On the Illustrated Italian Manuscript

Abstract

This article focuses on the richly illustrated 14th-century Italian manuscript kept in the Bibliothèque nationale de France (Ital. 115), and its narrative programme. It is among the earliest extant examples of the MVC, containing 193 illustrations. Despite its exceptional significance, critical textual analysis of this manuscript remained limited and lead to partially unfounded assumptions until recently. The MVC enriches canonical Gospel narratives with apocryphal episodes and doctrinal reflections, primarily targeting a female audience, specifically addressed to a Poor Clare. The Paris manuscript exemplifies these features through the close alignment of text and images, faithfully rendering the Latin original in the vernacular. By analyzing episodes such as Joseph’s inner turmoil and the Holy Family’s journey, the study highlights the complex interplay between text and illustration, reinforcing the manuscript’s historical and artistic significance.