Defender of the Faith

This is Martin Luther year, commemorating the start of the Protestant Reformation in 1517, when the tangible news event was Martin Luther nailing up 95 theological theses on a church door in Wittenberg, Germany. Ten years later the Reformation spread to England, with King Henry VIII requesting annulment of his marriage, getting angry and seeing through acts of Parliament between 1532 and 1534 that sealed a break with Rome.

One nuance that we often forget is that Henry (1491-1547) had been a very keen Roman Catholic at first (like Luther), and had initially led the counterattack against the German revolt. His book, Assertio septem sacramentorum adversus Martinum Lutherum of 1521, led to English kings and queens being granted a papal title, "Defender of the Faith" (Fidei Defensor), which the Anglican British monarchs retain to this day (look at sterling coins).

The Vatican Library has just digitized its illuminated presentation copy of the Assertio, Vat.lat.3731, an historic highlight of the 105 latest digitizations by the DigiVatLib program.

The Assertio was probably drafted by Cardinal Thomas Wolsey and scribed at Greenwich. It mightily pleased the pope, but in one of history's great unintended consequences probably seeded the idea of mutiny in Henry. Here's his autograph and dedication:

On October 31, all Germany, Catholics included, will have a public holiday in celebration of Martin. Perhaps a few Catholic households will look at this codex and wonder what might have been.

Below is my full list:

1. Arch.Cap.S.Pietro.G.4.pt.bis ,
2. Arch.Cap.S.Pietro.G.16.pt.bis ,
3. Arch.Cap.S.Pietro.G.19.pt.bis ,
4. Barb.gr.444, a palimpsest, viewable in both plain and UV light
5. Barb.lat.3746 ,
6. Chig.C.V.117 ,
7. Ott.gr.14.pt.1 ,
8. Ott.gr.393 ,
9. Ott.gr.473 ,
10. Ott.lat.3029 ,
11. Ott.lat.3383 ,
12. Reg.lat.173 ,
13. Reg.lat.175 ,
14. Reg.lat.595 ,
15. Reg.lat.1135 ,
16. Reg.lat.1173 ,
17. Reg.lat.1189 ,
18. Reg.lat.1190 ,
19. Reg.lat.1211 ,
20. Reg.lat.1222 ,
21. Reg.lat.1278, a manuscript copy of the 16th-century alchemical treatise Rosary of the Philosophers. This codex postdates the book publication of 1550, a printing at Basle, Switzerland. The work (see Wikipedia) was a "rose garden" of wise sayings by those convinced they could manufacture gold, but its market success was undoubtedly more due to its ensemble of X-rated pictures.
    .
22. Reg.lat.1302 ,
23. Reg.lat.1304 ,
24. Reg.lat.1305, Tacuinum sanitatis de sex rebus quae sunt necessarie (13c-14c) (eTK incipit). A medical manuscript. See also: Prima sanitatis cura est preparatio
25. Reg.lat.1324 , eTK incipit: Ad boree partes arcti vertuntur; De duodecim signis
26. Reg.lat.1325 ,
27. Reg.lat.1332, Boethius. This is manuscript R used by Brandt for his edition of the Isagoge. It contains this unusually early arbor porphyriana diagram (see my list of these online):
    
    

    When scribes struggled to keep text & commentary on the same page, they sometimes did this and I love it! 😍Boethius's Isagoge & commentary pic.twitter.com/lMbtzbyse2

    — GiorgiaV (@ParvaVox) October 21, 2017

28. Reg.lat.1342 ,
29. Reg.lat.1347 ,
30. Reg.lat.1369 ,
31. Reg.lat.1376 ,
32. Reg.lat.1379 ,
33. Reg.lat.1394 ,
34. Reg.lat.1397 ,
35. Reg.lat.1428 ,
36. Reg.lat.1432 ,
37. Reg.lat.1485 ,
38. Reg.lat.1709.pt.B, this is an album of fragments from very old manuscripts in uncial script, among them two folios of Manuscript S of the Jerome/Eusebius Chronicle of the world. HT to @ParvaVox for noticing this. It was copied in 5th-century Italy, but was at Fleury in the 9th century. Roger Pearse lists the main manuscripts.

    more pages of the original 5thC manuscript are now preserved in Paris (https://t.co/heuZ4EUiiR) and in Leiden (Voss. Lat. Q 110a)

    — GiorgiaV (@ParvaVox) October 21, 2017

39. Urb.lat.1228 ,
40. Urb.lat.273 ,
41. Vat.gr.2306 , 
42. Vat.lat.895 , 
43. Vat.lat.1326 ,
44. Vat.lat.1521 ,
45. Vat.lat.1609 ,
46. Vat.lat.1644 ,
47. Vat.lat.1805 ,
48. Vat.lat.1815 ,
49. Vat.lat.1896 ,
50. Vat.lat.1899 ,
51. Vat.lat.1948 ,
52. Vat.lat.1952 ,
53. Vat.lat.1955 ,
54. Vat.lat.1957 ,
55. Vat.lat.1962 ,
56. Vat.lat.1964 ,
57. Vat.lat.1968 ,
58. Vat.lat.1969 ,
59. Vat.lat.1970 ,
60. Vat.lat.1971 ,
61. Vat.lat.1972, works by 12th-century University of Paris professors Petrus Comestor (Historia Scholastica) and Petrus Pictavienis with lots of diagrams in the end papers, including PP's multi-page universal-history diagram, the Compendium:
    
    For more information check out my Petrus Pictaviensis page.
     
    
    There are also arbor juris diagrams (above) and decision flow charts (below) for what seem be annulment of marriage hearings.
    
    
    There are also some beautiful menorah (seven-armed candelabra) drawings. If you are as fascinated as I am by high medieval symbolism, you will love this codex.
62. Vat.lat.1986 ,
63. Vat.lat.2002 ,
64. Vat.lat.2011 ,
65. Vat.lat.2018 ,
66. Vat.lat.2021 ,
67. Vat.lat.2026 ,
68. Vat.lat.2035 ,
69. Vat.lat.2040 ,
70. Vat.lat.2041 ,
71. Vat.lat.2043 ,
72. Vat.lat.2045 ,
73. Vat.lat.2054 ,
74. Vat.lat.2062 ,
75. Vat.lat.2065 ,
76. Vat.lat.2067 ,
77. Vat.lat.2068 ,
78. Vat.lat.2070 ,
79. Vat.lat.2073 ,
80. Vat.lat.2077 ,
81. Vat.lat.2080 ,
82. Vat.lat.2089 ,
83. Vat.lat.2095 , Latin Aristotle, spotted a week ago by @LatinAristotle:

    Extraordinary "philological" MS of Aristotle's zoological works. #Bessarion used it for emendations in his Greek MSShttps://t.co/37rhlC1J7V pic.twitter.com/pK2KgHNfVx

    — Pieter Beullens (@LatinAristotle) October 13, 2017

84. Vat.lat.2097 ,
85. Vat.lat.2098 ,
86. Vat.lat.2100 ,
87. Vat.lat.2101 ,
88. Vat.lat.2110 ,
89. Vat.lat.2125 ,
90. Vat.lat.2127 ,
91. Vat.lat.2131 ,
92. Vat.lat.2133 ,
93. Vat.lat.2134 ,
94. Vat.lat.2141 ,
95. Vat.lat.2147 ,
96. Vat.lat.2149 ,
97. Vat.lat.3550.pt.2 ,
98. Vat.lat.3550.pt.3 ,
99. Vat.lat.3731, Henry VIII of England (1491-1547), Assertio septem sacramentorum adversus Martinum Lutherum of 1521 (above), written at Greenwich. The Vatican used to keep Henry VIII's autograph letters to Anne Boleyn (Vat. lat. 3731A) tucked in this codex.
100. Vat.lat.3805, missal with this fine Renaissance frontispiece:
     
     
101. Vat.lat.4029 ,
102. Vat.lat.12654, private journal of the librettist Gherardo Bevilacqua-Aldobrandini (1791-1845) begun in 1829.
103. Vat.lat.14751, letters, apparently collected as models for use by the bureaucracy of the papal state (1250-1320),
104. Vat.lat.14925, Pope Greg`s horoscopes. Wow. Real Dan Brown stuff
105. Vat.sir.623.pt.1.

This is Piggin's Unofficial List number 132. If you have corrections or additions, please use the comments box below. Follow me on Twitter (@JBPiggin) for news of more additions to DigiVatLib.