Psalter (Gallican)

England, 15th century, second half

parchment

126 leaves

115–120 × 90 mm

Latin

1 (ff. 1r–105v) Psalms

Note:

Psalms 1-150.

Beginning at Psalm 28 (f. 20r) and continuing until Psalm 148 (f. 104v), the psalms, or sequence of psalms, are headed by an antiphon written in smaller print in a similar hand, possibly that of the main scribe.

2 (ff. 105v–113r) Canticles

Note:

f. 105v: Canticle of Isaias the Prophet (Isa. 12);

f. 105v: Canticle of Ezechias (Isa. 38:10-20)

f. 106v: Canticle of Anna (1 Kings 2:1-10);

f. 107r: Canticle of Moses (Exod. 15:1-19);

f. 108r: Canticle of Habacuc (Hab. 3:2-19);

f. 109r: Canticle of Moses (Deut. 32:1-43);

f. 111v: Te deum;

f. 112r: Canticle of the Three Children (Dan. 3:57-88);

f. 112v: Canticle of Zachary / Benedictus (Luke 1:68-79);

f. 113r: Canticle of the Blessed Virgin Mary / Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55);

f. 113r: Canticle of Simeon / Nunc dimittis (Luke 2:29-32).

3 (ff. 113r–114v) The Athanasian Creed

4 (f. 114v) Antiphon

Incipit: Ne reminiscaris

5 (ff. 114v–115v) Litany

Note: The leaf between f. 114and f. 115torn out.

6 (ff. 116r–116v) Collect prayers

7 (ff. 117r–122v) Calendar

Note:

Notable feasts:

f. 118r: St David of Mynyw (1 Mar.);

f. 118r: St Chad (2 Mar.);

f. 118v: St Alfege (19 Apr.);

f. 119r: St Dunstan (19 May);

f. 119v: translation of St Edmund of Canterbury (9 June);

f. 119v: translation of St Richard (16 June);

f. 119v: St Botholf (17 June);

f. 119v: St Etheldreda (23 June);

f. 120r: translation of St Swithun (15 July);

f. 120r: St Cucuphas (25 July);

f. 120v: St Oswald (5 Aug.);

f. 120v: St Philibert (20 Aug.)

f. 121v: St John of Bridlington (12 Oct.)

f. 121v: St Edward (13 Oct.);

f. 121v: translation of St Etheldreda (17 Oct.);

f. 121v: St Frithuswith (19 Oct.);

f. 122r: St Winifred (3 Nov.);

f. 122r: deposition of St Edmund (16 Nov.);

f. 122r: St Edmund (20 Nov.);

f. 122v: St Osmund (4 Dec.).

Physical Description

Secundo folio

iusta Cum exarserit

Support

Binding/Endleaves

Locus: LCI, RCI

Support: Paper

Leaf dimensions: 120 × 90 mm

Textblock

Locus: ff. 1r–123v

Support: Parchment

Leaf dimensions: 115 × 90 mm

Foliation

Modern foliation in pencil, 1-79, 78-79 (repeated), 80-123 (f. 54A not foliated). ff. 2r–114r: older foliation in ink, 8-123, partly trimmed in places and crossed out in pencil; the foliation continues in pencil on f. 115r, 124-132, also crossed out.

Collation

Note: The manuscript is too fragile to be fully collated. However, as the textblock is more or less entirely detached from the binding, the quires, sixteen in all, can be counted at the spine. The first six quires have catchwords at intervals of 8 leaves, indicating a structure of quaternions.

Catchwords: Catchwords on quires 1-6.

Condition

Textblock

The occasional hole. The folio between f. 114 and f. 115 torn out. On several folios (e.g. f. 103 and ff. 110–111), a section of the leaf resembling the shape of a bookmark has been cut out.

Layout

Layout 1

Locus: ff. 1r–116v

Columns: 1

Ruled lines: 21–22

Written area: 85 × 60 mm

Note: Guidelines and ruling in ink. Prickings intermittently visible.

Layout 2

Locus: ff. 117r–122v

Columns: 5

Ruled lines: 32

Written area: 100 × 70 mm

Script

Textblock

Description:

Hand 1

Gothic textualis.

Additions

Binding/Endleaves

(LCI) Top left corner, in brown ink by an early modern hand: ‘N^o 10’; below: ‘Brocmanni’; centre page, in brown ink by an early modern hand, a note identifying the elevation of the feast of St George to festum duplex in November 1415: ‘MCCCCXV in nov. Festivitas S. Georgii mart. ut duplex festum celebretur Stat. Seld. Tit. Hon. p. 574 ed. lat.’ Bottom of page, in brown ink by an early modern hand: ‘Hunc librum dono mihi dedit pater carissimus ........’

Textblock

(ff. 1r–90r) In the margins, psalm numbers in ink in an early modern or near contemporary hand. Psalm 39 erroneously numbered as ‘29’ ((f. 30r)). Psalm 108 erroneously numbered as ‘107’ ((f. 81v)), and from here until Psalm 118 the numbering is off by one. Psalm 118:17 is numbered as ‘118’, 118:33 as ‘119’, 118:49 as ‘120’, 118:65 as ‘121’, 118:81 as ‘122’, 118:97 as ‘123’ ((ff. 87r–90r)). After this, the numbering in ink disappears, but the numbering in pencil continues from Psalm 119 until the end.

(ff. 81v–105v) Corrections of the erroneous psalm numbers in pencil in parentheses beneath each incorrect number. From Ps. 119 ff. ((f. 93r)), psalm numbers in pencil in square brackets.

(f. 123r) Covering the top half of the page, in black ink by an early modern hand: ‘Kom Helige Ande Herre God besök wåra hiertan och gif Kongl.^a Mai.^tts tropliktig tienare godt mod’; below, in the same ink and style, a large monogram: ‘RO’(?). Bottom right corner, in ink: a word, faded and difficult to make out.

(f. 123v) Pen trials in the same hand and style as the recto: ‘Denna’ and two flourished ‘R’s (or ‘K’s?).

Decorations

Textblock

Description:

Main text in brown ink.

Initials:

The decoration scheme of the initials corresponds to the secular cursus, with larger, decorated initials at Ps. 1, 26, 38, 52, 68, 80, 97, 109. (f. 1r): historiated and illuminated opening initial ‘B’ over 9 lines in blues, greens, reds, yellows, and purples: a seated king David playing the harp surrounded by four men, one of whom is holding a sword. A border of stalks with acanthus leaves and small flowers in the same colour scheme, also illuminated, extending around the textblock and filling the entire marginal space. (f. 18v), (f. 29r), (f. 39r), (f. 49r), (f. 61r), (f. 72v), (f. 82v): psalm initials over 6-7 lines; letter bodies coloured in and blues and purples in a chequer-like pattern with white outlines and dots against a background of gold and filled with vegatative motifs mainly in blues and purples, but also some greens, reds, and yellows. A border of stalks with acanthus leaves and small flowers in the same colour scheme extending into and filling the left, upper, and lower margin. (ff. 1v–116v): plain psalm or section initials over 2 lines in blue with flourishing in red extending into the left margin. (ff. 1v–116v) plain initials over 1 line alternaing in red and blue. (ff. 117r–122v): plain capital ‘KL’ in blue with flourishing in red at the head of each month.

Binding

Description:

Early modern binding. White leather over cardboard. 3 raised bands and endbands, with the fastenings visible on the outside of the covers at the spine. Spine, in ink, barly legible: ‘N^o 10 Brocm’; stamped in gold: ‘A 182’.

Binding dimensions: 125 × 100 × 30 mm

Edges:

Sprinkled in greenish blue and red.

Condition: The textblock is almost entirely detached from the binding. The leather is cracked at the spine and the bottom left front corner is frayed.

History

Origin

England, 15th century, second half. The feasts listed in the calendar place the origin of the psalter in England. In a letter to the National Library dated 1967-08-22, Dr A. I. Doyle of the Durham University Library, futhermore, identifies the gradings used in the calendar (prime dignitatis, secunde dignitatis) as those used by the Augustinian canons in England. Notable, therefore, is the celebration of the Augustinian St John of Bridlington as festum duplex on October 12. The Dedication of the church is celebrated on October 7. Based on the calendar's inclusion of the feast of St Osmund, canonized in 1456, and the Transfiguration, instituted in 1457, Doyle dates the manuscript to the third or fourth quarter of the 15th century.

Provenance

Previously no. 10 in the collection of Nils Reinhold Brocman, book collector and librarian at the Royal Library and Antiquities Archive. Upon his death in 1770, a large part of his book collection was donated to the Antiquities Archive (SBL).

A former owner's note in an early modern hand on LCI states (in Latin) that ‘the most beloved father ....... gave me this book’ with the name of the donor having been erased.

On f. 123r, an early modern hand has written in Swedish: ‘Come Holy Spirit Lord God visit our hearts and give His Majesty's dutiful servant good spirits’ and a monogram, possibly ‘RO’.