Text In Latin Two Separately Offered Very Fine Medieval Illuminated Vellum Manuscript Leaves In A Lovely Humanistic Hand From Bene Florentinus' "Candelabrum." Manuscripts, Medieval, Leaves - Secular,Manuscripts, Medieval, Leaves - Without Miniature Or Histori

Each leaf measuring 250 x 164 mm. (9 7/8 x 6 3/8"). Single column, 24 lines in a handsome humanist hand. Each leaf with three to four large initials (one measuring two lines, all others three lines) in burnished gold, in-filled with pink and green paint with white embellishment, on blue ground with white embellishments. See: Baldwin, "Medieval Rhetoric and Poetic," pp. 216-23. ◆Insignificant wrinkling and a couple faint creases to vellum, tiny snag along top edge of each leaf, but IN VERY FINE CONDITION, the vellum especially clean and bright, the paint and ink fresh, and the margins generous. Written in a beautiful humanistic script, enclosed by wide margins, and adorned with tasteful gilt initials, these leaves come from what must have been a particularly fine manuscript made for a person of means. The text comes from the "Candelabrum" of Bene of Florence, an early 13th century treatise on rhetoric and the art of elegant writing. The work consisted of eight parts, instructing readers on word choice, composition, rhythm, style, and other important considerations in the construction of effective letters and prose. Apart from their enormous aesthetic appeal, the present leaves are of great interest because few manuscripts of the text have survived. The style of the initials--elegant burnished gold on a ground of pale pink, green, and sapphire blue with whisps of white embellishments--suggest that the manuscript was executed in Northern Italy (perhaps Milan, Bologna, or Florence) by a craftsman of great technical skill. Fine examples of humanistic script are becoming increasingly difficult to find on the market, and the present examples are among the loveliest we have ever acquired.