Collection ID: 0002 | Metadata type: TEI | TEI XML | Data

Title

De vita xii Caesarum ... etc. /

Authors

• Suetonius, approximately 69-approximately 122
• Ausonius, Decimus Magnus
• Benvenutus, de Imola, -1387 or 1388

Call number

Ms. Codex 856
(3420 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104-6206, University of Pennsylvania, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts)

Alternate identifiers

• bibid: 9931780203503681
• http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/155861012
• https://colenda.library.upenn.edu/catalog/81431-p3rr1pn12

Publisher

University of Pennsylvania

Language

Latin and Italian

Origin

Date

between 1450 and 1499

Place

Italy

Summary

A fairly lengthy set of excerpts from Suetonius, followed by parts of Ausonius' poem about the Caesars and excerpts from Benvenutus' Liber Augustalis, along with an Italian text summarizing Jewish history from the death of Simon Maccabeus in 135 BCE to the death of Herod Agrippa I in 44 CE, erroneously identified in its rubric as part of the second book of Maccabees.

Notes

• Ms. codex.
   
• 1. f.1r-42r: De vita xii Caesarum [excerpts] / Caii Suetonii Tranquilli. -- 2. f.42r-42v: Versus de xii Caesaribus / Ausonii. -- 3. f.42v-56v: Liber Augustalis [excerpts]. -- 4. f.56v-63v: Lo secundo libro delli Machabei.
   
• Title and author for manuscript from caption heading, for predominant work (f. 1r).
   
• Incipit (1st work): Liber primus Divus Iulius Caesar incipit: Corneliam Cinnae quater consulis duxit in uxorem ex qua illi mox Iulia nata.
   
• Explicit (1st work): Est bene non potuit dicere: dixit erit. Caii Suetonii Tranquilli De vita xii Caesarum liber duodecimus Domitianus Imperator Augustus feliciter finis.
   
• Incipit (2nd work): Primus regalem patefecit Iulius aulam / Caesar ...
   
• Explicit (2nd work): Sera gravem perimunt: sed iusta pericula fratrem.
   
• Incipit (3rd work): Nerva senex satis nobilis honestus et modestus ...
   
• Explicit (3rd work): Finit feliciter libellus qui dicitur augustalis continens sub compendio brevem descriptionem omnium Augustorum a primo Caesare usque ad ultimum, ad illustrem Nicolaum Marchionem Estensem. Kalendis Ianuarii intrante nono anno MCCCLXXXV. Benvenutus de Ymola ad illustrem Nicolaum Marchionem.
   
• Incipit (4th work): Qui se comensa lo secundo libro delli Machabei. Morto Simone quinto figliolo de Mathatia sacerdote ...
   
• Explicit (4th work): ... allo lordano oltre dui tribi e meza.
   

Extent

63 leaves : 219 x 147 (157 x 80) mm bound to 224 x 149 mm

Collation

ii (modern paper) + 63 + iii (modern paper); 1-5¹² 6⁴⁻¹; [1-63], modern foliation in pencil, upper right recto.

Support

Paper

Binding

Modern boards, half morocco. Spine title: "Suetonio, Ausonio, Cronica di Benvenuto da Imola."

Layout

Written in 31 long lines; ruled in drypoint.

Decoration

Red used for intermittent paragraph symbols in the Suetonius.

Script

Written in humanist cursive or italic script, mostly by a single hand, with additions by another hand.

Provenance

• Sold at auction at Karl & Faber, 22 Nov. 1954, lot 22.
   
• Sold by Emil Offenbacher (New York), 1955.
   

Subjects topical

• Emperors--Rome--Biography
• Latin poetry
• Latin poetry
• Rome--History--Julio-Claudians, 30 B.C.-68 A.D
• Rome--History--Flavians, 69-96

Genres

• biographies (literary genre)
• codices (bound manuscripts)
• excerpts
• Poetry
• Manuscripts, Italian--15th century
• Manuscripts, Latin--15th century
• Manuscripts, Renaissance
• Biographies
• Biographies

Licenses

• Text

  These images and the content of Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts Ms. Codex 856: De vita xii Caesarum ... etc. / are free of known copyright restrictions and in the public domain. See the Creative Commons Public Domain Mark page for usage details, http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/.

  URL

  http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

• Text

  Metadata is ©2025 University of Pennsylvania Libraries and licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License version 4.0 (CC-BY-4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode. For a description of the terms of use see the Creative Commons Deed https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

  URL

  https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode

Table of contents

• fol. 1r — De vita xii Caesarum, f. 1r
• fol. 42r — Versus de xii Caesaribus, f. 42r
• fol. 42v — Liber Augustalis, f. 42v
• fol. 56v — Lo secundo libro delli Machabei, f. 56v

Decorations

• fol. 51v — Manicule, f. 51v
• fol. 56v — Manicule, f. 56v