In the first half of the fifteenth century, sometime between 1425 and 1450, a manuscript was made in or around Florence. It was small enough to fit in one hand and would have been inexpensive, at least as far as handwritten manuscripts go. It would have been intended for personal use by its owner, who would have used it like a single-volume library. Because unlike most books we’re familiar with today, this manuscript is a miscellany, meaning it contained a collection of largely unrelated texts. It is now called MSS 01020, held at the Thomas Fisher Rare Books Library at the University of Toronto.
This exihit explores that manuscript, looking at what it contains, how it was made, and why this and other miscellanies were created and used.
Credits
Maura Quinn; images presented courtesy of the Thomas Fisher Rare Books Library, Bryn Mawr College, the Bibliotheque nationale de France, and Balliol College