Missal, Use of Sarum, noted ('The Buckland Missal') — 14th century, c. 1370–1380 (?); English

Title

Missal, Use of Sarum, noted ('The Buckland Missal') — 14th century, c. 1370–1380 (?); English

Shelfmark

MS. Don. b. 5

Associated place

Adderbury, Oxfordshire

Place of origin

English

Date

14th century, c. 1370–1380 (?)

Language

Latin

Contents

Form

codex

Support

Parchment, water-damaged at the beginning.

Physical extent

ii (modern parchment) + i (paper) + 400 + ii (modern parchment) leaves.Fol. 329 is a 15th-century supply leaf c. 305 × 225 mm.

Hands

Written in a fine gothic liturgical script.

Decoration

Fine borders, historiated and other initials. (Pächt and Alexander iii. 668, pl. LXV)

Headings in red.

One six-line historiated initial: (fol. 7r) An exorcist reading from a book on a lectern, inscribed with the opening words: 'Exorzizo te cre'[atura], blessing Holy Water held in a ladle by an assistant; an aspersory is below the lectern; extending into a four-sided border punctuated by animal and hybrid faces. Three- to six-line initials in shades of blue, orange, purple, and rose, on a gold ground, with vine leaf foliage and animal faces, and sometimes dragons, usually extending into matching borders in three or four margins: (fol. 7v) Asperges. (fol. 9r) Temporale. (fol. 27r) Christmas. (fol. 37v) Epiphany. (fol. 39r) First Sunday after Epiphany. (fol. 59r) First Sunday in Quadragesima. (fol. 156r) Preface for feasts of the Virgin. (fol. 158r) General preface. (fol. 186r) Ascension. (fol. 197v) Easter Monday. (fol. 241r) Sanctorale. (fol. 250r) Purification of the Virgin (2 Feb.). (fol. 263r) Annunciation to the Virgin (25 Mar.) (fol. 279r) Assumption of the Virgin (15 Aug.) (fol. 282v) Nativity of the Virgin (8 Sept.). Three-line initials similar to the large ones; two-line initials alternately blue with red penwork, or burgundy with purple penwork, the penwork often forming foliage, faces, etc.; cadells often with human faces in profile, etc.

Musical notation

Square notation on 13 staves (canon 10) staves of 4 red lines.

Binding

Bound in burgundy morocco over thick pasteboards by W. H. Smith; lightly tooled in blind and gild around the edges; signed with an oval gilt stamp on the lower turn-in of the lower board: 'WHS'; the spine with more elaborate blind and gilt tooling, with five raised bands, plus raised endbands, lettered in gilt 'MISSALE | SARISBURIENSE | MS. | OLIM AD ECCLES. PAROCH. | DE BUCKLAND PERTINENS'.

Acquisition

Presented to the Bodleian by Sir John Noble, Bt., in memory of Meade Falkener, in 1933.

Provenance

Written and illuminated in England, 14th century; the original calendar includes the feast of St. Anne, while that of the Visitation is added, and both are absent from the Sanctorale; those of St. Winifred, St. Chad, and St. David are absent; Pächt & Alexander suggest a date of c. 1370–80, van Dijk suggests c. 1385.

Probably at Adderbury, Oxfordshire, in the late 14th century, when the dedication of St. Mary's church was added to the calendar: 'Dedicatio ecclesie Sancte Marie de Eadb(er)b(ur)y' (1 Dec.). It is likely that, as a surname, Abberbury is a variant spelling of Eadburbury, and that it is therefore perhaps relevant that Sir Richard Abberbury, chamberlain to Queen Anne, was granted the manor of Carswell, in Buckland (cf. below), in 1383 (see William Page, P. H. Ditchfield, and John Hautenville Cope, eds., The Victoria County History of Berkshire (5 vols., London, 1924), IV, pp. 91, 456).

Probably at St. Mary's church, Buckland, Berkshire, in the 15th century, when its dedication was added to the calendar: 'Dedicatio ecclesie de Bucland' (4 July), and other additions were made to the calendar, including obits and records of gifts to the church, of William Nowell(?), Richard Holcot (d. 1465, according to a tablet still in the church) of Buckland, and John Pyrle (these and other entries are summarised in Hewlett et al., 1885). For St. Mary's, Buckland, and Richard Holcot, see Page et al., op. cit., IV, pp. 457–60): (i) 'Wylliam [N?]owell [ ... ...]a de bukland ab iconomis ecclesie que dedit vnam vac[... ...]la | dominicali etiam xiiijd annuali in perpetuum' (12 Jan.). (ii) 'obitus Ricardi holcot perpetuo tenenda in(?) ecclesia de bukland \ab iconomis ecclesie/ et ecciam rotule domincali | annuatam(??) in perpetuum xijd et clerico per pulsacionis p(ost?) aue(?) et seruicia pulsato | [...] xiiijd qu[...] dedit [...] s ac condicione et prouide[..] xijd | vicarius legere et orat[..]e [..] in(?) rotulam predictam' (15 Jan.). (iii) 'Obitus iohannis pyrle [or 'pyrk'?] semper tenend' per yconomis de bokland que dedit vnam vaccam ecclesie predicte | sunt(?) predict' condicio' et unam de a[nn?...] xiii qu[...]t custodi[...] pred[...] [...]a(n)ti vicari[.] | ecclesie predicte viii [... ... ...] [dedit?] ecclesia[m?]' (12 May). (iv) 'the day of ye frary chirke' (20 Nov.), i.e. of the Bonhommes of Buckland, according to van Dijk.

Feasts of Thomas Becket were crossed out at the Reformation (fols. 32v-33r, 268r, 369r).

Sir Robert Throckmorton, 3rd Bt. (1662–1721), or 4th Bt. (1702–91), of Buckland House, with his armorial bookplate (c. 1725), with his name below his motto: 'VIRTVS SOLA NOBILITAS'; the manor of Buckland belonged to the Throckmorton family from 1690–1910, and the present manuscript is listed in three Buckland library catalogues, as follows: MS. Eng. misc. b. 13, at fol. 91r ('Missale M.S. Illumin'd'); undated (but after 1781, see fol. 100r), giving the shelfmark as press B, 2nd shelf from the bottom. MS. Eng. misc. b. 13, fol. 6r ('Missale M.S. Illum:'); c.1788, giving its location as the 3rd from the bottom ('second shelf') in press 'D'. MS. Eng. misc. b. 12, fols. 35r and 65r ('Missale MS.'); 1796, where its location is again given as 'D. 3.'.

? Sir William Throckmorton; sold in 1909, according to the 1932 Sotheby's description (see below).

John Meade Falkner (1858–1932) (on whom see DNB), honorary librarian to the Dean and Chapter of Durham Cathedral, honorary reader in palaeography at Durham University, author of Moonfleet and other novels, and tutor to the sons of Sir Andrew Noble, including Sir John Noble (cf. below); sold at Sotheby's 12 Dec. 1932 and two following days, lot 293, bought by Quaritch for £220; with their pencilled number '11' within a box at the bottom left-hand corner of fol. i recto.