[Ledger of Medici accounts and memoranda]

Timespan:

15th century

Date:

1456

Description:

Ledger of accounts of the Medici estate for the years 1456-1495, written in the first person by an unnamed author. The list of the Medici properties mentioned in the ledger includes a main house in Florence; the magione di San Piero, in San Piero a Sieve, north of Florence; the podere La Pergola (?), in Palaia, between Pisa and Florence; and the Valdinievole farm and its stalls, right outside Florence. For every property there is a short list of expenses (related to household management and to the payment of wages of workers), revenues (related to small sales of produce, wine and oil), and a brief description of the property itself (stalls, houses and land). Memoranda include short descriptions of the circumstances that lead to an expense or a revenue and, sometimes, a longer description of the property.

Language:

Italian

Provenance:

Sold by Bernard M. Rosenthal, 1961.

Subject:

Medici, House of Archives; Medici, House of; Accounting -- Italy -- 15th century; Accounting

Resource Type:

Text

Form/Genre:

Codices; Accounts; Credit records; Ledgers (account books); Manuscripts, Italian; Manuscripts, Renaissance; Archives; manuscripts (documents)

Physical Description:

110 leaves : paper; 283 x 218 mm bound to 288 x 220 mm

Geographic Subject:

Italy

Rights:

https://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-US/1.0/

Notes:

Ms. codex.; Title supplied by cataloger.; Foliation: Paper, 110; 2-15, 20-55, 58-68, 72-73, 77-85, 92-93, 103-107, 114-125, 127-134, 136-144, contemporary foliation in ink, upper right recto (f.102 torn; f.126 severed; and f.5-9, 20-23, 33-37, 40-47, 50, 55, 58-63 and 72 blank but ruled).; Layout: Written in 2 columns with vertical bounding lines in lead; the small column on the left with the date of the transaction and the large one on the right with a description of the transaction. Memoranda written in long lines.; Script: Written in a cursive script, perhaps by multiple hands.; Watermark: Similar to Briquet, Fleur 6340 (Lucca, 1456), but with a longer stalk.; Binding: Contemporary vellum, no. 22 on spine; the heading Ricordanze di beni et immobili di casa Medici, letter A with decorative penwork and no. 242 on upper cover; lower cover wraps around upper cover with remnants of leather ties; decorative leatherwork on spine.; Origin: Written in Italy between 1456 (f. 2r) and 1495 (f. 32v).; Forms part of: Gondi-Medici Business Records.; Italian.

Physical Location:

Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, Manuscripts, Oversize Ms. Codex 1435