MMFC:Lists/Provenance evidence
From Manual - MMFC. Medieval Manuscripts in Flemish Collections
Provenance Marking Types
Term | Definition | Example |
---|---|---|
Ex-dono | A written annotation in a manuscript recording the donation of the manuscript by or to a previous owner. |
Book of hours of Adolph of Cleves, lord of Ravenstein, given to him by his wife Anne of Burgundy witness this inscription: "AB / votre mieulx aimee / Anne". |
Ex-libris | A written annotation and/or a drawing in a manuscript as proving a person's or institution's ownership. | |
Supralibros | A stamped or tooled sign of ownership on the cover, often a coat of arms. | Coat of arms of the French Valois kings on a manuscript originally owned by Louis de Bruges that was later bought by king Louis XII of France. |
Pressmark | A former pressmark that can be used to identify the library to which the manuscript formerly belonged. This includes pressmarks that have a particular format typical of a historical library, or pressmarks that can be matched against a reference to the manuscript in a surviving historical booklist or library catalogue. | |
Owner's heraldry | The presence of a (previous) owner's coat of arms in the decoration or illumination of the manuscript. | Coat of arms of Jan Crabbe, abbot of the Abbey of the Dunes between 1457 and 1488. |
Owner's device | The presence of a (previous) owner's device, or paraheraldic symbol, in a manuscript to prove his ownership. | The barbican used by Anthony, bastard of Burgundy, as his device. |
Owner's initials | The presence of a (previous) owner's initials in a manuscript to prove his/hers/theirs ownership. Initials can take different forms: the initials of both first and surname or the initials of the first names in case of a married couple. | The initials of Jan Crabbe, abbot of the Abbey of the Dunes between 1457 and 1488, adorned with an abbot's staff. |
Owner's motto | The presence of a (previous) owner's motto as proof of his/hers ownership. | "Nul ne si frote", the motto of Anthony, bastard of Burgundy, used as an owner's mark in combination with his device. |
Binding | The manuscript's binding has characteristics that are typical for a particular historical library. This may include features of the tooling, the presence or style of a fenestra, or any other combination of features that indicate its earlier ownership. | example of binding |
Stamp | The identity of a (previous) owner, be it a person or an institution, by using a stamp. | Example of the so-called Dunes cross, the 17th century stamp used by the Abbey of the Dunes. |
Cover label | The cover of the manuscript contains a label that designates the identity of a (previous) owner. | example of cover label |
External source | The provenance can be established using an external historical source. An example is when a manuscript can be matched to a description of an item in a medieval or early modern library catalogue. | |
Secondary source | The provenance has been established in the secondary literature. | |
Other | The evidence for the provenance does not match any of the above categories. This includes inscriptions that do not correspond to any of the above categories. | |
Transmission | The manuscript has been transmitted as part of a historical collection, either a book collection or an archival collection. This includes fragments that have been recycled to serve as covers for archival documents. |