Ɵ Cutting from a gargantuan ‘Atlantic’ Bible, with parts of Ecclesiasticus 18-19, in Latin

Ɵ Cutting from a gargantuan 'Atlantic' Bible, with parts of Ecclesiasticus 18-19, in Latin, decorated manuscript on parchment[Italy, c. 1100] Substantial fragment of the centre of a leaf, cut horizontally from the parent leaf, and with remains of double columns of 31 lines in a professional pre-gothic minuscule, with a notably elongated 'st'-ligature, capitals touched in red, red rubrics, red chapter numbers in margins and red paragraph marks (these apparently added after the copying of the text in a clumsier hand), one large simple red initial 'C' (opening "Corripe amicum ne forte ...", Ecclesiasticus 19:13) enclosing a small red flowerhead, some spots, scuffs and stains, with more damage to verso than recto (but that quite legible), small amount of cockling, remains of paper strip to inner edge from last mounting, else good condition, 215 by 304mm.; in cloth-covered card binding Provenance:Schøyen Collection of London and Oslo, their MS. 646, acquired from Quaritch cat. 1147, Bookhands of the Middle Ages, V (1991), no. 9. Text and script:The cutting here contains text from Ecclesiasticus 18:21 ("Ante languorem humilia te ...") to 18:27 ("... et in diebus delictorum attendit [ab inertia]"; and 18:33 ("...nihil in sacculo: eris enim invidus vitæ tuæ") to 19:5 ("...odit loquacitatem, extinguit malitiam"); as well as 19:12 ("[Sagitta] infixa femori carnis ...") to 19:18 ("... et in omni sap[ientia dispositio legis]"), and 19:24 ("[et est] qui se nimium submittit a multa ...") to 20:2 ("... Concupiscentia spadonis devirginabit [juvenculam]". Where calculable, the missing sections between the columns come to approximately 16 lines in each case, indicating that the parent codex had approximately 47 lines per column, with each column approximately 425mm. high. With margins added, the original leaf here would have comfortably exceeded 500mm. While the text here is continuously that of the Bible, the function of the book in a monastic setting is perhaps indicated by the unusual rubric on the reverse: "de correctione fraterna . xl" that corresponds to the opening of 19:13. In the late eleventh and early twelfth centuries, Italian centres began to emulate Carolingian Tours Bibles, creating a new form of prestigious giant Bible manuscript, usually at least 500-550mm. in height, with some outlying examples as tall as 650mm. (see Le Bibbie Atlantiche, Il libro delle Scritture tra monumentalita e rappresentazione, 2000, with p. 48 on their dimensions, note these are the same or perhaps a little larger than the vast Tours Bibles). These have been called 'Atlantic' Bibles, named after Atlas, the giant of Greek mythology who carried the world on his shoulders. Correspondingly, their script entered a new de luxe phase of pre-gothic splendour, with large and rounded letter forms created for impressive visual affect, and few abbreviations or ligatures.