[Old French romances].

Extent:

Date:

Language:

Abstract:

Ms. miscellany of French romances in verse. Texts are all incomplete and bound out of order. Probably the original sequence of texts was "Le chevalier au lion" (Yvain), "Le chevalier de la charrette" (Lancelot), and "La chevalier de Judas Macchabée." Cf. Rushing.

Contents:

1. fols. 4r-v, 28r-v, 31r-v, 7r-v, 1r-v, 13r-v, 19r-v, 24r-v, 14r-v, 27r-v, 32r-v, 64r-70v: La chevalier de Judas Macchabée [non-continuous fragments, total 2923 lines].
2. fols. 40r-55r, 29r-v, 5r-v, 36r-37v, 6r-v, 30r-v, 56r-63v, 26r-v, 2r-v, 35r-v, 38r-v, 9r-v, 33r-34r: Le chevalier au lion (Yvain) [non-continuous fragments, total 6200 lines].
3. fols. 34r-v, 3r-v, 8r-v, 39r-v, 21r-22v, 11r-12v, 15r-16v: Le chevalier de la charrette (Lancelot) [non-continuous fragments, total about 1638 lines].
4. fols. 20r-v, 23r-v, 18r-v, 10r-v, 17r-v, 25r-v: Garin de Monglane [non-continuous fragments, written in Alexandrine verse, total 1032 lines].
5. fol. 71r-v: [blank].

Description:

Ms. codex.
Supplied title.
This manuscript was incorrectly identified by De Ricci and others as containing only "La chevalier de Judas Macchabée." Cf. McGrath.
Collation: Parchment; ff. ii (paper) + 71 (the last folio is blank) + ii (paper). The folios are singletons and generally bound out of order. Missing leaves are always cognate.
Layout: 2 columns of 42-43 lines each; frame-ruled in lead point; written below the top line.
Decoration: Two 2-line penwork initials in alternately blue and red with penwork of the opposite color and 7- to 8-line initials in champide decoration.
Miniatures: Like the text, the miniatures are out of order. There are fifteen miniatures in Garrett MS. 125, illustrating three of the four texts; Garin de Montglane, which was probably not part of the manuscript originally, is not illustrated. Illustrations include thirteen square to rectangular miniatures of approximately columnar width within frames (fols. 1r, 22r, 26v, 31v, 32r, 34r, 37r, 38r, 52r, 56v, 58v, 67r, 70v) and two historiated initials (fols. 14r, 40r).
Origin: Copied and illuminated in northwest France for a lay patron in the last quarter of the 13th century (probably the 1290s).

Binding note:

Gold-tooled blue calf with marbled end papers and five raised bands. The binding is probably French, dating from the second quarter of the 19th century. De Ricci suggested that the binding was ca. 1840.

Provenance:

The earliest known owner of the manuscript is Henri-Auguste Brölemann (1775-1854) of Lyon, a French commercial broker and manuscript collector. Affixed to the front pastedown is Brölemann's bookplate (Ex Libris A. Brölemann), on which there are handwritten shelfmarks ("B61" in ink and "C3" in pencil). There is also a handwritten description of the manuscript titled "Poème des Machabées." The Brölemann collection was sold at Sotheby's (London) by his great-grand-daughter Madame Étienne Mallet (b. 1859) on May 5, 1926, lot no. 152. Bernard Quaritch (London) purchased the manuscript and sold it to Robert Garrett in 1928.

Source acquisition:

Former owner:

Contributor:

References:

View in catalog:

Available online: