Priest's vade medum including a psalter; English, c. 1433–1475?

Title

Priest's vade medum including a psalter; English, c. 1433–1475?

Shelfmark

MS. Douce 18

Place of origin

English

Date

c. 1475

c. 1433

Language

Middle English (1100-1500)

Latin

Contents

Form

codex

Support

parchment; paper and parchment flyleaves.

Physical extent

265 leaves

Hands

The work of several scribes; formal Gothic book hand; black and brown ink.

Decoration

Rubrics in red ink.

Gold KL monograms decorated with floral sprays extending into the margins in the calendar (fols. 43r–48v).

Miniatures and diagrams: fol. 10v (miniature): Annunciation to the Shepherds. The journey of the Magi: three kings on horseback with retainers (pen and wash with gold). fol. 11r (miniature): Adoration of Christ: Child in manger, the Virgin Mary and Joseph kneeling, three shepherds, ox, ass and the star. fol. 49r–v (diagram): Eclipses of the sun and moon. fol. 217v (miniature): God-the-Father seated with feet on the Devil, holding an orb and blessing, surrounded by male and female saints, including the Virgin Mary, John the Baptist, Peter with a key and John the Evangelist with a chalice.

Miniatures, initials (five lines high at psalm 1; twelve–thirteen lines high at psalms 26, 38, 52, 68, 80, 97; six–eight lines high at psalms 51, 101, 118, 119, the beginnings of canticles and litany) and full borders, decorated with floral designs and gold discs, at liturgical divisions: fol. 68r Psalm 1 (miniature) King David seated, holding a harp and sceptre, flanked by two courtiers; four prophets/evangelists with scrolls and open books, writing or reading, in four corners. (initial B(eatus)) Cleric in pink garb with black hood (?) hanging over his shoulder, kneeling at an altar with an open book; the head of God in rays of light above. (full border) Ape holding a specimen bottle; grotesque; birds; coiled tendrils with leaves forming three roundels with David with a sling, Goliath in armour, wounded, and David decapitating Goliath (rubbed). fol. 88r Psalm 26 (initial D(omine)) King David, kneeling on grass, pointing to his eyes; a blessing hand of God above in rays of light. fol. 101r Psalm 38 (initial D(ixi)) King David standing, pointing to the road at his feet (‘vias meas’); the head of God above in rays of light. fol. 112v Psalm 51 (Initial Q(uid)) Floral designs, gold background. fol. 113v Psalm 52 (initial D(ixit)) Enthroned King David speaking to the Fool in motley with bells, holding a bladder on a stick. fol. 126r Psalm 68 (initial S(aluum)) King David in prayer, crowned and nude, half-submerged in a pool surrounded by grass and trees; half-figure of God above, blessing. fol. 142r Psalm 80 (initial E(xultate)) King David playing five bells. fol. 157r Psalm 97 (initial C(antate)) King David, seated under canopy, watches two musicians playing horns and three clerics singing from a book, in which neums can be seen, open on a lectern. Several different types of musical instruments in gold in the outer borders. fol. 159r Psalm 101 (initial D(omine)) Cleric (Augustinian canon (?)) in dark blue garb with black hood (?) hanging over his shoulder, kneeling at an altar with an open book; the face of God above in rays of light. fol. 177v Psalm 118 (initial B(eati)) Floral designs, gold background. Three-sided border. fol. 185v Psalm 119 (initial A(d)) Floral designs, gold background. Three-sided border. fol. 203v Canticles. (initial C(onfitebor)) Floral designs, gold background. Three-sided border. fol. 218r Litany. (initial K(yrie)) Floral designs, gold background. Three-sided border.

2- to 7-line gold initials decorated with floral sprays at the beginnings of texts and sections of texts; one 5-line Q with a face of a bearded man (fol. 14v); 3-line initials at the beginnings of psalms and canticles.

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

Decoration on fols. 2r–6v, 36v–41v, 56v–66v and 256r–259v is in a different style and includes 2-line gold initials with floral sprays extending into the margins, and 1-line gold and blue initials with penwork.

Further miniatures were apparently intended for large spaces in item 6. Next to the blank space preceding ‘Gloria in excelsis deo’ (fol. 35r) is the marginal instruction to the artist ‘Laus an[gelorum]’; presumably the Annunciation to the Shepherds was intended. In the margins next to preceding spaces, each accompanying a gospel reading, are three names of evangelists.

Binding

Brown leather over pasteboard, 19th century. Gilt border round the outer edge of both covers. Four raised bands on spine; gilt borders framing the raised bands and panels between them. Gilt lettering on spine: ‘MISSALE || MSS || SÆC. XV.’.

Evidence of the former (presumably Bodleian) paper label on spine. Double gilt fillets on turn-ins. Gilt edges of textblock. Marks from the clasps of an earlier binding on fols. 258–259 and ii (?).

Acquisition

Bodleian Library: received in 1834 with the bequest of Douce.

Provenance

Masses and other texts added c. 1475 (Easter table for 1475–1481 on fol. 66v).

In the 18th century belonged to ‘S. Cooke’ (fols. 1v, 259v).

John Cooke (1765–1795), chaplain of Christ Church, Oxford (fol. ii recto); given in 1779 to:

John Ireland (1745–1839), ‘pharmacopolæ’ (fol. ii recto).

Francis Douce (1757–1834): bookplate on the upper pastedown. Almost certainly the book described in his ‘Collecta’ (Oxford, Bodleian Library MS. Douce e. 68) as having been bought from the bookseller Thomas Rodd in July 1829: ‘A small English illd psalter & masses (Rodd)’.

Title

A book of devotional offices, etc., for private use

Shelfmark

MS. Douce 18

Summary

Consisting of:

(fol. 2) select festival and votive masses

(fol. 17) proper prefaces, benedictions, etc., Hours of the Virgin with many rubrics

(fol. 36v) more masses

(fol. 42) Calendar and calendarial tables

(fol. 56v) more masses

(fol. 68) 'Liber Psalmorum ymnorum vel soliloquiorum prophete de Christo', i.e. a Psalter

(fol. 204) Canticles

(fol. 218) followed by a Litany

(fol. 229) and an Office for the Dead with prayers, etc.

At fols. 256, 256v, are masses 'pro Rege' and 'pro Rege & Regina.' An English table of contents is at fol. 1.

The calendarial tables suggest the date 1433 for the book, but some are copied from earlier tables of 1386 (cf. fol. 54), and one is of 1475 (fol. 66v: added). There are figures of eclipses 1433-62 (fol. 49).

There are some good miniatures on fols. 10v, 11, 68, and several smaller ones, with borders, etc.

Date

written about A.D. 1433-1475 in England

Language

English

Latin

Physical facet

On parchment, illuminated

Physical extent

262 Leaves

Custodial history

Owned by S. Cooke (fols. 1v, 259v: 18th cent.), and given by John Cooke, M.A., chaplain of Ch. Ch. Oxford, to John Ireland 'pharmacopola' in 1779.