Historiated initial in gold for the opening of ‘Speculum historiale’, Vincent de Beauvais c.1430

Vincent de Beauvais c. 1184/1194 – c. 1264)  Speculum historiale. Bifolium on vellum with large illuminated historiated initial., Netherlands, c.1430

Bifolium size 550mm x 388mm (initial approx.. 8cm x 9cm)

A standing figure holding a book within a ‘D’ of ‘Deus est…’, on  the ground of decorated gold illumination. The initial in a blue made up of acanthus leaves breaking out of a square of gold with delicate floriate sprays of red, blue and gold surrounding two sides. The stem of the initial drops between the text columns to the base of the leaf, breaking out again in a large spray of colourful flowers.

The text is the opening of the historiale, Chapter 1 and is a very impressive opening. The text on the facing leaf is a Table of Contents, rubricated in red. The beginning of the text starts with 8 lines of a gothic hand (7 of which are the depth of the initial) and then flows into a smaller and more informal, heavily abbreviated hand.

There is a running head in red ink at the head of the leaf reading ‘specula historial’.

This is the opening of the Speculum historiale, a history of the world to the 1240s in thirty-one books comprising 3,793 chapters. It is the third part of the Speculum maius, ‘The Great Mirror’, a monumental encyclopaedia which was an attempt to encompass all forms of knowledge.

Vincent de Beauvais, a Dominican scholar, lived during the 13th century, with uncertain birth and death dates. He likely began his career at Paris’s Dominican house around 1215-1220 before moving to the monastery in Beauvais. Vincent served as a “reader” at Royaumont monastery between 1228 and 1235. He authored “The Great Mirror” by 1244, supported by King Louis IX and others, including Queen Margaret of Provence. Vincent’s works encompassed diverse subjects, including moral principles and education. He sent completed sections of his Opus to Louis IX and Thibaut V between 1260 and 1264, the year of his death.