Palmieri, Matteo (1405-1475)

"Liber de temporibus".

Written, probably in Florence, in a rounded gothic hand, 28-30 lines to a page. On the first leaf an illuminated initial A in gold and colours with marginal decoration; on the third leaf, a similar A, but without the marginal ornaments. Paragraph marks in alternate red and blue, headings in red.

Fol. 1 (red) Matthei palmerii florentini de temporibus incipit et pri / mo prohemium ad Petrium cosme filium medicem. // ANIMIS nostris innatum ese constat...

3 (Text begins) A Principio mundi siue ab adam pri / mo hominum... 99v, line 16 Mediolanenses laudum receperunt. // (red) Matthei palmerii florentini ad pe / trum medicem liber de temporibus / explicit. laus deo in eternum. / 1469.

100 (By another cursive hand) 1515 // Copia di capitoli dello appuntamento facto intra il sommo pontefice et lo illustrissimo re di francia.

Followed by other memoranda, the last dated 18 February 1515 [1516].

On the fly-leaf are further memoranda by the same hand, dated between 14 July 1512 and 17 March 1515 [1516].

Inside the lower cover is the signature of Guglielmo Cioni, perhaps the writer of the memoranda noted above.

The MS. contains a general history of the world from the Birth of Christ to 1448, with particular reference to Florence.

The text was subsequently printed in part as a supplement to the Chronicon of Eusebius published at Milan c. 1475 [Hain 6715. B.M. VI, 703].

Produced in [Florence?].

1469

1 volume 100 ll. folio. 281/2 x 201/2 cm. On vellum. Original stamped leather binding over wooden boards, rebacked: both clasps wanting. The fly-leaf at the end has been cut down.

The papers are available subject to the usual conditions of access to Archives and Manuscripts material, after the completion of a Reader's Undertaking.

Purchased at Sotheby's (Morris Sale) 9/12/1898, Lot 930.

An account of the Author is given in Girolamo Tiraboschi, Storia della letteratura italiana (Florence, 1805-1813), vol. VI, pp. 660 et seq.

Database description transcribed from S.A.J. Moorat, Catalogue of Western Manuscripts on Medicine and Science in the Wellcome Historical Medical Library (London: Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine, 1962-1973).

This material has been digitised and can be freely accessed online through Wellcome Collection catalogue.

From the Libri Library sold at Sotheby's 11/8/1859, Lot 1926: Bookseller's label of Pickering of Piccadilly, London. Armorial book-plate of William Horatio Crawford (1815-1890) of Lakelands, Cork, whose library was sold at Sotheby's 12/3/1891. Ex-libris of William Morris (1834-1896). Inserted are two loose sheets: the first on blue paper contains notes on the contents of the MS. by Crawford, the second is a short bibliographical description by Sydney Cockerell (1867-1962), Morris's secretary, who was in the process of cataloguing the library when Morris died.