Missal, Use of Saint-Malo, Calendar, Temporale — 15th century, second quarter; French, Brittany

Title

Missal, Use of Saint-Malo, Calendar, Temporale — 15th century, second quarter; French, Brittany

Shelfmark

MS. Lyell 45

Place of origin

French, Brittany

Date

15th century, second quarter

Language

Latin

Contents

Form

codex

Support

parchment

Physical extent

i + 132 leaves (fol. 13, 37, and 70 are double, fol. 119–20 one leaf, fol. i, 130 flyleaves)

Hands

Two sizes of liturgical text hand. Among the blue pen flourishes of an initial on fo1. 124v is written: Galt(erus?) scripsit hunc librum missalle. In other initials the scribe has similarly written: Gault. (fol. 24v), Galt. (fol. 47, 48, 48v, 61) or simply G. (fol. 6, 10, 41v).

Decoration

On fols. 7r, 122r, large painted initials in blue and pink on gold infilled with foliage, joined to bar borders decorated with acanthus leaves and hairline ink scrolling with painted daisies and other flowers, and small gold leaves and discs, extending into all the margins on fol. 122r, three sides only on fol. 7r. On fol. 123r, a large gold initial with pink and blue background, hairline scrolling, flowers, and gold leaves. Some similar smaller initials; a few others in gold flourished in red and blue; the rest are red or blue flourished in blue or red. (Pächt and Alexander i. 677)

Musical notation

Square notation on staves of four red lines.

Binding

Binding of c. 1470 with bevelled wooden boards covered with calf, blind stamped with six concentric rectangles of small stamps. Four stamps are used: a crowned M, a fleur-de-lis (both repeated); a dog (?); an ermine in a lozenge. Two straps fastening to studs on lower cover probably added later. The spine (repaired) is crosshatched and also has the ermine stamp.

Acquisition

Chosen as one of the hundred manuscripts bequeathed to the library by Lyell in 1948.

Provenance

The MS. was probably written for the Cathedral of Saint-Malo, which was dedicated to St. Vincent.

On fol. i verso (flyleaf) is written: Pro Magistro Guillelmo Garruargen (?) (15th cent.). A Dom. Guil1elmus de Garennes from the diocese of Le Mans was a bachelor at the University of Paris in 1455 (Samaran-Van Moé, Auct. Chart. Univ. Paris. v, 1942, col. 654).

Fo1. 1: Noveril Villegiller (?) (19th cent.).

Bought by Lyell from Davis and Orioli in May 1938 and said to have been brought direct from Paris.