De viris illustribus urbis Romae (On the Illustrious Men of the City of Rome); list of ten kings of Egypt; epistolary formulas in Italian and Latin; [ANONYMOUS], Epistula Pilati ad Claudium (Letter of Pilate to Claudius); In Latin and Italian, manuscript on paper

In Italian and Latin, manuscript of paper, Northern Italy (Bergamo?), December 10, 1432. Dimensions 188 x 142 mm, missing the first leaf, otherwise the text appears complete, ruled in lead with full-length vertical bounding lines ruled in blind (justification 138 x 97 mm.), ff. 1-27 written by Michaelis de Pergamo in a Gothico-Antiqua script in 24 long lines, f. 27 written in a script similar to the main text, ff. 27v and 28, copied in humanist cursive scripts (likely added by the scribe or early users). BINDING: Bound in nineteenth-century quarter green morocco gilt over marble paper boards, gilt lettering on the spine reads, "HISTORIA DANIÆ REGVM." TEXT: This manuscript was copied by Michael of Bergamo, who signed and dated it on f. 26v, very likely for his own use. The size, paper support, clearly legible but idiosyncratic script, and simple decoration of this modest manuscript, are characteristics that suggest an unprofessional though accomplished project. Now known as the De viris illustribus urbis Romae, this text is a brief history of famous and important figures in the history of Rome. It has been attributed to various writers like Pliny the Younger or Elder, Cornelius Nepos, and Suetonius (as in our manuscript). Although the identity of the author still escapes modern scholarship, scholars now generally agree on its fourth century date. The two short texts at the end, perhaps added later by Michael himself, or added by other early users, shed further light on the interests of students and readers in fifteenth century Italy. PROVENANCE: A colophon on f. 26v, dated December 10, 1432, identifies the scribe of De viris illustribus urbis Romae as Michaelis de Pergamo. Briquet notes that the Latin Cross watermarks of the type found in this manuscript are of Italian origin, and it seems very likely that our manuscript was copied in Bergamo in Northern Italy; In Spain in the nineteenth century; table of contents in Spanish is pasted to the second flyleaf at the beginning of the manuscript; Book sticker, "no 5099" on inside lower cover. CONDITION: Binding separating from bookblock at the front, otherwise good condition. Complete description and images available (TM-1266)