IN A GLASS CASE, WEST END OF THE LIBRARY.
1. Plinii Historia Naturalis; in folio. Printed 1476.
From the Douce collection. See p. [250].
2. Breviary and Psalter according to the use of the Carthusian Order; written about 1480.
A specimen of Italian art, from the Canonici collection.
3. Horæ B. M. Virg. 12mo. An exquisite MS., of the school of Albert Durer, executed for Bona Sforza. See p. [249].
4. Psalter, on purple vellum, written about the close of the ninth century. From the old library of the kings of France. See p. [249].
A MS. of the Horæ, written on purple vellum, about 1500, is among the Canonici MSS.
5. Boccaccio's Il Filocalo; in folio, of the fifteenth century.
A beautiful MS., with five exquisite miniatures, and interlaced arabesque borders of the richest character. A facsimile, with a notice of the book, will be found in Shaw's Illuminated Ornaments. From the Canonici collection.
6. Horæ, quarto; fourteenth century. A beautiful book.
From the Douce collection.
7. Horæ, small quarto; end of the fifteenth century. The illuminations possess exquisite softness and delicacy.
Also from the Douce collection.
8. The Miracles of the B. Virgin, in French. A Douce MS., in folio,
executed about 1460, for Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, and enriched with most beautiful paintings of the tint called 'Camaieu gris'.
9. Horæ, in quarto. A beautiful Douce book, the work of a French scribe in and about the year 1407.
10. Horæ, in duodecimo. Another gem from the Douce collection, executed about the year 1500, for the Emperor Maximilian and Mary of Burgundy his wife.
The margins are adorned with charming figures of birds, and in one instance a border is filled with representations of pottery and glass.
11. Horæ, in quarto, of the commencement of the sixteenth century; from the Douce collection. An exquisite specimen of Flemish art. It belonged to Mary de Medici.
12. Horæ, in small folio. A most sumptuous volume, executed about 1410. The illuminations are of the school of Van Eyck.
The borders of birds, butterflies, flowers, landscapes, &c., are marvels of nature in art; and many of the initials are distinguished by the utmost delicacy in design and finish in execution. Also from the Douce collection.
13. Quatuor Evangelia; commencement of the seventh century. See p. [24].
14. Letters of Queen Henrietta Maria to Charles I before their marriage; in French.
The volume forms part of the Clarendon State Papers, and contains fifteen of the Queen's letters, besides some from the King, and other documents.
15. Latin Translation by Queen Elizabeth, while Princess, of an Italian sermon by Bern. Ochini, De Christo; written entirely by herself, and sent as a New-year's gift to her brother Edward VI[383].
It forms a small 8vo. volume of thirty-six pages, on vellum, and was given to the Library by J. Bowle, of Idmerston, Aug. 15, 1765. The following dedication (hitherto unprinted) is prefixed by the Princess:—
'Augustissimo et serenissimo Regi Edvardo Sexto. Si aliquid hoc tempore haberem (Serenissime Rex) quod mihi ad dandum esset accommodatum, & Maiestati tuæ congruens ad accipiendum, equidem de hac re vehementer lætarer. Tua Maiestas res magnas & excellentes meretur, et mea facultas exigua tantum suppeditare potest, sed quamvis facultate possim minima, tamen animo tibi maxima prestare cupio, & quum ab aliis opibus superer, a nemine amore & benevolentia vincor. Ita iubet natura, authoritas tua commouet, & bonitas me hortatur, ut cum princeps meus sis te officio obseruem, & cum frater meus sis vnicus & amantissimus, intimo amore afficiam. Ecce autem pro huius noui anni felici auspicio, & observantiæ meæ testimonio, offero M. T. breuem istam Bernardi Ochini orationem, ab eo Italicè primum scriptam, & a me in latinum sermonem conuersum. Argumentum
quum de Christo sit, bene conuenire tibi potest, qui quotidie Christum discis, & post eum in terris proximum locum & dignitatem habes. Tractatio ita pia est & docta, ut lectio non possit non esse vtilis et fructuosa. Et si nihil aliud commendaret opus, authoritas scriptoris ornaret satis, qui propter religionem et Christum patria expulsus, cogitur in locis peregrinis & inter ignotos homines vitam traducere. Si quicquam in eo mediocre sit, mea translatio est, quæ profecto talis non est qualis esse debet, sed qualis a me effici posset. At istarum rerum omnium M. tua inter legendum iudex sit, cui ego hunc meum laborem commendo, & vna meipsam etiam dedico, Deumque precor vt M. tua multos nouos & felices annos videat & lucris ac pietate perpetuo crescat. Enfeldiæ, 30 Decembris.
'Maiestatis tuæ,
'humill. soror,
'& serua,
'Elizabeta.'
16. A Persian treatise, in prose and verse, on ethics and education, entitled, Beharistan, or, The Season of Spring; by Nurruddin Abdurrahman, surnamed Djami.
The MS. was written at Lahore, for the Emperor of Hindustan, A.D. 1575, by Muhammed Hussein, a famous scribe, who was called the Pen of Gold; and illustrated by sixteen painters. Its modern velvet binding is adorned with gold corners and bosses; and a bag in which it was kept lies beside it. From the collection of Sir Gore Ouseley.
17. Evangeliarium, MS. in folio; of the tenth century.
A fine MS., which formerly belonged to the abbey of St. Faron, near Meaux; bought at the sale of M. Abel-Remusat's library in 1833, by Mr. Payne, and sold to Douce, apparently for the sum of £31 10s. On the cover is an ivory diptych; in the centre, a figure of our Blessed Lord treading on 'the lion and adder, the young lion and dragon;' around, twelve scenes from His life and miracles.
18. Ivory triptych eleven inches high; North Italian work, of the fifteenth century.
In the centre the Blessed Virgin and Child between St. Leonard and another saint; on the wings, St. John the Evangelist and St. Lawrence[384].
19. Evangelia, secundum Matt. et Marc. A fine Douce MS. of the eleventh century, bound in thick boards, overlaid on one side with a brass plate, whereon are engraved the four Evangelists, with angels; in the centre, an ivory carving of our Lord, with the Evangelistic symbols.
20. Metal-Work.
i. Crucifix; enamelled.
ii. The Martyrdom of St. Sebastian; small, on brass.
iii. Four enamelled round tablets, bearing portraits of 'Le
Conte de Flandres, le Conte de Champagne, le Conte de Tholoze, Duc de Normandie.'
iv. Two small enamelled representations of March and May.
v. Dolphin, with boy on his back (the Dauphin); motto, 'Qui pense ma ... vy advient.'
vi. Heads, enamelled, of the following Roman Emperors; Julius Cæsar, Augustus, Claudius and Otho.
vii. English pocket-almanac, in brass, 1554-1579, with tidal tables for English ports, a compass, &c. On one side of its case is the following inscription:—
'Aske me not, for ye Gett me not.—'R. P.'
viii. A small copper figure of our Blessed Lord, crowned and robed, with eyes open, and arms extended.
The following account is given by Hearne in a volume of his MS. collections[385]:—
'About five years since the workmen in digging the gardens that formerly belong'd to St. Frideswyd's, Oxford, found a crucifix; the figure in pontifical robes, enamelled and gilt, with stones in the arms and breast. It came afterwards into the hands of Mr. Edw. Thwaites of Queen's College, who gave it to the Bodleian Library, where in the Physick schoole 'tis now reserved, and seems to be very ancient.'
A drawing of the figure made for Thwaites by J. T. [alman] lies beside it, which was given to the Library by the late Dr. Wellesley. The figure resembles a crucifix found at Lucca, of the seventh century.
21. Psalterium; close of thirteenth century.
Bound in solid silver, on which are engraved the Annunciation and the Coronation of the Blessed Virgin, seen beneath a coloured transparency which gives an appearance of great richness to the otherwise uncoloured silver.
A beautifully decorated volume, given by Sir Rob. Cotton to William Butler, M.D. of Cambridge, in 1614; and to the Bodleian, July 15, 1648, by Dame Anne Sadler, wife of Ralph Sadler, of Stonden, Herts.
The following objects of interest are dispersed in various parts of the Library:—