Details
POOR CLARES. Rule of St. Clare of Assisi and statutes of the province of Milan. Italian. [Milan, after 1463].
MANUSCRIPT ON VELLUM, 15 leaves (of 16), [1 12 2 4; lacks 1/10]. 232 x 173mm. (9 1/4 x 6 3/4 in.), written by two hands in black or brown ink in a rounded Italian Gothic script, vertical ruling in lead, horizontal ruling in pale brown ink, two columns of 32 lines, justification (170 x 135mm.). 3- or 2-line Lombard initials in red or blue, two (ff. 1v, 11r) on liquid gold grounds, these and two others (ff. 1v, 11r) with red pen-flourishing; red paragraph signs and capital strokes, rubricated. Lacks one folio, with loss of text; later manuscript alterations in text, including a lengthy addition on f. 9v; text lightly cancelled but fully legible on ff. 8r-9r; several small wormholes, mostly in margins, a few touching letters (principally on ff. 1 and 15); outer margin of f. 1 strengthened on blank recto, lower corners of ff. 2, 14 and 15 patched, lower margin of f. 15 strengthened, f. 3 attached to vellum guard (the patches cut from a vellum document of the antipope Benedict XIII [elected 1394, died 1422 or 1423]); the liquid gold rubbed, occasional flaking or rubbing of ink, a few unobtrusive stains.
BINDING
Pasteboard wrapper, pink paper spine and corners, slightly soiled.
TEXTS
Statutes of 1463 of the Poor Clares of the province of Milan, in Italian (f. 1r ruled but blank; ff. 1v-9v: Nel nome del nostro signore misser yhesu christo incomenzano le ordinatione de le Monache de sancta Clara de la prouincia de milano reformate nel capitulo prouinciale de fratri minori de la obseruantia, celebrato nel loco de sancto Apolonio de Bressa nel anno .Mcccclxiij. del mese de mazo...; incomplete at the end). Rule of St. Clare of Assisi, in Italian (ff. 10r-15v: Incomenza la uita et regula de le suore pouere de la beata Clara. Capitulo primo. La forma de la uita de lordine de le sore pouere la quale lo beato francesco instituite e questa...). Vow of profession under the rule of St. Clare (f. 15v).
The order of Poor Clares, or Franciscan nuns, was founded by St. Clare of Assisi (c. 1194-1253), the companion of St. Francis. The story has often been told of how the youthful Clare ran away from her family, was was received by Francis on Palm Sunday of 1212, and thereafter resisted all attempts to force her to give up the religious life. During subsequent decades she fought to maintain her austere way of life, based on the ideal of complete poverty. Shortly before her death, Pope Innocent IV approved the rule she had drawn up based on her conversations with Francis and her own experience. The rule of St. Clare is the earliest documented example of a rule for nuns written by a woman.
Clare's way of life spread rapidly through Italy and to other parts of Europe. It proved difficult, however, to maintain the original austerity, and by the fifteenth century, the entire Franciscan order was embroiled in a dispute between the Conventuals and the Observants over the correct interpretation of the rule. Under the influence of preachers like St. Bernardine of Siena and St. John Capistrano, some communities that had previously enjoyed a more relaxed way of life chose to adhere to the stricter practices of the Observance.
One such moment and one such conversion is represented by the present codex. Religious communities adopting a reformed way of life often marked this transition by preparing a manuscript that contained the applicable rule and statutes. In the fifteenth century Milan had at least three communities of Poor Clares: St. Apollinare, St. Ursula, and St. Clare, for one of which this codex may have been copied. It is known that St. Apollinare (founded in 1223) adopted the strict observance in 1469.
In this manuscript, the rule of St. Clare is accompanied by the statutes promulgated by the provincial chapter of the Observant Franciscans held at Milan in 1463. The latter prescribe the correct observance of the rule and provide additional commentary on the circumstances in which they were intended to apply. The text of the rule itself, representing the decrees of the founder, corresponds to the Latin text attributed to St. Clare, but does not include the privilege of Pope Innocent IV that is sometimes found with it (cf. Sources chrtiennes, vol. 325; Paris 1985). Both rule and statutes are in the vernacular, to make them more accessible to the sisters. This was a common practice with texts intended for the use of women religious in the later Middle Ages; indeed, the need for this is made evident by the requirement of these statutes that the rule be read to the sisters every Saturday and the statutes every two months, "lest ignorance be for anyone a cause of sin." The inclusion of a simple vow of profession at the end of the rule is further evidence of the practical uses to which this codex was put, and the later alterations to the text of the statutes undoubtedly represent further alterations in practice. The question of enclosure for religious women was a vexed one throughout the Middle Ages and beyond, and it is notable that the two chapters that have been cancelled concern the activities of the sisters outside the monastery.
PROVENANCE
Poor Clares of the province of Milan -- Suor Archangela Lucretia Canobia, signature, f. 15v -- No. 1156 in an unidentified collection, inscription on flyleaf verso -- Geo. A. Leavitt & Co., Auctioneers, New York, no. 52 in an unidentified sale, probably 1880s, printed label inside front cover and printed catalogue description laid in -- Byron Reed, acquired before 1892.
MANUSCRIPT ON VELLUM, 15 leaves (of 16), [1 12 2 4; lacks 1/10]. 232 x 173mm. (9 1/4 x 6 3/4 in.), written by two hands in black or brown ink in a rounded Italian Gothic script, vertical ruling in lead, horizontal ruling in pale brown ink, two columns of 32 lines, justification (170 x 135mm.). 3- or 2-line Lombard initials in red or blue, two (ff. 1v, 11r) on liquid gold grounds, these and two others (ff. 1v, 11r) with red pen-flourishing; red paragraph signs and capital strokes, rubricated. Lacks one folio, with loss of text; later manuscript alterations in text, including a lengthy addition on f. 9v; text lightly cancelled but fully legible on ff. 8r-9r; several small wormholes, mostly in margins, a few touching letters (principally on ff. 1 and 15); outer margin of f. 1 strengthened on blank recto, lower corners of ff. 2, 14 and 15 patched, lower margin of f. 15 strengthened, f. 3 attached to vellum guard (the patches cut from a vellum document of the antipope Benedict XIII [elected 1394, died 1422 or 1423]); the liquid gold rubbed, occasional flaking or rubbing of ink, a few unobtrusive stains.
BINDING
Pasteboard wrapper, pink paper spine and corners, slightly soiled.
TEXTS
Statutes of 1463 of the Poor Clares of the province of Milan, in Italian (f. 1r ruled but blank; ff. 1v-9v: Nel nome del nostro signore misser yhesu christo incomenzano le ordinatione de le Monache de sancta Clara de la prouincia de milano reformate nel capitulo prouinciale de fratri minori de la obseruantia, celebrato nel loco de sancto Apolonio de Bressa nel anno .Mcccclxiij. del mese de mazo...; incomplete at the end). Rule of St. Clare of Assisi, in Italian (ff. 10r-15v: Incomenza la uita et regula de le suore pouere de la beata Clara. Capitulo primo. La forma de la uita de lordine de le sore pouere la quale lo beato francesco instituite e questa...). Vow of profession under the rule of St. Clare (f. 15v).
The order of Poor Clares, or Franciscan nuns, was founded by St. Clare of Assisi (c. 1194-1253), the companion of St. Francis. The story has often been told of how the youthful Clare ran away from her family, was was received by Francis on Palm Sunday of 1212, and thereafter resisted all attempts to force her to give up the religious life. During subsequent decades she fought to maintain her austere way of life, based on the ideal of complete poverty. Shortly before her death, Pope Innocent IV approved the rule she had drawn up based on her conversations with Francis and her own experience. The rule of St. Clare is the earliest documented example of a rule for nuns written by a woman.
Clare's way of life spread rapidly through Italy and to other parts of Europe. It proved difficult, however, to maintain the original austerity, and by the fifteenth century, the entire Franciscan order was embroiled in a dispute between the Conventuals and the Observants over the correct interpretation of the rule. Under the influence of preachers like St. Bernardine of Siena and St. John Capistrano, some communities that had previously enjoyed a more relaxed way of life chose to adhere to the stricter practices of the Observance.
One such moment and one such conversion is represented by the present codex. Religious communities adopting a reformed way of life often marked this transition by preparing a manuscript that contained the applicable rule and statutes. In the fifteenth century Milan had at least three communities of Poor Clares: St. Apollinare, St. Ursula, and St. Clare, for one of which this codex may have been copied. It is known that St. Apollinare (founded in 1223) adopted the strict observance in 1469.
In this manuscript, the rule of St. Clare is accompanied by the statutes promulgated by the provincial chapter of the Observant Franciscans held at Milan in 1463. The latter prescribe the correct observance of the rule and provide additional commentary on the circumstances in which they were intended to apply. The text of the rule itself, representing the decrees of the founder, corresponds to the Latin text attributed to St. Clare, but does not include the privilege of Pope Innocent IV that is sometimes found with it (cf. Sources chrtiennes, vol. 325; Paris 1985). Both rule and statutes are in the vernacular, to make them more accessible to the sisters. This was a common practice with texts intended for the use of women religious in the later Middle Ages; indeed, the need for this is made evident by the requirement of these statutes that the rule be read to the sisters every Saturday and the statutes every two months, "lest ignorance be for anyone a cause of sin." The inclusion of a simple vow of profession at the end of the rule is further evidence of the practical uses to which this codex was put, and the later alterations to the text of the statutes undoubtedly represent further alterations in practice. The question of enclosure for religious women was a vexed one throughout the Middle Ages and beyond, and it is notable that the two chapters that have been cancelled concern the activities of the sisters outside the monastery.
PROVENANCE
Poor Clares of the province of Milan -- Suor Archangela Lucretia Canobia, signature, f. 15v -- No. 1156 in an unidentified collection, inscription on flyleaf verso -- Geo. A. Leavitt & Co., Auctioneers, New York, no. 52 in an unidentified sale, probably 1880s, printed label inside front cover and printed catalogue description laid in -- Byron Reed, acquired before 1892.