Headings: Gregorius IX, Pont. Max. — Decretales (sive Liber extra)
Heading remarks: Corpus iuris canonici editio Lipsiensis secunda post Aemilii Ludovici Richteri curas ad librorum manu scriptorum et editionis romanae fidem recognovit et adnotatione critica cur. Aemilius Friedberg, Graz Akademische Druck-U. Verlagsanstalt 1955-1995 vol. I: Decretum Gratiani (1995) vol. II: Decretalium collectiones (1955), vol. II pp. 6-927;
Repertorium fontium historiae medii aevi primum ab Augusto Potthast digestum, nunc cura collegii historicorum e pluribus nationibus emendatum et auctum 11 voll., Roma (1984), vol. V pp. 231-2;
Compendium Auctorum Latinorum Medii Aevi (500-1500) cur. Michael Lapidge - Gian Carlo Garfagnini - Claudio Leonardi - Francesco Santi et al., Firenze (2013), vol. IV 4 p. 430;
Ernest Coyecque, Amiens (CGM 19), Manuscrits 1-932, 1893 (Catalogue général des manuscrits des bibliothèques publiques de France), p. 164-165;
Jacques Dalarun (ed.), François Boespflug, Patrick Boucheron, Patrick Gautier Dalche, Christian Heck, Robert Jacob, Didier Lett, Perrine Mane, Michel Pastoreau, Daniel Russo, Jean-Claude Schmit, Jean-Baptiste Lebigue, Olivier Legendre, Odile Lepinay, Claudia Rabel, Patricia Stirnemann, "Le Moyen Age en lumière. Manuscrits enluminés des bibliothèques de France", Fayard, 2002 Paris, p. 216, 391.
BOOK PRODUCTION
Date: 1300 ca. (attributed)
CONTENT ANALYSIS
1 — Gregorius IX papa, Decretales (sive Liber Extra)
Illustrations: F. 9r: Pope Gregory IX is depicted seated on a plinth; his left hand is raised and open in an interlocutory manner, his right hand grasping (or handing over) a volume offered to him by a young man kneeling before him. Next to the latter stand four men, some of whom address the pope with their hand gestures. The one closest to Gregory should perhaps be identified as a jurist/secular lawyer, owing to his beard, hat and fur-lined cloak.
F. 9v: the Trinity is represented by God the Father seated on a throne, spreading his arms and holding a crucifix on which the body of Christ hangs, while the dove of the Holy Ghost is suspended between the two.
F. 102v: a secular judge, recognisable by his beard, cap and fur-lined coat, is depicted seated between two clerics. The judge guides the discussion between the two with his hand gestures, pointing at the one on the left. The latter pleads his case by addressing the judge with his hand gestures, while the cleric on the opposite side points to him in accusation.
F. 183v: a priest is depicted standing in front of an altar on the right side of the scene, preparing the ritual of the Eucharist; he raises his index and middle finger to bless the chalice, which is placed on top of a white cloth. Behind him, an acolyte is violently forcing a layman out of the sacred space (its threshold is represented by a column that supports the two arches), his left hand pushing the man’s arm and his right hand threatening him with a raised stick (an aspergillum?). The layman proceeds to walk away, turning his head to look at the acolyte and raising his left hand as a sign of acquiescence.
F. 256v: a priest is standing between a man and a woman, officiating their marriage. He holds the wrists of their right arms, joining their hands to make their union official (dextrarum iunctio). The bride raises her left hand to express her consent to the marriage; the groom holds the glove he took off with his spare hand.
F. 280v: the Pope is depicted seated on a chair carved with zoomorphic elements, his left hand raised to address the people in front of him, his right hand grasping a written document from which hang some seals. The document is presented to him by a kneeling Dominican friar, behind whom stand two more friars of the same monastic order. All three friars address the Pope by raising their hands towards him in an argumentative manner.
Iconclass: pope; beard; insignia of the pope, e.g. tiara; sitting on an elevation; coat; head-gear: cap; codex; kneeling figure; kneeling before a ruler; ornament ~ geometric motifs; Canon Law; 'Legge canonica' (Ripa); postures and gestures of the palm of the hand; God the Father holding the crucifix, 'Gnadenstuhl', Mercy-Seat, Throne of Grace; the crucifixion of Christ: prelude to Christ's death on the cross (Matthew 27:34-44; Mark 15:23-32; Luke 23:33-43; John 19:18-24); God the Father enthroned, usually with sceptre and/or globe; Holy Ghost represented as a dove (in flames); nimbus, halo ~ radiance emanating from persons or things; 'Giudice' (Ripa); index finger forwards, pointing, indicating; accusing; judicial duel; lawyer, attorney at law; court session (court of justice); plea, defence; the accused; acolyte, chorister, lector, ostiarius, etc. ~ functionaries in Roman Catholic church; priest (Roman Catholic); the Eucharist ~ the fourth of the seven sacraments; index finger and middle finger raised, closed; altar-cloths, e.g. veil covering the altar at Lent; altar; other utensils used in the church; pushing something; gripping someone by the shoulder; threatening behaviour, challenging; palm of the hand turned up - AA - both arms or hands; column, pillar ~ architecture; arch, archivolt ~ architecture; strife of laity and clergy; shaking hands, 'dextrarum junctio'; gripping someone by the hand or the wrist; clasped hands; couple before the priest ~ marriage; the consent (of marriage); handwriting, written text; seal, stamp; monastic orders, monastic life: Dominicans; monk(s), friar(s); marriage, married couple, 'matrimonium'; grasping something
Support material: parchment
Measurements: 340x270 mm
SEMANTIC INDEXING
Subject: Law-canon (ius canonicum)
Genre: TEXTUS (Can)
Period: late medieval
Language: Latin
DATA SOURCE & REFERENCES
MS:
Amiens, Bibliothèque Louis Aragon Ms. 359
Completeness: medium — Source: bibliography, digital copy
