f. 102vExplicit psalterium cum Canticis ferialibus et Festiuis per manus cuiusdam Iohannis de Noua plzna ad comparacionem honorabilis et religiosi viri fratris petri freytag monachi professi monasterii sancte Marie virginis in Trebicz ordinis sancti Benedicti protunc temporis capellani domniorum in Slawkow vacante abbacia supratacti monasterii quarto anno post obualacionem Et hoc sub Anno domini Milesimo QuadringesimoSeptuagesimoSecundo Finitum xii kl kl Mayii Maii Scriptori pro mercede Angelicum dirige aue virgini marie dei genitrici pie Amen
Bull's head with a rod ending in a flower extending above.
Similar to Piccard II:3, XII, 361.
Foliation
Modern foliation in pencil, 1-105.
Collation
1(1), 2-9(12), 10(8)
VisColl collation.
Parchment guards. The number ‘89’ in bottom left corner of quire 9 (f. 97v).
Condition
Textblock
Some water damage to the inner and bottom edge of f. 1 and f. 2. A few worm holes, e.g. ff. 90–95, though not affecting the text.
Edges trimmed with loss of some of the text of the marginal notations.
(SL1r)
Top of page, in ink, a note on the acquisition of the manuscript by the National Library: ‘Inköpt till Kongl. Biblioth. 4 (?) Sept. 1845 ifrån Gordons (f.d. Rosenblads) Biblioth’.
Textblock
(f. 1r)
Centre page, in ink by a modern hand: ‘Psalterium cum Canticis Ferialibus et Festivis per manus Johannis de nova Plzna 1472’.
(f. 2r)
Top of page, in ink by an early modern hand: ‘Psalterium Dauidis Regis’.
Bottom of page, in ink by a late medieval or early modern hand: ‘per quiquagenos dauid canit ordine psalmos ... sub bis mille sexcentos canit ille’.
(ff. 2r–86v)
Psalm numbers in ink in the margin by a late medieval or early modern hand. The majority follow the Vulgate numbering; however, between Psalm 9:20(10) and 16(17) the numbering follows the Hebrew version. Psalm 17(18) is not numbered and psalm 18(19) is numbered as 18, in accordance with the Vulgate numbering. Ps. 67:20 is numbered as ‘68’ and Ps. 68 as ‘69’ and Ps 68:20 as ‘70’ ((ff. 38r–40v)). At Ps. 69 the erroneous number ‘lxxi’ is crossed out, and Ps. 70 is not numbered. Psalm 104 is incorrectly numbered as ‘103’ ((f. 63r)). Below some of these psalm numbers, a modern hand has corrected (or added) the Vulgate number in pencil.
(f. 3r)
Top of page, in ink by an early modern hand: a note in Czech.
(ff. 3v–84r)
In the margin, at the penitential psalms, in ink by a contemporary hand: the ordinal number of the psalm in Czech (last two in Roman numerals).
(f. 25r)
Right margin, in ink by an early modern hand (same as (f. 2r)): a note in Czech (an ex libris?).
(ff. 87v–101r)
Marginal references to the biblical passages in red by a contemporary hand. Above these, a modern hand has occasionally added the biblical book in pencil.
Decorations
Textblock
Main text in brown ink; rubrics in red (possibly in more than one hand (c.f. (f. 38r), (f. 64r)); first line in display script touched in red at Ps. 1 ((f. 2r)), 20 ((f. 11r)), 45 ((f. 27r)), 51 ((f. 30v)), 59 ((f. 34r)), 68 ((f. 39r)), 70 ((f. 40v)), 73 ((f. 43r)), 101 ((f. 60v)), 109 ((f. 68r)) 118 ((f. 72r); rubric in Czech, mid-psalm), and canticles on (f. 95v) and (f. 100r). The display script exhibits a mix of Roman and Greek letters (e.g. (f. 34r) and (f. 72r)).
The decoration scheme of the initials corresponds in part with the monastic cursus, with larger, decorated initials at Ps. 1, 20, 32, 45,
59, 73, 89, 101, and 109. Ps. 41, 50, 72, 85, 106, 118, and 119 do not,
however, have an enlarged or decorated initial, but at Ps. 85 ((f. 52r)) and 119 ((f. 77r)), somone has elaborated on the decoration of the standard psalm initial. Guide letters visible.
(f. 2r) (Ps. 1): opening puzzle initial ‘B’ over 6 lines in red and brown with penwork extending into the margin.
(f. 95v), (f. 101r): puzzle initial over 6 lines in red and brown with penwork.
(f. 11r) (Ps. 20), (f. 17v) (Ps. 32), (f. 27r) (Ps. 45), (f. 30v) (Ps. 51), (f. 34r) (Ps. 59), (f. 43r) (Ps. 72), (f. 55r) (Ps. 89), (f. 60v) (Ps. 101), (f. 91r): puzzle
initial over 3-4 lines in red and brown with flourishing.
(ff. 2r–102v): plain psalm initials over 2 lines in red.
(ff. 2r–102v): plain initials over 1 line in red.
(f. 68r) (Ps. 109): plain psalm initial over 3 lines with interior reserved shapes.
(f. 94v): plain canticle initial ‘T’ over 2 lines in red on a green background possibly added later.
(ff. 21v–101v): initials (and some ascenders) on top line elongated and embellished with flourising in brown.
(ff. 74r–85v) (quire 8): psalm initials touched in yellow; rubrics underlined in yellow.
Binding
Modern binding. Sprinkled paper over cardboard, spine and corners enforced with leather. 3 double raised band and endbands. Spine, red leather label: ‘PSALTEZS’; stamped in gold on a leather label, ‘A 187’.
155/155 ×
110/110 ×
25/25 mm
Spine: pieces of the previous binding, some containing signa, have been glued to the modern binding. SL1 is mounted on a piece of modern paper.
Bohemia, 1472. The book was commissioned by Petrus Freytag, a brother of the Benedictine monastery of St Mary's at Třebíč in modern day Czech Republic. The scribe signs his name, ‘Iohannes de Noua Plzna’ (Plzeň), and the date, May 1, 1472, in the colophon on f. 102v.
Provenance
On f. 102v is found the owner's note of Stanislav Bilek dated 1602: ‘Ex libris Fratris Stanislaj bilconii Amen Ano 1602’. In a catalogue note dated 1989-12-14, an unidentified librarian or scholar identifies the family name as ‘Bilek or Bilenberka, [...] a knight family in Moravia and Bohemia’. The word ‘psaltezs’ on the label on the spine indicates that the manuscript remained in Czech possession into modern times.
