Manuscript: Paris, France, Bibliothèque Nationale, nouvelles acquisitions françaises MS 4379

Manuscript type: choirbook

RISM siglum: F-Pn n.a.fr.4379

DIAMM Source Key: 719

Folio(s): 1-42

Date: c. 1470-85

Made around 1470-1485 in Naples or Rome (see discussion in Atlas 1975-1976).

Provenance

1. Fernando Colón (Ferdinand Columbus) (b. 1488, d. 1539), bibliographer and cosmographer, son of Christopher Columbus, purchased by him in Rome in 1515 when it formed a single manuscript with Seville, Biblioteca Colombina, Ms. C 5-1-43: listed as no. 2526 in the surviving catalogue, 'Registrum B' of Colón's books (Parts II-IV also possibly owned by Colón); 2. bequeathed by Colón with his entire library, the so-called 'Fernandina' or 'Colombina', to his nephew Luis; 3. Biblioteca Colombina passed in 1544, to the Convent of St. Paul in Seville and in 1552 to the chapter of Seville Cathedral: included in the 1684 catalogue of the library by Juan de Loaysa with a mention of existing 181 leaves; 4. Part I of the present manuscript (and probably Parts II-IV) removed from Colombina in 1884, and taken to Paris; all four items acquired by Bibliothèque Nationale in 1885, and rebound in the present arrangement.

Artists/Scribes

Person: Anonymous, Anonymous
Person type: scribe
Note: Written in Rome or Naples by four hands (the same hands are also present in Seville, Biblioteca Colombina, Ms. C 5-1-43): Hand 1: text and music (ff. 1r-3v, 10v), and music (ff. 4r-10r); Hand 2: text (ff. 4r-10r); hand 3: text and music (ff. 11r-19v, 21r-30v, 42r-42v); Hand 4 (on a differently prepared ruling), text and perhaps also music (ff. 20v, 31r-41v), perhaps with an intervention of another hand on 41v (text and music).

Person: Anonymous, Anonymous
Person type: artist
Note: Initials executed by one artist (the same hand is also present in Seville, Biblioteca Colombina, Ms. C 5-1-43, throughout).

Bibliography

Omont et al. 1868–1902, XVI, 177; Delisle 1891, 127-30; Adler 1894–1970, XIV/XV, 30; XXVIII, 190-191,196-198; Wolf 1904, repr. 1965, I, 211-213; Wolf 1908–21, reprint 1968, XV/XVI, xix-xx, 92-94; Besseler 1925; Besseler 1926, 232-233; Jeppesen 1927, repr. 1965, lxxi, lxxviii-lxxi; Blume 1929–, XIX,4; XLV, 13-14; Anglès 1941–71, I, 107-10, 118; X, 19-20, 23; Plamenac 1947, II, xxxvii, 116; de Van/Besseler 1948–66, V, xli; VI, passim; Blume 1949–79, X, 800-1; XII, 984; Plamenac 1951; Plamenac 1952; Pirrotta/LiGotti 1952; Plamenac 1953; Reaney 1955, 88; Schmitz et al. 1955–, II, 13*, 55, 62; Bent 1984; Clerex 1960, I, 54-57, 79; II, 11-12, 15-18, 63-67, 73-77; Plamenac 1962; Plamenac 1965; Kirsch 1966, 155; Günther 1966, 73-92; Jeppesen 1968–70, II, 86-87, 182-183; Bernstein 1969, 129-130; Schoop 1971, 72-85, Taf. 1-2; Moerk 1971; Atlas 1975–6, I, 164, 178, 180, 183-185, 192-196, 212-213, 257; Thomson 1976, II, iv, 170, 194-195; Kemp 1976, 112, 118; Pope/Kanazawa 1978, 489, 547; Hoppin 1978, 495; Gore 1978, I, 27-8, 108-1011; Il, xvii; Fallows 1978, 76, 433-434, 458, 497; Census-Catalogue 1979-1988, III, 29; IV, 43; Perkins/Garey 1979, I, 15; II, 169, 176-177, 254, passim; Davis 1979, 92, 94, 133-134, 150-151; Sadie 1980, IX, 627-628; Bernstein 1980, 48-49; Boorman 1981, 326-339; Atlas 1981b, xxiii, xxvi-xxvii, xxxi, xxxvi, 3-4, 62-64, 77-85, 89-92. Staehelin 1983, 199-215, 202, 211; Atlas 1981a, 249, 260-262, 269-271, 278, 281, 283; Atlas 1981c, 132, 139-140; Hanen 1983, I, 30, 36-38, 163-170; III, 442-445; Brown 1983, 191, 210, 212, 224, passim; Newes 1984; Baumann 1984, 77-92; Cuthbert 2006.

Paris, France, Bibliothèque Nationale, nouvelles acquisitions françaises MS 4379, 1-42

Physical description

Material: paper

Number of leaves: iii + 92 + iii

Format: upright

Page dimensions: 207 x 154

Quire structure: Text version

Other devices: 1. Quire/leaf signatures on lower right rectos, a1-r8 in the original manuscript of 188 folios of which here remain e2-e11, f4-f12, g1, h2-h11, n2-n12, o1; remaining folios are now Seville, Biblioteca colombina, Ms. C 5-1-43; 8 original folios (a10, b6-b10, f3, g2) are now missing.
2. Original ink numbering of pieces recto top right, 1-164 (sometimes mistakenly construed as foliation).
3. Modern ink foliation recto top right, 1-92.

Page details (zoom):

Preparation and Copying

1-19, 21-30, 42

Preparation

Disposition of Voice Parts Key

Pricking	none visible
Ruled grid	always, Justification lines only.
Ruling pattern	highly regular
Staves omitted from grid	never
Incomplete staves	never

Medium and colour of grid	Frequency	Folios	Note
hard point	always
Colour of staves	Frequency	Folios	Note
brown	always
Ruling medium	Frequency	Folios	Note
single rastrum	always
Indentation for initials	Frequency	Folios	Note
none	normally
Extra space between voice parts	Frequency	Folios	Note
empty ruled staves on grid	often	1v, 3r-4v, 5v-7r, 8v, 9v-11v, 12v-13r, 14v, 15v, 17v, 19v, 21v, 22v, 23v, 24v, 28v, 42v	Space left mostly below voice parts rather than between them.
Space provided for separate text	Frequency	Folios	Note
not in dedicated space	often	4v, 5v, 7v, 11v, 12v, 13v, 14v, 16v, 18v, 19v, 22v, 25v, 26v, 27v, 28v, 29v
Adhoc adaptation	Frequency	Folios	Note
notation extended into margin	rarely	8r
notation and staves extended into margin	rarely	19r
staveline added	rarely	42v

Copying of text and music

Language(s)	French, Italian, Latin
Order of Copying	music first always

Presence/absence of text	Voice part	Frequency	Folios
fully texted with one or two texts	discantus	normally	2v, 4v, 5v, 6v, 7v, 8v, 9v, 10v, 11v, 12v, 13v, 14v, 15v, 16v, 17v, 18v, 19v, 21v, 22v, 23v, 24v, 25v, 26v, 27v, 28v, 29v, 30v
provided with single incipit	discantus	occasionally	1v, 3v, 41v, 42v
fully texted with one or two texts	tenor	occasionally	1r, 2r, 4r, 9r, 12r
provided with one or two incipits	tenor	often	3r, 5r, 6r, 7r, 8r, 10r, 14r, 15r, 16r, 18r, 19r, 21r, 23r, 24r, 25r, 26r, 27r, 28r, 29r, 30r
provided with one or two incipits	contratenor	often	5r, 6r, 9r, 14r, 18r, 21r, 23r, 24r, 25r, 26r, 27r, 28r, 29r, 30r
untexted	contratenor	occasionally	7r, 8r, 10r
fully texted with one text	contratenor	occasionally	11r, 12r, 13r, 16r
partially texted with one text	tenor	occasionally	11r, 13r, 17r, 42r
partially texted with one text	contratenor	rarely	17r, 19r, 42r

Music

Colour(s) of notation	brown
Type(s) of notation	void mensural
Type of notation note	Teardrop-shaped notation, but markedly angular
Monophonic notation	absent
Level of calligraphy	high

Non verbal performance instructions	Folios	Note
repeat signs	5v-6r, 12v-13r, 16v-17r, 26v-27r
signa congruentiae	7v, 9v-10r, 14r, 15v, 18v-19r, 21r-22v, 28r, 28v-29r
signes-de-renvoi	10v, 17v-18r

Text

Types of script	cursive (bastarda)
Types of script size position	Voice name written in larger script.
Level of calligraphy	high
Colour(s) of text	brown
Multiple texts	yes 4r, 9r, 16v, 27r
Text repetitions	few 4r, 8v, 12r, 30v
Abbreviations	few
Non underlaid vocal text	additional
Liminary text	Performance instructions: 'verte folium' (ff. 4v, 11v, 42v); 'residuum' (ff. 5v, 10v, 12v). Names of composers: 'morton' (f. 14v); other attributions mostly trimmed., 4v, 5v, 10v, 12v, 14v, 42v

Decoration

Level of Decoration	fair

Decoration initial type	Frequency	Folios	Initial type(s)	Size position	Description	Discrepancies
penned initials	normally	1r, 2r-4v, 5v-11r, 12r-19v, 21r-30v, 42r-42v	calligraphic with decoration	Beginning of voice parts.	Calligraphic initials highlighted in yellow and decorated with flower and leaf design.
penned initials	occasionally	1v, 5r, 11r, 11v, 15r, 18r, 24r, 25r, 27r, 28r	calligraphic with grotesque heads	Beginning of voice parts.	Calligraphic initials highlighted in yellow decorated with human heads.
Other decoration frequency		Folios	Other decoration type(s)	Size position	Description	Discrepancies
occasionally			littera notabilior		Litterae notabiliores highlighted in rose.

20, 31-41