A treasure rediscovered

Yale University, Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library,
Ege Collection

Yale University, Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library,
Ege Collection

As covered in the New York Times and elsewhere, Yale's Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library announced in November of 2015 that it had acquired the personal collection of Otto F. Ege from his descendants. Much of this large trove of manuscript fragments, intact codices, and loose bindings had been held privately by the family since Ege's death in 1951, where it had been inaccessible to scholarship.  

Work on evaluating and cataloging Beinecke's new Ege Collection has only just begun, but it has already contributed a new leaf to this reconstruction of FOL 47.  Identified by Lisa Fagin Davis in December 2015, Yale's folio contains a portion of the Te Deum, a hymn of praise of ancient origin that appears in Matins of the Hours of the Virgin.  The frequent use of small illuminated capitals and illuminated line fillers is typical of FOL 47, as are the border decorations, which combine a illuminated floral background with a design of red and blue paneling.