Peter Lombard's "Sentences" from the Thomas Fisher Library: Sententiarum Libri IV

Introduction: The Sententiarum Libri IV is a manuscript of Peter Lombard’s Sentences. The origin of this manuscript is likely Paris in approximately the late-13^th century. The most noteworthy features of this manuscript are its tiny size and its microscopic glosses in multiple languages.

Book: The size of the Sententiarum Libri IV is one of its most noteworthy features. See the images on the left to note how the book, whether open or closed, can easily be contained in my hand. Indeed, the book is hardly longer than my second finger.  Using my finger as reference point, it becomes evident how truly tiny both the original script and the even smaller glosses are.

The glosses are one of the most fascinating aspects of the Sententiarum Libri IV: One gloss that stretches over multiple pages contains large passages of the Bible in Greek, as in the image to the left. Additionally to the large Biblical quotation, at least three different scripts are evident in the glosses, as can be seen in the second last image on the left: There are two distinct darker scripts and a lighter, golden script in a mixture of Latin and Greek languages. Throughout the manuscript, frequent lists contain compact, organized information, as can be seen in the last photo. 

The original script is written in black and red with the initials decorated with red and blue ink. Note the words throughout the text in red ink; these are likely a form of rubric which provides titles of chapters, subdivisions within chapters, and sources of quotations to help guide the reader through the work. However, the inserted Greek Gospel passages in red ink are more likely the words of Christ which are often put into red in the Gospels.[1]

Conclusion: Having noted the layers of glosses and the incredible detail in the script, one can see how medieval books, such as this one, contain a plethora of information beyond words of the standard text which one would encounter in a modern print edition of Peter Lombard’s Sentence. On the following page, flip through a full digital copy of Sententiarum Libri IV to experience the manuscript for yourself!