MS. Montagu e. 9
Summary Catalogue no.: 25400
Portable Psalter with Monastic Collects; Italy, Florence or Rome, 1515–1516 (?)
Contents
Fols. 1–2 are blank apart from added notes (see ‘Provenance’). Fol. 3r is blank.
Introductory prayer ‘Suscipere digneris domine deus omnipotens istos psalmos consecratos quos ego indignus et miser peccator decantare ...’.
[item 2 occupies quires I–XIX]
Psalms 1–150, with rubric ‘PSALTERIVM DAVID CVM ORATIONIBVS SINGVLIS PSAL. ACCOMMODATIS’, written in gold on red-purple background, in the biblical order, laid out with each verse starting on a new line, without numbers or titles, each followed by a collect (Roman series, Brou (1949)) with rubric ‘oratio’. Punctuated throughout with colon or punctus elevatus used to mark metrum, colon or virgule used to mark the minor pauses, and punctus used to mark the ends of verses. There are textual divisions at psalms 11, 21, 36, 46, 56, 66, 76, 86, 96, 111, 121, 131 and 141 (see ‘Decoration’), subdividing the psalter into sections, most containing ten psalms. Subdivisions within psalms, including psalm 118, are not marked.
[items 3–7 occupy quires XX–XXII]
Weekly canticles in an unusual order, with titles, each followed by a collect with rubric ‘oratio’:
- (1) Cantemus domino (Exodus 15: 1–20) (‘Canticum Moysi cum transiuit Mare rubrum’);
- (2) Audite celi (Deuteronomy 32: 1–44) (‘Canticum Moysi ex precepto dei’);
- (3) Exultauit cor meum (1 Samuel 2: 1–11) (‘Canticum siue oratio Anne matris Samuelis’);
- (4) Confitebor tibi domine (Isaiah 12) (‘Canticum Esaiae prophetae’);
- (5) Ego dixi (Isaiah 38: 10–21) (‘Canticum siue scriptura Ezechiae Regis Iuda’);
- (6) Domine audiui (Habakkuk 3) (‘Canticum siue oratio Abachuc prophetae pro ignorantiis’).
Daily canticles, prayers and creeds, with titles, each followed by a collect with rubric ‘oratio’:
- (1) Benedicite omnia opera (‘Canticum trium puerorum’) (fol. 205r);
- (2) Magnificat (‘Canticum Beate virginis quando concepit verbum dei’) (fol. 206v);
- (3) Benedictus dominus deus (‘Canticum Zachariae patris Johannis Baptistae’) (fol. 207r);
- (4) Nunc dimittis (‘Canticum symeonis prophetae’) (fol. 208r).
Versicles, responses and 12 collects of the litany with rubric ‘KYRIE ELEISON CHRISTE ELEISON KYRIE ELEISOE’ in gold capitals:
- (1) Deus cui proprium est misereri semper et parcere suscipe ...
- (2) Exaudi quesumus domine supplicum preces et confitentium tibi parce peccatis ut pariter nobis indulgentiam tribuas benignus et pacem ...
- (3) Ineffabilem nobis domine misericordiam tuam clementer ostende ut simul nos ...
- (4) Deus cui culpa offenderis et penitentia placaris ...
- (5) Ure igne sancti spiritus renes nostros ...
- (6) Actiones nostras quesumus domine aspirando preueni ...
- (7) Deus a quo bona cuncta procedunt largire supplicibus tuis ...
- (8) Dirigat corda nostra quesumus domine tue miserationis operatio ...
- (9) Deus cui corda fidelium sancti spiritus illustratione docuisti ...
- (10) Omnipotens sempiterne deus qui gloriose virginis matris marie corpus et animam ...
- (11) Deus qui miro ordine angelorum ministeria hominumque dispensas ...
- (12) Fidelium deus omnium conditor et redemptor animabus famulorum famularumque tuarum remissionem ...
Prayers before mass (‘Oratio sancti Ambrosii antequam sacerdos vadat ad missam valde deuota, et vtilis puro corde et munda mente dicenda’):
- (1) Summe sacerdos et uere pontifex qui te obtulisti deo patri hostiam ... (fols. 211v–217r);
- (2) Si tantum domine reatum nostre delinquentie cogitemus ... (fol. 217r–v).
Psalms and canticles after mass (fol. 217v): Benedicite omnia opera . . . (218r), psalm 150 (fol. 219r); antiphons for double feasts (fol. 219v); collects, of which the last one is for St Lawrence (fol. 220r–v):
- (1) Deus qui tribus pueris mitigasti ...
- (2) Actiones nostras quesumus domine aspirando preueni ...
- (3) Da nobis quesumus domine vitiorum nostrorum flammas extinguere ...(rubric: ‘Alique addunt de sancto Laurentio uel de alijs secundum deuotionem’).
Physical Description
Collation
Layout
Ruled in ink with single vertical bounding lines extending the full height of page; 17–18 lines per page; written above the top line; written space: c. 117 × 62 mm.
Hand(s)
Humanistic script; with perhaps a change of hand at beginning of quire XX, the start of the canticles
Decoration
4-line gold Beatus-initial (fol. 4r), decorated with floral, zoomorphic and anthropomorphic designs, on blue background in a rectangular frame, infilled with nimbed David (?), kneeling in prayer in a landscape. Rectangular border with gold floral, zoomorphic and anthropomorphic designs, including beasts, birds, grotesques, masks and human figures on red, green and blue background. Eight medallions, seven framed by gemmed rings and one, in the lower margin, supported by two putti. Two of the medallions contain Medici arms, and six Medici emblems (three ostrich feathers with ‘semper’ written on a white scroll, and double yoke, surmounted by N, with ‘svave’ written on a white scroll).
2- to 3-line gold initials with floral, zoomorphic and anthropomorphic designs, in rectangular frames, on red, blue and green background with Medici emblems, accompanied by similarly decorated one-sides borders with Medici emblems (gemmed ring; double yoke, sometimes surmounted by N; three ostrich feathers; lion masks; staff raguly; silver scroll sometimes with lettering ‘semper’) on white (usually with a pattern of silver dots), or red and blue background at the beginning of psalms 11 (fol. 14v), 21 (fol. 26r), 36 (fol. 45v), 46 (fol. 61r), 56 (fol. 73v), 66 (fol. 84v), 76 (fol. 100v), 86 (fol. 115v), 96 (fol. 128v), 111 (fol. 151r), 121 (fol. 169r), 131 (fol. 174v), 141 (fol. 184v), the beginning of weekly canticles (fol. 194r) and prayers before mass (fol. 211v). 3-line initial, without a border, is at the start of the daily canticles (fol. 205r).
Borders: see above.
Similar 2-line initials at the beginnings of prayers, psalms and canticles. Guide-letters occasionally survive in the margins.
1-line gold initials on alternating red, blue and green background at the beginnings of verses and periods.
Rubrics in red ink or in gold capitals, usually on red, blue or green background.
Binding
English Grolieresque, 19th century, before 1844. Brown leather with gilt floral and geometric designs over pasteboard. Gilt lettering on spine in a medallion on burgundy background: ‘PSALTERIUM. || LATINE || MS.’, and on a narrow strip at the bottom of the spine on burgundy background: ‘EXEMPLAR PAPÆ || LEONIS X.’. Black leather label on spine with gilt lettering ‘MS. || MONTAGU || e. 9’. Turn-ins with gilt arabesque designs. Gilt edges of textblock. Burgundy leather pastedowns and burgundy paper fly-leaves.
History
Provenance and Acquisition
Possibly made for Giuliano de Medici (1479–1516) after he received the title of Duke of Nemours from Francis I in 1515: arms and emblems of the Medici, including the yoke with the initial N.
Pope Leo X (1475–1521) (?): the psalter may have come to his library after the death of his younger brother Giuliano de Medici.
Wilmot Marsh (1819–1848) of Bangor Monachorum in Flintshire, author of Biblical versions of divine hymns, with annotations (London, 1845): inscribed ‘Wylmot Marsh[ e?] Banchor : Monach : MDCCCXV’ (altered to MDCCCXLIV (?)), fol. 1v.
Captain Montagu Montagu, Royal Navy (1787–1863), on whom see Summary catalogue, vol. 5, p. 112.
Bodleian Library: bequeathed by Montagu; received in 1864. Earlier shelfmark: ‘Bibl. Bodl. MS. Montagu. 4’ (fol. 1v).
Record Sources
Digital Images
Digital Bodleian (1 image from 35mm slides)
Bibliography
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Abbreviations
View list of abbreviations and editorial conventions.
Last Substantive Revision
2024-05: Encode full description from Solopova catalogue.