Penn in Hand: Selected Manuscripts

Blancandin.

[Blancandin et l'Orgueilleuse d'Amour] [manuscript].

[France, between 1275 and 1325]

126 leaves : parchment ; 156 x 110 (115 x 69) mm. bound to 166 x 124 mm.

The medieval French romance of Blancandin (spelled Blanchardin in this manuscript) and his lady, Orgueilleuse d'Amour, written in octosyllabic couplets. Approximately 400 lines at the beginning and 600 lines at the end are missing.

Ms. codex.

Title from the published edition of this manuscript.

Foliation: Parchment, ii (modern paper) + 126 + ii (modern paper); [1-126]; modern foliation in pencil, lower right recto.

Layout: Written in 22 long lines (except folios 33r and 33v, which have 24); ruled in lead.

Script: Written in a Gothic book script.

Decoration: Alternating red and blue 2-line initials, usually with flourishes of the contrasting color.

Binding: Modern morocco (Zacour-Hirsch); upper and lower covers and back endleaves detached from spine.

Origin: Written in France in the late 13th or early 14th century (Sweetser).

Incipit: La pucelle de Tormedai / Plus belle rien de lui ne sai ...

Explicit: ... Qui est arrivee al port / Et vient tot droit de Chatelfort.

Water damage has made some text illegible (f. 1-5).

UPenn Ms. Codex 862.

Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts University of Pennsylvania Ms. Codex 862