Portable Psalter; France, 15th century, first half

Title

Portable Psalter; France, 15th century, first half

Shelfmark

MS. Lat. liturg. f. 24

Place of origin

French

Date

15th century, first half

Language

Latin

Contents

Form

codex

Support

parchment; paper fly-leaves

Physical extent

212 (i + 209 + ii) leavesLeaves were trimmed, occasionally causing the loss of text and decoration.

Hands

formal Gothic book hand, black and brown ink.

Decoration

Most of the leaves which would have borne major initials are missing, only one survives: (fol. 81v) Psalm 80, (initial E(xultate)), 6-line blue initial on gold background, decorated with coiled tendrils and foliage.

(border, upper, left and lower margins) Gold and blue bar in the left margin; thread-like stems with flowers and leaves in the upper and lower margins.

2-line red and blue initials with contrasting black and blue penwork at the beginnings of psalms.

1-line plain alternating red and blue initials at the beginnings of verses.

Red and blue penwork line-endings.

Binding

20th-century binding, dark brown leather over wood boards. Four raised bands on spine. Gilt lettering on spine ‘PSALTERIUM’ and ‘SAEC. XIV’. Bodleian paper label on spine: ‘MS. Lat. lit. || f. 24’. Endbands of green and orange thread. Modern paper pastedowns and fly-leaves.

Acquisition

Bodleian Library: ‘D[onated] 25. X.1931 Firth’ (fol. 1r); inscribed in pencil ‘Firth 8o’ (fol. 212v).

Provenance

Made in France, in the first half of the 15th century (?): evidence of script and decoration.

Inscribed ‘a Socard fils 1859’ (fol. 108r, beneath a line-filler).

C. M. Firth: book-label printed ‘Ex libris Cecil Mallaby Firth’ (upper pastedown).