Portable Psalter; France, Diocese of Amiens, 13th century, third quarter

Title

Portable Psalter; France, Diocese of Amiens, 13th century, third quarter

Shelfmark

MS. Douce 23

Date

13th century, third quarter

Language

Latin

Contents

Form

codex

Support

parchment; paper fly-leaves

Physical extent

348 leavesLeaves were trimmed in rebinding, occasionally causing the loss of text and decoration.

Hands

Formal Gothic book hand, black ink.

Decoration

Gold KL monograms on pink and blue backgrounds in the calendar.

Full-page prefatory miniatures in brown ink, with touches of red: (fol. 13r) The Virgin and Child enthroned set within a niche (the Virgin is crowned and offering her breast to the Child, who makes a gesture of benediction). (fol. 13v) Crucifixion with the Virgin Mary and St John, the sun and moon. The titulus above Christ’s head is written in full, in red.

Historiated initials and borders at liturgical divisions. The initials are 6 to 7 lines high, on gold backgrounds, and are accompanied at psalms 1 and 26 by decorative panels with the opening words of each psalm written in gold. King David is shown crowned and nimbed, sometimes holding a sceptre (?). fol. 14r Psalm 1 (initial B(eatus)) King David playing harp in the upper part, David and Goliath in the lower part; medallions with heraldic eagles. fol. 56v Psalm 26 (initial D(ominus)) King David pointing to his eyes, standing next to Christ, who is holding a book and blessing. fol. 86r Psalm 38 (initial D(ixi)) King David kneeling before an altar with an image of the Virgin and Child. fol. 111v Psalm 52 (initial D(ixit)) King David speaking to the Fool in a short tunic, who is holding a club and bread. fol. 137r Psalm 68 (initial S(aluum)) King David praying in waters in the lower part; half-figure of Christ with cruciform halo, holding an orb and blessing, in the upper part. fol. 169r Psalm 80 (initial E(xultate)) King David playing five bells. fol. 197v Psalm 97 (initial C(antate)) Clerics singing from a book open on a lectern. fol. 229v Psalm 109 (initial D(ixit)) Trinity (two seated figures with cruciform halos, one holding a book and blessing, the other raising hands; nimbed white dove descending from clouds above).

The borders are made of coiled tendrils on pink, blue and gold backgrounds, decorated with foliage, animal figures and grotesques.

4-line initial to psalm 119 (fol. 257r).

2-line gold initials on blue and pink backgrounds, decorated with geometric and floral designs at the beginnings of psalms, canticles, litany, collects and sections of the Office of the Dead.

1-line gold initials on blue and pink backgrounds at the beginnings of verses and periods.

Gold, pink and blue line-endings with simple geometric designs.

Rubrics in red.

Binding

Red straight-grained morocco over pasteboard, late 18th or early 19th century. Gilt roll floral border round the outer edge of both covers. Decorative panels on spine with gilt scallop borders and floral centre-pieces. Fragment of a (Bodleian (?)) paper label on spine. Gilt decorations on the edges of covers and turn-ins. Gilt edges of textblock. Endbands of burgundy and gold thread. Green silk bookmark, loose. Pastedowns and fly-leaves made of laid paper. Marks at the centre of the fore-edge on fols. 1–8, probably left by a clasp of an earlier binding.

Acquisition

Bodleian Library: received in 1834 with bequest of Douce.

Provenance

Made for the use of Amiens (calendar and Office of the Dead), probably for a lay patron: the calendar is not graded, there is little correspondence between the calendar and the litany, and the textual contents are simple.

Added note at 25 April in the calendar, dated 1507, may refer to the fire which started on this date in Norwich (Blomefield, 1745, p. 131). This would suggest that the manuscript was in England by this date.

In England during the Reformation when the name of Thomas Becket and the titles ‘pape’ were erased in the calendar, and the beginning of the litany was crossed out.

‘William Blomefildeowe this book’ (fol. 343r), 16th century (on whom see Schuler, 1973), followed by hexameter verses: quisquis in hunc librum vultvm conspexerit vnquam tum domini notum subligat elle quidem Blomefildus certe dictum cognomine tali prenomen fertur tum guilielmus eius .

Inscribed with initials (?) and a shelfmark (?), ‘J. E.’ and ‘.91.’, on fol. 14r (Pächt and Alexander, 1966–73, pl. XLIII) by the hand that added psalm numbers in the psalter and line numbers in the calendar.

Francis Douce, 1757–1834 , see ODNB: bookplate on the upper pastedown. His (?) shelfmark (?) ‘B. 5’, written in black ink on the upper pastedown (compare MS. Douce 24, MS. Douce 38, MS. Douce 49).

Title

A Psalter, with canticles (fol. 290), etc.

Shelfmark

MS. Douce 23

Summary

Preceded by a calendar (fol. 1), and followed by:

litany (fol. 316)

Office for the Dead (fol. 327v)

The calendar points to the district about Amiens.

On fols. 13, 13v, two full-page drawings in outline with slight colouring. One rubric (fol. 290) is in French.

Date

written in the second half of the 13th cent. in N. France

Language

French

Latin

Physical facet

On parchment, illuminated, small miniatures, borders

Physical extent

345 Leaves

Custodial history

'William Blomefilde owe this book ...', 16th cent.: 'J. E. 91' is on fol. 14.