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This manuscript contains comedies of Publius Terentius (c. 190-159 B.C.). Publius Terentius Afer, better known in English as Terence, was a playwright of the Roman Republic, of North African descent. His comedies were performed for the first time around 170–160 B.C.
Three manuscripts of the comedies of Terence were copied in Paris at the beginning of the 15th century and given splendid illustrations. The finest of them received its epithet because two of its earliest owners were dukes.
The illustrations of the present manuscript were produced in the workshop of Haincelin von Hagenau, who came from Alsace and was recorded in Paris between 1403 and 1424. he is probably identical with the Master of the Duke of Bedford. The illustration on folio 210v shows a scene from Hecira (The Mother-in-Law). In the centre is the courtesan Philotis, whose fringed clothing and extravagant hat hint at her vocation.
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