Paris, France, Bibliothèque Nationale, nouvelles acquisitions françaises MS 4379
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.
Bindings:
c. 1885,
green
wood over
pasteboard
Decoration: Title 'CHANSONS A TROIS VOIX' stamped in gold on spine
no edges
Endpapers: marbled
Notes:
The manuscript is composed of four independant parts of different date and origin: Part I (ff. 1-42) includes leaves removed from a chansonnier now in Seville, Biblioteca Colombina, Ms. C 5-1-43 (SevC 5-1-43); Part II (ff. 43-60) is an early 15th century Italian music manuscript; Part III (ff. 61-68) is a music manuscript copied c. 1433, probably in Venice; Part IV (ff. 69-92) is a late 15th-century chansonnier copied in Spain or Italy. Only Parts I and IV are described in detail here.