August 1310, with his colophon: ‘Factus fuit et completus presens libellus … MCCCx … die xxvii mensis Augusti … Quem fecit petrus archipresbiteri plebani sce. Marie de Montepoliz. pro se et ad suum usum’ (f.39r); the litanies include St Antilia (f.44v), whose head was in the duomo. (2) LUIGI CELOTTI (1759–1843), Venetian abbot turned art dealer: sold by him in the sale of Saibanti and Canonici manuscripts in our rooms, 26 February 1821, lot 230, bought by Thomas Thorpe for 3s 6d; possibly to be identified with item 4090 in Thorpe’s catalogue for 1821, part I, priced 15s., described as ‘in the original monastic binding’. (3) HENRY DRURY (1778–1841), Classicist, schoolmaster of Harrow School, tutor and close friend of Lord Byron, rebound for him; sale, Evans, 19 February 1827, lot 2379, bought by ‘Naswell’ (or Muswell?) for £1-10s. (4) J. M. Elwes, bookplate. (5) William O’Brien, bequest booklabel dated 1899.

TEXT

List of chapters of the following work (f.2r); Johannes de Deo, Liber penitentiarius (edited by A. Dominguez de Sousa Costa, Doutrina penitencial do canonista João de Deus, Braga, 1956, pp.11–149) (f.4r), followed by the dated colophon (see Provenance); a form of Confession (f.39r), followed by an undated colophon; a summa on how a priest should interrogate a penitent (f.40r); Ordines for benedictions, baptism, for the sick, etc. (f.43v), including litanies of saints, and the Commendation of souls (f.48v); added notes (f.61v).

João de Deo was born in the Algarve, Portugal; became a priest at Lisbon; and studied law at Bologna, where he remained as a teacher, writing the present work, concerning the penances appropriate to different kinds of sin and for different ranks of person (bishops, abbots, monks, soldiers, lawyers, etc.). He ends the work with an autobiographical note (ff.38v–39r), recording his Portuguese origins (‘patria pia portu galensis’), his holding of a chair of law at the University of Bologna, and the date, 1249.

Although about a hundred manuscripts of the text survive and it was therefore clearly very popular, it seems to be extremely rare on the market: we can find only two copies in the Schoenberg database, including the present one, which was last sold in the nineteenth century.