Tree men

Among the nearly 4,000 microfilms of manuscripts posted online this week by the Vatican Library, the block from the Barberini collection may be the largest. It contains the famous Barberini Bible, a so-called Italian giant bible (bibbia atlantica) with decorated initials, but no illustrations. The term giant is perhaps misleading. One might more comprehensibly call it oversized. Here is the L (for Liber) at the start of the Gospel of Matthew.

Michael Gorman has suggested this may be a product of the scribes of Abbey of Monte Amiata, home of the Codex Amiatinus from England. For a contrary account of the giant bibles, see Lila Yawn (2010, esp. note 77), arguing they were produced as commercial ventures. Yet another theory argues a papal scriptorium in Rome had the brand rights to giant bibles.

There are also two law manuscripts in the batch with those curious drawings where an arbor juris is forced to appear like a tree and is held up by a man, whose rather fashionable beard indicates he is not God, pope or a lawgiver, but perhaps the man in the street. Scroll down to see the second of these two tree men.

The photographs of the manuscripts are of a quality no longer acceptable today, but often readable, and the library explains that it is kindly offering them as stopgap until the labour- and money-intensive digital scanning of these same codices is completed. It laudably suggests that even imperfect images may be of some use to scholars who may not be able to wait until well-illuminated color images become available.

Gallica has placed BNF manuscripts online in black and white for similar reasons: it is relatively cheap to feed a microfilm through an automatic scanning machine which separates out the frames.

There is much of interest here and I have attached notes to those codices I have data about. It is to be assumed that all 712 items in the list below are "bassa qualità": 

1. Barb.lat.3
2. Barb.lat.4
3. Barb.lat.12
4. Barb.lat.17
5. Barb.lat.21
6. Barb.lat.29
7. Barb.lat.42
8. Barb.lat.43
9. Barb.lat.47
10. Barb.lat.49
11. Barb.lat.51
12. Barb.lat.56
13. Barb.lat.58
14. Barb.lat.70
15. Barb.lat.71
16. Barb.lat.78
17. Barb.lat.126
18. Barb.lat.128
19. Barb.lat.134
20. Barb.lat.135
21. Barb.lat.139
22. Barb.lat.142
23. Barb.lat.143
24. Barb.lat.148
25. Barb.lat.156, Epitome of the Almagest by Georg Peurbach and Johannes Regiomontanus. Anthony Grafton notes in Rome Reborn that it gave Europeans the first sophisticated understanding of Ptolemy's astronomy, and was studied by every competent astronomer of the 16th century. An illustration at 54r shows the distance of the sun from the earth.
26. Barb.lat.160, Herbarium of Pseudo-Apuleius: Until the 12th century this was the most influential herbal in Europe, with numerous extant copies surviving into the modern era; this is one of the Beta class of manuscripts considered to have the best illustrations. Also Galen, Priscianus, Oribasius,  etc. Written in ordinary minuscule and contemporary Beneventan, 11th century. See Lowe p. 153 and Wikipedia on Pseudo-Apuleius. HT to @monicaMedHist whose own paper tells us more and who recommends Francis L. Newton, The Scriptorium and Library at Monte Cassino, (here Google Books) as the most up to date source on this codex.
    
27. Barb.lat.165
28. Barb.lat.178
29. Barb.lat.179
30. Barb.lat.236
31. Barb.lat.240
32. Barb.lat.247
33. Barb.lat.267
34. Barb.lat.270
35. Barb.lat.302
36. Barb.lat.304, Ptolemy's De Analemmate. This book is lost in the original Greek, and here is the unique 16th-century copy of William of Moerbeke's Latin translation (HT to Pieter Beullens (@Latin Aristotle) who points to folio 150r (image 27) as the start
    
    
37. Barb.lat.306
38. Barb.lat.311
39. Barb.lat.315
40. Barb.lat.318
41. Barb.lat.322
42. Barb.lat.332
43. Barb.lat.338
44. Barb.lat.341
45. Barb.lat.343
46. Barb.lat.349
47. Barb.lat.389
48. Barb.lat.398
49. Barb.lat.402
50. Barb.lat.407
51. Barb.lat.412
52. Barb.lat.421, Martyrologium, Regula S. Benedicti, etc: one of Lowe's Beneventan finds. 11th century.
53. Barb.lat.425
54. Barb.lat.431
55. Barb.lat.477
56. Barb.lat.478
57. Barb.lat.481
58. Barb.lat.484, with a most peculiar tree man holding an arbor juris at 178r, see above
59. Barb.lat.489
60. Barb.lat.492
61. Barb.lat.504
62. Barb.lat.505
63. Barb.lat.535: with another tree man, this time lacking the words in the boxes:
    
64. Barb.lat.549
65. Barb.lat.550
66. Barb.lat.556
67. Barb.lat.560, Missale. Written in ordinary 11th century minuscule. One line in 12th-century Beneventan writing, is added in the upper margin of fol. 16.
68. Barb.lat.572, Gregory, Homilae in Evangelium, Dialogi, Regula Pastoralis, 11th century, the first of a three-volume Gregory set. Michael Gorman (2002) has established that this was made at Monte Amiata, as proven by the BNZ monogram of the sacerdos et monachus Bonizo, perhaps master of the scriptorium, at fol 1, with the words D. Bonizo .... Me occide ...
     
    The seven alphabets at fols 128r-128v, interesting witnesses of 11th-century learning in Italy, are unfortunately barely legible.
69. Barb.lat.583, Saec. xiii. Vitae SS. (Lowe)
70. Barb.lat.586
71. Barb.lat.588, the Barberini Bible, an early giant bible without illustrations (above). 
72. Barb.lat.599
73. Barb.lat.603, Saec. xii/xiii. Missale. See Lowe p. 69.
74. Barb.lat.609
75. Barb.lat.625
76. Barb.lat.631, Saec. xi ex. Pontificale. See Lowe p. 73.
77. Barb.lat.634
78. Barb.lat.640
79. Barb.lat.664
80. Barb.lat.676
81. Barb.lat.700
82. Barb.lat.702, Lives of Saints. Originally at the Abbey of Monte Amiata: Michael Gorman quotes from a list by Fernando Ughelli (see below).
83. Barb.lat.703
84. Barb.lat.713
85. Barb.lat.714
86. Barb.lat.729
87. Barb.lat.849
88. Barb.lat.856
89. Barb.lat.860
90. Barb.lat.869
91. Barb.lat.870
92. Barb.lat.872
93. Barb.lat.904
94. Barb.lat.969
95. Barb.lat.1117
96. Barb.lat.1189
97. Barb.lat.1201
98. Barb.lat.1259
99. Barb.lat.1367
100. Barb.lat.1369
101. Barb.lat.1398
102. Barb.lat.1411
103. Barb.lat.1431
104. Barb.lat.1463
105. Barb.lat.1487
106. Barb.lat.1533
107. Barb.lat.1544
108. Barb.lat.1589
109. Barb.lat.1590
110. Barb.lat.1626
111. Barb.lat.1656
112. Barb.lat.1702
113. Barb.lat.1705
114. Barb.lat.1723
115. Barb.lat.1744
116. Barb.lat.1747
117. Barb.lat.1748
118. Barb.lat.1805
119. Barb.lat.1809
120. Barb.lat.1813
121. Barb.lat.1816
122. Barb.lat.1820
123. Barb.lat.1822
124. Barb.lat.1849
125. Barb.lat.1850
126. Barb.lat.1862
127. Barb.lat.1868
128. Barb.lat.1871
129. Barb.lat.1896
130. Barb.lat.1919
131. Barb.lat.1948
132. Barb.lat.1952
133. Barb.lat.1973
134. Barb.lat.1994
135. Barb.lat.1996
136. Barb.lat.2003
137. Barb.lat.2005
138. Barb.lat.2009
139. Barb.lat.2026
140. Barb.lat.2028
141. Barb.lat.2029
142. Barb.lat.2031
143. Barb.lat.2049
144. Barb.lat.2069
145. Barb.lat.2096
146. Barb.lat.2097
147. Barb.lat.2111
148. Barb.lat.2113
149. Barb.lat.2138
150. Barb.lat.2141
151. Barb.lat.2148
152. Barb.lat.2153
153. Barb.lat.2163
154. Barb.lat.2192
155. Barb.lat.2227
156. Barb.lat.2290
157. Barb.lat.2291
158. Barb.lat.2300
159. Barb.lat.2302
160. Barb.lat.2323
161. Barb.lat.2327
162. Barb.lat.2351
163. Barb.lat.2375
164. Barb.lat.2422
165. Barb.lat.2429
166. Barb.lat.2434
167. Barb.lat.2445
168. Barb.lat.2470
169. Barb.lat.2496
170. Barb.lat.2509
171. Barb.lat.2517
172. Barb.lat.2545
173. Barb.lat.2558
174. Barb.lat.2565
175. Barb.lat.2567
176. Barb.lat.2570
177. Barb.lat.2602
178. Barb.lat.2621
179. Barb.lat.2626
180. Barb.lat.2630
181. Barb.lat.2647
182. Barb.lat.2661
183. Barb.lat.2670
184. Barb.lat.2679
185. Barb.lat.2680
186. Barb.lat.2720
187. Barb.lat.2732
188. Barb.lat.2741
189. Barb.lat.2799
190. Barb.lat.2802
191. Barb.lat.2805
192. Barb.lat.2818
193. Barb.lat.2825
194. Barb.lat.2849
195. Barb.lat.2850
196. Barb.lat.2870
197. Barb.lat.2874
198. Barb.lat.2877
199. Barb.lat.2897
200. Barb.lat.3021
201. Barb.lat.3055
202. Barb.lat.3074
203. Barb.lat.3075
204. Barb.lat.3076
205. Barb.lat.3092
206. Barb.lat.3108
207. Barb.lat.3115
208. Barb.lat.3118
209. Barb.lat.3122
210. Barb.lat.3131
211. Barb.lat.3146
212. Barb.lat.3147
213. Barb.lat.3150.pt.1
214. Barb.lat.3151
215. Barb.lat.3154
216. Barb.lat.3158
217. Barb.lat.3169
218. Barb.lat.3185
219. Barb.lat.3204, the first of a series of volumes (to Barb.lat 3249) containing notes and sources used by Fernando Ughelli (Wikipedia) for his history Italia Sacra, many of the sources being the oldest of their type.
220. Barb.lat.3205
221. Barb.lat.3206
222. Barb.lat.3209
223. Barb.lat.3210
224. Barb.lat.3214
225. Barb.lat.3216
226. Barb.lat.3217
227. Barb.lat.3221
228. Barb.lat.3222
229. Barb.lat.3229
230. Barb.lat.3231
231. Barb.lat.3234
232. Barb.lat.3242
233. Barb.lat.3243
234. Barb.lat.3246 , the last of the Ughelli volumes in this release
235. Barb.lat.3469
236. Barb.lat.3476
237. Barb.lat.3491
238. Barb.lat.3492
239. Barb.lat.3494
240. Barb.lat.3510
241. Barb.lat.3515
242. Barb.lat.3536
243. Barb.lat.3548
244. Barb.lat.3552
245. Barb.lat.3556
246. Barb.lat.3559
247. Barb.lat.3560
248. Barb.lat.3562
249. Barb.lat.3574
250. Barb.lat.3589
251. Barb.lat.3602
252. Barb.lat.3608
253. Barb.lat.3611
254. Barb.lat.3665
255. Barb.lat.3693
256. Barb.lat.3707
257. Barb.lat.3709
258. Barb.lat.3711
259. Barb.lat.3713
260. Barb.lat.3715
261. Barb.lat.3743
262. Barb.lat.3776
263. Barb.lat.3795
264. Barb.lat.3800
265. Barb.lat.3803
266. Barb.lat.3872
267. Barb.lat.3895
268. Barb.lat.3901
269. Barb.lat.3910
270. Barb.lat.3913
271. Barb.lat.3917
272. Barb.lat.3924
273. Barb.lat.3929
274. Barb.lat.3931
275. Barb.lat.3945
276. Barb.lat.3949
277. Barb.lat.3955
278. Barb.lat.3964
279. Barb.lat.3971
280. Barb.lat.3972
281. Barb.lat.3983
282. Barb.lat.3986
283. Barb.lat.3994
284. Barb.lat.3999
285. Barb.lat.4000
286. Barb.lat.4001
287. Barb.lat.4004
288. Barb.lat.4011
289. Barb.lat.4017
290. Barb.lat.4018
291. Barb.lat.4019
292. Barb.lat.4026
293. Barb.lat.4032
294. Barb.lat.4035
295. Barb.lat.4036
296. Barb.lat.4038
297. Barb.lat.4039
298. Barb.lat.4040
299. Barb.lat.4041
300. Barb.lat.4047
301. Barb.lat.4048
302. Barb.lat.4050
303. Barb.lat.4057
304. Barb.lat.4058
305. Barb.lat.4059
306. Barb.lat.4064
307. Barb.lat.4065
308. Barb.lat.4069
309. Barb.lat.4080
310. Barb.lat.4084
311. Barb.lat.4089
312. Barb.lat.4094
313. Barb.lat.4097
314. Barb.lat.4103
315. Barb.lat.4105
316. Barb.lat.4106
317. Barb.lat.4109
318. Barb.lat.4110
319. Barb.lat.4118
320. Barb.lat.4133
321. Barb.lat.4135
322. Barb.lat.4139
323. Barb.lat.4141
324. Barb.lat.4143
325. Barb.lat.4144
326. Barb.lat.4145
327. Barb.lat.4148
328. Barb.lat.4149
329. Barb.lat.4151
330. Barb.lat.4153
331. Barb.lat.4155
332. Barb.lat.4156
333. Barb.lat.4157
334. Barb.lat.4158
335. Barb.lat.4162
336. Barb.lat.4163
337. Barb.lat.4168
338. Barb.lat.4173
339. Barb.lat.4175
340. Barb.lat.4176
341. Barb.lat.4177
342. Barb.lat.4179
343. Barb.lat.4183
344. Barb.lat.4184
345. Barb.lat.4187
346. Barb.lat.4193
347. Barb.lat.4194
348. Barb.lat.4195
349. Barb.lat.4197
350. Barb.lat.4200
351. Barb.lat.4202
352. Barb.lat.4203
353. Barb.lat.4205
354. Barb.lat.4206
355. Barb.lat.4207
356. Barb.lat.4210
357. Barb.lat.4211
358. Barb.lat.4212
359. Barb.lat.4219
360. Barb.lat.4231
361. Barb.lat.4232
362. Barb.lat.4264
363. Barb.lat.4265
364. Barb.lat.4288
365. Barb.lat.4290
366. Barb.lat.4296
367. Barb.lat.4302
368. Barb.lat.4303
369. Barb.lat.4313
370. Barb.lat.4314
371. Barb.lat.4315
372. Barb.lat.4316
373. Barb.lat.4318
374. Barb.lat.4321
375. Barb.lat.4322
376. Barb.lat.4342
377. Barb.lat.4363
378. Barb.lat.4372
379. Barb.lat.4376
380. Barb.lat.4380
381. Barb.lat.4386
382. Barb.lat.4387
383. Barb.lat.4388
384. Barb.lat.4389
385. Barb.lat.4390
386. Barb.lat.4402
387. Barb.lat.4403
388. Barb.lat.4405
389. Barb.lat.4406
390. Barb.lat.4410
391. Barb.lat.4416
392. Barb.lat.4417
393. Barb.lat.4418
394. Barb.lat.4419
395. Barb.lat.4420
396. Barb.lat.4423
397. Barb.lat.4428
398. Barb.lat.4429
399. Barb.lat.4430
400. Barb.lat.4436
401. Barb.lat.4512
402. Barb.lat.4539
403. Barb.lat.4591
404. Barb.lat.4591.pt.B
405. Barb.lat.4603
406. Barb.lat.4613
407. Barb.lat.4649
408. Barb.lat.4657
409. Barb.lat.4660
410. Barb.lat.4669
411. Barb.lat.4671
412. Barb.lat.4698
413. Barb.lat.4699
414. Barb.lat.4702
415. Barb.lat.4709
416. Barb.lat.4735
417. Barb.lat.4737
418. Barb.lat.4738
419. Barb.lat.4782
420. Barb.lat.4791
421. Barb.lat.4842
422. Barb.lat.4844
423. Barb.lat.4849
424. Barb.lat.4851
425. Barb.lat.4863
426. Barb.lat.4901
427. Barb.lat.4904
428. Barb.lat.4920
429. Barb.lat.4923
430. Barb.lat.4931
431. Barb.lat.4953
432. Barb.lat.4975
433. Barb.lat.5003
434. Barb.lat.5004
435. Barb.lat.5036
436. Barb.lat.5040
437. Barb.lat.5053
438. Barb.lat.5059
439. Barb.lat.5063
440. Barb.lat.5093
441. Barb.lat.5121
442. Barb.lat.5136
443. Barb.lat.5182
444. Barb.lat.5195
445. Barb.lat.5204
446. Barb.lat.5205
447. Barb.lat.5219
448. Barb.lat.5222
449. Barb.lat.5236
450. Barb.lat.5253
451. Barb.lat.5256
452. Barb.lat.5273
453. Barb.lat.5286
454. Barb.lat.5296
455. Barb.lat.5297
456. Barb.lat.5302
457. Barb.lat.5312
458. Barb.lat.5325
459. Barb.lat.5328
460. Barb.lat.5329
461. Barb.lat.5331
462. Barb.lat.5333
463. Barb.lat.5334
464. Barb.lat.5336
465. Barb.lat.5351
466. Barb.lat.5353
467. Barb.lat.5356
468. Barb.lat.5361
469. Barb.lat.5367
470. Barb.lat.5371
471. Barb.lat.5386
472. Barb.lat.5403
473. Barb.lat.5421
474. Barb.lat.5425
475. Barb.lat.5626
476. Barb.lat.5629
477. Barb.lat.5631
478. Barb.lat.5641
479. Barb.lat.5652
480. Barb.lat.5655
481. Barb.lat.5656
482. Barb.lat.5662
483. Barb.lat.5678
484. Barb.lat.5688
485. Barb.lat.5689
486. Barb.lat.5694
487. Barb.lat.5697
488. Barb.lat.5701
489. Barb.lat.5708
490. Barb.lat.5713
491. Barb.lat.5717
492. Barb.lat.5721
493. Barb.lat.5723
494. Barb.lat.5724
495. Barb.lat.5726
496. Barb.lat.5727
497. Barb.lat.5728
498. Barb.lat.5729
499. Barb.lat.5730
500. Barb.lat.5731
501. Barb.lat.5732
502. Barb.lat.5733
503. Barb.lat.5734
504. Barb.lat.5735
505. Barb.lat.5736
506. Barb.lat.5737
507. Barb.lat.5738
508. Barb.lat.5744
509. Barb.lat.5752
510. Barb.lat.5781
511. Barb.lat.5788
512. Barb.lat.5807
513. Barb.lat.5904
514. Barb.lat.5962
515. Barb.lat.5963
516. Barb.lat.6004
517. Barb.lat.6024
518. Barb.lat.6077
519. Barb.lat.6099
520. Barb.lat.6157
521. Barb.lat.6189
522. Barb.lat.6207
523. Barb.lat.6217
524. Barb.lat.6218
525. Barb.lat.6223
526. Barb.lat.6224
527. Barb.lat.6226
528. Barb.lat.6235
529. Barb.lat.6237
530. Barb.lat.6260
531. Barb.lat.6261
532. Barb.lat.6334
533. Barb.lat.6335
534. Barb.lat.6336
535. Barb.lat.6341
536. Barb.lat.6343
537. Barb.lat.6344
538. Barb.lat.6345
539. Barb.lat.6357
540. Barb.lat.6367
541. Barb.lat.6368
542. Barb.lat.6373
543. Barb.lat.6383
544. Barb.lat.6388
545. Barb.lat.6456
546. Barb.lat.6457
547. Barb.lat.6459
548. Barb.lat.6460
549. Barb.lat.6461
550. Barb.lat.6464
551. Barb.lat.6467
552. Barb.lat.6468
553. Barb.lat.6472
554. Barb.lat.6477
555. Barb.lat.6478
556. Barb.lat.6487
557. Barb.lat.6489
558. Barb.lat.6490
559. Barb.lat.6499
560. Barb.lat.6503
561. Barb.lat.6504
562. Barb.lat.6510
563. Barb.lat.6517
564. Barb.lat.6521
565. Barb.lat.6531
566. Barb.lat.6542
567. Barb.lat.6544
568. Barb.lat.6546
569. Barb.lat.6549
570. Barb.lat.6557
571. Barb.lat.6563
572. Barb.lat.6564
573. Barb.lat.6565
574. Barb.lat.6568
575. Barb.lat.6584
576. Barb.lat.6599
577. Barb.lat.6649
578. Barb.lat.6650
579. Barb.lat.6651
580. Barb.lat.6652
581. Barb.lat.6653
582. Barb.lat.6654
583. Barb.lat.6660
584. Barb.lat.6670
585. Barb.lat.6671
586. Barb.lat.6697
587. Barb.lat.6728
588. Barb.lat.6744
589. Barb.lat.6764
590. Barb.lat.6767
591. Barb.lat.6812
592. Barb.lat.6813
593. Barb.lat.6871
594. Barb.lat.6883
595. Barb.lat.6898
596. Barb.lat.6905
597. Barb.lat.6906
598. Barb.lat.6920
599. Barb.lat.6929
600. Barb.lat.6930
601. Barb.lat.6931
602. Barb.lat.6935
603. Barb.lat.6939
604. Barb.lat.6943
605. Barb.lat.6944
606. Barb.lat.6946
607. Barb.lat.6948
608. Barb.lat.6956
609. Barb.lat.6960
610. Barb.lat.6964
611. Barb.lat.6985
612. Barb.lat.6986
613. Barb.lat.7004
614. Barb.lat.7005
615. Barb.lat.7006
616. Barb.lat.7007
617. Barb.lat.7017
618. Barb.lat.7025
619. Barb.lat.7029
620. Barb.lat.7045
621. Barb.lat.7046
622. Barb.lat.7050
623. Barb.lat.7053
624. Barb.lat.7060
625. Barb.lat.7063
626. Barb.lat.7196
627. Barb.lat.7198
628. Barb.lat.7205
629. Barb.lat.7206
630. Barb.lat.7211
631. Barb.lat.7213
632. Barb.lat.7220
633. Barb.lat.7223
634. Barb.lat.7234
635. Barb.lat.7252
636. Barb.lat.7289
637. Barb.lat.7412
638. Barb.lat.7428
639. Barb.lat.7461
640. Barb.lat.7587
641. Barb.lat.7789
642. Barb.lat.7801
643. Barb.lat.7817
644. Barb.lat.7863
645. Barb.lat.7962
646. Barb.lat.8043
647. Barb.lat.8105
648. Barb.lat.8175
649. Barb.lat.8178
650. Barb.lat.8210
651. Barb.lat.8268
652. Barb.lat.8404
653. Barb.lat.8445
654. Barb.lat.8446
655. Barb.lat.8447
656. Barb.lat.8448
657. Barb.lat.8449
658. Barb.lat.8450
659. Barb.lat.8451
660. Barb.lat.8452
661. Barb.lat.8453
662. Barb.lat.8454
663. Barb.lat.8455
664. Barb.lat.8456
665. Barb.lat.8458
666. Barb.lat.8463
667. Barb.lat.8464
668. Barb.lat.8483
669. Barb.lat.8535
670. Barb.lat.8536
671. Barb.lat.8563
672. Barb.lat.8578
673. Barb.lat.8583
674. Barb.lat.8586
675. Barb.lat.8600
676. Barb.lat.8616
677. Barb.lat.8626
678. Barb.lat.8725
679. Barb.lat.8759
680. Barb.lat.8783
681. Barb.lat.8806
682. Barb.lat.8927
683. Barb.lat.8928
684. Barb.lat.8951
685. Barb.lat.8979
686. Barb.lat.9192
687. Barb.lat.9231
688. Barb.lat.9271
689. Barb.lat.9289
690. Barb.lat.9290
691. Barb.lat.9291
692. Barb.lat.9292
693. Barb.lat.9293
694. Barb.lat.9294
695. Barb.lat.9295
696. Barb.lat.9296
697. Barb.lat.9300
698. Barb.lat.9395
699. Barb.lat.9405
700. Barb.lat.9463
701. Barb.lat.9613
702. Barb.lat.9636
703. Barb.lat.9642
704. Barb.lat.9746
705. Barb.lat.9901
706. Barb.lat.9905
707. Barb.lat.9920
708. Barb.lat.10043
709. Barb.lat.10074
710. Barb.lat.10092
711. Barb.lat.10796
712. Barb.lat.10797

This is Piggin's Unofficial List number 92. If you have corrections or additions, please use the comments box below. Follow me on Twitter (@JBPiggin) for news of more additions to DigiVatLib.

Flemish Hours

Does the world need another illuminated Book of Hours? These private prayer-books from about 500 years ago are fairly common on the art market. But some at the Vatican Library are such superb works of art that the answer has to be a resounding yes.

The latest batch of digitizations includes a wonderful prayer book for the use of Rome, attributed to an anonymous artist known as "the Master of James IV of Scotland". Dates between 1495 and 1520 have been suggested, and a Flemish origin seems proven. For the extraordinary quality, look at the iridescent wings on the angels here at the Last Judgement at fol. 222v:

As noted earlier this week, the Vatican Library is following a new policy of posting quick-and-dirty digital copies of its black-and-white microfilms as placeholders until it gets around to doing a proper color scan of each book.

In the upload of January 23, 2017, almost all 3,950 new items were marked "low quality", though a good number are actually proper scans. This seems have been for convenience only, since the "low quality" flag must next be replaced in many cases with a color thumbnail of a particularly pretty page from the scan.

I suppose some unfortunate individual will be given the tedious job of relabeling the scans (it would be an ideal penalty for the evil reader who spills smuggled Coca-Cola on a manuscript). Most if not all of the manuscripts listed below are in fact scans, not microfilms. I have marked all those full scans I have checked with the note "(color)".

Here is the list of 51 new items in the main Vat.lat. series:

1. Vat.lat.1040, Thomas Bradwardine Against the Pelagians (color)
2. Vat.lat.1113, Andredus Gonteri (color)
3. Vat.lat.1174, Praepositinus, 13th century (color)
4. Vat.lat.1769, Quintilian and Seneca in a 14th-century manuscript (color)
   
5. Vat.lat.1942, Biondo Flavio (color)
6. Vat.lat.1958, Pliny the Younger and a commentary by Leonardo Bruni, 15th century (color)
7. Vat.lat.2151, Walter Burley's commentaries on Aristotle (color)
8. Vat.lat.3057, Albert of Saxony (color)
9. Vat.lat.3136, Legends of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem: in French, 1342 (color)
10. Vat.lat.3211, poetry, Italian (color)
11. Vat.lat.3770, volume 1 of  a magnificent 3-volume Flemish book of hours (above) (color)
12. Vat.lat.3781, another book of hours (color)
13. Vat.lat.3828, homiliary (color)
14. Vat.lat.3966, a-15th century Register of Loans from the Vatican Library. For some time the Vatican let its library books circulate (what a dream!). Borrowers themselves entered "Ego..", their names and the titles of the books they took out in registers like this one (the second in the loans series), and the librarian criss-crossed the entry when the books came back. (color)
    
15. Vat.lat.4863,
16. Vat.lat.4962,
17. Vat.lat.5379,
18. Vat.lat.6767,
19. Vat.lat.7194,
20. Vat.lat.7260,
21. Vat.lat.7616,
22. Vat.lat.8193.pt.3,
23. Vat.lat.9015,
24. Vat.lat.9112,
25. Vat.lat.9839.pt.1,
26. Vat.lat.9839.pt.2,
27. Vat.lat.9843.pt.A,
28. Vat.lat.10191,
29. Vat.lat.10498,
30. Vat.lat.10959, a single leaf from a fifth-century African uncial run-together-writing manuscript of Cyprian, Epistulae. This two-column book later ended up at Bobbio, Italy, where the monks tore it up for re-use, employing this page as a fly-leaf.  TM 66155 = Lowe, CLA 4 458. The scan is in full color and includes a scholarly article by C. H. Turner about the leaf, plus the legacy whereby it came to the Vatican. (color)
    
31. Vat.lat.11732,
32. Vat.lat.12383,
33. Vat.lat.12431,
34. Vat.lat.12540,
35. Vat.lat.12838,
36. Vat.lat.13002,
37. Vat.lat.13064,
38. Vat.lat.13440,
39. Vat.lat.13487,
40. Vat.lat.13491,
41. Vat.lat.13932,
42. Vat.lat.14109,
43. Vat.lat.14166,
44. Vat.lat.14475.pt.1,
45. Vat.lat.14475.pt.2,
46. Vat.lat.14475.pt.3,
47. Vat.lat.14478, old catalog of printed books at Vatican library (HT to Pieter Beullens (@LatinAristotle))
48. Vat.lat.14586, a miscellaneous collection of papal chancery documents. Folio 7r is the original letter from abbot Egino of Augsburg, Germany complaining at the conflict Bishop Hermann of Augsburg had with him, written in 1118 to Pope Paschal II. (PND11859186X) (color)
49. Vat.lat.14620, perspective drawings of St Peter's (color)
50. Vat.lat.15395, handwritten catalog of the old (Palatine?) library (color)
51. Vat.lat.15396, ditto (color)

This is Piggin's Unofficial List number 91. If you have corrections or additions, please use the comments box below. Follow me on Twitter (@JBPiggin) for news of more additions to DigiVatLib.

Leonardo da Vinci

At his death in 1519, Leonardo da Vinci is said to have left 18 notebooks containing his analyses on painting and other topics. Ten of the notebooks have vanished, and we must rely on transcripts from them which Leonardo's literary executor, Francesco Melzi, compiled some time before 1542.

This compilation, the Trattato della pittura, must have existed and circulated in multiple copies, but only a single one, which once belonged to the artist-monk Matteo Zaccolini (1574–1630), survives.

This unique document is now held by the Vatican Apostolic Library as Urb.lat.1270. This week a digital version of the black-and-white microfilm of the manuscript arrived online, holding the place in the digital library for the color scan which will be made some time in the future.

Leonardo wrote on how to draw a vast range of subjects including even the ramifications of trees (fol. 245r):

His words read: Quando la pianta maestra si dividerà in uno o piú rami principali ad una medesima altezza, allora i margini delle giunture di tali rami si faranno piú alti a riscontro l'uno dell'altro che inverso il centro dell'albero, inverso il quale rimarranno gran concavità. (Section 819 in the Italian edition of 1947).


Here is the full list of 106 Urb.lat. digitizations on January 24:

1. Urb.lat.172
2. Urb.lat.195
3. Urb.lat.221
4. Urb.lat.227
5. Urb.lat.234, Haly Abbas, medical text, HT to Pieter Beullens (@LatinAristotle) who points out a good color photo of folio 1r at the MacKinney Collection
6. Urb.lat.244
7. Urb.lat.247
8. Urb.lat.274
9. Urb.lat.283
10. Urb.lat.308, the Grammatica by Diomedes, the Ars Grammatica of Alcuin and other works. Written in Ferrara, Italy in about 1475-1480 (see Grafton's Rome Reborn description).
11. Urb.lat.353
12. Urb.lat.359
13. Urb.lat.376
14. Urb.lat.411
15. Urb.lat.413
16. Urb.lat.458
17. Urb.lat.487
18. Urb.lat.497
19. Urb.lat.498.pt.1
20. Urb.lat.498.pt.2
21. Urb.lat.546
22. Urb.lat.638
23. Urb.lat.750
24. Urb.lat.799
25. Urb.lat.818.pt.2
26. Urb.lat.819.pt.1
27. Urb.lat.819.pt.2
28. Urb.lat.844
29. Urb.lat.852.pt.1
30. Urb.lat.852.pt.2
31. Urb.lat.856.pt.1
32. Urb.lat.898
33. Urb.lat.959
34. Urb.lat.1012
35. Urb.lat.1016
36. Urb.lat.1043
37. Urb.lat.1044
38. Urb.lat.1046
39. Urb.lat.1051
40. Urb.lat.1054
41. Urb.lat.1055
42. Urb.lat.1067
43. Urb.lat.1068
44. Urb.lat.1069
45. Urb.lat.1070
46. Urb.lat.1077
47. Urb.lat.1082
48. Urb.lat.1086
49. Urb.lat.1093
50. Urb.lat.1100
51. Urb.lat.1105
52. Urb.lat.1109
53. Urb.lat.1110
54. Urb.lat.1111
55. Urb.lat.1112
56. Urb.lat.1113
57. Urb.lat.1125
58. Urb.lat.1203
59. Urb.lat.1206
60. Urb.lat.1231
61. Urb.lat.1251
62. Urb.lat.1252
63. Urb.lat.1270, Trattato della pittura of Leonardo da Vinci (above). See Wikipedia.
64. Urb.lat.1272
65. Urb.lat.1280
66. Urb.lat.1308
67. Urb.lat.1319
68. Urb.lat.1329, a book of scientific works including the Optics by Euclid in Latin translation (see Grafton's Rome Reborn description) and a translation of Muḥammad ibn Mūsá Khuwārizmī's Jabr wa-al-muqābalah by Gerard of Cremona, given the Latin title "Liber algebre et almuchabala." SLUL record. Here is a perspective drawing of a street from folio 1r:
    
69. Urb.lat.1357
70. Urb.lat.1370
71. Urb.lat.1377
72. Urb.lat.1383
73. Urb.lat.1384
74. Urb.lat.1385
75. Urb.lat.1390
76. Urb.lat.1393
77. Urb.lat.1396
78. Urb.lat.1397
79. Urb.lat.1401
80. Urb.lat.1414
81. Urb.lat.1439
82. Urb.lat.1449
83. Urb.lat.1468
84. Urb.lat.1492
85. Urb.lat.1516-1520
86. Urb.lat.1568
87. Urb.lat.1572
88. Urb.lat.1585
89. Urb.lat.1624
90. Urb.lat.1626
91. Urb.lat.1629.pt.1
92. Urb.lat.1629.pt.2
93. Urb.lat.1643
94. Urb.lat.1650
95. Urb.lat.1681
96. Urb.lat.1690
97. Urb.lat.1697
98. Urb.lat.1699
99. Urb.lat.1703
100. Urb.lat.1704
101. Urb.lat.1719
102. Urb.lat.1728
103. Urb.lat.1739
104. Urb.lat.1757
105. Urb.lat.1761
106. Urb.lat.1763

This is Piggin's Unofficial List number 90. If you have corrections or additions, please use the comments box below. Follow me on Twitter (@JBPiggin) for news of more additions to DigiVatLib.

Throwback to Microfilm

In an extraordinary change of policy, the Vatican Library appears to have given up its emphasis on digitally color-scanning its manuscripts for online release. Instead it is following the cheap and cheerful option of posting images of its old black-and-white microfilm online. This explains how, just after noon on January 23, 2017, it was able in one fell swoop to post images of nearly 4,000 new manuscripts.

The manuscripts portal, now boasts links to an impressive 10,338 manuscripts, probably making it from this date the biggest single online library in the the world of medieval and early modern hand-penned books.

However the retrograde step to low quality is disappointing. Microfilming of the Vatican manuscripts began in the 1950s and the quality of these grainy black and white images is far below what scholars expect nowadays. In many cases words are entirely illegible or lost in dark folds and gutters. The illuminations are often just murky patches of grey.

Color scanning was an enormous advance. The books are laid in cradles under shadowless light and photographed from two angles, with the images then post-processed. The Library is being frank about this downgrade and is marking the microfilms as "low quality", but offers no explanation of why it is changing course. [Later note: there has since been an assurance that these manuscripts will be color-scanned, and that the black-and-white versions are merely stopgaps.]

I may not be able to offer you a complete list of this massive release as the work required to collate it would simply be beyond my time and resources. But here is a small sample: the Reginense latino series, has suddenly grown from 93 items to 492. All of the 399 additions are marked  "low quality" though many really did deserve better treatment:

1. Reg.lat.19
2. Reg.lat.21
3. Reg.lat.27
4. Reg.lat.29
5. Reg.lat.37
6. Reg.lat.49
7. Reg.lat.52
8. Reg.lat.66
9. Reg.lat.67
10. Reg.lat.69, Carolingian? with Alcuin, John the Deacon and others.
11. Reg.lat.75
12. Reg.lat.91
13. Reg.lat.93
14. Reg.lat.96
15. Reg.lat.99
16. Reg.lat.106
17. Reg.lat.107,
18. Reg.lat.116
19. Reg.lat.117
20. Reg.lat.122
21. Reg.lat.124, Rabanus Maurus: De laudibus sanctae crucis: A principal copy made in 825 or 826: read this introduction to the Liber de_laudibus_Sanctae_Crucis. On the author: Wikipedia. The reproduction of this beautiful book is in fact a color scan
    
22. Reg.lat.125
23. Reg.lat.126
24. Reg.lat.129
25. Reg.lat.132
26. Reg.lat.133
27. Reg.lat.134
28. Reg.lat.140
29. Reg.lat.141
30. Reg.lat.147
31. Reg.lat.150
32. Reg.lat.160
33. Reg.lat.162
34. Reg.lat.167
35. Reg.lat.185
36. Reg.lat.187
37. Reg.lat.191
38. Reg.lat.193
39. Reg.lat.194
40. Reg.lat.195
41. Reg.lat.201
42. Reg.lat.215
43. Reg.lat.219
44. Reg.lat.222
45. Reg.lat.224
46. Reg.lat.230
47. Reg.lat.234
48. Reg.lat.251
49. Reg.lat.255
50. Reg.lat.258
51. Reg.lat.263
52. Reg.lat.272
53. Reg.lat.274
54. Reg.lat.280
55. Reg.lat.288
56. Reg.lat.294
57. Reg.lat.296
58. Reg.lat.300
59. Reg.lat.304
60. Reg.lat.306
61. Reg.lat.309, a copy of a famed Carolingian compendium of astronomy, the Handbook of 809. Horrible imaging:
    
62. Reg.lat.310
63. Reg.lat.318
64. Reg.lat.324
65. Reg.lat.333
66. Reg.lat.338
67. Reg.lat.342
68. Reg.lat.343
69. Reg.lat.344
70. Reg.lat.348
71. Reg.lat.358
72. Reg.lat.373
73. Reg.lat.377
74. Reg.lat.378
75. Reg.lat.379
76. Reg.lat.385.pt.1
77. Reg.lat.385.pt.2
78. Reg.lat.388
79. Reg.lat.399
80. Reg.lat.407
81. Reg.lat.424
82. Reg.lat.426
83. Reg.lat.430
84. Reg.lat.432
85. Reg.lat.453
86. Reg.lat.455
87. Reg.lat.457
88. Reg.lat.463
89. Reg.lat.467
90. Reg.lat.469
91. Reg.lat.470
92. Reg.lat.471
93. Reg.lat.477
94. Reg.lat.479
95. Reg.lat.480
96. Reg.lat.481
97. Reg.lat.482
98. Reg.lat.484
99. Reg.lat.486
100. Reg.lat.489
101. Reg.lat.497, contains a single folio of the Old English history of the Viking Ohthere of Hålogaland (Wikipedia)
102. Reg.lat.498
103. Reg.lat.499
104. Reg.lat.500
105. Reg.lat.509
106. Reg.lat.516
107. Reg.lat.517
108. Reg.lat.520
109. Reg.lat.521
110. Reg.lat.522
111. Reg.lat.523
112. Reg.lat.524
113. Reg.lat.529
114. Reg.lat.532
115. Reg.lat.535
116. Reg.lat.539
117. Reg.lat.540
118. Reg.lat.541
119. Reg.lat.543
120. Reg.lat.544
121. Reg.lat.548
122. Reg.lat.553.pt.1
123. Reg.lat.553.pt.2
124. Reg.lat.556.pt.1
125. Reg.lat.556.pt.2
126. Reg.lat.558
127. Reg.lat.561
128. Reg.lat.562
129. Reg.lat.566, the only existing manuscript of the Epitoma of Helgaud
130. Reg.lat.568
131. Reg.lat.571
132. Reg.lat.572
133. Reg.lat.576
134. Reg.lat.577
135. Reg.lat.578
136. Reg.lat.579
137. Reg.lat.580
138. Reg.lat.582
139. Reg.lat.585
140. Reg.lat.592
141. Reg.lat.593
142. Reg.lat.596
143. Reg.lat.598
144. Reg.lat.605
145. Reg.lat.606
146. Reg.lat.610
147. Reg.lat.612
148. Reg.lat.616
149. Reg.lat.620
150. Reg.lat.621
151. Reg.lat.624
152. Reg.lat.630
153. Reg.lat.631
154. Reg.lat.633.pt.1
155. Reg.lat.633.pt.2
156. Reg.lat.641
157. Reg.lat.644
158. Reg.lat.648
159. Reg.lat.657
160. Reg.lat.658
161. Reg.lat.666
162. Reg.lat.667
163. Reg.lat.668
164. Reg.lat.669
165. Reg.lat.672
166. Reg.lat.673
167. Reg.lat.681
168. Reg.lat.692
169. Reg.lat.694
170. Reg.lat.703.pt.1
171. Reg.lat.703.pt.2
172. Reg.lat.712
173. Reg.lat.722
174. Reg.lat.727
175. Reg.lat.729
176. Reg.lat.736
177. Reg.lat.738
178. Reg.lat.744.pt.1
179. Reg.lat.744.pt.2
180. Reg.lat.745
181. Reg.lat.750
182. Reg.lat.755
183. Reg.lat.760
184. Reg.lat.763
185. Reg.lat.767
186. Reg.lat.768
187. Reg.lat.774
188. Reg.lat.776
189. Reg.lat.777
190. Reg.lat.781
191. Reg.lat.787
192. Reg.lat.791
193. Reg.lat.807
194. Reg.lat.827
195. Reg.lat.830
196. Reg.lat.832
197. Reg.lat.833
198. Reg.lat.834
199. Reg.lat.835
200. Reg.lat.838
201. Reg.lat.846
202. Reg.lat.849
203. Reg.lat.852
204. Reg.lat.857
205. Reg.lat.859
206. Reg.lat.863
207. Reg.lat.868
208. Reg.lat.902
209. Reg.lat.920
210. Reg.lat.921
211. Reg.lat.923
212. Reg.lat.931
213. Reg.lat.936
214. Reg.lat.937
215. Reg.lat.944
216. Reg.lat.951
217. Reg.lat.971
218. Reg.lat.973
219. Reg.lat.977
220. Reg.lat.982
221. Reg.lat.992
222. Reg.lat.1003
223. Reg.lat.1010
224. Reg.lat.1023, this is one of the most important Roman law texts with various arbor juris schemata. Most are semi-illegible:
     
225. Reg.lat.1048
226. Reg.lat.1050
227. Reg.lat.1054
228. Reg.lat.1061
229. Reg.lat.1099
230. Reg.lat.1104
231. Reg.lat.1115
232. Reg.lat.1123
233. Reg.lat.1127
234. Reg.lat.1128
235. Reg.lat.1131
236. Reg.lat.1140
237. Reg.lat.1145
238. Reg.lat.1148
239. Reg.lat.1171
240. Reg.lat.1177
241. Reg.lat.1205
242. Reg.lat.1209
243. Reg.lat.1220
244. Reg.lat.1238
245. Reg.lat.1241
246. Reg.lat.1245
247. Reg.lat.1253
248. Reg.lat.1260
249. Reg.lat.1263
250. Reg.lat.1268
251. Reg.lat.1272
252. Reg.lat.1276
253. Reg.lat.1281
254. Reg.lat.1282
255. Reg.lat.1290
256. Reg.lat.1294
257. Reg.lat.1297.pt.1
258. Reg.lat.1297.pt.2
259. Reg.lat.1315
260. Reg.lat.1352
261. Reg.lat.1354
262. Reg.lat.1357
263. Reg.lat.1364
264. Reg.lat.1370, the earliest grammar (1437 – 1441) of a Romance language (Tuscan). See HistoryofInformation.com and Cecil Grayson.
265. Reg.lat.1385
266. Reg.lat.1388
267. Reg.lat.1389
268. Reg.lat.1391
269. Reg.lat.1418
270. Reg.lat.1421
271. Reg.lat.1429
272. Reg.lat.1431
273. Reg.lat.1442
274. Reg.lat.1446
275. Reg.lat.1456
276. Reg.lat.1461
277. Reg.lat.1479
278. Reg.lat.1481
279. Reg.lat.1486
280. Reg.lat.1490, Chansonnier cangé: see an account of the trobairitz female troubadours.
     
281. Reg.lat.1495
282. Reg.lat.1496
283. Reg.lat.1501
284. Reg.lat.1505
285. Reg.lat.1511
286. Reg.lat.1513
287. Reg.lat.1516
288. Reg.lat.1517
289. Reg.lat.1519
290. Reg.lat.1531
291. Reg.lat.1541
292. Reg.lat.1549
293. Reg.lat.1553, an early 9th-century copy of the Bern Riddles
294. Reg.lat.1555
295. Reg.lat.1556
296. Reg.lat.1557
297. Reg.lat.1560
298. Reg.lat.1569
299. Reg.lat.1570
300. Reg.lat.1572, this is a most remarkable manuscript, uniquely containing a previously lost Latin philosophical text dating from antiquity, the missing part 3 of De Platone by the 2nd-century writer Apuleius. Justin Stover points out this discovery was made in 1949 by the historian of philosophy Raymond Klibansky, who neither disclosed the location nor published any edition by the time of his death in 2005. [Justin Stover kindly points out (comment below) that Klibansky did reveal the shelfmark in 1993, in his catalogue of the manuscripts of Apuleius' philosophical works, with Frank Regen, Die Handschriften der philosophischen Werke des Apuleius.] Here is the book's start at fol. 77r (frame 78): 
     
     Stover's edition, A New Work by Apuleius: The Lost Third Book of the De Platone, has since appeared with OUP. (HT to Pieter Buellens (@LatinAristotle).)
301. Reg.lat.1573
302. Reg.lat.1575
303. Reg.lat.1583
304. Reg.lat.1584
305. Reg.lat.1591
306. Reg.lat.1592
307. Reg.lat.1593
308. Reg.lat.1595
309. Reg.lat.1598
310. Reg.lat.1602
311. Reg.lat.1603
312. Reg.lat.1616
313. Reg.lat.1624
314. Reg.lat.1630
315. Reg.lat.1637.pt.1
316. Reg.lat.1637.pt.2
317. Reg.lat.1638
318. Reg.lat.1642
319. Reg.lat.1650
320. Reg.lat.1652
321. Reg.lat.1659
322. Reg.lat.1666
323. Reg.lat.1669
324. Reg.lat.1670
325. Reg.lat.1671
326. Reg.lat.1672
327. Reg.lat.1673
328. Reg.lat.1676
329. Reg.lat.1682
330. Reg.lat.1684
331. Reg.lat.1686
332. Reg.lat.1691
333. Reg.lat.1708
334. Reg.lat.1716
335. Reg.lat.1719
336. Reg.lat.1721
337. Reg.lat.1722
338. Reg.lat.1723
339. Reg.lat.1725
340. Reg.lat.1731
341. Reg.lat.1738
342. Reg.lat.1758
343. Reg.lat.1762
344. Reg.lat.1773
345. Reg.lat.1801
346. Reg.lat.1803
347. Reg.lat.1805
348. Reg.lat.1806
349. Reg.lat.1809
350. Reg.lat.1818
351. Reg.lat.1824
352. Reg.lat.1825
353. Reg.lat.1830
354. Reg.lat.1832
355. Reg.lat.1834
356. Reg.lat.1837
357. Reg.lat.1840
358. Reg.lat.1841
359. Reg.lat.1845
360. Reg.lat.1848
361. Reg.lat.1849
362. Reg.lat.1852
363. Reg.lat.1853
364. Reg.lat.1863
365. Reg.lat.1867
366. Reg.lat.1870
367. Reg.lat.1875
368. Reg.lat.1884
369. Reg.lat.1894
370. Reg.lat.1909
371. Reg.lat.1910
372. Reg.lat.1911
373. Reg.lat.1914
374. Reg.lat.1958
375. Reg.lat.1964
376. Reg.lat.1970
377. Reg.lat.1971
378. Reg.lat.1973
379. Reg.lat.1987
380. Reg.lat.2000
381. Reg.lat.2001
382. Reg.lat.2018
383. Reg.lat.2021, with Girolamo Mei, Letter to Vincenzo Galilei
384. Reg.lat.2023
385. Reg.lat.2043
386. Reg.lat.2049
387. Reg.lat.2052
388. Reg.lat.2061
389. Reg.lat.2062
390. Reg.lat.2071
391. Reg.lat.2077, Palimpsest, Lowe CLA 1 114 and 115
392. Reg.lat.2079
393. Reg.lat.2082
394. Reg.lat.2090
395. Reg.lat.2099
396. Reg.lat.2102
397. Reg.lat.2103
398. Reg.lat.2120
399. Reg.lat.???: item missed in my haste

This is Piggin's Unofficial List number 89. If you have corrections or additions, please use the comments box below. Follow me on Twitter (@JBPiggin) for news of more additions to DigiVatLib.