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The bright frame on f. 2r, which marks the beginning of John Immonides’ Vita Gregorii […], bears the insignia of Federico, Duke of Montefeltro, establishing him as the patron of the work. As is well known, the prestigious volumes which had ‘built’ the Duke of Montefeltro’s collection made up in large part the Urbino bequest to the Vatican collection, which was made in 1657[…]. The collection of texts included – which make up the entire volume of undeniable hagiographic importance – is reproduced in the luxurious verso of the f. 1v ‘composed’ of a number of circles arranged in a halo around a central circle, each bearing the title of a work, for a decorative and iconographic solution, which - when completed by the frontispiece itself – was met with great favour by the ‘important’ patrons of the volume. This decoration is particularly widespread among the manuscripts that make up the Urbino bequest. […]. The manuscript under examination owes its existence to the admirable hand of the copyist of littera antiqua restaurata, who used the motto «Omnium rerum» and has been identified by Albinia de la Mare with the Florentine Neri Rinuccini, one of the most active Florentine copyists of the second half of the 15th century. In fact, he appears to have been involved frequently in the production of manuscripts for both the Urbino lords and the Medici family, in addition to the House of Aragon (twenty-four texts bear their motto.) […]. The decoration was also entrusted to a well-known artist of the Florentine School, Francesco Rosselli, himself ‘familiar’ with illustrious patronage. To him (and perhaps his workshop) we owe not only the brilliant, ff. 1v-2r, but also the initials at the beginning of the four books that make up the text (distinct from the praefatio). However, in the example under examination the books are lacking the capitulatio, which usually introduces them. Interesting peculiarities emerge, in fact, from the very characteristics of the ff. 1v-2r which throw light on less well-known aspects of the practices connected with the book. In order not to ‘waste’ time leafing through the heavy volume, the author of the late 15th century inventory makes use of the smaller circles containing the individual titles, thus attributing (erroneously, but reflecting widespread belief) the Vita Barlaam et Iosaphat, entered as anonymous in the index of titles, to Giovanni Damasceno.
DONATELLA FRIOLI
Reproduced here: f. 1v where, in the decoration off. 1v-2r, the series of small circles arranged in halo, contains the title of the texts included.
The complete record can be found in the exhibit catalogue Gregorio Magno e l'invenzione del Medioevo, ed. Luigi G. G. Ricci, Florence, SISMEL - Edizioni del Galluzzo 2006 (Archivum Gregorianum, 9).