Bonaventura Vulcanius’ De literis et lingua getarum, sive gothorum [On the Alphabet & Language of the Getae or Goths], published in Leiden in 1597, contains texts & wordlists in Gothic, Crimean Gothic, Anglo-Saxon, Frisian, Persian, Welsh, Icelandic, Basque, Romani & Rotwelsch. ImageImage
In this pioneering work of comparative linguistics, Vulcanius attempted to define the relationship between the Gothic language and High German, Crimean Gothic (after Busbecq's vocabulary, first published eight years previously in 1589), Anglo-Saxon and Frisian. Image
At the same time, he also considered the Persian, Welsh, Icelandic and Basque languages. When the book went to press, what would otherwise have been blank space at the end of the last gathering was filled with a Romani and a Rotwelsch wordlist. ImageImageImage
Vulcanius had access to the silver-on-purple codex containing the ancient Gothic translation of the Bible by Bishop Wulfila, and this book includes an extract - the first ever publication of a Gothic text. He gave the ms the name by which it is still known today: Codex Argenteus. Image
Vulcanius presents a vocabulary & a brief song extract - shown below - of the variety of Gothic observed in the Crimea by the diplomat Ogier de Busbecq, and first published in his account of his embassy to Turkey in 1589. This is the only attestation of Crimean Gothic to survive. Image
Immediately following the language specimens of Gothic and Old High German, Vulcanius proceeds with Old English - part of Alfred’s Preface to the Pastoral Care. He informs the reader that he had heard of many Anglo-Saxon manuscripts still extant in English archives and libraries. Image
The printer Raphelengius did not possess any Anglo-Saxon typefaces, and Vulcanius apologizes for the fact that the text, notably the f, g, r, s, t, and z (he means the yogh), as well as a number of abbreviations, had to be substituted in his specimen by ordinary Latin characters. Image

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More from @incunabula

11 May
"Cut off from the world by military clashes, the fate of the Abba Garima monastery and its spectacular Garima Gospels is still unknown. But the area around the monastery is controlled by soldiers who have looted systematically since the start of the war."
theglobeandmail.com/world/article-…
The Garima Gospels are a two volume Ethiopian Gospel Book dating to the 5th century. Garima 2, the earlier of the two, is believed to be the earliest surviving complete illuminated Christian manuscript - an incomparably important heritage for Ethiopia, Africa and all humanity. Image
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7 May
Kōetsu Utaibon 光悦謡本 [Saga, Kyoto, 1607].
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3 May
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This miniature Ferial Psalter, written around 1280, shows however that the interest and complexity of a manuscript has nothing to do with its size... 1/12
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"The Jewish Magna Carta"

The 'Statute of Kalisz' was the first major manuscript project of the artist Arthur Szyk. It celebrates the General Charter of Jewish Liberties, which granted civil and religious rights to Polish Jews when issued in 1264 by Duke Bolesław in Kalisz. 1/4 ImageImageImage
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27 Apr
This is an untouched box of the legendary Hagoromo Fulltouch chalk, made in Japan circa 2014. The company closed down in 2015, and while a version of the chalk is now made in Korea, purists mourn the loss of the unsurpassable original - the finest blackboard chalk ever made. 1/
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link.medium.com/Bpcbj5TMMfb
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cbc.ca/1.3116153?__vf…
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25 Apr
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