Ferial Choir Psalter with Antiphons, Dominican Use (companion volume to MS. Lat. liturg. a. 3); Italy, Brescia or Padua (?), 15th century, third quarter

Title

Ferial Choir Psalter with Antiphons, Dominican Use (companion volume to MS. Lat. liturg. a. 3); Italy, Brescia or Padua (?), 15th century, third quarter

Shelfmark

MS. Lat. liturg. a. 2

Place of origin

Italian, Brescia or Padua(?)

Date

15th century, third quarter

Language

Latin

Contents

Form

codex

Support

Parchment; paper fly-leaves. Many leaves are mutilated (usually the margins are cut off, without the loss of text) and repaired with pieces of paper or parchment, presumably when the manuscript was rebound in the 17th century. The strips of parchment are also used to strengthen quires. Many pieces of parchment have text (not always clearly visible) and come from medieval Italian manuscripts, including the following: (fol. 52) fragment of a 14th-century Italian manuscript with text on both sides; on the verso is Cicero, Tusculan Disputations , Book III, around sections XXIX–XXX (73–74) (cf. MS. Lat. liturg. a. 3); (fols. 62v, 76v, 80r, 83r–v) offsets from a 15th-century document in an Italian cursive script which was pasted with text downwards and is now gone apart from small fragments; (fols. 76r and 85r) 15th-century fragment in Latin; (fols. 117r, 118r) 13th-century fragment in Latin, in a small Gothic book hand.

Physical extent

122 leaves Leaves were trimmed in rebinding, occasionally causing the loss of decoration; 17th-century folio numbers were also occasionally lost.

Hands

Large formal Gothic book hand; black ink (often flaking); antiphons, versicles, invitatoria, etc. without music and some rubrics are in a smaller script.

Decoration

Historiated initials on gold background, decorated with foliage, flowers and scrolls, and borders, some historiated, most formed by sprays of foliage, flowers and gold discs, at liturgical divisions. fol. 4v, Psalm 1 (initial B(eatus)), 12-line initial with King David, kneeling in prayer, his psaltery lying on a rock beside him, looking up at half-figure of God, holding an orb and blessing; landscape with a town in the background. (full border) Coiled tendrils, flowers, fruit and foliage on gold and white background, Annunciation in the upper margin with a kneeling angel (upper left corner), white dove and the Virgin Mary (upper right corner); bishop (St Ubaldus (?), bishop of Gubbio, Umbria) holding crosier and blessing, surrounded by six kneeling Dominicans in the lower margin; St Catherine of Alexandria with a crown and wheel (lower left corner) and another female saint, crowned with a wreath by an angel (lower right corner); winged putto in the left margin. fol. 37r, Psalm 92 (initial D(ominus)), 4-line initial with King David, kneeling in prayer, looking up at rays of light; landscape in the background. fol. 45v, Psalm 21 (initial D(eus)), 4-line initial with a bearded saint in a Dominican habit, seated, holding an open book; landscape in the background. fol. 61r, Psalm 118: 33 (initial L(egem)), 5-line initial with King David, kneeling in prayer, looking up at rays of light, his crown next to him on the ground; landscape in the background. fol. 66v, Psalm 118: 81 (initial D(efecit)), 5-line initial with King David, kneeling in prayer, looking up at rays of light; landscape in the background. fol. 71r, Psalm 118: 129 (initial M(irabilia)), 5-line initial with a seated bishop-saint (St Ubaldus (?)), in prayer, with crosier and an open book; landscape in the background. fol. 76r, Psalm 109 (initial D(ixit)), 6-line initial with the Trinity: God-the-Father with a triangular nimbus, seated, holding an orb and blessing; Christ seated, pointing to a wound in his side; white dove hovering above; landscape in the background. (border, left margin) Sprays of foliage, flowers and gold discs extending into margins (mutilated). Two panels, one with half-figure of a praying king, another with half-figure of a praying prophet. fol. 82v, Psalm 114 (initial D(ilexi)), 4-line initial with St Ubaldus, seated, nimbed, holding crosier and blessing; lettering ‘S VBALDUS’ above the shoulders of the figure; landscape in the background. fol. 86v, Psalm 121 (initial L(etatus)), 4-line initial with St Jerome in penance before crucifix, beating his chest with a stone; landscape in the background. fol. 90v, Psalm 126 (initial N(isi)), 5-line initial with St Dominic (?), kneeling in prayer, looking up at rays of light; landscape in the background. fol. 95r, Psalm 131 (initial M(emento)), 6-line initial with a kneeling nimbed prophet looking up at rays of light, holding a blank scroll and raising a finger in a gesture of teaching; landscape in the background. fol. 102r, Psalm 137 (initial C(onfitebor)), 5-line initial with St Dominic (?), kneeling in prayer; landscape in the background. fol. 109r, Psalm 143 (initial B(enedictus)), 5-line initial with a standing bearded saint, holding a scroll with lettering ‘CREDO IN DEO’; landscape in the background. fol. 116v, Psalm 4 (initial C(um)), 3-line initial on gold background decorated with a flower and foliage.

Borders: see above.

2- to 3-line pink, green and blue initials on gold background, decorated with foliage, flowers, scrolls, arabesque and geometric designs at the beginnings of psalms; similar initials with yellow instead of gold background at the beginnings of antiphons, versicles, invitatoria, etc.

The opening words of texts starting with illuminated initials are written in capitals in black ink, decorated with penwork designs, including human heads and profiles.

1-line alternating red and blue initials with contrasting purple or red penwork at the beginnings of verses and periods.

Rubrics in red ink.

Musical notation

Square notation on staves of four red lines.

Binding

Brown leather over pasteboard, 19th century (perhaps made for the Bodleian). Borders on both covers made of crossing single and triple blind fillet lines. Originally there were five false raised bands on spine, framed by triple blind fillet lines, but three are now missing. Gilt lettering on spine ‘PSALTERUM’ and ‘MS’. Paper pastedowns and fly-leaves, no watermarks. Floral blind roll decorations on turn-ins and edges of covers. Fols. ii and 122 (parchment with paper pasted to the side facing the cover) were the pastedowns of an earlier 17th-century binding. They show considerable worm damage and traces left by seven broad sewing support slips. Similar to MS. Lat. liturg. a. 3 and MS. Lat. liturg. b. 1.

Acquisition

'Found at the end of MSS. Liturg. in 1885' (Summary catalogue, vol. 5).

Provenance

Made in Brescia or Padua (?) for a Dominican house, perhaps in Gubbio, Umbria (historiated initial with St Ubaldus, fol. 82v; miniature, fol. 4v) (cf. MS. Lat. liturg. a. 3). Historiated border with St Catherine. Decorated by an artist whose work is found in manuscripts from Brescia, Padua and elsewhere, dating from the third quarter of the 15th century.

The manuscript was foliated, rebound, repaired with strips of parchment and paper, and supplemented with additions on paper, while still in use in the 17th century. Bookmarks may have been added at the same time.

Title

A Roman Choir Psalter

Shelfmark

MS. Lat. liturg. a. 2

Summary

A Roman Choir Psalter

Date

Written about A.D. 1500 in Italy, perhaps at Gubbio

Language

Latin

Physical facet

On parchment, with fine miniatures and illuminated capitals, etc., in parts injured

Physical extent

120 Leaves

Acquisition

Found at the end of MSS. Liturg. in 1885.

Subject

16th century

Religion

Psalms (Music)

Church

Literature