Manuscript Group FR1 (Standard French Group)

The FR1 group represents the earliest widespread design in the Compendium tradition. Ruled both horizontally and vertically, the pages of the manuscripts in this group have a gridded layout that guides the placement of both medallions and text blocks. Male names are written in black, female in red (as would become standard). Medallions and connectors are drawn with double red lines. The design does not emphasize the medallions marking the six ages (this is a later innovation, see FR3 and Six Ages). Color-coding and letters are used on certain pages to help the reader follow the lines across page breaks. Running over eleven pages, the layout takes up six folios. The quire’s remaining empty page (usually placed at the front of the Compendium, sometimes at the end) often supports a full-paged seven-branched candelabrum motif. The layout of the Encampments and Tribes diagrams in K, Ta, and Lf:

The design of the diagrams in this group form the basis for much of the later tradition. While the Encampments diagram has three arches with decorated columns, the Tribes diagram is quatrefoil-shaped with color-coded connectors. The plan of Jerusalem is characterized by oblong inner-pointing arch-shaped gates. There are no Ark diagrams, which suggests that these diagrams were not part of Peter of Poiters’ original design.

Manuscript Group FR2 (Auxerre Group)

Maintaining the gridded concept, the manuscripts in the FR2 group have a spacious layout (spread across thirteen pages instead of eleven) with text blocks more sparsely placed around the graph than in the FR1 group. The other most prominent innovation is a single, larger medallion for Adam and Eve (Ax, Ln):

The diagrams follow the FR1 paradigm. The Tribes diagram, however, is rotated 90 degrees. Ax includes the seven-branched candelabrum.

Manuscript Group BE1 (Kingdom Diagram Group)

Remaining true to the gridded concept of FR1, the manuscripts in the BE1 group introduce several features: first, colorful highlighting for connectors and second, a new diagram. Placed in the bottom left-hand corner of the first page, this diagram shows the four kingdoms to emerge after the Flood: Assyria, Egypt, Scythia, and Sicyon, as shown here in Kö:

The other diagrams also remain relatively true to the FR1 model. The main difference is in the coloration of the diagrams. These manuscripts have no seven-branched candelabrum motif.

Manuscript Group IT1 (Virtues and Vices Group)

While gradually abandoning the grid (still present in V), the IT1 group retains the eleven-page layout and graph structure of FR1 (one exception is Vi1, which alternates text and graph pages). Characteristic are the triangles that mark the different lines (Linea Christi, Judges, Priests, etc.) to differentiate them at the top of each new page, for instance in Do and Wr1:

There are two round-topped Ark cross-section diagrams at the bottom of the first page to the left of the Linea Christi, (usually) labeled secundum moysen and secundum josephum. The While the Encampments diagram is usually true to the FR1 archetype, the Tribes diagram is round instead of a quatrefoil. The plan of Jerusalem varies; sometimes it has arch-shaped gates, sometimes semicircular gates. The Compendium is also usually accompanied by four full-page diagrams: the seven-branched candelabrum as well as virtue, vice, and scripture diagrams.

Manuscript Group DE3

Related to IT2, the DE3 group introduces an illustrated design. Whereas IT2 has triangles marking the lines at the tops of pages, DE3 transforms these markers into small figures (or towers, in the case of Nü) with banderoles announcing the names of the lines (Linea Christi, Priests, Judges, etc). The Adam and Eve medallions are illustrated with nude figures. La and M6 have a particularly bold, colorful design with colors marking certain lines and groups of medallions (red, green, blue, pink, yellow). Otherwise the graph structure and format follow IT2, with the standard eleven-page layout. The page beginning with Jesse features several small figures (La, M6):

The diagrams are similar to the IT2 diagrams: two Ark diagrams placed to the bottom left of the first page, a round Tribes diagram, and a standard plan of Jerusalem. The DE3 group also includes the collection of diagrams that travels with IT1: seven-branched candelabrum, virtue, vice, and scripture diagrams.

Manuscript Group DE5

Also related to IT1, the DE5 group has, however, a larger format. This allows for a ten-page rather than eleven-page layout. The simple design features single red lines for medallions and connectors. The Adam and Eve medallions are reversed, with Adam to the left and Eve to the right. DE5 also includes a T-O map next to Noah, mapping the sons of Noah onto the three regions of the Earth.

Unlike IT1, the DE5 group has no Ark diagrams. The Tribes diagram is round. The plan of Jerusalem, with gates drawn as slices rather than arches, has the inscription: Solima, Lurza, Bethel, Jerosolima, Jebus, Helya. Urbs sacra Iherusalem dicitur atque Salem (referring to alternative names for Jerusalem or names that were used at different points in the city’s history; see also V1, Mi, St). DE5 includes the collection of diagrams that travels with IT1: seven-branched candelabrum, virtue, vice, and scripture diagrams.

Manuscript Group DE4

The DE4 group is characterized by a large, double-wide format and colorful design. Each section of the Linea Christi occurs on an opening of two pages rather than on a single page. Nevertheless, the graph structure remains relatively true to the FR1 paradigm. Only the structure of the Marys and Apostles differs, with the Apostles positioned in a row rather than in two clusters of six. DE4 introduces color-coding for the significant lines: red for the Linea Christi and blue for the High Priests. M18 has a more complex color scheme that also includes coloration for medallions and connectors.

Like IT1, DE5, and DE3, DE4 includes a collection of four diagrams: seven-branched candelabrum, virtue, vice, and scripture diagrams. There are no Ark diagrams, but there is a diagram of Noah’s sons at the end of the Compendium. The Encampments diagram is standard, while the Tribes diagram is a quatrefoil with a circular frame. The plan of Jerusalem has semicircular gates.

Manuscript Group DE1

A characteristic feature of the DE1 group is the Adam medallion: in both Fb and M3 the letters of ADAM are written in a cross. The arrangement of the Apostles is also unique in this group. Otherwise these two manuscripts remain true to the eleven-page layout and graph structure of FR1. M3 introduces a new coloration with turquoise medallions and yellow connectors. G, while opting for a much-expanded twenty-one page layout, is clearly related to M3 due to the design of the diagrams, the arrangement and inscriptions of the Marys and Apostles, and the yellow framing lines for the medallions. The first page of Fb:

The diagrams follow the standard FR1 paradigm.

Manuscript Group AT1 (Mondsee Group)

Despite that W is the earliest dated Compendium manuscript, its layout is characterized by a lack of structure. Missing the gridded concept of FR1, W and the other manusctipts in the AT1 group nevertheless follow the placement (both horizontal and vertical ordering) of medallions, and eleven-page layout, present in the FR1 paradigm. The lack of linearity is visible on the second page (W, W1, Lz):

The diagrams are relatively standard except for Encampments diagram, which is more compact (with fewer columns of names under each arch). Lz has a Jerusalem diagram illustrated with Solomon enthroned in the center. The Compendium in W1 is prefaced by a windrose, which is characteristic of another related group of Austrian manuscripts (AT2).

Manuscript Group AT2 (Windrose Group)

While true to the eleven-page gridded format of FR1, the AT2 group introduces a new design. With single rather than double medallions, double lines are used for connectors and to emphasize some medallions. A distinctive feature is the frame around the outside of the page, which emphasizes the continuity of the vertical lines as they breach the frame at the top and bottom of each page (with the exception of W1, which lacks the framing element). There are other small adjustments of the FR1 structure, such as the arrangement of Lamech’s wives on the first page (here both placed to the left of Lamech) and the Tamar group (placed to the left of the Linea Christi). Some copies have small illustrations in selected medallions (Adam, Eve, Christ). Here is shown the first page of Lz1, Ly, and W7:

Instead of the seven-branched candelabrum as a frontispiece for the Compendium, the manuscripts in the AT2 group include a windrose, a diagram showing the various winds and their directions.

The diagrams differ from the FR1 model. The Encampments diagram has three single columns; the Tribes diagram is square; the plan of Jerusalem, however, is standard.

Manuscript Group GB6

True to the FR1 graph structure and eleven-page layout, the GB6 group introduces colored patterns for the Linea Christi and other vertical lines.The inscriptions also receive a new color scheme. Instead of red for female and black for female, GB6 uses either alternating red, blue and green (C) or alternating red and blue (Bm). Also of note is that the Adam and Eve medallions are switched and the page that begins with Jesse is flipped so that the line of Priests runs down the right side (C and Bm):

Bm is fully illustrated with small bust portraits for every medallion, but lacks diagrams. C has an altered Encampments diagram with six instead of seven columns. The Tribes diagram is composed of four circles and the plan of Jerusalem has semicircular gates.

Manuscript Group GB1

Possibly the earliest group to include Ark diagrams, the GB1 group, however, abandons the neat gridded format of the FR1 paradigm. The text is filled in loosely around the graph. Slightly stretched, the layout takes up twelve instead of eleven pages, but otherwise remains true to the FR1 arrangement of medallions and connectors. The Adam and Eve medallions are flipped, however. The first two manuscripts, B and C10, are closely related, the second two, O3 and O7, are messy copies.

The first page with the cross-sections of the ark embedded in the text (B):

The two Ark diagrams have trapezoidal tops and no labels. The Encampments diagram is composed of three single columns, while the Tribes consists of four circles. The plan of Jerusalem has semicircular gates.

Manuscript Group GB3 (1st Three Ark Group)

The large GB3 group can be split into two closely related, but distinct, subgroups. The first is characterized by a simple, linear design (Nh, Mv, H, Ed). The second, in addition to small structural changes (a zig-zag pattern in the Kings of Syria), introduces colorful frames around some medallions, as well as bold, colored connectors (L9, O1, O10, O2). This second subgroup is more clearly related to GB5 (see below). Similarities within this second subgroup are evident not only in the Kings of Syria but also in the plan of Jerusalem with architectural gates. L8 has characteristics of both subgroups (simple design without bold color, but with structural features of the second subgroup). The entire GB3 group is characterized by a standard eleven-page layout and three schematic Ark diagrams (with the exception of O1, which has no Ark diagrams, and O2, which has one), often positioned on the right-hand edge of the first page (Nh, Mv, H):

The Tribes diagram is composed of four circles and sometimes intersects the Linea Christi.

Manuscript Group GB5 (2nd Three Ark Group)

Related to GB3, the GB5 design became popular in England in the fifteenth century. While in some manuscripts (Pn, Wf2) the layout remains relatively true to the FR1 paradigm (slightly elongated twelve-page format), the design also appears on rolls (C14, L19) and in folded books (L16). Characterized by a single Adam and Eve medallion, the graph structure is otherwise standard. GB5 features colorful lines (often thick and yellow for the Linea Christi, other lines are thinner and different colors) and rounded decorative elements on the diagrams. The first page of O12:

Manuscripts in the GB5 group also have a title, “Lux firmamentum mare terraque lumina pisces et volucres pecudes fera reptile cum protoplasto” (see also L1, O12), and often an extra text recounting the six days of creation. Some manuscripts have a cosmological diagram built into the graph (M8, L16). Many include other diagrams (sometimes called the Speculum theologiae) such as Trees of Virtues and Vices, Ten Commandments, and Twelves Articles of the Faith (Pn, C14, L16, M8).

The diagrams derive from the GB3 design. There are three cross-sections of the ark. The Tribes diagram is composed of four circles (often with an extra outer circle) and the plan of Jerusalem often has architectural elements.

Manuscript Group ES1 (Spanish Illustrated Group)

True to the FR1 layout and graph structure, the ES1 group introduces new decorative elements. Ten medallions are illustrated: Adam, Eve, Jesse, David, Solomon, and the four Christ medallions, plus an additional medallion at the beginning (above Adam and Eve) with a picture of God creating Eve from Adam’s side. The Linea Christi is a broad stripe instead of a double line. The Jesse, David, and Salomon illustrations in Md:

The Encampments and Tribes diagrams are standard. The plan of Jerusalem has circular gates.

Manuscript Group FR3 (Paris Group)

Characterized by colored framing elements and gently curved, slender connecting lines, the FR3 group introduces a new structural paradigm. The design is punctuated by large, illustrated medallions inscribed in square framing elements. In contrast to the FR1 layout, the text blocks fill the space of the page more compactly. Structural alterations established by this group that distinguish Graph Version 2 from Version 1 include the rearrangement of David’s sons and a more symmetrical design for the Marys and Apostles. Aaron’s sons are also repositioned with Eleazar to the left, so that the line of High Priests runs down the far left-hand side of the page. Another characteristic feature is the placement of the prophets under the Kings of Judah, now shifted so that they are adjacent to the line of kings in the center. The entire layout, slightly elongated, takes up twelve instead of the eleven pages of the FR1 paradigm.

This group’s picture program forms the basis for the Compendium’s pictorial tradition. There are six illustrated medallions marking the six ages: Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham, David, Zedekiah, and the birth of Christ. The first page with Adam and Eve and Noah illustrations in F1 and P2:

The Compendium is often accompanied by a seven-branched candelabrum. Most FR3 manuscripts have two Ark diagrams with trapezoidal or round tops, placed symmetrically on either side of the Noah medallion on the first page. The Ark diagrams are usually labeled secundum moysen and secundum josephum. The Encampments diagram is standard. The Tribes diagram is rectangular (although some copies have quatrefoil-shaped Tribes diagrams: P4, R). The plan of Jerusalem has semicircular gates.

Manuscript Group FR4 (Lyon Roll Group)

The FR4 group adapts the FR3 structure and pictorial program to the roll format, with some distortion. Not all medallions are circular, and the lines of descendance not always perfectly straight. The seven-branched candelabrum is integrated as an anchoring element at the top of the graph, a feature to become standard in Compendium rolls (Ly1, Mo):

While originating in France, this archetype seems to have been quickly exported to Italy. There is also a late fourteenth-century English witness.

There are two Ark diagrams with round tops (labeled secundum moysen and secundum josephum), placed symmetrically on either side of the Noah medallion. The Encampments diagram is standard, the Tribes diagram is round, and the plan of Jerusalem has semicircular gates. Two witnesses (Ly1, Mo) also have a diagram at the end, known as the Septenarium pictum, which also appears in English rolls (see GB4).

Manuscript Group FR5 (Harvard Roll Group)

The FR5 group exhibits a variation on the FR3 design, with slender connectors and select double medallions. Also true to the FR3 structure, this group nevertheless introduces new decorative developments. Like FR4, the candelabrum serves as an anchoring element for the graph. In addition to the basic six ages pictorial program, Moses, Aaron, and Alexander are illustrated. The opening of the Compendium also has new pictorial features. On either side of the prologue there are medallions with pictures of the author and the scribe. Adam and Eve now occupy two separate medallions, and just above, a third medallion depicts Christ enthroned. In the space between the Linea Christi and Cain’s descendants there is an additional illustration of Cain and Abel making sacrifices (G1 is not illustrated). While Pa and V7 are quite true to the paradigm established by Cm, Z and G1 are freer in their interpretation. The beginning of the Compendium in Cm and P11:

There are two rectangular Ark diagrams with labels secundum moysen and secundum josephum. The Encampments diagram is standard and the Tribes diagram is a double quatrefoil. The plan of Jerusalem has extra inner rings and shallow semicircular gates, sometimes (Cm, P11, V7) with an inscription: Hec est dispositio ciuitatis iherusalem. Some witnesses (Cm, P11, V7) also introduce the Compendium with two additional diagrams: Trees of Affinity and Consanguinity.

Manuscript Group GB4 (English Rolls)

The GB4 group anchors the Compendium with a seven-branched candelabrum merged with the Maiestas Domini. Other iconographical particularities include Noah depicted in a boat (rather than in the vineyard) with a rainbow that spans the Linea Christi. The illustrated medallions can also be quatrefoil- or lozenge-shaped. Structurally similar to the FR3 paradigm, one difference is the placement of the Apostles, which have been shifted to the center. The Maiestas domini and candelabrum motif in P12:

An English design, this paradigm arrived back in Paris at the end of the thirteenth century. P12 is illustrated by a well known Parisian illuminator, the Meliacin Master.

There are two Ark diagrams placed symmetrically under the rainbow, often with pictorial features and labeled (sometimes without labels) secundum moysen and secundum josephum. The Encampments diagram often has architectural elements. The Tribes diagram is circular. O6 has no Tribes diagram and two Jerusalem diagrams. Some of the GB4 rolls have a flower-shaped plan of Jerusalem (L7, O6, P12), others a Jerusalem plan with outward-pointed arch-shaped gates (L6, Ny1), possibly the origin of the flower design.

Manuscript Group CH2

Like FR3, the CH2 group employs large medallions to mark the six ages and adopts other structural aspects in favor of symmetry. CH2 reverts to an eleven-page layout. There are other significant structural differences, including the order of Adam and Eve’s children and the placement of Mary on the Linea Christi. The first page of Aa:

Kr arranges the Apostles in a circle around the medallion for Christ on the Linea Christi. CH2 includes cross-section(s) of the ark with extra text from the Historia scholastica. The Encampments diagram is standard, if elongated; the Tribes diagram is round; and the plan of Jerusalem has semicircular gates.

Manuscript Group AT3 (Marian Group)

The AT3 group has a bold design with large medallions, stretched over an extensive twenty-two pages. While the AT3 group follows the FR3 structure in aspects such as large medallions for the six ages, it has other structural particularities: notably, the order of Adam and Eve’s children, the order of Alexander’s children, and the construction of the Estha square. The elongated format and oversized medallions, moreover, cause certain issues with the layout: Moses and Aaron appear on facing pages rather than on the same page and the Linea Christi is shifted off center. Ad and S are closely related, with the same distinctive coloration: medallions and connectors are green, yellow, tan and purple. S, however, lacks illustrations. W5 has a different coloration (purple wash) and a different pictorial style, but is otherwise quite close in layout, iconography, and diagram types.

In addition to the standard six age program (see FR3), this group also illustrates Moses, Aaron, and Alexander, as well as all four Christ medallions. There are also two extra medallions for Christ: the Annunciation and the Epiphany. There is another manuscript (M2) with these medallions and their accompanying texts, but M2 does not have the same graph structure.

There is no Encampments diagram. The Tribes diagram is a quatrefoil inscribed in a circle and the Jerusalem diagram is placed at the end on the page above the Mary genealogy and next to a trefoil medallion for Christus resurgens (Ad, W5):

Instead of a candelabrum or a windrose, a diagram of the Liberal Arts accompanies the Compendium.

Manuscript Group GB2 (Cotton Faustina Chronicle Group)

The graph structure established by the GB2 group already deviates significantly from the standard structure on the first page. Adam and Eve’s children fan out symmetrically from a single large medallion. Cain’s descendants are placed on the right rather than on the left, here shown in C3:.

Significant differences continue throughout the Compendium. Jacob’s and David’s children, for instance, are rearranged. There is also a set of figures that do not appear at all in the original version of the Compendium: Benjamin’s descendants. The configuration of the Marys and Apostles is also entirely restructured.

GB2’s small format is a determining factor in the design. With fewer medallions per page, the Compendium runs over sixteen rather than eleven pages. Other features include: quatrefoil medallions for many of the figures on the Linea Christi (among others) and medallions illustrated with small portraits (O is missing illustrations). GB2 introduces a color scheme of alternating red, blue, and green that encompasses connectors, medallions, and inscriptions. The Compendium begins with medallions for the days of creation. In L2 the graph is continued as a chronicle.

The only diagram reliably present is the plan of Jerusalem, which has circular gates. C3 has two arks and L2 and O both have diagrams separate from the Compendium (in O the diagrams are unfinished).

Manuscript Group CH1 (Kemli Group)

Designed by Gallus Kemli (1417–1481), monk from St. Gallen, the manuscripts in the CH1 group, except for Da, are autographs written in his hand. Kemli’s title for the Compendium is the Arbor historie biblice. One of his manuscript (Sg1) contains five copies of the Comendium, two in his German translation and others covered in his additions and notes. Opting for a linear stylization, Kemli used a broad double line for all connectors, including the Linea Christi. He redrew many of the descendance relations as horizontal or angled lines and added new connectors between siblings. The angular design for the Apostles is characteristic of his approach, here shown in Fm:

Kemli’s structural innovations show his impulse to symmetry. Most visible in the arrangement of the wives and descendants of Abraham, Jacob, and Judas, his changes to the standard structure create a more balanced format.

Kemli included a diagram of the Sons of Noah composed of three circles embedded in a larger circle. The Encampments diagram has two columns and the Tribes diagram is circular with medallions bunched in four groups. The plan of Jerusalem is true to the FR1 paradigm, with the inscription: porte ciuitas Jherusalem.

Manuscript Group IT2 (Tuscan Rolls)

Comprising rolls that are located, on stylistic evidence, to Tuscany, the IT2 group introduces a colorful design. The Linea Christi, usually pink-reddish (alternating colors in R1), is flanked by two lines of a different color, usually green. All other lines and medallions are drawn in alternating colors: red, green, blue, orange, pink. The prophets’ medallions are gold, and as in Graph Version 2, the prophets under the Kings of Judah are placed adjacent to the center line of kings.

Structurally IT2 is more symmetrical than Graph Version 1. Adam and Eve’s children are centered, fanning out from a line arcing between Adam and Eve lozenge-shaped medallions. An image of the Tree of Knowledge stands between Adam and Eve. Other structural innovations include: Terah’s children are placed to either side of the Linea Christi rather than both to the left. Abraham’s wives and David’s children are also centered. The medallions for Noah, Abraham, David, Salomon, Jacob, Zedekiah, Christus Natus, and Christus Puer are illustrated. A large image of the Crucifixion concludes the Compendium.

There are two rectangular Ark diagrams with small feet and trapezoidal roofs. Labeled secundum augustum and secundum alios, they are placed symmetrically on either side of the Linea christi. The Encampments diagram has architectural features and the Tribes diagram is a quatrefoil inscribed in a circular frame. The plan of Jerusalem has trefoil arch designs and the inscription: Ista est iherusalem.

Manuscript Group NL1 (Dutch Chronicle Group)

The NL1 group is the first to adopt a horizontal layout. With a simple design (single-circle medallions, thin connectors) the Compendium takes up between sixteen (We1) and twenty-seven (P14) pages. There are some additional structural changes such as the omission of connecting lines between the Kings of Judah and Kings of Israel. Some elements, moreover, are not rotated with the rest of the graph, such as the Tobias and Anna cluster. The NL1 group also includes extra medallions, such as the wives of various figures including Noah and his sons, Amram, Moses and Aaron, and David. There is an additional line leading from David’s son Nathan (also not included in the original Compendium) to Mary (which also appears in some other late copies of the Compendium).

The NL1 design begins with two circular diagrams, first, a T-O map with Jerusalem at the center, and second, a cosmological diagram, which gives way to a row of medallions for the days of creation (see also GB2). In We1, which has a smaller format and longer text than the others, the cosmological diagram and days of creation have been squeezed into the space above the graph on the first page (Le1):

The graph continues as a chronicle of the Popes, Counts of Holland, and Bishops of Utrecht.

There is no Encampments diagram. The Tribes diagram is round and rotated 90 degrees and the plan of Jerusalem has semicircular gates.