Medieval Latin Text Manuscript, Peregrinus de Opole (1260-after 1333) Sermones Peregrinus de Sanctis

Description:

Medieval Latin Text Manuscript, Peregrinus de Opole (1260-after 1333) Sermones Peregrinus de Sanctis. Germany or Eastern Europe, 1376.
Quarto-format manuscript on paper in gatherings of twelve, 175 leaves, text written in a single column throughout, in brown ink, twenty-nine lines per page (in the first and largest section),headings and capitals in red throughout, three distinct sections exist in the manuscript, the first contains ten gatherings of twelve leaves, and ends with a note dated 1376 by the scribe, Syfridus Coppel; the second section consists of four gatherings of twelve leaves, the hand, ink, and line count change; the third section consists of one twelve-leaf gathering and a three-leaf section followed by blank leaves; bound in full contemporary alum-tawed sheepskin over wooden boards; sewn on three double alum-tawed sewing supports, boards the same size as text leaves, original end bands still intact, parchment label on front board, darkened and unreadable; two holes and corresponding rust mark on back board, top center: the former location of a bracket attached to a chain, the back board cleaner and with less oxidation; pastedowns and endleaf guards from an earlier parchment manuscript, the lettering scrubbed away; small remnant of the dark green fabric [?] thong from the original clasp and brass plate still present on the back board, one nail hole from the original catch on the front board visible, lacking the catch; covering material split along both joints, loose along the spine; the lack of evidence of any secondary sewing holes, and the style of this binding suggest that this is the original fourteenth century binding; first leaf of text detached, and blanks removed from the end after the text, no later repairs to binding or text; the boards darkened and rubbed; text leaves with signs of wear and reading, one torn without loss of text, ruled in plummet, the first line of text sitting atop the first rule, bull's head watermarks throughout, 8 1/4 x 5 1/2 in.
Peregrinus of Opole (or Oppeln) was a Polish Dominican. These popular sermons were available in manuscript copies throughout his lifetime, and persisted into the age of printing. This dated manuscript likely contains interesting variants on Peregrinus's text and perhaps other unidentified texts; the binding is a remarkable survival.
Estimate $15,000-17,000


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