Portable Secular Psalter in Latin with English additions; England, 15th century, middle

Title

Portable Secular Psalter in Latin with English additions; England, 15th century, middle

Shelfmark

MS. Rawl. G. 20

Place of origin

English

Date

15th century, middle

Language

Middle English (1100-1500)

Latin

Contents

Form

codex

Support

parchment; laid paper fly-leaves

Physical extent

195 leaves

Hands

Formal Gothic book hand, black and brown ink, by at least two scribes.

Decoration

Blue KL monograms with red penwork in the calendar.

4-line gold Beatus-initial and three-quarter border, decorated with flowers, foliage and gold leaves and discs (fol. 7r).

3-line gold initials and partial borders, decorated with flowers, foliage and gold discs, at the beginnings of psalms 26 (fol. 28r), 38 (fol. 42r), 52 (fol. 55r), 68 (fol. 68v), 80 (fol. 85r), 97 (fol. 100r) and 109 (fol. 116v).

Borders: see above.

3-line blue initials with red penwork at the beginnings of the Litany of the Virgin and the Office of the Dead.

2-line blue initials with red penwork at the beginnings of psalms, canticles, litany, prayers, hymns and sections within the Litany of the Virgin and the Office of the Dead.

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

Rubrics in red ink.

Binding

Brown speckled and plain leather over pasteboard, 18th century. Double blind fillet lines round the outer edge of both covers. Rectangular decoration with floral cornerpieces at the centres of both covers. Five raised bands on spine; gilt floral designs framed by gilt fillet lines on the panels between the bands. Gilt lettering on spine: ‘PSALMS | OF DAVID | MSS.’. The edges of textblock speckled red. Laid paper pastedowns and fly-leaves without watermarks.

Acquisition

Bodleian Library: bequeathed by Rawlinson; accessioned in 1756. Earlier shelfmarks: ‘Auct: Rawl: 20’, upper pastedown.

Provenance

Apparently written for a woman (fol. 172r).

Obit of Johannes Blakeney (Norfolk (?)), armiger, in the calendar (20 August), 15th century: ‘obitus Ioh annis Blakeney armiger’.

‘FrancisBassyngham of Bassyngham oweth this boke’, 15th century (?) (fol. 1r).

Added hymn signed ‘Quod Roger Bassyngham’, 16th century (fol. 193v).

Owned by Ralph Thoresby (1658–1725)(Summary catalogue, vol. 3), see ODNB: inscribed ‘[...]esby’ (upper pastedown, partially covered by the Rawlinson bookplate); ‘price x s’ (fol. 1r).

Richard Rawlinson (1690–1755) , see ODNB: bookplate and ‘590’ (upper pastedown).