Portable Psalter with Monastic Collects; Italy, Florence or Rome, 1515–1516 (?)

Title

Portable Psalter with Monastic Collects; Italy, Florence or Rome, 1515–1516 (?)

Shelfmark

MS. Montagu e. 9

Date

1515–16 (?)

Language

Latin

Contents

Form

codex

Support

parchment; paper fly-leaves

Physical extent

224 leaves

Hands

Humanistic script; with perhaps a change of hand at beginning of quire XX, the start of the canticles

Decoration

4-line gold Beatus-initial (fol. 4r), decorated with floral, zoomorphic and anthropomorphic designs, on blue background in a rectangular frame, infilled with nimbed David (?), kneeling in prayer in a landscape. Rectangular border with gold floral, zoomorphic and anthropomorphic designs, including beasts, birds, grotesques, masks and human figures on red, green and blue background. Eight medallions, seven framed by gemmed rings and one, in the lower margin, supported by two putti. Two of the medallions contain Medici arms, and six Medici emblems (three ostrich feathers with ‘semper’ written on a white scroll, and double yoke, surmounted by N, with ‘svave’ written on a white scroll).

2- to 3-line gold initials with floral, zoomorphic and anthropomorphic designs, in rectangular frames, on red, blue and green background with Medici emblems, accompanied by similarly decorated one-sides borders with Medici emblems (gemmed ring; double yoke, sometimes surmounted by N; three ostrich feathers; lion masks; staff raguly; silver scroll sometimes with lettering ‘semper’) on white (usually with a pattern of silver dots), or red and blue background at the beginning of psalms 11 (fol. 14v), 21 (fol. 26r), 36 (fol. 45v), 46 (fol. 61r), 56 (fol. 73v), 66 (fol. 84v), 76 (fol. 100v), 86 (fol. 115v), 96 (fol. 128v), 111 (fol. 151r), 121 (fol. 169r), 131 (fol. 174v), 141 (fol. 184v), the beginning of weekly canticles (fol. 194r) and prayers before mass (fol. 211v). 3-line initial, without a border, is at the start of the daily canticles (fol. 205r).

Borders: see above.

Similar 2-line initials at the beginnings of prayers, psalms and canticles. Guide-letters occasionally survive in the margins.

1-line gold initials on alternating red, blue and green background at the beginnings of verses and periods.

Rubrics in red ink or in gold capitals, usually on red, blue or green background.

Binding

English Grolieresque, 19th century, before 1844. Brown leather with gilt floral and geometric designs over pasteboard. Gilt lettering on spine in a medallion on burgundy background: ‘PSALTERIUM. || LATINE || MS.’, and on a narrow strip at the bottom of the spine on burgundy background: ‘EXEMPLAR PAPÆ || LEONIS X.’. Black leather label on spine with gilt lettering ‘MS. || MONTAGU || e. 9’. Turn-ins with gilt arabesque designs. Gilt edges of textblock. Burgundy leather pastedowns and burgundy paper fly-leaves.

Acquisition

Bodleian Library: bequeathed by Montagu; received in 1864. Earlier shelfmark: ‘Bibl. Bodl. MS. Montagu. 4’ (fol. 1v).

Provenance

Possibly made for Giuliano de Medici (1479–1516)after he received the title of Duke of Nemours from Francis I in 1515: arms and emblems of the Medici, including the yoke with the initial N.

Pope Leo X (1475–1521) (?): the psalter may have come to his library after the death of his younger brother Giuliano de Medici.

Wilmot Marsh (1819–1848) of Bangor Monachorum in Flintshire , author of Biblical versions of divine hymns, with annotations (London, 1845): inscribed ‘Wylmot Marsh[ e?] Banchor : Monach : MDCCCXV’ (altered to MDCCCXLIV (?)), fol. 1v.

Captain Montagu Montagu, Royal Navy (1787–1863) , on whom see Summary catalogue, vol. 5, p. 112.

Title

'Psalterium Dauid cum orationibus singulis Psalmis accommodatis', a Psalter for liturgical use

Shelfmark

MS. Montagu e. 9

Summary

'Psalterium Dauid cum orationibus singulis Psalmis accommodatis', a Psalter for liturgical use, followed at fol. 193v by Canticles and (fol. 208v) prayers.

The illuminations are chiefly capitals but occasionally borders introducing several badges (double yoke ?, three ostrich feathers, full face of a lion, staff raguly, gem-ring, also 'N' and the mottos 'Semper' and (fol. 4) 'Suaue', also (ibid.) the Medici arms:--or, five torteaux, 2, 2 and 1, between the upper two a hurt).

A modern label on the back has 'Exemplar papre Leonis X', but there is nothing to support the conjecture, except the Medici arms.

Date

written in the first half of the 16th century in Italy

Language

Latin

Physical facet

On parchment, with many finely illuminated devices and capitals, see below, binding, modern Grolieresque (English, about 1840?)

Physical extent

224 Leaves

Custodial history

'Wylmot Marshe e Banchor: Monach: [Bangor Monachorum, in Flintshire] mdcccxiv [altered to mdcccxi.iv].'.

Old (until about 1890) MS. Montagu no. 4.