Psalterium (The Psalter of Humphrey de Bohun); Pleshey and London, England, 1360? × c. 1400

Title

Psalterium (The Psalter of Humphrey de Bohun); Pleshey and London, England, 1360? × c. 1400

Shelfmark

Exeter College MS. 47

Place of origin

Pleshey and London, England

Date

1360? × c. 1400

Language

Middle English (1100-1500)

Latin

Contents

Form

codex

Support

parchment FHHF

Physical extent

125 leaves, some badly damaged by water, preceded by one 19th-century and one 18th-century paper flyleaf and two medieval membrane flyleaves, the first of which is a raised pastedown, and followed by one 18th-century and one 19th-century paper flyleaf.

Hands

1, gothic bookhand, competent but not of the first quality and varying between quadrata and semiquadrata; punctuated by low point.

2–5, fine gothic quadrata bookhand, punctuated by low and medial points and punctus elevatus.

Decoration

1, all pages have illuminated borders, each page with two medallions, one in the lower border showing the occupations of each month and the other in either the inner or the outer side border showing the zodiacal signs. James, see bibliography, describes them. 2–5, in the lower margins of fols. 7r(9r)–12v(14v) are the arms, alternately of Bohun and England.

In the rest of the book the system of illustration consists of (1) ornamental frontispieces to the ferial divisions; (2) historiated initials to psalms, canticles, collects, memoriae, etc. The frontispieces and the initials to psalms and canticles form a connected series, telling the Bible story from the Creation onwards. Of the original ten frontispieces (for psalms 1, 26, 38, 51, 52, 68, 80, 97, 101, 109) all but two have gone (fols. 31v(33v), 32r(34r), for psalms 51, 52) as well as illustrations to 34 psalms. Dennison, ‘Oxford, Exeter College, MS 47’ see bibliography, distinguishes five hands working in three campaigns: (1) fols. 18r(20r)–75v(77v), quires 4–11; (2) fols. 7r(9r)–17v(19v), quires 2–3; (3) fols. 1r(3r)–6v(8v) and 76r(78r)–124v(126v), quires 12–18. Of these, D, the senior artist, can be identified as Fr John de Tye, OESA, who worked in the Bohun family home at Pleshey, Essex, for many years: see History, below.

Watson's Plate III reproduces fol. 32r. James, see bibliography, reproduces all historiated initials, including full pages of fols. 31v (33v), 32r (34r), 115v (117v); Dennison, ‘Oxford, Exeter College, MS 47’ see bibliography, reproduces 20 pages or details.

For factual descriptions see James, 7–22; for greater detail and aesthetic judgements Sandler, ii. 150–1. Alexander and Temple, no. 316; pl. XXII, 316a, reproduces fol. 31v (33v), 316b reproduces fol. 123v (125v), both reduced.

Binding

Sewn on eight bands between bevelled wooden boards covered with worn golden-coloured patterned damask. Rebacked, with a leather spine; remains of a round paper label on it. On the upper cover are two sets of holes from the nails of a tie-holder, from one of which a fragment of a tie hangs, and two recesses from two earlier strap-fastenings, with corresponding corrosion on fol. iii, the original pastedown. On the lower cover are corresponding single holes from the nails of two catches.

Provenance

Written for Humphrey de Bohun (1342–73), 7th earl of Hereford, 6th earl of Essex, and 2nd earl of Northampton, grandson of Edward III, whose name (‘Himfridus’) occurs in six of the memoriae on fols. 116r (118r), 116v(118v), 117v(119v), 118r(120r), 118v(120v), 120r(122r). The work was at first carried out by a group of artists based on the Bohuns’ family home at Pleshey, Essex, but after the deaths, c. 1390–1400, of members of the group of artists headed by John de Tye (above) it was transferred to a London workshop.

Later in the possession of Elizabeth, queen of Henry VII, d. 1503 (fol. iiiv, ‘Thys boke ys myn. Elyth ye qwene’) and Catherine of Aragon, queen of Henry VIII, divorced 1531 (fol. iiiv, ‘This boke ys myn Katherina the qwene’). On fol. iir, in the Exeter hand that wrote the Glynne identification in the manuscripts that came to the College in 1774 (see Watson, Exeter, General Index), is ‘The Mass-Book [deleted and replaced in pencil by Psalter, in Coxe’s hand] of K. Henry VIIth’s Queen Catherine [deleted] Elizabeth & of K. Henry VIIIth’s Queen Catherine.

Given to the library by Sir Wm. Petre.’ The descent of the book from Humphrey to the Tudor royal family was presumably through his younger daughter, Mary, who married the future Henry IV but died in 1394 before he became king. Sir William Petre was a member of Elizabeth I’s court and donor of printed books to the College in 1567, of which eight or perhaps nine can be identified.

‘A.D. 1829. Fol. 127’ on fol. iiir (ir) is presumably a record of the insertion of the first foliation.

Not recorded in Ecloga or CMA.

Exeter library identifications are, on the front pastedown, ‘Coxe MS 47’ (pencil), bookplate 3, on which are ‘XLVII in Catalogo’ and ‘Q6–12 Gall’, deleted and replaced by ‘169–K–8’. On fol. iir is ‘E.2.10’, deleted, and on fol. ivv bookplate 1. On fol. 18r is ‘Q–6–12 Gall’ (pencil).

On a half-sheet stuck to fol 1r is a note, initialled ‘HHEC’ [H. H. E. Craster, Bodley’s Librarian, 1931–45], on directions for saying the rosary on fol. 125v (127v): see note on item 5.