An account of the lawsuit brought by Satan against Christ for trespassing, i.e. entering Hell during the Harrowing. Christ retains Moses as his attorney, while the demon Belial represents Satan. Solomon is the judge. When Solomon rules in Christ's favor, Satan appeals to God for a retrial, claiming that since Jesus is descended from Solomon the judgement was biased. A retrial takes place with Joseph as the impartial judge, and the ruling again goes in Christ's favor.
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Restrictions:
Access to physical copy/copies by appointment only. Please contact Boston Public Library Rare Books and Manuscripts Department for further information.
Ms. codex.
Bibliographic record created by BPL staff based on description by Dr. Lisa Fagin Davis and on Dr. Jeffrey Hamburger's entry in the 2016 Beyond Words exhibition catalog (number 67).
Origin: Written in Swabia ca. 1470.
Notes (acquisition):
Immediate source of acquisition: Purchased by the BPL from W.H. Schab in 1952 (SDBM 57061).
Notes (citation):
Bond, W.H. Supplement to the Census of medieval and Renaissance manuscripts in the United States and Canada, page 213
Notes (object):
Secundo folio: geret emmbten ...
Collation: Paper, fol. i (modern paper) + 106 + i (modern paper) ; 1¹⁰ 2¹² 3¹²⁻¹ (fol. 23 wanting) 4¹² 5¹²⁻¹ (wanting 1 leaf before fol. 47) 6-8¹² 9¹²⁺¹ (fol. 106 is tipped-in singleton) ; signed upper left corner of the first recto of each quire, with the signature of the folowing quire on the final verso (q. 1 unsigned, others signed a-h). Signatures on fol. 93/94 and 105/106 corrected. Modern arabic foliation in pencil, upper outer corner of each page.
Layout: Single column, approximately 25-28 lines; ruled in blind.
Script: Written in a German bâtarde in brown ink with red rubrics.
Decoration: Two-line red epigraphic capitals throughout fol. 1-18, guide-letters only fol. 18 and following. Opening initial on fol. 1 slightly larger. 61 half-page illustrations throughout in ink and wash, 3/4-page on fol. 84v and 85 representing the seven deadly sins.
Binding: Contemporary blind-tooled tawed skin over boards, dyed green, all bosses, corner-pieces and clasps intact, rebacked, modern fibrous paper pastedowns and flyleaves. Housed in a tan cloth box.
Notes (bibliography):
Bibliography: Jeffrey Hamburger, et al., eds. Beyond Words: Illuminated Manuscripts in Boston Collections. (Chestnut Hill: McMullen Museum of Art, Boston College, 2016), no. 67; M. Munsterberg, “Satan’s Lawsuit against Christ,” BPLQ VI (1954): 150-159 (article tipped-in inside rear cover). N.H. Ott, Katalog der deutschsprachigen illustrierten Handschriften des Mittelalters II:1 (Munich, 1996): 38-41 and Abb. 15-16.
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