Jean Gerson, Northern France, ca. 1420

Jean le Charlier de Gerson (1363-1429) was an important figure in the history of university education, having served as Chancellor of the University of Paris from 1395. In addition, he was a major force in Church reform, working valiantly to heal the Great Schism and to establish the superiority of a general council over the Pope. Though neither religious effort was succesful, he is regarded as one of the leading theologians of his day. This manuscript is actually a compilation of four texts, three of which were written by Gerson between 1402 and 1409. The fourth text, De districtione in nocturnis pollutionibus, was written by Gerson's teacher, Pierre D'Ailly, who preceded him as Chancellor of the University. The manuscript was probably written in Gerson's lifetime, and as such preserves some of the earliest known copies of these texts. Early on, the manuscript was housed in the Carthusian monastery in Castres, France. This is a particularly interesting provenance for these texts, since Gerson is known to have held that monastic order in special esteem. The page exhibited shows the end of De passionibus animae on the left, and a schematic outline of the text on the right.

Parchment, 82 folios, 155 x 115 (103 x 72) mm, 1 column, 28 lines, in Latin, written in Gothic script.