Présentation du contenu

Source des données : Mmmonk

• This manuscript contains the postillae of Nicholas of Lyra on the four Gospels. Lyra (c. 1270-1349) was a Franciscan friar from Normandy who in 1319 was appointed head of all the Franciscans in France. His magnum opus, the Postillae perpetuae in universam S. Scripturam, was a commentary on the entire Bible that was highly authoritative during the Middle Ages and the 16th century. The production of the manuscript is very well recorded. The colophon states that the manuscript was written in Bruges and commissioned by Andreas Bootsaert, cellerarius of the Ter Doest abbey. Work on the manuscript commenced on April 30th 1450. The postilla on Matthew (ff. 1r-101r) was finished on June 26th. The much smaller commentary on Mark (ff. 101r-125r) was finished sometime later, followed by Luke (ff. 125r-184r) on August 6th, and finally the largest, the postilla on John (ff. 184r-298v), was finished on October 13th 1450. The explicit of Mark is incomplete; it only mentions that it was finished on a Saturday. Given the writing speed in Matthew and John (roughly 7 folia every 4 days), the writing of Mark probably took two weeks, finishing on Saturday, July 10th 1450. The manuscript is the work of multiple scribes, writing in a swift but neat cursive. The layout is basic: two columns (lineation in ink), with red ink being used for chapter heads, initials, rubrics, incipits and explicits, paragraph marks, and Bible phrases. The first initial is more elaborate, written in blue ink with decorations in red. The similarities between the scribal hands, the simplicity of the decorations and use of colour, and the reference to Bruges as its place of origin all suggest that this manuscript was produced by a professional workshop. [Summary by Dr. Mark Vermeer]