Portable Psalter; France, Paris (?), 13th century, 1240s (?)

Title

Portable Psalter; France, Paris (?), 13th century, 1240s (?)

Shelfmark

MS. Douce 50

Date

1240s (?)

Language

Latin

Contents

Form

codex

Support

parchment; paper fly-leaves

Physical extent

564 pages Leaves were trimmed in rebinding, frequently causing the loss of decoration.

Hands

Formal Gothic book hand, black ink.

Decoration

Blue and pink KL monograms on pink, blue and gold backgrounds, decorated with coiled tendrils, foliage and animal heads, in the calendar (fragmentary, more than a half cropped off during rebinding).

Full-page prefatory miniatures (pp. xvii–xxii), each with scenes set in two medallions, a layout characteristic of Parisian psalters of the first half and middle of the thirteenth century (Oliver, 1988; Maekawa, 2000, p. 66). p. xvii The Last Judgement (?), or Heaven and Hell (?): (above) Christ enthroned, holding souls in a cloth, the heads of ten kings seen through windows on either side; (below) two demons forcing souls into a cauldron in a hell-mouth (cf. a similar composition in MS. Douce 381, fol. 124v). p. xix Adoration of the Magi; Presentation in the Temple. p. xxii Ascension, with the Virgin Mary and Peter (?); Pentecost with Peter and Paul (?), but not the Virgin Mary.

6- to 8-line initials at liturgical divisions in the psalter, decorated with coiled tendrils, foliage, grotesques and animal heads, and infilled with miniatures on gold backgrounds. The initials for psalms 1 and 109 occupy over half a page each. p. 1 Psalm 1 (initial B(eatus)) David with a sling and armed Goliath in the upper part of the initial; David beheading Goliath in the lower part. p. 81 Psalm 26 (initial D(ominus)) The Anointing of David: Saul sits next to David holding and blessing a phial. p. 126r Psalm 38 (initial D(ixi)) King David standing, pointing to his mouth, facing standing Christ, who is holding a book and raising his hand in a gesture of teaching or blessing (defaced). p. 169 Psalm 52 (initial D(ixit)) King David speaks to the Fool, naked apart from a cloak, eating bread and holding a club. p. 212 Psalm 68 (initial S(aluum)) Half-figure of nude King David praying in waters; half-figure of Christ above, holding an orb and blessing (defaced). p. 265 Psalm 80 (initial E(xultate)) Two seated kings, one playing bells, the other harp. p. 314 Psalm 97 (initial C(antate)) Three tonsured clerics, singing from an open book before a lectern. p. 368 Psalm 109 (initial D(ixit)) Trinity: God-the-Father and Son, holding books and blessing; white dove with halo descending from above.

3-line initials, decorated with animal heads, coiled tendrils and foliage, on gold backgrounds, at the beginnings of psalms 51 (p. 167), 101 (p. 320), 119 (p. 415) and the beginning of weekly canticles (p. 472).

2-line initials, decorated with grotesques, beasts, human and animal heads and masks, coiled tendrils and foliage, on gold backgrounds, at the beginnings of psalms, canticles and prayers.

1-line alternating blue and gold initials, decorated with contrasting red and blue penwork, extending into the margins, at the beginnings of verses and periods.

Gold, and red and blue penwork line-endings with floral and geometric designs.

Diagonal marginal extensions in red, blue and gold, on the versos throughout, except the outer bifolium of quire III, where they are on the rectos.

Binding

Late 18th-century or early 19th-century French (?) binding, olive morocco over pasteboard. Gilt roll border round the outer edge of both covers. Five panels on spine separated by borders with gilt Greek key design. Gilt lettering on the second panel from the top: ‘HEURES MSS : SUR || VELIN AVEC MIN :’. Flat lozenge-shape design made of flowers, crosses and circles with a floral centre-piece on other panels. Fragment of a (Bodleian (?)) paper label on spine. Gilt edges of textblock. Endbands of gold-coloured thread. Gilt stripe design on turn-ins. Pastedowns and fly-leaves of marbled paper; further fly-leaves of laid paper.

Acquisition

Bodleian Library: received in 1834 with bequest of Douce.

Provenance

Made probably in Paris for a Scottish patron, perhaps associated with Ardchattan Priory in Argyllshire, dedicated to the Virgin Mary and John the Baptist. The calendar contains four feasts of John the Baptist (24 June with octave, 29 August and 24 September), all in red. The Irish saint Fintan Munnu, prominent in the calendar and litany, was venerated in Scotland and may have founded Kilmun in Argyll. Ardchattan was founded in 1230 or 1231 and was one of three Valliscaulian priories in Scotland, directly dependent on Val des Choux, diocese of Langres in France (see Cowan and Easson, 1976, pp. 83–4). The absence of grading in the calendar, an alphabet (p. 376) and the simplicity of the textual contents of the psalter suggest that it was made for a lay patron, or for private use.

Corrections to the text in a 15th-century (?) hand (pp. 127, 512, etc.).

An erased two-line inscription on p. 535, probably late medieval and apparently over an earlier erasure, partly readable as ‘... Liber ... lis/prioris ... cha ...’ (The Douce legacy, 1984).

Letter ‘S’ on a foliage and floral background of overall square shape, in light brown ink, apparently stamped from a printer’s block, 16th century (?) (p. xviii).

Francis Douce, 1757–1834 , see ODNB: bookplate on the upper pastedown; notes (pp. v, vii, viii).

Title

A Psalter, with canticles (p. 472), etc., preceded by a calendar

Shelfmark

MS. Douce 50

Summary

Followed by a litany (p. 516).

At p. xvii are three illuminations each bearing two medallion-shaped miniatures of Gospel subjects, and there are some other miniatures, and borders, etc.

The calendar is English, but the litany contains several Scotch saints, as Mundus, Blaanus, Beanus, Berchanus. [In calendar are 'Melrune' (= Melruue, Maelrubha), Brandan, 'Romanus' (Ronan, May 22), Columba erased (!), Kentigern (his translation, July 7), Mundus. In the litany Mundus precedes all Irish-Scottish saints. Bean is probably the Strathearn, not the Aberdeen saint. 'Frchan'=Fechan (? of St. Vigean's and Ecclefechan). The saints named suggest the Firth of Clyde or Argyll--perhaps Kilmun (d) ('Mundus's cell') on the Holy Loch. The erasure of Columba suggests a quarrel with Iona. E.W.B.N.].

The calendar (fol. ix) is wanting Jan.-Feb., Nov.-Dec.)

Date

written in the second half of the 13th cent. in England

Language

Latin

Physical facet

On parchment, with illuminations

Physical extent

542 pages