Marvel and artefact : the 'wonders of the East' in its manuscript contexts / by A.J. Ford.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Ford, A. J. (Priest), author.

Series:

Library of the written word ; 45.

Library of the written word. Manuscript world ; v. 7.

Library of the written word ; volume 45

The manuscript world ; olume 7

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

De rebus in Oriente mirabilibus--Criticism, Textual.

De rebus in Oriente mirabilibus.

Marvelous, The--Early works to 1800.

Marvelous, The.

Criticism, Textual.

Physical Description:

xvi, 178 pages ; 25 cm.

Place of Publication:

Leiden, The Netherlands ; Boston : Brill, [2016]

Summary:

"Marvel and Artefact examines the three surviving manuscripts of Wonders of the East (London, BL, Cotton Vitellius A. xv; London, BL, Cotton Tiberius B. v; and Oxford, Bodleian Library, Bodley 614). After outlining the learned tradition of writing on monsters and marvels and the family of texts of which the Wonders of the East is part, A. J. Ford offers a forensic reading of each manuscript in which codex, text and image are studied together as a single artefact. By focussing on the materiality of manuscripts whose origin can only be hypothesized, this innovative and challenging work opens new vistas for the study and interpretation of medieval manuscripts and the cultures that produced them." -- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

1 'The Manifold Uses of Things': The Early Medieval Book as Artefact 1

2 The Wonders of the East and the Learned Tradition of Marvels 6

Introduction 6

A Brief Overview of the Learned Tradition 8

The 'Wonders of the East' and the 'Letter of Pharasmenes to Hadrian' 12

3 The Wonders in a Manuscript of Unknown Origin London, British Library, Cotton Vitellius A. xv 16

Introduction 16

Illustration 18

Homodubii 19

Cynocephali and Donestre 25

Other Similarities 28

Conclusion 31

Palaeography 35

Anglo-Saxon Square Minuscule: Scribe 2 40

Style-I English Vernacular Minuscule: Scribe 1 43

The Significance of Distinct Scripts in Vitellius A. xv 44

Codicology 48

The Consensus Quires 48

The Contested Quires 52

The 'Wonders' in Vitellius A. xv: 'Speaking Beyond the Light' 56

4 The Wonders and the Computus Manuscript London, British Library, Cotton Tiberius B. v 60

Introduction 60

The Origin and Audience of Tiberius B. v 62

Reading Books and the Monastic Library 65

The Materiality of Tiberius B. v 67

Page Design in Tiberius B. v 70

The 'Wonders of the East' 70

The Calendar 73

Tiberius B. v: The Semiotics of the 'Computus' Manuscript 83

The 'Wonders of the East' as Semiotic 89

The Land of Vineyards and the Ivory Couch 91

The Mountain of Adamant and the Griffin 93

The Phoenix and Its Nest of Cinnamon 96

The Unnamed Fiery Mountain and Its Black Inhabitants 98

Jamnes and Mambres 100

Conclusion 101

5 The Wonders and the Schools Oxford, Bodleian Library, Bodley 614 103

Introduction 103

The Problem of Dating Bodley 614 104

Codicological Considerations 105

Art-Historical Considerations 106

Palaeographical Considerations 107

Textual Considerations 110

Summary 110

The Origin and Sources of Bodley 614 111

A Palaeographical Comparandum? 112

The Calendar 113

The Additions from William of Conches's 'De philosophia mundi' 116

De miracutis beati Thomae apostoli 118

St Urri and the Folklore of Megalithic Monuments 119

Evidence Concerning 'Opusculum de ratione spere' 121

Summary 126

The Social Relations of the 'Twelfth-Century Renaissance' 128

Bodley 614 and the Practice of the Schools 133

Selection and Compilation 133

Self-Aware Commentary 134

An Illustrative Tradition 134

The Mythographic Mode 135

The Fighting Brothers 138

The Dancing Women 139

Conclusion 142

6 The Materiality of Marvels 143

Postscript 147.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

ISBN:

9789004301382

9004301380

OCLC:

936140186