A catalogue of Western manuscripts at the Bodleian Libraries and selected Oxford colleges

St John's College MS 293

Psalter

Contents

Language(s): Latin

1. Fols. 2–7v:
The calendar,

with graded feasts in black, red, and blue. In red are ‘cathedra sancti Petri’ (22 February), Erkenwald (30 April); George first written in incorrectly at 22, not 23 April and then expunged (as is Becket and the title ‘papa’ here and there). Erkenwald is suggestive of London provenance.

2. Fols. 8–138v:
Incipit: Seruite domino Amen Pro fidei Amen Psalmus Beatus uir qui non abijt in consilio impiorum et in uia peccatorum
Explicit: laudate eum in cymbalis iubilacionis omnis spiritus laudet dominum
The Psalter (arranged with interspersed anthems for liturgical use). Lacks Ps. 37:12–38:2 in a lost folio after fol. 44, probably cut out for the decoration of Ps. 38, the head of a nocturn.
3. Fols. 138v–48v:
Incipit: Confitebor tibi domine quoniam iratus es michi
Explicit: in eternum irascaris nobis et ne des hereditatem tuam in perdicione propter nomen sanctum tuum

The twelve canticles, ending with the Athanasian Creed and a brief anthem.

4. Fols. 148v–54v:
Incipit: Kyrieleyson Cristeleyson Criste audi nos Pater de celis deus Miserere nobis
Explicit: Sancta corona ora Sancta sexburga ora Omnes sancte uirgines orate Omnes sancti orate

Sarum litanies, one for each day of the week, with six prayers after ‘Deus cui proprium’, as in BrevSar, 2:250–60. Eight lines at the foot of the final page are blank.

Physical Description

Fully described at Ker, MMBL 3:704–5.
Secundo Folio: subsannabit (fol. 9)
Form: codex
Support: Vellum (FSOS/FHHF).
Extent: Fols. iii (numbered fols. i–ii, 1) + 153 (numbered fols. 2–154) + iii (numbered fols. iii–v).
Dimensions (leaf): 245 × 162 mm.
Dimensions (written): 160 × 115 mm.
Cut close by the binder, except for the decorated pages (e.g., fol. 8 measures 259 x 179 mm overall); these have been cut along the gutter so as to be folded down to the size of the current page-block.

Collation

16 2–58 68(–6) 7–88 96 (the two central bifolia bound in reverse order; the text should run fols. 63, 65, 64, 67, 66, 68) 108 118(–6, a cancel with no text loss) 12–138 148 (–6, another cancel) 158 (–1, another cancel) 16–198 208+1 (+9, pasted on). No catchwords or signatures.

Condition

The lower margins of fols. 16–24 variously cut away. Water-spotting in the lower corners, no text damage.

Layout

In long lines, 22 lines to the page. No prickings; bounded and ruled in red and reddish-brown ink.

Hand(s)

Written in gothic textura semiquadrata, perhaps more than one scribe. Punctuation by point and punctus elevatus.

Decoration

Psalms introduced by 2-line champes with sprays; verses divided by 1-line lombards, alternately blue on red flourishing and gold leaf on blue flourishing.

Rather plain blue and gold-leaf line-fillers at the end of verses.

Some musical staves, introduced with swag capitals with penwork animals and heads, discussed at Scott, 1:37 and illustrated in her figures 24–6 (fols. 11v, 51, 66v); figure 25 illustrates what may be the atelier’s identifying mark (see 1:65 n. 4).

At the head of the Psalms, a half-page illumination, a 5-line champe in gold leaf, blue and violet with green leaves, and a full vinet in the same with sprays and flowers, with similar decoration for the nocturns.

Illuminations include: Fol. 8, a half-page illustration: David in a wood kneeling to God, who is nimbed in a dark blue robe and holding David’s crown and harp.

Fol. 31v (Ps. 26), a half-page illustration: crowned David in a wood prying open a lion’s mouth with a dog or fox skulking in the foreground.

Fol. 56 (Ps. 51), a half-page illustration: David enthroned gesturing at a fool playing with two pointed sticks or swords.

Fol. 57 (Ps. 52), a half-page illustration: three women (coloured as Faith, Hope, and Charity), emerging from a castle towards David brandishing Goliath’s head on a sword.

Fol. 68 (Ps. 68), a historiated 8-line initial: Saul enthroned striking at David, in crown and dunce’s cap, with his harp, standing in the waters, on gold-leaf ground.

Fol. 80v (Ps. 80), a similar historiated initial: a bishop in purple marrying (?) David and Michal, with two flanking horn-players.

Fol. 93 (Ps. 97), a 6-line historiated initial: two priests carrying the ark and David walking alongside with a hand organ.

Fol. 106 (Ps. 109), a similar historiated initial: David enthroned with his harp, three men copying music into books.

Scott views the illumination programme (1:56, 2:168), as directly imitative of the Bedford Psalter (BL, MS Additional 42131, ) and the illuminator as sharing stylistic traits with the illustrator of a mid-century copy of Lydgate’s Troy Book, Manchester John Rylands Library MS Eng. 1 (2:262). Our MS is one of the very few she surveys to illustrate Ps. 51 (2:379).

See AT no. 494 (49) and plate xxix (fol. 57).

Binding

Brown leather over millboards, s. xvii; stamped binding with flower and leaf border, chain-like pattern with open lozenges at centre and corners. Sewn on five thongs. Red leather title plate in the upper spine compartment with gold-stamped ‘Psalt Rom’. Gold ‘293’ at the head of the spine. Marks suggesting ties at head of the boards. Pastedowns modern paper, a College bookplate and the previous owner’s (see Provenance below) on the front pastedown. At the front, two modern paper flyleaves and one medieval vellum one; at the rear, a medieval vellum flyleaf and two modern paper flyleaves (iii–v).

History

Origin: s. xv med. ; England

Provenance and Acquisition

‘Liber Gulielmi smalwoode socij collegij diui Iohannis Ba\p/tiste Oxoniae 1557’ (fol. 1); similarly ‘W. Smallwoode’ (fol. 8, upper margin); ‘William Smallwoode 1553’ (fol. 32v, over an erased rubric); two more examples in the border-work fol. 57, one dated 1557 and a further one on fol. 68. Smallwood was a Fellow of Magdalen 1552–6 and of St John’s 1557–66.

[…] hathe bene and shall be ye popes owne derlynge’ (fol. 109, upper margin, the first line mostly cut away; s. xvi ex.).

Another note about William Smallwood, mostly cancelled, apparently attacking him for papistry, twice dated 1551 and part at least signed ‘PM.’ (fol. 152, in the blank at the page foot).

Armorial bookplate of Godfrey Heathcote on the front pastedown.

Purchased 1952.

Record Sources

Ralph Hanna, A descriptive catalogue of the western medieval manuscripts of St. John's College, Oxford (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002) (with a correction to the folio reference for item 1)

Availability

For enquiries relating to this manuscript please contact St John's College Library.

Bibliography

    Alexander, J. J. G. and Elźbieta Temple, Illuminated Manuscripts in Oxford College Libraries, the University Archives and the Taylor Institution (Oxford, 1985).
    Ker, N. R.,Medieval Manuscripts in British Libraries. 4 vols. (Oxford, 1969-92).
    Proctor, Francis and Christopher Wordsworth (eds.), Breviarum ad usum insignis ecclesiae Sarum, 3 vols. (Cambridge, 1882–6).
    Scott, Kathleen L.Later Gothic Manuscripts, 1390–1490. 2 vols. (London, 1996).

Funding of Cataloguing

Conversion of the printed catalogue to TEI funded by the Thompson Family Charitable Trust

Last Substantive Revision

2023-01: First online publication

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