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[LECTIONARY LEAF]

Leaf from a Romanesque Portable Lectionary, in Latin, manuscript on vellum

[Italy
first half of the 11th century, perhaps 1st decade

€800 - €1.200

A near-complete leaf, recovered from reuse as pastedowns in a later binding, with 19 lines in a remarkably fine and rounded Romanesque bookhand, with a strong st-ligature and a 'z' with an undulating top, occasional early features such et-ligature used integrally at end of a single word, rubrics in elegant red or black capitals recalling Carolingian examples, capitals infilled in red, simple red initials, some stains and faded areas, occasional parts of versos illegible under normal light, trimmed at innermost edge of leaf, a few natural holes in vellum, otherwise in fair and presentable condition, 213 by 145mm

This fragment of a visually appealing Romanesque manuscript was sold by Maggs Bros. of London in 1969. While most liturgical books in the eleventh and twelfth centuries appear to have entered an 'arms race' for ever-increasing size, the parent book of these leaves was made to fit in the hand and be carried comfortably. It may have belonged to an itinerant clergyman who had to cover large distances, with space for just a few books in his baggage

Manuscripts