Fragments of a manuscript of the Bible attributed to Bonifaci Ferrer. Comparison with the text printed in 1478

Authors

Keywords:

Valencian Bible, 15th-century Bible, Bonifaci Ferrer’s Bible, biblical manuscripts, fragments of manuscripts, medieval versions of the Bible, Catalan biblical translations, converts, National Historical Archive (Spain), Corpus Biblicum Catalanicum, Jaume Riera i Sans

Abstract

Printed in the year 1478, the Valencian Bible, or 15th-century Bible, was based on a version attributed to Bonifaci Ferrer, which was mainly corrected by the convert Daniel Vives, under the orders of the inquisitor Jaume Borrell. Based on a sheet (kept in New York) from one of the printed copies of the Valencian Bible, and on the Bible’s psalter, which Nicolau Spindeler reprinted in Barcelona in around 1480 (a copy of which is kept in Paris), various fragments of manuscripts have been deemed representative of Bonifaci Ferrer’s Bible due to their linguistic traits (extreme faithfulness to or calquing of the Latin text). This article presents two new fragments, found in the National Historical Archive in Madrid in the years 2011-2012, which come from a large, deluxe Bible. One of the two contains text from the Book of Psalms, allowing a comparison with the aforementioned reprinted psalter to be carried out. Through that comparison, it has been deduced that the two fragments are part of the Bible attributed to Bonifaci Ferrer, as they are almost identical to the printed text. The comparison has also provided an insight into what kind of corrections were made to Bonifaci Ferrer’s text when it was being prepared for printing.

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Published

2025-07-09

How to Cite

Casanellas i Bassols, P. (2025). Fragments of a manuscript of the Bible attributed to Bonifaci Ferrer. Comparison with the text printed in 1478. TAMID. Revista Catalana Anual d’Estudis Hebraics. Annual Catalan Journal of Jewish Studies, 19, 241–287. Retrieved from https://revistes.iec.cat/index.php/tamid/article/view/150405

Issue

Vol. 19 (2024)

Section

Articles

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