ST. JEROME, Letter LIV To Furia [To Furia, On the Duty of Remaining a Widow], in the translation by CHARLES BONIN; illuminated manuscript in French with a full-page miniature by the Master of Spencer 6 (active c. 1490 to 1510)

A UNIQUE DELUXE TRANSLATION OF ST. JEROME'S LETTER TO THE WIDOW FURIA WITH FRONTISPIECE BY THE MASTER OF THE SPENCER 6 FROM THE LIBRARY OF ANNE DE POLIGNAC. Illuminated manuscript on parchment in French, France, likely Bourges, c. 1500-1510. Dimensions 210 x 135 mm. 63 folios, written in a lettre bâtarde on up to 17 lines, one three-line DECORATED INITIAL with gold floral decoration (f. 6v), ONE full-page miniature in a gold architectural frame (f. 5). BINDING: Contemporary purple velvet binding over wooden boards, gilt edges, fitted book box, in good condition for a velvet binding of this date. TEXT: This manuscript contains the only known copy of the French translation by Charles Bonin of Jerome's Letter LIV to Furia. Originally written by St. Jerome around 364/395 A.D., this epistolary work in twelve chapters presents a letter of guidance to a widow named Furia on the best means of preserving her widowhood. ILLUSTRATION: Illustrated by an elegant frontispiece miniature divided by columns into two scenes depicting St. Jerome giving his epistle to a messenger on the right and the messenger handing it to the recipient, Furia, on the left. It is attributable to the Master of Spencer 6, who takes his name from a manuscript in the New York Public Library. PROVENANCE: Manuscript copied in Bourges or the Berry region based on the prologue by the translator, Charles Bonin, and the miniatures attributed to the Master of the Spencer 6, an artist active in Bourges. Belonged to Anne de Polignac (1495-1554), a twice-widowed aristocratic woman, then by descent to Louis-François Auguste, Cardinal de Rohan-Chabot who sold it at auction in 1879. Later in the part of Eugène Paillet's library that was sold in 1887 to the Librairie Damascène Morgand. CONDITION: very good condition with fresh colors and wide margins.