Western Manuscripts and Miniatures

As a relatively early, and thus rare, example of the genre of dowry documents (medieval pre-nuptial agreements) in the field of women’s studies, the present sheet merits further study.

180 x 162 mm. Written in brown ink in a rounded gothic book hand on 17 lines (written space: 145 x 150 mm), date ‘1208’ added in the upper margin of the recto and of the verso, repeated on the verso as ‘m.cc.viii’, with caption of the content “Instructionis dotis d. Strelleclara uxoris D. Lamberti” and geometric notarial signature prefacing the text (parchment worn, edges browned, fold in half vertically, dampstains, text of the two bottom lines partially rubbed).

This document records the dowry of around two hundred libris (or lira) arranged by Strelleclara in view of her wedding to Guido, son of Guido Lambertinus. It was concluded in “castro montasii,” which probably refers to the castle of Montanis in Northern Italy, South Tyrol. The text is prefaced by a notary sign, a geometric drawing that confirms the authentication of the document in front of a notary.

Dowry documents from Italy are relatively plentiful and much studied for the later Middle Ages. As the medieval equivalent of modern society’s pre-nuptial agreements, these documents required that the intending couple sign, in front of a notary who authenticated it, the receipt for goods or funds received as a means of barring future claims. Judging from the extant scholarly works on marriage, this one appears to be a very early example of the genre, and therefore especially interesting because of that. 

Provenance
(1) Renzo Rizzi, bookseller, Milan, Italy.

(2) Marvin L. Colker (1927-2020), Emeritus Professor of Classics at the University of Virginia, acquired by him from Rizzi in 1969; his MS 159, as indicated by the shelfmark “MLC 159” added in pencil in the lower left corner of the verso.

LITERATURE
Further literature: Julius Kirshner, Marriage, Dowry, and Citizenship in Late Medieval and Renaissance Italy, Toronto, 2015; David Herlihy and Christiane Klapisch-Zuber, 1985. Tuscans and Their Families: a Study of the Florentine Catasto of 1427, New Haven, CT, 1985; and Christiane Klapisch-Zuber, Mariages à la florentine: femmes et vie de famille à Florence (XIVe-XVe siècles), Paris 2020l.

Freeman’s | Hindman thank Senior Consultant Sandra Hindman and Elliott Adam for their assistance in preparing this sale.