Links to interesting pre-1600 manscripts or printed books dealing with Calligraphy and Scribal Arts
Fruck, Ludwig: Rhetoric und Teutsch Formular in allen Gerichts Händlen, Franckfurt a. M. 1530 [VD16 F 3149]
A forumla book for notaries and scribes, Frankfurt am Main, 1530. The frontispiece has a really great little picture of various scribal tools, including a pen case and inkwell, pens and a pen knife, ruler, string, scissors, packets of something and what looks like a large toothed comb (perhaps used for making lines on paper?), not really sure what the various lumps and other things are.
Scribal pattern book of Gregorius Bock, MS 439. Swabia, ca. 1510-1517
Here is the descriptive catalog entry for the manuscript This includes which scripts are used on which pages, this information is not included in the manuscript. The scripts run from basic book hands, bastards, decorative capitals, color work, its really quite inspiring!
Schriber, Stephan: Spätgotisches Musterbuch des Stephan Schriber – BSB Cod.icon. 420
Urach um 1494
http://mdzx.bib-bvb.de/codicon/Band_bsb00019746.html
Late Gothic Pattern Book, more cool calligraphy and illumination sample book.
Formular allerlei Schrifften, Instrumenten, und Brieffe, So in hohen Cantzleyen der Keyser, Fürsten und Herren Höfe, Auch anderer Stände und Stätt, Schreibereyen und Consistorien gefertigt und gestellet werden, Zu sampt den gebür und gewönlichen Titel Formen, Einem jeden seiner Geburt, Ampts, Stadt, und wesens, rechtmessig Titel, Ehrwort und Ehrerbietung, zustellen und zugeben …, Franckfurt am Meyn 1575 [VD16 F 1885]
A scribal formula book, just in case you ever wanted to write a formal letter to a Nurnberg Burgher, you could look up the proper form of address for them.
The opening pages has a nice picture of a scribal shop with scribes at work at their desks.
Korrespondenz des Hans Rieter von und zu Kornburg von 1543 bis 1583 – BSB Cgm 5020, [S.l.] 16. Jh.
A bound volume of correspondence of Hans Rieter from 1543 to 1583. It includes a description of the the siege of Landrecie with Emperor Karl V. in 1543 and a pen-and-ink drawing of the battlefield, as well as a description the lake battle of Lepanto. They literally just took the letters and bound them together, so the folds are still there, as well as the directions, etc. And the hand writing is really interesting!
Hortulus anime, Straßburg, 1504 [VD16 H 5080]
Such a beautiful hand!
Chronik der Wernberger Linie, 1531
Illuminated book from 1531 with lots of good *color* pictures of men and especially women in common clothes, standing next to their heraldic shields.
It also has lots of nice caligraphy, and all the text in the book has been transcribed and is in the text box on the right.
http://www.notthafft.de/archiv/chronik1531.htm
Click on either Große Darstellung (langsam) or Kleine Darstellung (schneller) , they both bring up the manuscrip, but Grosse brings it up in a larger format than Kleine.
To navigate between pages either:
– click on the thumbnail image of the next page, labeled “nächste Seite:”
– click on the button labeled Vorwarts
– Scroll in the text box on the right hand side and click on the page title (its in red)
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