Humanist manuscript containing classical biographies. Italy 1475-1500.
GkS 2145 4º. Parchment, 100 ff.

Fol. 1r: The opening page	Fol. 4r: First page of the biography of Theseus

This is a manuscript from Renaissance Italy containing five biographies. Four of them were written in Greek by the classical author Plutarch (b. A.D. 46), and translated into Latin by two humanists skilled in Greek. The fifth is a small biography of Aristotle written in Latin by Leonardo Bruni (1370-1444).
The manuscript is copied in a humanist script and decorated with portraits of the biographees. Most elaborate is the opening page that features the mythical kings Theseus and Romulus in medallions at the top. In the medallion in the lower margin, a pilgrim of St. James can be seen wearing the characteristic scallop shell sewn onto his hat; he has nothing to do with the contents of the book.

25.5 x 15.5 cm.

See the entire manuscript on the website of the Manuscript and Rare Books Department Plutarchus, Vitae. Leonardus Brunus, Vita Aristotelis.

© Det Kongelige Bibliotek 2004