Johannes von Gmunden (attr.), Nicolaus Asculanus and others
Sermons, in Latin, decorated manuscript on paper [Germany], 1472.
A popular compilation of sermons, many of which are generally attributed to the priest, astronomer, humanist and instrument maker Johannes von Gmunden, in a medieval German binding.

317 x 203mm. 141 leaves, complete, collation: 1-10¹², 11², 12¹², 13⁷ (of 12, viii-xii cancelled blanks), c.57-62 lines of text in two columns, in three hands, the principal hand that of Albertus Carpentarius, ff.1-102, ruled space: 245 x 65mm, most catchwords survive, initials in red and capitals touched in red throughout, the pastedowns 14th-century fragments from a philosophical text (occasional marginal thumbing, a few wormholes, vellum repair to lower margin of f.40). German medieval binding of blind-tooled leather over wooden boards (upper board detached, some wormholing, edges chipped, remnants of brass clasps and leather catches).

Provenance:
(1) Albertus Carpentarius, OP: his colophon on f.100 dated 6 o’clock on the Saturday before the feast of St Margaret, 1472 [Margaret’s feast day is 20 July, and in 1472 the preceding Saturday was 18 July]: ‘Finitu[m] et co[m]pletu[m] e[st] hoc opus p[er] manus fratris Alberti Carpe[n]tarii ordinis fr[atru]m p[re]dicatoru[m]. Sub anno d[o]m[ini] m cccc lxx ii. Sabb[at]o an[te] festu[m] margarete virginis et ma[a]rt[i]ris hora vi an[te] prandiu[m] [...]’.
(2) Leander van Ess (1772-1847), German Catholic theologian and prolific collector: no 418 in upper margin, and his no 210 in the 1823 catalogue of his collection, Sammlung und Verzeichniss Handschriftlicher Bücher aus dem VIII. IX. XI. XII. XIV. etc. Jahrhundert [...].
(3) Sir Thomas Phillipps (1792-1872), English antiquary and book collector who amassed the largest manuscript collection of the 19th century: his MS 594 with ‘Thos Phillipps 1824’ and '1823' (the date of van Ess’s catalogue) on f.1, and his stencilled crest ‘Sir T.P. / Middle Hill / 596 [erased and corrected to 594]’ on f.141. His sale at Sotheby’s, 6 June 1910, lot 267, bought by Dobell.
(4) Sotheby’s, 17 December 1940, lot 20, bought by Maggs.
(5) Colker MS 10; acquired in 1944 from Maggs; Faye & Bond, Supplement to de Ricci’s Census (1962), p. 517.

Content:
Sermones ‘Parati’ de tempore, ff.1-100, beginning ‘Paratus est iudicare vivos et mortuos [...]’, 126 sermons from the first Sunday in advent to the 25th Sunday after Trinity, and ending with the Dedication of a Church (see J. B. Schneyer, Repertorium der lateinischen Sermones des Mittelalters für die Zeit von 1150–1350, Münster 1969–1990, IV, 523–537); alphabetical index of Christian terms ff.100-102; added Sermons in a second hand ff.102v-122v, including one one on the Crucifixion, beginning ‘Apparuit benignitas et humanitas salvatoris’ f.102v, Nicolaus Asculanus (Nicoluccio di Ascoli) on the epistles, beginning ‘Induimini d[o]m[i]n[um] Ih[esu]m Chr[istu]m, Ro[m] 13. Lex a[n]tiquorum [...]’ f.109 (see Schneyer, IV, 205-228 and T. Kaeppeli, Niccoluccio di Ascoli, AFP 32 (1962), 163-179); and in a third hand ff.123-141, including one on the Ascension, beginning ‘Quo abiit dilectus tuus, o pulcherrima mulierum [...]’ f.123 (Schneyer, V, 561, no 52), and others.

The present manuscript chiefly contains the popular ‘Paratus’ collection of medieval sermons - named after the opening word of the first sermon - often attributed to Johannes von Gmunden (c.1380-1442), likely the same German/Austrian astronomer, mathematician, humanist and early instrument maker who became canon of the chapter of St Stephen in 1425.

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