Vincent of Beauvais, Paris, ca. 1400.

Drawing on many sources and encompassing every imaginable topic, the Speculum historiale was the greatest encyclopedia of the Middle Ages. This copy includes only Book 75 through part of Book 78, describing historical events from the reign of Charlemagne in the eighth and early ninth centuries through the twelfth. The provenance of this manuscript includes some of the most famous (and infamous) names in the history of book collecting. The blue and gold fleur-de-lys device in the borders is similar to that used in manuscripts created for King Charles V and the Duc de Berry, both noted fifteenth-century bibliophiles. Although this copy is not recorded as having been a part of the royal library, its lavish decoration identifies it as of probable aristocratic commission. In the nineteenth century, the book belonged to bibliophile and thief Guglielmo Libri. Sir Thomas Phillipps, perhaps the greatest book accumulator in history, also owned the manuscript. This page shows the opening of Book 76, set during the reign of Emperor Henry II (d. 1024). The elongated illuminated initial "H" begins the chapter, which recounts the life and deeds of the English Saint Alphege, Archbishop of Canterbury from 1005.

Fig. 1: Parchment, 355 folios, 326 x 225 (212 x 153) mm, 2 columns, 37 lines, in French, written in Batarde script.