Portable Psalter and Hours; England, Diocese of Chichester (?), 14th century, second quarter

Title

Portable Psalter and Hours; England, Diocese of Chichester (?), 14th century, second quarter

Shelfmark

MS. Laud Lat. 82

Date

14th century, second quarter

Language

Latin

Contents

Form

codex

Support

parchment

Physical extent

247 leaves Leaves were trimmed, occasionally causing the loss of decoration.

Hands

Formal Gothic book hand; brown ink.

Decoration

KL monograms in the calendar, gold or on gold background, and borders, made of pink and blue bars, decorated with foliage.

Hours of the Virgin: 6- to 8-line initials, in gold frames and on gold backgrounds, and full borders, made of pink, blue and gold bars, decorated with foliage, flowers, birds and grotesques at the beginnings of the major sections of the Hours (fols. 8r, 15r, 27r, 30v, 33r, 35r, 37r).

2- to 3-line similar initials and three-quarter borders at the beginnings of texts.

Borders: see above.

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

Line-endings in gold, pink and blue with geometric designs.

Psalms: Miniatures on gold or patterned backgrounds, 4- to 5-line initials on gold backgrounds, and full borders made of pink, blue and gold bars, decorated with foliage, flowers and birds at liturgical divisions. Unusual style and some unusual iconography. fol. 42v, Psalm 1 (miniature), King David, seated, playing harp. fol. 69v, Psalm 26 (miniature), David, kneeling before an altar, pointing to his eyes; half-figure of God, blessing, in clouds above. fol. 86v, Psalm 38 (miniature), David pointing to his mouth. fol. 103r, Psalm 52 (miniature), Saul stabbing himself with a sword. fol. 119v, Psalm 68 (miniature), David or possibly Jonah (?) nude, standing in water, hands joined in prayer; shore with an elaborate building (representing Nineveh (?)); a blessing hand of God in clouds above. fol. 140v, Psalm 80 (miniature), Seated woman (?), playing four bells with hammers. fol. 163v, Psalm 97 (miniature), Three clerics singing from a scroll draped over a lectern, containing musical notation and the word ‘alleluya’ twice. fol. 182v, Psalm 109 (miniature), Crowned God-the-Father and Son, seated, holding an orb.

2- to 3-line initials, on gold backgrounds, and three-quarter borders decorated with foliage, flowers, birds and grotesques at the beginnings of psalms, canticles, litany, prayers and sections of the Office of the Dead.

Borders: see above.

1-line gold or blue initials, with contrasting red or blue penwork, at the beginnings of verses.

Line-endings in gold, pink and blue with geometric designs.

Rubrics in red ink.

Binding

Brown polished calf over pasteboard, 17th century. Double blind roll border round the outer edge of both covers. Gilt arms of Laud on both covers. Four raised bands on spine. Holes left by the fittings of two ties on both covers. Three paper labels on spine, containing respectively: ‘Psalmi || David(is) . &c . || M. S.’, ‘. . .19 . . .’ and printed ‘Laud. Lat. || 82’.

Acquisition

Bodleian Library: third (?) donation from Laud, 28 June 1639 (see Summary catalogue, vol. 1, pp. 128–9). Earlier shelfmarks: ‘B. 19’ (paper label inside the upper cover).

Provenance

Made for the use of the diocese of Chichester (?): evidence of the calendar.

John, 5th Lord Lovell of Titchmarsh, Northamptonshire (d. 1408) (?): additions in the calendar.

Fly-leaves are made from a 16th-century legal document in English, which mentions Caddington (fol. 1r), John Sibley (fol. 1v), Robert Smythe, ‘[ ] Stopesley’, William Crawle[y?], Harpeden (fol. 2r) and Luton (fol. 2v).

William Laud (1573–1645), see ODNB: ‘Liber Guil: Laud Archiep(iscop)i Cant: & Cancellar: Vniuersit: Oxon. .1638.’ (fol. 3r).

Title

Book of Hours and Psalter, Use of Sarum, Diocese of Chichester (?)

Shelfmark

MS. Laud Lat. 82

Date

14th century, second quarter

Language

Latin

Physical extent

250 Leaves

Custodial history

Caddington is in dioc. of Lincoln, which includes ancient diocese of Dorchester (Oxon). Kalendar S.-English, & híríne (Birine) on f. 237v suggests dioc. of Dorchester or Winchester. (Frere 456). Manuscript 1802 acquired by the Bodleian Library