Psalter (Gallican)

Flanders?, 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 Sam. 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 of Mercia (2 Mar.);

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

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

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

f. 119v: St Ithamar of Rochester (10 June);

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

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

f. 119v: St Æthelthryth (23 June);

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

f. 120r: St Wandregisel (22 July);

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

f. 120r: St Martha (31 July);

f. 120v: Feast of the Holy Name (August 7);

f. 120v: St Lazarus of Bethany (31 Aug.);

f. 120v: St Philibert of Jumièges (20 Aug.);

f. 121v: St Osgyth (7 Oct.);

f. 121v: St Paulinus of York (and Rochester) (10 Oct.);

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

f. 122v: St Osmund of Salisbury (4 Dec.);

f. 122v: Sts Lazarus and Martha (17 Dec.).

At July 7 and Dec. 29, the feasts of St Thomas of Canterbury (fori, duplex) have been erased.

Physical Description

Secundo folio

iusta Cum exarserit

Support

Binding/Endleaves

Locus: LCI, RCI

Support: Paper

Leaf dimensions: 120 × 90 mm

Textblock

Locus: ff. 1–123

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 an overall 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 outer margin resembling the shape of a bookmark has been cut out.

Layout

Locus: ff. 1r–116v

Columns: 1

Ruled lines: 21–22

Written area: 85 × 60 mm

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

Script

Textblock

Description:

Hand 1

(ff. 1r–116v)Textualis.

Hand 2

(ff. 117r–122v)Textualis.

Additions

Binding/Endleaves

(LCI) Top left corner, in brown ink by an early modern hand: ‘N^o 10’; below: ‘Brocmanni’; top centre, in brown ink in Brocman's 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 ((f. 86v)) the numbering is behind by one, with corrections in pencil by a modern hand below. Psalm 118:17 is numbered as ‘118’ ((f. 87r)), 118:33 as ‘119’ ((f. 87v)), 118:49 as ‘120’ ((f. 88v)), 118:65 as ‘121’ ((f. 89r)), 118:81 as ‘122’ ((f. 89v)), 118:97 as ‘123’ ((f. 90r)), with the modern correcting hand adding ‘118’ from (f. 88v) ff. After this, the numbering in ink disappears, but the modern numbering in pencil - now in square brackets - continues from Psalm 119 ((f. 93r)) until the end.

(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. Larger decorated initials at Ps. 1, 26, 38, 52, 68, 80, 97, 109, corresponding to the secular cursus (Sunday-Monday matins, and Sunday vespers).

Initials:

(f. 1r): illuminated historiated opening initial ‘B’ over 9 lines in mauve and blue shades alternating in 4 sections, with baubles in the darker shade. Background in gold leaf. In the counter space, king David, crowned and dressed in a blue mantle lined with ermine, seated on a green throne, playing the harp, and surrounded by four attendants dressed in orange and green, one of whom is holding a sword. A pattern of tiles in black and yellow creates a sense of depth in the space. The marginal border consists of thin straight double stalks, where one part is in gold leaf and the other alternates between mauve and blue sections. Soft swirling intertwining acanthus leaves in mainly red/mauve and blue decorate the edges and corners of the stalks. Green and orange occur occasionally. The straight sections between the acanthus leaves are adorned by sheer peacock-imitating feathers with tiny dots in green or gold leaf at the ends. The border fills much of the marginal space, partly due to the secondary trimming of the book pages. All decorations are outlined in black and the coloured areas are highlighted in white. (f. 18v), (f. 29r), (f. 39r), (f. 49r), (f. 61r), (f. 72v), (f. 82v): psalm initials over 6-9 lines; letter bodies alternating in 2-4 sections of mauve and blue shades with baubles in the darker shade ((f. 29r) in all blue). Quadrangular background in gold leaf with small hollowed out roundels at the corners. In the counter space, swirling acanthus leaves mainly in blues and mauves, but also some greens, reds, and yellows. Marginal borders of acanthus leaves, peacock feathers, and small flowers in the same colour scheme extending into and filling the left, upper, and lower margin. All decorations are outlined in black and the colours are highlighted in white. (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 alternating in red and blue, and on (f. 1r), in blue and gold leaf. (ff. 117r–122v): plain capital ‘KL’ in blue with simple quadrangular pen-flourishing in red at the head of each month.

For further description of the decoration, see Eva Lindqvist Sandgren.

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.

Contemporary: No

History

Origin

Flanders?, 15th century, second half. The prevalence of English saints in the calendar reveals that the Psalter was used in England - more specifically in the dioces of Rochester, as it includes St Ithamar and St Paulinus, both bishops of Rochester. The calendar is discussed in some detail by Richards (1985) as part of a group of related 15th century calendars produced for this dioces. Richards notes that Flemish influence on the decoration and script connects the group and suggests that the calendars were mass-produced by Flemish scribes (Richards (1985), p. 75). She suggests, furthermore, that the calendar of A 182 may itself have been, or is closely related to, the base text of the group (ibid.).

The gradings used (prime / secunde dignitatis, commune festum, more octavarum) as well as the celebration of several Augustinian saints (e.g. St John of Bridlington (duplex)) reveal Augustinian use (cf. Wormald (1938), p. 3). The celebration of St Mary Magdalen (22 July), graded as prime dignitatis, with octave and her translation (19 March; both duplex) suggest Tonbridge Priory (cf. Richards (1985), p. 74).

The inclusion of the feast of St Osmund, canonized in 1456, the Transfiguration, instituted in 1457, and the Feast of the Holy Name, instituted towards the end of the 15th century, indicates a date of later 15th century. While this dating clearly applies to the calendar, Eva Lindqvist Sandgren believes that the style of decoration of the Psalter itself more accurately reflects a production in the first half of the 15th century.

Provenance

A former owner's note in an early modern hand on LCI states (in Latin) that ‘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 bestow good spirits upon His Majesty's dutiful servant’ and a monogram, possibly ‘RO’.

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.