The Ymagines Fulgencii ('Images of Fulgentius') is a 14th-century Latin reference work of mythography, containing "descriptions of the representations of diverse mythological and allegorical figures."
Content The Ymagines begins with the words Refert Fulgentius de ornatu orbis, referring to a nonexistent work of Fulgentius as its source. In fact, it is derived only indirectly from Fulgentius' authentic Mythologicon via John Ridewall's commentary, Fulgentius metaforalis. There is an abridged copy of the Fulgentius metaforalis (Vatican, Reg. lat. 453), dating to the late 14th century and probably produced in France, which may represent "the first step of the process which eventually produced the complete Ymagines".
In its complete form, the Ymagines contains 33 chapters, the last sixteen derived from the Fulgentius metaforalis. The first seventeen are:
Jupiter (with three wings) Reason Charity Friendship Three Graces Jupiter (as the sun) Virgo Earth Woman Mortal sin Vanity Love Cerberus Fortune Tripartite life of man (Juno, Minerva and Venus) Chimera Liber
Manuscripts
The Ymagines is found in many manuscripts, frequently alongside Robert Holcot's Moralitates and in some cases even misattributed to Holcot. Nobody has yet catalogued all the manuscripts of the . Among the known manuscripts containing the in whole or in part are:
Bordeaux, Bibliothèque municipale, 267 Heidelberg, Universitätsbibliothek, Cod. Sal., VII, 104 London, British Museum, Additional 21429 Madrid, Biblioteca de la Universidad, 111 Paris, Bibliothèque Mazarine, 986 Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Latin 590, the oldest copy Troyes, Bibliothèque municipale, 1701 Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica, Pal. lat. 159 Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica, Pal. lat. 1066 (fols. 235r–243v), which also contains the Fulgentius metaforalis (fols. 217v–231v) Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica, Pal. lat. 1726 Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica, Vat. lat. 4347
In the Heidelberg manuscript and Pal. lat. 1066, the order of figures is different.
References
Bibliography