A Bibliographical, Antiquarian and Picturesque Tour in France and Germany, Volume Two by Thomas Frognall Dibdin
page 75 of 355 (21%)
page 75 of 355 (21%)
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DES. LOINTENES. ILES. ET. AVECQVES. LVI. REPOVSE: MESIRE
LANCELOT. DVLAC. MELLIEVR. CHRL. DV. MVDE. APRES. GVALEAT. There are two or three more illuminated MSS. of our well-beloved Lancelot. One, in six volumes, has illuminations, but they are of the usual character of those of the fifteenth century. LANCELOT DU LAC, &C. This MS. is in three volumes. The first contains only, as it were, an incipient illumination: but there is preserved, on the reverse of the binding, and written in the same character with the text, three lines--of which the private history, or particular application, is now forgotten--although we learn, from the word _bloys_ being written at top, that this MS. came from the library of Catherine de Medici--when she resided at Blois. The second volume of this copy is in quite a different character, and much older than the first. The colophon assigns to it the date of 1344. The volume is full of illuminations, and the first leaf exhibits a fair good specimen of those drolleries which are so frequently seen in illuminated MSS. of that period. The third volume is in a still different hand-writing: perhaps a little more ancient. It has a few slight illuminations, only as capital initials. LANCELOT DU LAC: No. 6782. This MS. is executed in a small gothic character, in ink which has now become much faded. From the character of the illuminations, I should consider it to be much more ancient than either of the preceding--even at the commencement of the thirteenth century. Among the illuminations there is a very curious one, with this prefix; _Vne dame venant a.c. chr. q dort en son |
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