Item Summary

Illustrated alchemical roll incorporating Middle English verses attributed to Sir George Ripley.

Descriptive Information

Title
[Alchemical roll] / [George Ripley].
Call Number
North 15, Princeton MS. 93
Identifier
http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/vd66w366g
Publisher
[England?], [between 1575 and 1600]
Language
Middle English
Date Created
1575-1600
Extent
1 roll (14 membrances) : parchment, illustrations ; 5370 x 525 mm.
Provenance
Early and intermediate provenance unknown. Purchased in London by H.P. Kraus in 1957. He sold it to the antiquarian dealer Lawrence Witten, who in turn sold it to Robert H. Taylor, Class of 1930. His gift to the Princeton University Library, 1958.
Source Acquisition
Gift; Robert H. Taylor, Princeton Class of 1930, 1958.
References
Medieval & Renaissance manuscripts in the Princeton University Library, volume 2, pages 309-311.
Rights Statement
No Known Copyright
Notes
Incipit: "Est Lapis Hoccvltvs Secreto Fonte Sepultvs Variat Lapidem Qvi Fermentvm Conta (!) Colorat. Yow most make water of þe erthe, of erthe þe eyer & eyer of þe firer & fier of þe erthe ..."
Explicit: "... and make them all but on soo here ys the philosoffor Stone."
Ms. roll.
Collation: Parchment ; 1 roll.
Layout: Roll was cut apart and mounted as five panels, each consisting of a number of membranes.
Script: Written in Roman square capitals for text in banderoles. A single scribe was responsible for writing most of the verses, headings, and captions in scripts with similarities to Textualis semi-quadrata and Humanistica cancellaresca.
Decoration: The roll is elaborately illustrated throughout with ink-and-wash drawings in brown, red, and green. The illustration of Princeton MS. 93 is similar to that in most Ripley rolls, probably based on an earlier model. See the entry in Medieval & Renaissance manuscripts in the Princeton University Library, volume 1, pages 310-311 for detailed descriptions of the illustrations.

Discovery Information

Subject
Alchemy—Pictorial works—Early works to 1800
Alchemy—Early works to 1800
Manuscripts, English (Middle)—England
Manuscripts, English (Middle)—New Jersey—Princeton
illuminated manuscripts
Poetry
Parchment (Paper)

Physical Characteristics

File Count
1

Institutional Information

Collection
Alchemy and the Ripley Scrolls 1400-1700
Medieval and Renaissance Mediterranean Manuscripts
IIIF Manifest URL

https://figgy.princeton.edu/concern/scanned_resources/903045e4-79ff-4cca-9a5f-6bc47681cb08/manifest