MS. Lat. liturg. f. 24

Summary Catalogue no.: Not in SC (late accession)

Portable Psalter; France, 15th century, first half

(fols. 1r–212v)

Psalms [1]–150; illuminated initials and surrounding sections of text have been removed, apart from the initial of psalm 80. The following text is missing:

– one leaf missing at the beginning (missing text psalm 1); – several quires missing after fol. 22 (missing text 17: 14–49: 8);
– four leaves missing after fol. 24 (missing text 50: 4–52: 6);
– one leaf missing after fol. 49 (missing text 67: 36–68: 6);
– one leaf missing after fol. 112 (missing text 96: 5–97: 1);
– two leaves missing after fol. 145 (missing text psalm 109).

The psalms are in the biblical order, laid out with each verse starting on a new line, without titles or numbers. Punctuated throughout with colon used to mark metrum and minor pauses, and punctus occasionally used to mark the ends of verses. Subdivisions within psalms are not indicated, apart from psalm 118, subdivided into twenty-two 8- verse units. Psalms 65 (‘Iubilate ...’) and 89 (‘Domine ...’) start with incorrectly filled-in initials H (fol. 42) and B (fol. 101r). The text is worn on many pages at the beginning of the manuscript (fols. 1–50). On fol. 212v there is an offset of an illuminated border, similar to the one on fol. 81v, indicating that originally the psalms were followed by another text, probably canticles.

Fol. 1 is a blank paper fly-leaf; fols. 213–214 are paper fly-leaves, blank apart from modern notes.

Language(s): Latin

Physical Description

Secundo Folio: (psalter, fol.1r) Quare fremuerunt

Secundo Folio: (psalter, fol. 2r) ultate ei

Form: codex

Support: parchment; paper fly-leaves

212 (i + 209 + ii) leaves

Dimensions (leaf): c. 132 × 102 mm.

Leaves were trimmed, occasionally causing the loss of text and decoration.

Foliation: modern, in pencil (corrected 1999); i + 1–8 + 9a + 9b + 10–44 + 46–91 + 93–182 + 184–201 + 203–214 (i.e. '9' is repeated, but '45', '92', '183' and '202' are omitted).

Collation

(fol. i) paper fly-leaf with a small paper bifolium pasted to the recto | (fols. 1–7) I (8−1) missing 1 | (fols. 8–22) II–III (8) several quires missing after fol. 22 | (fols. 23–26) IV (8−4) missing 3, 4, 5, 6 | (fols. 27–42) V–VI (8) | (fols. 43–50) VII (8−1) missing 7 | (fols. 51–107) VIII–XIV (8) | (fols. 108–114) XV (8−1) missing 6 | (fols. 115–138) XVI–XVIII (8) | (fols. 139–145) XIX (8−1) missing 8 | (fols. 146–152) XX (8−1) missing 1 | (fols. 153–210) XXI–XXVII (8) | (fols. 211–212) XXVIII (8−6 (?)) missing 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 (?) | (fols. 213–214) paper fly-leaves. Catchword survives on fol. 122v, cf 130v.

Layout

Ruled in ink with single vertical and horizontal bounding lines, extending the full height and width of page; 14 lines per page; written below the top line; written space: c. 90 × 61 mm.

Hand(s)

formal Gothic book hand, black and brown ink.

Decoration

Most of the leaves which would have borne major initials are missing, only one survives: (fol. 81v) Psalm 80, (initial E(xultate)), 6-line blue initial on gold background, decorated with coiled tendrils and foliage.

(border, upper, left and lower margins) Gold and blue bar in the left margin; thread-like stems with flowers and leaves in the upper and lower margins.

2-line red and blue initials with contrasting black and blue penwork at the beginnings of psalms.

1-line plain alternating red and blue initials at the beginnings of verses.

Red and blue penwork line-endings.

Binding

20th-century binding, dark brown leather over wood boards. Four raised bands on spine. Gilt lettering on spine ‘PSALTERIUM’ and ‘SAEC. XIV’. Bodleian paper label on spine: ‘MS. Lat. lit. || f. 24’. Endbands of green and orange thread. Modern paper pastedowns and fly-leaves.

History

Origin: 15th century, first half ; French

Provenance and Acquisition

Made in France, in the first half of the 15th century (?): evidence of script and decoration.

Inscribed ‘a Socard fils 1859’ (fol. 108r, beneath a line-filler).

C. M. Firth: book-label printed ‘Ex libris Cecil Mallaby Firth’ (upper pastedown).

Bodleian Library: ‘D[onated] 25. X.1931 Firth’ (fol. 1r); inscribed in pencil ‘Firth 8o’ (fol. 212v).

Record Sources

Elizabeth Solopova, Latin Liturgical Psalters in the Bodleian Library: A Select Catalogue (Oxford, 2013), pp. 310–12. Previously described in typescript by Bodleian Library staff with revisions by Peter Kidd, late 1990s.

Bibliography

Printed descriptions:

Pächt and Alexander (1966–73), vol. 1, no. 693.

S. J. P. van Dijk, Latin Liturgical Manuscripts in the Bodleian Library, Oxford, vol. 2: Office Books (typescript, 1957), p. 80

Abbreviations

View list of abbreviations and editorial conventions.

Last Substantive Revision

2024-08: Convert full description from Solopova catalogue.

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