[LATIN VULGATE] JOB with the GLOSSA ORDINARIA, decorated manuscript on parchment, in Latin by [LATIN VULGATE] JOB with the GLOSSA ORDINARIA

ONE OF THE EARLIEST EXAMPLES OF THE COMPLETE BOOK OF JOB WITH THE ORDINARY GLOSS FROM THE CISTERCIAN ABBEY OF CHIARAVALLE DELLA COLOMBA. Manuscript on parchment, in Latin, Northern Italy, c. 1125-40. Dimensions 260 x 150 mm. 90 folios, biblical text written in a caroline minuscule in twenty-one lines, glosses copied in smaller script on up to sixty-seven lines, one-line red initials in biblical text, rustic display capitals for incipit, explicit, and titles, LARGE DISPLAY CAPITLAS in red and place on f. 1 added in late twelfth century. BINDING: Old brown sheep over pasteboard, spine with four raised bands with labelled fitted box. TEXT: The book of Job with the Ordinary Gloss (Glossa Ordinaria), consisting of the biblical text, copied in a distinctive, larger script, accompanied by selected quotations from patristic and medieval commentaries, copied in a smaller script on the same page. Texts by numerous authors are reflected in the commentary, including Jerome, Augustine, Gregory the Great, Isidore, and Bede. The Ordinary Gloss on the Bible, from which the manuscript was excerpted, was one of the twelfth century's greatest intellectual achievements, creating a text that was used as the standard school text to the end of the Middle Ages and even later. The text was not compiled or conceived of by a single author, but was the result of a long process over the course of the twelfth century that gradually grew to include the complete Bible. The textual history of the Gloss on Job seems to begin at Laon in the early twelfth century. It was one of the early books glossed and relied heavily on Gregory the Great's Moralia on Job. This manuscript also reveals secondary sources and betrays evidence of its use. Particularly interesting are the long lines that restructure the gloss. Modern chapters were added in a later hand. There are also numerous nota marks in a neat, calligraphically pleasing form, and lines alongside glosses that probably were added for the same purpose. PROVENANCE: Based on the script, layout, and ruling, the manuscript was written in Italy in the second quarter of the twelfth century. An ownership note reveals it was at the Cistercian Abbey of Chiaravalle della Colomba (Alseno, Italy) around the period of its foundation in 1136 where it obtained signs of conscientious use in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. The library was dispersed in 1805 during the Napoleonic era. Sold at Christie's, June 25, 1997, lot 21. Later belonged to Rick Adams and, most recently, a private European collection. CONDITION: Staining and rodent damage to the edges of ff. 87-90, occasional spotting and cockling but generally in very good condition. Binding rebacked with parts of the spine laid down, corners repaired. Full description and pictures available (TM 877). Book seller inventory #877.