Treasures ofHolkham Library

Author: W. 0. Hassall, M.A.,D.Pllll., F.S.A.

INTRODUCTIONHolkham Hall In Norfolk

was built by Thomas Coke,Lord Lovell, created Earl otLeicester In 1744 with thehelp of William Kent andit became famous as acentre of agricultural re-form when It was the homeof the celebrated farmer,Mr. Coke of Norfolk (1752-1842) to whom the creationof the house Is oftenwrongly attributed.

The fortunes of the Cokefamily -were founded byChief Justice Coke (1634),the champion of thecommon law against Stuart

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libraiv which Chief Justiceautocracy, the successful p^e founded, \vhich therival of Francis Bacon and buildei of Holkhamthe prosecutor of Raleigh mcieased with hundreds ofand Guy Fawkes. But as unique volumes and tothe friend of Lord Burling- ich Coke (1752-1842)ton and as the young ,- e additions, few InEnglish nobleman who number but of such aderived perhaps most good quality that his acquisitionsfrom the fashionable Grand rivalled the best booksTour, it was the builder of ich he had inherited.Holkham who outshone his ^he library of the Chiefmore famous ancestor and Justice Coke was such asuccessor In collecting the ^^ ^ ^ yiatmajority of those treasurers ^ mentioned it on hiswith which visitors to ^eral monument inHolkbam are familiar. It Tittleshall church and Itwas he who brought to his attracted the attention ofnew home the portrait bust ^.^ ^ connoisseur ofof Plato, the statue of libraries, John Evelyn, theDiana which belonged to alarlst. The Chief Justice'sCicero, the sketchbook: of m,,.ary was, however, theLeonardo da Vinci and working tool of a lawyer.Raphael's cartoon tor La keenly Interested in historyBelle Jardlnlere. as well as law, and of wide

The greatest treasures in tastes' but a collectorHolkham cannot be shown of rare and beautiful thingsto visitors. These are the as such' though he ownedmanuscripts in the great certaln Illuminated psalters,

a fine volume of statutesand Indeed a beautiful earlyfourteenth-century book forprinces, which Is now in theBritish Museum. Thelatter is interesting as 'tcontains the earliest knownillustration of a canon.

The manuscript collec-tions of the builder ofHolkham were of Incrediblemagnificence, containingnumerous books of suchbeauty that they are worthyof the exhibition cases of anational collection. For-tunately they remain in thehands of the family towhich they have belongedfor over two centuries.Through the generosity ofthe Earl of Leicester theyare now made accessible astransparencies In a waywhich is, paradoxically,Impossible In the case of thefew manuscripts which havenow passed from his familyInto national ownership.

a.

The builder of Holkhamwas on his Grand Tourbei.veen 1713 and 1718.Often he bought books, buttor the library the greatestmonth was November, 1716,when he paid 3,000 llvresfor some forty manuscriptsfrom the Augustlnlan con-vent at Lyons. In thesepurchases he was advised bybis librarian. Ferrari, and,as he bought whole blocksof manuscripts at a time,his library preserves groupsot manuscripts which hadbeen brought together byvarious scholars and artpatrons.

L6on Dorez published amonumental work on theIlluminated manuscriptsentitled Les Manuscrits dpeintures de la. BiWothequede Lord Leicester & HolkhamHall, Norfolk. It Is fromthis work that scholars andconnoisseurs have derived

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most of the informationavailable to them about theIlluminated manuscripts atHolkham. Some fine illu-minated manuscripts addedto the Holkham collectionby the previous " farmer "Coke of Norfolk (1752-1842)and described by Dorez(plates 1-39) are no longerat Holkham, and are accor-dingly not Illustrated onthis film. Such are theWeingarten Gospels andMissals now in the PlerpontMorgan Library, and aGreco-Latin Psalter, theSecreta-Secretorum, ClementVII's Great Bible, theHolkham Bible in theBritish Museum. (SeeW. 0. Hassall, " HolkhamManuscripts acquired forthe nation," The Con-noisseur, August, 1952.) Onthe other hand certainimportant manuscriptsabout which Dorez makesno mention are shown on

this film. Such are twoearly Byzantine Gospels,three English Psalters, andfourteenth-century Dante,with illustrations on everypage. His terms of refer-ence excluded printed worksbut this film Includes 9.most important bookilluminated at Venice bythe most famous of Venetianlllumlnators, JacomettoVeneziano, for the texthappened to be printed atVenice In 1476 by NicolasJenson.

These sets are mainlycomposed of transparenciesof manuscripts which con-tain a number of otherminiatures of equal merit.The notes give some indica-tion of the number of thesefor there are coloured film-strips, microfilms and slideseries which amplify eachof the pictures herereproduced. In general

this film serves as Introduc-tion to them. There are,however, four coloured filmsof Important HolkhamIlluminated manuscripts ofwhich specimens are notIncluded on this film. Thesemanuscripts are twothirteenth-century FrenchBibles (MSS. 10 and 13),a manuscript of the legalwriter AZO Illustrated atBologna about 1300 with awealth of grotesque In Itsmargins, initials, and multi-tudes of figures displayingthe costume of the time(Holkham MS. 206) and aBolognese manuscript ofLivy (Holkham MS. 344).

A teacher may consider apage of an Illuminatedmanuscript from manydifferent angles and In com-parison with other pages.Subjects which spring tomind are the decorativetreatment of the Initials,

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kind of script, subjectmatter, meaning and placein world literature of thetext, treatment of thesubject of a picture asexemplifying the develop-ment of Its Iconography,work of the artist as anexample of the style of hisperiod and place, birds orflowers in the margin,method of treating land-scape or architectural art.style of the costumes of thefigures, historical back-ground of patron for whombook was made, or offamous collectors who haveowned it. It is impossiblein brief notes to amplifya fraction of the interestinglines of-thought which maybe developed for any one ofthe pages shown. Referencesare,' however, given to someof the other series whichamplify each of the picturesin comparison with othermanuscripts from some of

these Interesting points ofview.

A few of the manuscriptsreproduced by Dorez areones which contain singleillustrated title pages, notwhole series of miniatures.Of these the filmstrip doesnot reproduce four — MSS.34, 346, 345, 541. These areIncluded In liturgical, N.Italian and Neapolitanseries, and manuscripts ofsimilar interest occur Inother flimstrlps such asthose devoted to cla.^aicaland patristic and Florentineand Venetian illumination.This fliinstrip does, however,reproduce a few suchIlluminated title pagesbecause of their outstandingImportance, although theymust also be Included inother series. Such are theLectlonary of MatthiasCorvihus (Holkham MS. 18)and a Livy in the style ofFouquet (Holkham MS. 347).

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This set of slides falls Intotwo sections. The first haltconsists of vertical framesshowing entire pages; thesecond of horizontal pagesshowing details of particularpages.

PART 1Set 1. Slide 1.

This picture shows theBaptism and Transfigura-tion of Christ (above) andthe Miracle of the FiveLoaves and the Washing ofthe Feet (below). ThisByzantine Gospel book wasprobably illustrated. In theopinion of Professor TalbotRice. In a monastery outsidethe capital, and should bedated to the twelfth ratherthan the thirteenth centuryas had been done hitherto.The worK Is in a rathercoarse but expressive style.The elaborate Illustrationscomprise eight pages ofcanon tables surmounted by

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pairs of birds, and In onecase, of foxes. EachGospel Is preceded by por-traits of the Evangelists^.At the head of each GospelIs a rectangular decorativecomposition surmounted bybirds, and, in .the cases ofMark and John, containingportrait medallions. All theEvangelists have chairs andfootstools and the firstthree have lecterns. A mostInteresting feature of thisvolume is the Inclusion ofan unusual selection ofscenes from the life ofChrist before each Gospel.Matthew Is preceded (fol. 5)by the Baptist, the Axe laidto the root of the Tree andthe call ot Simon andAndrew. Mark Is precededby the healing of a leper,the Pool of Slloam, thehealing of a blind man, theparalytic bidden to take uphis bed and walk, andZacchaeus (tol. 65v); the

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Baptism, the Transfigura-tion, the Five Loaves, andthe Washing of Feet (tol.56). Luke 's preceded byan Angel ccmforting ChristIn Gethsemane (fol. 87v)and the Raising of Lazarusand the Entry IntoJerusalem (tol. 88). JohnIs preceded by the Cruci-fixion, the Resurrection,Doubting Thomas andPentecost (fol. 144). Themanuscript came to thenotice of scholars In 1954(W. 0. Hassall, " ByzantineIlluminations at Holkham,"The Connoisseur, cxxxill, p.87). This and the manu-script shown on the nextframe were the only twoprivately Illuminated Byzan-tine manuscripts In theEdinburgh Exhibition ofByzantine art In 1958. It Isdescribed accordingly Inthe Exhibition Cataloguewhere, however, slips aremade In describing the

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Baptism as on fol. 5 andZacharlas on fol. 55v. Thethird leaf was selected assuitable for reproduction )nRoscoe's Illustrated cata-logue but never reachedbeyond proof stage. Itwas selected as being theearliest known ogee arch.For the text see C. R.Gregory. Textkntik desNeuen Testa nentes, pp. 203and 1108, No 557 evv. (ssvonSoden, E 356) andScrivener, A Plain Introduc-tion, 4th ed., 1 (1894),p 251, No 524. There Iscoloured microfilm of theillustrated pages and slides,with explanatory notes ofmany of the scenes from theLife of Christ.

This MS. was one oftwelve bought In Berlin atthe sale of Andreas ErasmusSeldel. The others wereMSS. 4, 172, 289, 297, 266,291, 286(?), 52, 476. 326 and

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421. The date was 1717not 1718 as stated by Dorezand De Riccl.Holkham MS 3, fol 56 (222

x 145mm.).Set 1. Mide 2.

This frame shows St. Mark:seated at his desk It istypical of the author'sportraits which precede theGospels In IlluminatedByzantine art Thismanuscript contains similarportraits of Matthew andLuke, with golden desks,chairs and lecterns; butJohn is shown dictating toProcerus, who is writing onhis knee. It was illuminatedIn the eleventh century,and, In the opinion ofProfessor Talbot Rice, maywell have been illuminatedIn the capital.

This series of portraits ofthe Evangelists contains ifeature common in theWest, but most unusual n

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Byzantine art. Each one Isaccompanied by hischaracteristic symbol. Theartist, however, was appar-ently inserting themwithout proper understand-ing, for the " lion of St.Mark " in the top right-handcorner of this picture Is anox and the ox of St. Lukeon fol. 178v is more like alion. For the text see C. R.Gregory. Textlcritik desNeuen Testamentes. pp. 203and 1108. No. 558 evv. (=vonSoden. E 275) and Scrivener,A Plain Introduction, 4thed., 1 (1894), p. 251. No. 525.

Like the preceding manu-acrlpt this was bought atBerlin at the Seidel sale in1717. described in TheConnoisseur in 1954, exhi-bited at Edinburgh in 1958and is now reproduced sofar as Its illuminated pagesare concerned on colouredmicrofilm. In the Edin-

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burgh Catalogue thereference Is wrongly givenas fol. 22v and the measure-ments are wrong.Holkham MS. 4. fol. 112V

(215 x 150mm.).Set I. Slide 3.

This Illuminated Head-piece faces the page shownon the last frame and Intro-duces the Gospel accordingto St. Mark. It is remark-ably free from the flakingwhich mars so many pagesIn most Illuminated Byzan-tine manuscripts.Ho'kham MS. 4. tol. 113

(215 x 150mm.).Set 1. Slide 4.

A similar Headpiece fromSt. John's Gospel in thesame manuscript.Holkham MS. 1, fol. 281

(215 x 150mm.)..Set 1. Slide 5.

This Is the title page, and.Indeed the only Illuminatedpage. of a magnificent

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Evangellary or selectionfrom the Gospels. The titleIs an unusual one " InclpitEvangellstarlum secundumRitum Tramontanomm"(here begins the Lectlonaryaccording to the use ofthose outside Italy) and SirF. Madden noted that thelessons for the various daysclosely resembled thoseadopted by the ProtestantChurches. The style closelyresembles that of Casslan'sDe Institutes CoenobiorumIn the BibllothequeNationale In Paris and theunusual and brilliantcolouring is reminiscent ofthe work of enamellers.

In each of the corners ofthe richly ornamentedborder Is one of the Evan-gelists with his character-istic sign, the angel forMatthew (top right), thelion for Mark (bottom left),the ox for Luke (top left)

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and the eagle for John(bottom right). This pagehas been reproduced byLeon Dorez, but In a des-cription of this page heconfuslngly reverses thepositions of Matthew andLuke. (For the origin utthese signs and their mean-ing see the slide set on theNew Testament.)

This book belonged to oneof the most Illustrious bookcollectors of all time,Matthias Corvlnus, orMatthias I sumamedHunyadi (1440-90). Afterbecoming king in 1464 bebecame one of the greatestrulers In Europe and madehis capital at Vienna. Hisreal greatness. Industry,goodness, scholarship andpatronage of letters makeshim comparable with Alfred^the.' Great. Through hislibrarian, Taddeo Ugoleto,he commissioned many

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books at Florence. Workon them was Interruptedbetween his death on 4thApril, 1490, and a letter sentto Florence on 13th Feb-ruary, 1498, by his successor,King Vladislav, about thesebooks, then held at thebank of the Medici.Vladislav ordered his ownmarks of ownership to beinserted, and this accountsfor the Initials " LA " In themargin above St. Mark andthe presence of the whiteeagle of Poland In the leftmargin and on the sinisterside of the escutcheon Inthe middle of the lowermargin. No doubt theraven, with which the nameof Corvinus was associated,was overpalnted. Corvinusemployed thirty scribes atBuda and tour at Florence,but T. D. Marinis thinksthat this work Is Venetianby the artist of Simonettaand the Vita dl Sforza. De

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Hevesy has located 156 oiMatthias's manuscripts.Holkham MS. 18 (325 x

215mm.).

Set 1. Slide 6.This shows the page of a

Psalter which contains thePsalm Cantate Domino inthe " Downes Psalter."

There are three entries InSir Edward Coke's catalogueabout Psalters. Classifiedamong the " Divinity BooksIn Folio - Latlne andEnglische promiscue," ItemNo. 65 Is a " faire oldemanuscript of the psalmesIn velam fol; lat." Amongfourteen Divinity Manu-scripts item No. 216 Is a"faire MS; In lat; tol; otthe psalmes " and his list ofeight items classed is" Popish Manuscripts" Iseven less precise In Its finalentry (No. 287) "Maniebreviaries, ladles' psaltersand Manualls."

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Holkham has threeEnglish Manuscripts (MSS23 24 and 26), which mayhave all been illuded tounder the thiee entries mSit Edwaids CatalogueThese are known as theDownes Kmghtley andRamsey Abbey psalters Theonly tall manusciipt of theseIs the Bamsey Abbey Psalterand this \^ould have beenpresumably the faire oldemanuscript and suchwould still be a gooddescription of it 3lrEdward Coke (died 1634)formed the nucleus of theHolkham llbiary

The Downes Psalter"Holkham MS 23 (285 z205mm ) Is called a Psalterbecause the first leaf afterthe calendar has a greatilluminated B for BeatusVir but the Psalm 1 Ispreceded by antlphons withmusical notation It Is

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preceded by a Kalendarwhich includes the gicatlyvenerated English Saints ofthe Sarum Kalendar suchas Saints Alban Cuthbert,Edward the King OswaldWlltiam Hugh and With-berga (July 8) June 3commemoiates Dedicacioecclesie parochlalis SancteMai ie de SchudecampisEllens Diocis added In lhand which Is not that ofthe scilbe but would hardlybe much later, for Dr 0Pacht dates the illuminationabout 1400 St Withbergasbiithplace happens to be atHolkham She was a Saxonprincess and the parishchuich Is dedicated to her.Shudy Camps Is in Cam-bridgeshire The Kalendaralso contains a number ofadditions recording thebirths and deaths of mem-bers of the Downes family.The»e start In the reignof Hemy VIII and end In

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1598. It this manuscript,therefore, belonged to SirEdward Coke It would nothave been part of hisInheritance. M. B. Jamesadmired the penwork of thetext, but the illuminationsdo not Include miniatures.The colours are red, blue,scarlet and crimson, such asoccur In the Ramsey AbbeyPsalter, with some mauve Inthe Kalendar, but thedesigns of the borders arenot so good. Two otherlarge Initials are used lorQuid gloriaris and Dixitinsipiens. The Beatus pageIs enclosed in a rectangularornamented frame and theother two face each other onan opening which IsIlluminated right round theedge and down the centre.

The reason why this andcertain other Psalmsregularly had attentiondrawn to them by the

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decorators of manuscripts isexplained In the slide set onEnglish Psalters.Holkham MS. 23 (285 x

200mm.).Set 1. Slide 7.

This page Is the work ofthe famous late fifteenth-century Florentine minia-turist Prancesco d'AntonIoCherico. The Initial D ofJDeitS in adiutorium meumrepresents a scene of greet-ing. blessed by an angel.The figure on the left seemssomewhat heavily built Itthe scene represents theVisitation of the Virgin toher cousin Elizabeth; onthe other hand If thepicture represents Anna andJoachim, the parents of theVirgin, It should haveshown the Golden Gate out-side which the incidentoccurred. In favour ofJoachim and Anna Is thetact that the followingservice (nones) Is decorated

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with the Birth of the Virginafter which comes (atVespers) what may be thePresentation of the VirginIn the Temple The picturesare not, however. In ahistoncal sequence for thisscene of greeting decoratessext and the previous service(teree) shows the Annuncia-tion to the Shepheids, andafter Vespers at Complinecomes the Marriage of theVirgin All these pictuiesoccur in t*ie Hours of theVirgin. They begin, atMatins, with a very magni-ficent page which has theNativity in large centralinitial and no less thansixteen other subjects in themargins

These Hours of the Virginwere executed tor amarriage between a Mediciand an Orslni, and theirarms occur on the foot ofthe opening page of MatinsIn the Houis of the Virgin.

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The book begins with a.splendid calendar with theOccupations of the Monthsin medallions of only 7mmdiameter. It concludeswith the Seven PenitentialPsalms, the Office of theDead and the Office of theCross, each opening withmagnificent illuminatedpages full of minute detailin addition to their greatIlluminated Initials showingthe Triumph of Christ overDeath. Death and theBetrayal. Lesser Illuminateddecoration occurs on almostevery other page of thevolume.

Cherico produced asimilar book of Hours, Inthe Laurentlan library atFlorence. In 1458. Themarriage of Lorenzo delMedici with Clarice Orslnioccurred in 1468 and thatof their son Pletro delMedici with Altonslna Orslni

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In 1478. Oberico wasactive from about 1465 to1485. For the general back-ground see the slide sets onGreat Collectors, FlorentineIllumination, and LiturgicalBooks. A colour film ofthis superb little manu-script Is also available whichIncludes all Illuminatedpages.Holkham MS. 41 (146 x

100mm.).

Set 1. Slide 8.This slide Is taken from

an early fifteenth-centurymanuscript of the Ecloguesand Georglcs of Virgil fromthe library of the AugustlnsDecbausses at Lyons. Itcontains sixteen miniatures.These Illustrate the tenbooks ot the Eclogues orBucolics, the four books otthe Georgics and the com-mentary of Servlus on theGeorglcs. One shows thezones of the earth. Except

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for the last all theIllustrated pages haveborders adorned with theleafy tendrils which, withtheir spiky leaves, weremuch used by Frenchlllumlnators In the periodwhich corresponds todecorated or " flamboyant "architecture towards theend of the Middle Ages.

The first page of eachbook has the left marginand the left half of theupper and lower marginsornamented with tendrilsand spiky leaves, done tngold and blue. The firstleaf (slide 1) Is treated withricher elaboration, tor theright side also is orna-mented but with denserfoliage, and this Isbrightened with red andblue blossoms, red andpurple berries and green,blue and purple leaves.

At the beginning of each29

book there Is a panel withfigures illustrative ot thetext. Their gay clothescontrast with skies whereinthe blue is always deeperwhere It joins the goldframe at the top. On thegrass are flowers with whiteor red flowers and stalks ofa darker green than thesurrounding sward, to makethem more distinct. Thecontrasting dark and greenleaves give a very natural-istic rendering of Ilex, Inthe first eclogue. Here theartist illustrates the openingline "Tityre tu patulerecubans sub tegmlnefagl." Tityrus has a redbonnet, rose cloak, pale bluetunic and grey troiisers.Mellbeus has a pale rosehood and pale blue trousers.There Is a close resemblancebetween this manuscriptand a famous Terence atParis In the Arsenal (MS.664). This belonged to the

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Dukes of Guyenne andBerry and has beenpublished by Henry Martin,Le Terence des dues. Parts1907. Other work by thesame artist Is In the Bibllo-theque Natlonale and theBodleian Library. Dorezsuggested that this manu-script might have beenexecuted for one of theseDukes, both of whom werevery famous connoisseurs offine illuminations.Holkham MS. 307, fol. i

(280 x 200mm.)

Set I. Slide 9.Fifteenth - century blind-

stamped binding of a Virgilwritten In 1473. ThisVirgil is the only manu-script now at Holkham tohave been acquired by thefamous agriculturist, " Cokeof Norfolk" (1754-1842) andof the seven manuscriptswhich he bought this wasthe last.

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Mr Coke obtained theVirgil. In two volumes, " ata considerable expense" In1818 They bad originallybelonged to a family calledBaenst in Flanders Mostof the Holkham manuscriptsare in early eighteenth-century bindings, but on8th October, 1818. Cokereceived a letter about theVirgil from his friend, thereformer and banker whowrote biographies of Lorenzodel Medici and Pope Leo X,who secured Coke's manu-script treasures for him In1816 (when his own librarywas sold) and whoembarked on cataloguingthe Holkham ManuscriptsIn 1820: "I have notventured to rebind thebeautiful copy of Virgil,conceiving that It Is morevaluable and Interesting InIts good old cover andancient and uncommonclasps, than In the finest

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decoration that could begiven I t " Roscoe wroteto Coke again on 26tnDecembei. 1818. after he hadprovided book-boxes tocontain the two volumes:" You will find we havepreserved the old bindingof the beautiful copy ofVirgil in 2 volumes — Itwould Indeed have beensacrilege to have strlpt Itof its venerable covers Ihope you will approve ofthe additional means wehave taken for its preser-vation ".Holkham MS 311 Measure-

ment of old binding: 370x 265mm

.set I Slide 10.This wonderful page tells

the story of Aeneas fromhis departure from Troy tohis Interlude with Dido atCarthage It is thefrontispiece of the Aeneldin g'eat Flemish Virgil and

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is one of three superbIllustrations. The othersare the frontispieces of theEclogues (with a shepherdscene) and of the Georglcs(showing the processes offarming). A separate slideset Is devoted to this Virgiland details of all threepages play an Importantpart in two flimstrlpsdevoted to Medieval Back-ground.

This Virgil was Illu-minated by an unnamedFlemish artist called theGebetbucfnneister and SirFrederick Madden wrote" There are few books Inexistence so well calculatedto give an Idea of the beautyof the manuscript copies offormer times as theseexquisite volumes . . . thepaintings probably surpassIn vividness of colour andminuteness of execution anyspecimens of the art that

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exist ". The scribe finishedhis worK In 1473,-by whichdate the number of editionsof Virgil printed In Italy hadreached two figures.

Note the medieval conven-tion whereby the artistrepresents " continuousaction," a series of differentconsecutive events beingshown in a single picture.Aeneas Is readily recognis-able by bis tall plume as heproceeds on his adventures.The costumes and rigging,the burning city and thecity under construction areall shown with Interestingdetail. The artist, however,lacks the classical spirit,and when he portrays thegod of the sea In his chariotwe are presented, as inmany other fifteenth-century "classical" pictures,with a lumbering waggon.

Leon Dorez reproducesthis picture, but in his

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excellent description of themeeting with Dido he refersto Aeneas' old fatherAnchises where he shouldhave said his faithfulfollower, Achates.Holkham MS. 311 (350 x

250mm.).

Set 1. Slide 11.A title page for the first

ten bo3ks of Livy Illumi-nated in the style of thegreat late fifteenth-centuryFrench artist, Jean Fouquet.The struggle of Romulusand Remus and the con-struction of Rome Is shownat the bottom. The InitialF of Facturus ne operecontains a picture of thewolf suckling Romulus andRemus. This page is dis-cussed at length In thenotes for the slides onFrench Illumination, andhas been reproduced anddescribed by Leon Dorez. Inthe right margin are the

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unidentified arms of thefirst owner: Argent, an oak:proper Impaling Bendy ofsix gules and argent, withmotto Nichil est ab omnibeatum. A subsequentowner wrote his name onthe last leaf "Jakes deMontenard posseceur '.Thomas Coke, later firstEarl of Leicester and builderof Holkham, bought thl»manuscript with severaldozen others from theAugustlns Decbaussees whenhe visited Lyons and stayedat the French Arms In 1716.At Lyons he bought holstercaps, a new brocade waist-coat, three livery coats and3,000 llvres worth of books.

The subject matter of thisvolume Is significant in thehistory of the Holkhamlibrary. Thomas Coke wasfond of cockflghting andfoxhunting but he-harboured the Intention,

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never fulfilled, of attempt-ing a new edition of Livy.

There are accordingly noless than fourteen manu-scripts of Livy at Holkham(Holkham MSS. 344-357).Thomas Coke made most ofthese available for a greatedition prepared by Draken-borch, who refers to thisvolume as Lovellanus iv, asCoke was known as BaronLovel at the time the editionwas prepared. A slide setIs devoted to Livy.Holkham MS. 347 (325 x

230mm.).

Set I. Slide 12.This Illuminated title

page is fifteenth-centuryLombard in style and wasvery possibly executed atVerona. Note the solidgold background behind acoloured initial decoratedwith strapwork. The pointedcorners and the curvedIndentations In the outline

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of the background aretypical of Northern Italy.The arms in a laurel wreathsupported by putti have notbeen Identified. They areArgent a chevron or betweenthree crescents sable. Abovethe arms Is the motto :Recte vivendum honestaexpect anda. This manu-script contains the text ofCicero's De Officlls, Para-doxa, De amicltia and Desenectute. This manuscriptis much more typical of theHolkham collection ofIlluminated manuscriptsthan are the Byzantine,English, French and Flemishtreasures just seen. Thoseschools are represented byvery few examples, althoughthey happen to be out-standing ones. Themajority of the fine manu-scripts at Holkham areItalian fifteenth-centuryclassical texts with hand-some title pages. The

39.

physical labour ot lookingat many of these, scatteredamong the lofty shelves ofthe Holkham library, isconsiderable. They havebeen made available as slidesets grouped together bysubjects and school.Holkham MS. 383 (235 x

165mm.).

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PART 2

Set 2. .Slide 1.Like the last slide in Set I

this manuscript Is typicalof the numerous Italianmanuscripts with handsometitle pages at Holkham. Itwas executed about 1400,probably at Verona butpossibly at Milan. It con-tains the letters of Seneca,followed by the Declama-tions, the forged correspon-dence with St. Paul and theDe Brevltate Vltae. Noticethe thick square Italianletters, not yet humanistbut not so pointed as Inthe Gothic North. In theInitial Seneca is seen In hisstudy, with books on hisdesk and lectern and untidypiles of books on the shelf.There are birds among thefine nilgree pattern of theupper margin. The arms Inthe centre of the lowermargin have been defaced.

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There are twenty - ninehandsome great Initials atimportant breaks In thetext, but only one of themcontains a human figure.One is accompanied by avery naturalistic picture ofa dragonfly In the lowermargin.Holkham MS 391. fol I

(322 x 222mm.)

Set 2. .->ll(le 2.This beautiful title page

comes from a volume ofBoccaccio's Decameronwhich Is generally said, onthe authority of Leon Dorez,to have been executed atPerrara for Prince Albertod'Este by Taddeo Crivelll In1467 (wrongly quoted as" about 1400 " by Seymourde Bled). It Is certainlyFerrarese work of the veryhighest quality executedabout that time whenFerrarese art was at Itsheight; and Its connection

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with the d'Este is pro-claimed by the motto Fido(in Gothic letteis in theupper margin), the legendLie bien secrete accompany-ing the swan with theknotted and padlocked neck,a stig. and a grill of goldcalled the Paradura. Thedocumentary " proofs "adduced for Its history havefailed to convince OiulioBertom who argues that itwas actually made forTeofilo Calcagnl, a magni-ficent companion of Borsod'Este

The panel at the bottomshows the church of MariaNovella on a Tuesday morn-ing in 1348 when sevenyoung ladles fled there totake refuge from thePlague, "wearing mourning."a fact Ignored by the artist.Three young gentlemencame to the same place,and the book contains thestories they told each other

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on successive days Eachof the following nine booksis intioduced by a hand-some initial containing thepoitiait of the young person.who presided on ttiat day.This Idea gave to Dibdinthe suggestion for the titleof the BibliographicalDecainrron and he beginsit with oraises of this actualmanuscupt and insertsreproductions of some of Itsminiatures All theseminlnt.res aie available ona colnui filmHolkham MS 531 (560 x

265mm i

t.et 1 &ili<le 3This handsome manu-

sci Ipt contains a translationInto Fiench made by JeanWauquelin under the direc-tion of Simon Nockart forPhilip the Good. Duke -)tBuigundy. In 1446 of theChronicles of the Counts ofHalnault composed by

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Jacques de Guise, dFranciscan friar of Valen-ciennes. Wauquelin badalieady in 1446 madeanother translation forAntolne de Croy (BritishMuseum, Lansdown MS.214) The most famousilluminated manuscript ofthis text was executed inWauquelln's workshop atMons In 1448 and Isdescribed In the Catalogueof the exhibition at Brussels1959, La Miniature FlamandeIe Mecenat de Philippe IeBo-n

The Holkham manuscripts.of the Counts of Halnaultcontain nine Illuminatedpages Fragments of acopy of the same book withpictures in the same styleand written by the samescube are In the Bodleian.Library. MS. Douce 205The Holkham paintings areIdentified by Dr Pacht asthe work of a Franco-

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Flemish artist and of theMaster of the Antolne Rollin(son of Chancellor NicholasRollin, Grand Ballll ofHamault) whose workoccurs in the Douce Chront-ques de Hamault and in theBibhotheque Nationale'sEcliecs Amoureux (MS fr.9197)

This page shows amythical Social Contract,how the Belgian citizenselected for themselves anannual duke for the firsttime, when Cambyses wasKing of Persia. Behind thesix Belgians is a walled citywith many towers andbehind that again a distantlandscape with hills, trees,windmills and water. Noticethe dog In the foregroundand the miller with hishorse going to a post-mill.In contrast with this pros-pect receding Into thedistance both picture andtext are enclosed in a gold

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fiame on which are strewlfloweis, flies, butterflies, abird, a caterpillar and astrawberry. The artist hasmade these cast shadows onthe gold, so that theyappeal to be situated infront of the level of theparchment on which thepage is painted In thecentre of the lower marginare arms: Barry of six gulesand valr. These belong tothe most important andancient of three familiescalled Berlalmont Else-where in the manuscriptthey are quartered, to recorda marriage, with the armsof the family of LigneGilles, Seigneur de Berlai-mont, Hierges, Peruweizand Beauraing married Maryde Ligne, Lady of Lens,Seigneur of Beloeil. Oftheir children Lancelot wasKilled In 1484 and Marledied childless. The propertypassed to Charles de

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Berlaimont, Seigneur deFloyon. He was the firstof the family to be a count,and It may be tor him thata caronet Is shown on theBerlaimont arms on yet athird place in the manu-script. (For the Berlal-monts see P. V. GoethalsDictlonaire genealoglque °theraldique de Royaume deBelglque, Brussels, 1849,vol. 1.)Holkham MS. 658 lol. 161

(400 x 285mm.).

Set 2. Slide 4.This page Irom the same

manuscript of the Chroniclesof the Counts of FlandersIs similar In Its generalarrangement. A largepanel above the text hasfigures In the foregroundand a distant landscape.This time a river leads theeye Into the distance andon each bank there aregroups of figures getting

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smaller as they recede fromthe eye. The golden bordercontains flowers, straw-berries, butterflies, flies, abird and a snail. The sceneIs one of border warfare andthe towns and villages Inthe distance are on flre. Onthe page the text explainsthat the Belgians were ofhardened courage because Itsays, surprisingly to peoplewhose memory of BelgiumIn wartime turns to 1914and 1940, that the Belgianscontinually fought theSaxons beyond the Rhine." . . . Et contlnuelmentbatallolent centre lesSaxoms oultre Ie Bin et cheles Rendolt et falsolt estreplus crueux plus durs etplus promps a soustenirgrans fals."Holkham MS. 658 fol. 229

(400 x 285mm.).

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"ict i •slide 5.Let us now look at details

taken fiom four outstandingtieasures of Holkham Thispicture shows PrometheusHe has stolen file from thesun and is giving it '•opumitive man that humanlife may be less nastybrutish and shoit' He doesthis. although he knowsthat the jealous King of thegods will Inflict appallingpunishment upon himselfIn anger This miniatureis the centre of a numberof concentric elides repre-senting the different heavenswhich were thought tosurround the eaitb Thepictuie comes fiom one ofsix manuscripts at Holkhamof Ovid Ovid (43 B c -A D 18)was one of the great poetsof the Augustan age and In1342 Peter Berchorlusfinished in his ReductonumMorale one of variousmedieval attempts to inter-

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pret Ovid In a moral andmystical way This manu-script was copied out,though printed texts hadbeen available since 1471,for Raphael de Marcatellls,Abbot ot St Bavon ofGhent, in 1497

The aitlst used as a modelthe woodcuts In the earliestand most Interestingexample of South Nether-landish book - Illustration.the Metamorphose moralisepai Malstre Thomas Waleys,punted by Colard Mansionat Bluges in May, 1484This is one of the few clearexamples of a definitei elatlonship between wood-cuts and manuscript minia-tures There are seventeencuts and this manuscriptuses nine of them butcontains another sevenwhich have no correspond-ing cut All the Holkharaminiatures are reproducedon a separate filmstrip

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The same year 1497,Marcitellls acquired fromthe same workshop anilluminated Hoi ace whichwas copied out fiom aprinted text and adornedwith numeious IllustrationsIn the same Ghent-Brugesstyle (Holkham MS 318)Holkhan MS 324 fol It

(det'll) (410 x 300 mm)

Set 2 slide 6This shows the part of

Hell vhlch Dante callsMalebolge Dante conceivesof Hell as like a tunnel,widei towards the top thanat the bottom and linedwith concentric circleslound the sides of theInverted cone The worstsinners aie at the bottom.Here the aitist seems tohave missed the point, forthe smaller elides are atthe top This picturecomes from the bottom ofthe page of a touiteenth-

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century Neapolitan manu-sciipt of the DivmiCommedta Theie is apicture In this position Atthe bottom of every singleone of its 148 pages Includ-ing the Paradise for whichlong sets of Illustrations areveiy rare The lllustiationsfoi Dante made by Botticelli,Michelangelo and Blakeaie ^mous but a completesenes of illustrations made-within a century of Dante sdeath has never beenpublished Complete colourfilms are now available ofthe Holkham Dante picturebook These panels showthe literal meaning of thevanous cantos as visualizedb\ the first generation ofDante readers They arepiecursors of the fifteenth-century Illustrated blockbooks and Indeed of thsmodern comics ' designedfor the semi-literate TheHolkhann Libiai^ contains

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the greatest private collec-tion of Dante manuscripts

Throughout the InfernoIllustrations black and redare the dominant coloursand dark masses at the sideof each page tend to createa confined, and almost lclaustrophobic, atmosphereThis contrasts with veryopen compositions In theParadise where blue andgold naturally predominateDante, the greatest Italianwriter, has been morelllustiated than any otherpoet, and historically theseries of pictures repie-sented by this slide Is oneof the most Interestingbecause of its early date

The eighteenth canto <itthe Inferno begins witha description of Malebolge" There is a place made orstone In Hell called Male-bolge It Is the colour ofIron There is a greatwell in the centre The

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cuculai bordei lound thewell is divided Into tenvalleys This Is like thefonuatlon of the groundwheie concentric earth-wolks foitify a stronghold(Quale dove per guardiddelle mura plu e piu fossicmgon li castelll, la partedov ei son iende flgura) 'This is below the levelswhere less tenlble sins,those caused by lust andangei are punishedHolkham MS 514 p 27

(355 x 235mm )

•'<•( 2 slide 7.This picture lllustiates

canto 10 of Dantes Purga-tono Here we see thepunishment of the sin ofPilde Under the guidanceof Virgil Dante Is now onthe first terrace of MountPurgatoly It Is eighteenfeet in breadth The outer> l m fell away steeply and

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Dante has been gazing atcarvings on the marbleinner side of the terrace.On the marble there badbeen beautiful scenesexemplifying Humility,selected from the NewTestament, the Old Testa-ment and the history ofAncient Rome. ThenDante saw the proud,doubled down to the groundunder the weight of greatburdens Thus are theyhumbled whose minds weretoo exalted. Dante com-pares them to carved figuressuch as one sometimes seesserving as corbels to supporta roof, with knees bent upto their breasts. In canto11 the proud say the Lord'sPrayer Some of the proudtell their stories to Dante.Of especial Interest torstudents of Illuminatedmanuscripts and painting Isthe fact that one of theproud is Oderlsl of Gubblo,

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the pride of the art called" Illuminating" In Paris(quell' arte che " alluml-nare" e chiamata inPangi9) Oderlsl says thatFranco of Bologna nowpaints more pleasingly.Cimabue once thought bewas the greatest painter butnow Giotto has come Intofashion. Earthly famedoes not last long. Dantehas made earlier writers outof date, but his reputationtoo will only be as the grass.Coloured flimstrlps of theHolkham Inferno, Purgatonoand Paradise, and a set ofslides selected from theHolkham Dante are avail-able. Two thirteenth-century French Bibles andan Illuminated Azo In thestyle of Bologna are oncolour films which show theIllumination of Paris and ofBologna.Holkham 514, p. 77 (355 x

235 mm).57

Set 2. Slide 8.Here Is a beautiful

example of the early, courtly" style of the long line " ofthe " Master of Mary ofBurgundy ". Through hisreal name is unknown, bewas one of the really greatfigures In late fifteenth-century Flemish art andemployed grisaille, as here,for a number of splendl.lmanuscripts made tor theEnglish Dowager Duchess ofCharles the Bold atBurgundy, Margaret ofYork In 1475-6. This superbspecimen was executed 1111476 while Margaret'sbrother, Edward IV, wasKing of England. Shortlyafterwards the Masteradopted a very differentstyle with prominent,Illusionist borders, and awide range of colours for hiahistoires en toutes couleurs.This page shows the-armsof Margaret, and elsewhere

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the manuscript containsher autograph signature.On fol: Iv Is an inscriptionwhich suggests that themanuscript was given toMargaret by Mary ofBurgundy. This Inscription,not shown on the slide,runs:

" Par Ie commandementet ordonnance detreshaulte tres excellenteet tres puissante ma tresredoubtee princessemarie par la grace dedieu Duchesse de bour-goigne . . . ont ces pre-sentes croniques . . esteapres la translation falctede lattn en cler francolsgrossees . . . En lan degrace mil quatrecenssoycante et seze Quemadltte tres redoubteeprincesse apres Ie traspas

• de feu' monselgneur Iedue Charles . . .print Insalslne de sa conte deflandres . . . Et ' tost

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apres en lan . . . milquatrecens soycante etdixsept print la tresnobleprincesse la possessionde ses duchie de brabantet . ."

This slide has the typicalborder with calligraphicspirals and acanthus leavesof the Master's early style.The regal standing figure IsCharlemagne. He waswrongly supposed to be alady by Leon Dorez He Ispresent ng a charter toLideric, the mythical firstCount of Flanders, in 792.(See also Flemish Illumina-tion and Great Collectors.)Holkham MS. 659, fol 2

(400 x 295 mm)

Set 2. Slide 9.Here is a picture from thesame manuscript of the firstof the three Battles ofCassel, which occurred fiveyears after the Battle ofHastings King Philip I of

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France (1060-1108) hadsucceeded his father at theage of eight and CountBaldwin V of Flanders ruledas regent. Baldwin'sbrother Robert the Frisianrobbed Baldwin's widow,and this picture shows thebattle of Cassel In 1071when Robert shamefullydefeated Philip's efforts tohelp the lady Thearmour shown Is, of course,that of tour hundred yearslater. The text reads:" Daultre part MadameRiquent qui estolt aduertlede Iceulx assemblemens etmonopoles et appercheuantque ceulx du pays prelatznobles et une partle de lacommunaulte se rebellolentcentre luy elle flst semondretous ses hommes. Et slenuoya par deuers Ie RoyPhelippe pour auoir sonsecours Lequel luy vinten ayde a tout leffort de sonloiauime car II eut pour

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celle fois une moultpuissant compalgne deprinces dues contes atbarons a tout grant cheual-lerle. Et chascuncheuaucholt en bonneordonnance soubz les banu-leres et pennons. Et IePrison auoit daultre partpour lul la plus salne partledes nobles du pays deFlandres et ainsi de la com-munaulte. Sl assemblerentles deux osts en ung plainau dessoubz du mont deCassel . . . "Holkham MS. 659, fol. 8

(355 x 255 mm.).

Set 2. Slide 10.Initial H from book 3 ot

Landlno's translation ofPliny's Natural History,printed at Venice In 1476and illuminated by the mostcelebrated Venetian lllu-minator, Jacometto Venez-lano. The Initial shows ageographer pointing to a

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map. First he deals withthe world as a whole andmakes a beginning bydescribing Europe andnaming the places andtribes In it, starting In thewest at the Straits ofGibraltar with Spain, andcontinuing with Provenceand Italy. He regardsItaly as shaped like an oakleaf. longer than it is broad.He says that few of thepeoples of Illyria are Impor-tant and their names arehard to pronounce, andconcludes the book with theislands In the Adriatic Sea.Printed Pliny, 1476. Whole

page measures 415 x 270mm.

Set 2. Slide 11.Initial A introducing

" Africa" also from Lan-dlno's Italian translation ofPliny's Natural . History,printed at Venice In 1476and Illuminated by Jacom-

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etto Venezlano. The pictureshows a geographer pointingto another map. Pliny saysthat the names of thepeoples and places of Africaare unpronounceable exceptby the natives. TheInhabitants mostly live Intorts. He mentions the siteof the palace of Antaeus,the scene of bis fight withHercules and the gardens ofthe Hesperldes, guarded by aserpent which Plinyexplains as being a serpen-tine arm of the sea. Hedescribes a voyage ofdiscovery made in 146 B.C.by the historian Polyblus.He mentions people whobuild bouses out of blocksof salt and cave-dwellers.He speaks of a river likethe Nile, producing similarreeds and papyrus, calledthe Niger, but which mayperhaps not be the riverwhich we c&ll .the, Niger. Hementions peoples so back-

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ward that they have no truespeech, others who curse thesun and have no dreams atall In their sleep, and otherswho live quite promis-cuously. The Gamphasantesgo naked, the Blemmyaehave no heads but faces ontheir chests, inhuman satyrsand crawling Strapfootswith feet like leatherthongs. Pliny discusses thesources of the Nile. He saysthat In 669-525 B.C. Egypthad no less than 20,000cities and that Alexandria,built by Alexander theGreat, extends for 15 miles.This book Includes anaccount of Judaea, of thebuoyant nature of the DeadSea and of the sect of theEssenes. His surveyincludes Mesopotamia andthe city of Palmyra in theSyrian desert.Printed Pliny 1476. Whole

page measures 415 x 270mm.

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set -^. .-.lide \-i.This capital S Intro-

duces the ?lst book otLandlno's Italian translationof Pliny's Natural History.The picture shows a foun-tain. with a scalloped bowl,of typically Renaissanceappearance. It Is selectedby the artist to Introducethis book because thesubject matter Is remediesderived from water. Thefirst chapter points out theImportance of water andthe wonderful tact thatwater is drawn up Into theheavens from the earth andthen falls down to earthagain to give life to vegeta-tion. Among cures forvarious troubles to be badby taking various waters,Pliny repeats a story ofcertain springs which alterthe colour of the wool givenby sheep which drink themarid even affect the colourof human skin. He men-

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tions " water" which canbe used as oil, water Inwhich nothing will sink.deadly water, and waterwhich turns objects Intostone; and he discusses thenatures and proper thick-nesses for lead and claywater pipes.

The scientific outlook utthis book and the methodof Its production by therelatively new Invention ofprinting, together with thestylistic details of theRenaissance urn and thehandsome letter, based onRoman Inscribed characters,all combine to make It asuitable picture on which toend a selection of handsomepages from a medieval andRenaissance library. WithIt the religious and theGothic spirit of medievalmanuscripts has gone; andthe spirit ot the modernworld reveals Itself In the

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rediscovery of the morecomplicated and comfort-able world of men likePliny.

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