Manuscritos localizados de Pedro Gomez Barroso y Juan de Cervantes, arzobispos de Sevilla (review)

Manuscritos localizados de Pedro Gómez Barroso y Juan de Cervantes, arzobispos de Sevilla. By María del Carmen Alvarez Márquez. Seville, Spain: Servicio de Publicaciones, Universidad de Alcalá, Excma. Diputación Provincial de Sevilla, 1999. 302 pp. $13.64. ISBN 84-8138-364-3.

Europe underwent significant political, religious, and cultural changes throughout the late medieval period and the early Renaissance. In Spain, Seville was under 36.4 Muslim rule from 711 until 1248, when it was finally overtaken by Spanish Christians. Among many innovations, the Muslims introduced papermaking in Spain, and thus to Europe, by the twelfth century. While innovations in mechanical printing advanced throughout the fifteenth century, printed books did not immediately supplant 36.4 the need for manuscript copies of books. Against this backdrop, one may properly appreciate the manuscripts contained in the two earliest collections donated to the great library of Spain, the Biblioteca Capitular y Colombina de Sevilla, housed in the city's cathedral.

Two of Seville's archbishops were avid collectors of libros. Sleuthing by Alvarez Márquez has matched current holdings of the library with the inventories of two donations given by Pedro Gómez Barroso (ca. 1331-90, bishop 1378-90) and a bequest in the will of Juan de Cervantes (1382-1453, bishop 1449-53). The author has identified twenty-two works given by the first (one of which is now at the Biblioteca Nacional at Madrid) and eighty-four works in the bequest of the second. "Works" here refers to bound items, many of which contain numerous lesser items. The majority of the manuscripts date from the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, while representative works date from the three previous centuries. One text is in Spanish, but all the rest are in Latin. Scripture, theology, philosophy, works of the Church Fathers, scholasticism, history, mathematics, astronomy, and astrology are the expected subject matter of the works. Perhaps surprising are the occasional works in agriculture, veterinary science, and medicine.

The catalog is in two principal sections, one for each archbishop. A brief introduction gives biographical information; analyzes the number of items by subject matter, author, chronology, and provenance; indicates the general physical con-dition of the works; and cites appropriate historical references. The items are cataloged according to standards published by Spain's Dirección General de Archivos y Bibliotecas in Instrucciones para la catalogación de manuscritos (1957). This form is explained clearly (27-28) and provides detailed internal information (author, title, beginning text, and so on), external information (century and year of creation, place and copyist if known, binding, provenance, and so on), and special notes (calligraphy, ink, initials, ornamentation, signatures, foliation, among others). These descriptions are very detailed, are especially useful for those works containing several items, and should aid in comparing manuscripts held by other institutions. Alvarez Márquez has researched the authors and titles of the works by comparing catalogs and holdings of collections in Madrid, Paris, the Vatican, and occasionally the United States. The works are listed in order of their present manuscript number within the library. This latter point is not explained by the author and may be confusing to those unfamiliar with systems based on stand and shelf numbers. Reliance on the manuscript number also proves cumbersome in finding an item listed in one of the indexes--the reader will have to check the number in the catalog descriptions under both archbishops.

The several indexes are most functional. Regarding these indexes, it may be noted that the author authority files are in Latin (for example, "Beda Venerabilis, sanctus"); that the "Incipits" lists the beginning line of each item and is most complete ([247]-285); and that the remaining indexes are brief owing to the difficulty of determining the copyists, dates, places of origin, and previous owners or readers. Underscoring the maxim that a "picture is worth a thousand words," eighteen color illustrations leave...