[Ledger of Medici accounts].

Format:

Book

Manuscript

Language:

Italian

Subjects (All):

Medici, House of--Archives.

Medici, Fabrizio de'.

Medici, Niccolo de'.

Medici, House of.

Accounting--Italy--16th century.

Accounting.

Italy.

Genre:

codices (bound manuscripts)

accounts

credit records

ledgers (account books)

Manuscripts, Italian.

Manuscripts, Renaissance.

Archives.

Penn Provenance:

Sold by Bernard M. Rosenthal, 1961.

Physical Description:

192 leaves : paper ; 333 x 231 mm bound to 339 x 238 mm + 1 note

Place of Publication:

[Italy], 1575-1584.

Language Note:

Italian.

Summary:

Ledger of accounts of the brothers Fabrizio and Niccolo de' Medici, sons of Luigi de' Medici, for the years 1575-1584. Often includes the nature of a given transaction and its amount, as well as listing the names of the individuals that act as counterparts in the transaction. Most of the counterparts are employees of the two brothers and the majority of transactions are in kind (capons, cattle, feed, seeds, wine, grains) but there are occurrences of cash transactions. Entries representing payment for a service rendered by the counterpart and likely agreed upon in advance were called contracts, but they do not present many of the features of formal legal documents and are actually summaries of contracts. Also included are memoranda of transactions and specific events related to the transactions.

Contents:

1. p.1-40: Ricordi [continua da 176].

2. p.41-85: Conti de contratti co' lavoratori.

3. p.86-170: Entrata e uscita di grano vino e altro.

4. p.176-177: Ricordi.

Notes:

Ms. codex.

Title supplied by cataloger.

Pagination: Paper, i (paper) + 192 leaves + i (paper); versos numbered 1-84, [85], 86-170, [171-175], 176, [177-192], contemporary pagination in ink, modern pagination in pencil, upper left verso; rectos numbered [i], i-lxxxiiii, [lxxxv], lxxxvi-clxx, [clxxi-clxxv], clxxvi, [clxxvii-clxxxxi], upper right recto (leaves 85,171-175 and 177-192 are blank). Each opening has a matched arabic numeral on the left and roman numeral on the right.

Layout: Written in 2 columns with vertical bounding lines in lead; the large column on the left with the transaction and a brief description of it, and the smaller one on the right with its amount in arabic numerals. In the occurrence of both a debt and a credit with a specific counterpart, credits are usually listed on the left page and debts on the right page of an opening, with the same individuals appearing as debtors or creditors on facing pages. Memoranda and accounts of contracts written in long lines.

Script: Written in a cursive script, perhaps by multiple hands.

Watermark: Similar to Briquet, Couronne 4844 (Lucca, 1580); Armoires Lion 1883 (Florence, 1529), but with the lion's snout more defined.

Binding: Contemporary vellum, no. 17 on spine; the heading R[icordi] e con[ti] d[ei] c[o]n[tratti]i co'lavoratori [e] en[trata] e usc[it]a di grano vino e altro, no. 139 and letter C with decorative penwork on upper cover; lower cover with remnants of leather ties wraps around upper cover; decorative leatherwork on spine.

Origin: Written in Italy between 1575 (p.1) and 1584 (p.176).

Forms part of: Gondi-Medici Business Records.

Cited in:

Described in Zacour, Norman P. and Hirsch, Rudolf. Catalogue of Manuscripts in the Libraries of the University of Pennsylvania to 1800 (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1965), p. 196 (Ms. Lea 241).

Cited as:

UPenn Ms. Codex 1297

OCLC:

297238509