MS. Canon. Liturg. 8
Summary Catalogue no.: 19223
Portable Psalter with Antiphons, Augustinian Use; Italy, Venice, 15th century, third quarter
Contents
Fol. i is a parchment leaf, ruled but blank, apart from modern notes, pasted to a paper fly-leaf originally conjoint with the upper pastedown.
[item 1 occupies quire I]
Augustinian calendar, laid out one month per leaf, written in red and black, approximately one-third full, not graded. Includes St Augustine (28 August), ‘Conuersio beatissimii augustinii’ (4 May), both in red, and Monica, mother of St Augustine (5 May) in black. There are two feasts of St Mark, Martii euangeliste (25 April) and Translatio (31 January), both in red. Other Venetian feasts include Fusca (13 February) and Marina (17 July). Also contains Franciscan and Dominican saints: Peter of Verona (‘Petri martyri de ordine predicatorum’, 29 April), Clare of Assisi (12 August), Francis (4 October) and Louis of Toulouse (19 August). Consecration of the church (‘Consecratio ecclesie nostre de uirg.’) is on 20 June and ‘Conversio ecclesie nostre sancte marie de uirg.’ on 25 June. Months are headed by notes on the length of the solar and lunar month and on the number of hours in day and night. Fol. 13 is ruled but blank.
[items 2–4 occupy quires II–XXVI]
Psalms 1–150 (‘Incipit psalterium secundum ritum monialium sancte marie de uirginibus’), written as prose, with titles ‘psalmus’ or ‘psalmus dauid’. Punctuated throughout with punctus used to mark metrum, minor pauses and the ends of verses. The psalms are in the biblical order, some accompanied by antiphons, versicles, responses, invitatoria, etc. with rubrics referring to secular use. Subdivisions within psalms are not indicated, apart from psalm 118, subdivided into twenty-two 8-verse units. There are textual divisions at psalms 26, 38, 52, 68, 80, 79 and 109. Psalm 109 starts on a new quire.
Weekly canticles, most with titles:
- (1) Confitebor tibi domine (Isaiah 12) (‘Canticum ysaye prophete’);
- (2) Ego dixi (Isaiah 38: 10–21) (‘canticum’);
- (3) Exultauit cor meum (1 Samuel 2: 1–11) (‘Cantica anne’);
- (4) Cantemus domino (Exodus 15: 1–20) (‘canticum moysi’);
- (5) Domine audiui (Habakkuk 3) (‘Canticum abacuch prophete’);
- (6) Audite celi (Deuteronomy 32: 1–44).
Daily canticles, prayers and creeds, most with titles:
- (1) Te deum laudamus (‘hymnus augustini et ambrosij’) (fol. 238r);
- (2) Benedicite omnia opera (‘canticum trium puerorum’) (fol. 239v);
- (3) Benedictus dominus deus (‘canticum’) (fol. 241r);
- (4) Magnificat (‘Canticum beate marie uirginis’) (fol. 242r);
- (5) Nunc dimittis (‘Canticum simeonis’) (fol. 242v);
- (6) Gloria in excelsis (‘laus angelorum’) (fol. 243r);
- (7) Apostles’ Creed (Credo in deum ... ) (fol. 243v);
- (8) Nicene Creed (Credo in unum deum ... ) (‘Symbolum ecclesie’) (fol. 244r);
- (9) Athanasian Creed (Quicumque uult ... ) (‘fides atanasi episcopi’) (fol. 245r).
Physical Description
Collation
Layout
Ruled in ink, with single vertical and horizontal bounding lines extending the full height and width of page; 15 lines per page; written below the top line; written space: c. 70 × 53 mm.
Hand(s)
Formal Gothic book hand, black ink.
Decoration
Illuminated by the same artist as London, British Library, Add. MS. 15816; Oxford, Bodleian Library MS. Canon. Liturg. 371; and Oxford, Bodleian Library MS. Canon. Class. Lat. 161, identified as Leonardo Bellini (Bollati, 2004).
Red and blue penwork KL monograms and borders in the left and upper margins in the calendar.
9-line Beatus-initial and 7- to 8-line historiated initials, decorated with foliage, on gold background, and full borders, decorated with filigree scrolls, flowers, leaves, birds and gold discs at liturgical divisions:
- fol. 14r, Psalm 1 (initial B(eatus)), King David kneeling in prayer, his psaltery on the ground by his side, half-figure of God in the sky, blessing; rocky landscape in the background.
- (full border) Four medallions with half-figures of saints (including Jerome and Mark (?)),; two angels supporting a laurel wreath with arms of Loredan quartering Contarini.
- fol. 45v, Psalm 26 (initial D(ominus)), Half-figure of King David, pointing to his eyes, facing light shining from the sky; trees in the background.
- fol. 66r, Psalm 38 (initial D(ixi)), Half-figure of King David pointing to his mouth, facing light shining from the sky; trees in the background.
- fol. 85v, Psalm 52 (initial D(ixit)), Half-figure of the Fool in tunic and cloak, holding a club over his shoulder, finger raised, facing light shining from the sky; trees in the background.
- fol. 105v, Psalm 68 (initial S(aluum)), Half-figure of King David, nude, praying in waters.
- fol. 130v, Psalm 80 (initial E(xultate)), Half-figure of King David playing psaltery, facing light shining from the sky; trees in the background.
- fol. 153v, Psalm 97 (initial C(antate)), Two white-clad nuns singing from a music book open on a lectern.
- fol. 178r, Psalm 109 (initial D(ixit)), Half-figure of Christ, standing, holding an orb and blessing; trees in the background.
Borders: see above.
2-line red and blue initials and borders (left margin) with floral and abstract designs (blue and red penwork, green and blue wash, and gold) at the beginnings of psalms and canticles.
1-line alternating red and blue initials with contrasting blue or red penwork at the beginnings of verses and periods.
Rubrics in red ink.
Binding
16th century or 17th century?, Italian: wood boards; red velvet, badly worn; traces of lost metal corner-pieces, centrepieces and scalloped borders, possibly a frame for a girdle binding (cf. MS. Canon. Liturg. 237, same provenance); edges gilt, gauffered, after trimming.
18th century, Italian, Venice, for Jacopo Soranzo: paste-downs and flyleaves of carta bassanese, added after removal of the metal fittings. 135 × 98 × c. 47 mm. (book closed).
History
Provenance and Acquisition
Made for an Augustinian canoness of the Santa Maria delle Vergini in Venice. Arms of Loredan quartering Contarini on fol. 14r.
Jacopo Soranzo (1686–1761): binding. After Soranzo’s death by about 1780 at Cá Cornèr at San Maurizio, Venice (Mitchell, 1969).
Matteo Luigi Canonici of Venice (1727–c. 1806): bought soon after 1780.
Bodleian Library: bought in 1817 from Canonici’s nephew Giovanni Perissinotti.
Record Sources
Digital Images
Digital Bodleian (8 images from 35mm slides)
Bibliography
Select bibliography to 2004:
Abbreviations
View list of abbreviations and editorial conventions.
Last Substantive Revision
2024-07: Encode full description from Solopova catalogue.