MS. Rawl. G. 20

Summary Catalogue no.: 14753

Portable Secular Psalter in Latin with English additions; England, 15th century, middle

[item 1 occupies quire I]

1. (fols. 1r–6v)

Sarum calendar, laid out one month per page, written in brown and red, approximately half full, not graded. Many feasts added in at least two 15th-century hands, including Paul the Hermit, Felix, Babylas, John Chrysostom, the translation of Thomas Aquinas in January; Patrick in March; Guthlac and Erkenwald in April; Alban and Ethelbert in May; Botulph, Eligius and Florentius in June; Sexburga, Ethelburga, Bricius, Mildred, Donatus, Bertin, Wandregesius, Christopher in July; Radegundis in August; Anthony and Athelwold in September; Francis and Florentius in October; Romanus, Magnus and Rufus in November; Eligius, Barbara and Eulalia in December. The feast of Thomas Becket, his translation and the titles ‘pape’ are erased. Notes on the number of hours in day and night at the end of each month.

[items 2–3 occupy quires II–XX]

2. (fols. 7r–149r)

Psalms 1–150 in the biblical order, laid out as prose, with short rubrics ‘psalmus’ at the beginnings. Punctuated throughout, with punctus used to mark the ends of verses and minor pauses, and punctus elevatus used to mark metrum. There are textual divisions at psalms 26, 38, 52, 68, 80, 97 and 109 (see ‘Decoration’). Subdivisions within psalms are not indicated, apart from psalm 118, subdivided into eleven 16-verse units. Corrections, perhaps by one of the hands responsible for the additions in the calendar (e.g. fols. 31r, 55v, 56r, 58v, etc.). Hebrew numbering in Roman numerals added in a post-medieval hand in the margins.

3. (fols. 149r–157v)

Weekly canticles, preceded by a rubric ‘Canticum’:

(1) Confitebor tibi domine (Isaiah 12);
(2) Ego dixi (Isaiah 38: 10–21);
(3) Exultauit cor meum (1 Samuel 2: 1–11);
(4) Cantemus domino (Exodus 15: 1–20);
(5) Domine audiui (Habakkuk 3);
(6) Audite celi (Deuteronomy 32: 1–44).

[items 4–11 occupy quires XXI–XXIV]

4. (fols. 158r–163v)

Daily canticles, prayers and creeds, without titles:

(1) Te deum laudamus (fol. 158r);
(2) Benedicite omnia opera (fol. 159r);
(3) Benedictus dominus deus (fol. 160r);
(4) Magnificat (fol. 160v);
(5) Nunc dimittis (fol. 161r);
(6) Athanasian Creed (Quicumque uult ... ) (fol. 161r).

5. (fols. 163r–171r)

Litany, including Wulstan, Cuthbert, Botulph and Aldhelm among the confessors, and Etheldreda and Wilburga among the virgins. Pages containing the names of saints are crossed in brown ink. The litany is followed by collects with rubrics ‘oracio’ (fols. 169v–171r):

(1) Deus cui proprium est misereri semper et parcere suscipe ...
(2) Omnipotens sempiterne deus qui facis mirabilia magna solus ...
(3) Deus qui caritatis dona per graciam sancti spiritus tuorum cordibus fidelium infundis ...
(4) Deus a quo sancta desideria recta consilia et iusta sunt ...
(5) Ineffabilem misericordiam tuam nobis quesumus domine clementer ostende ut simul nos ...
(6) Fidelium deus omnium conditor et redemptor animabus omnium fidelium defunctorum ...
(7) Pietate tua quesumus domine nostrorum solue vincula omnium delictorum ...

6. (fols. 171v–174r)

Litany of the Virgin Mary, using feminine grammatical forms ‘. . . misereri [sic] mei famule tue .N... .’ (fol. 172r).

7. (fols. 174v–183r)

Sarum Office of the Dead, with part of the Matins missing, from near the end of lesson 8 to the responsory of lesson 9, because of the loss of a leaf after fol. 180. The responsories of the surviving readings correspond to nos. 14, 72, 24, 32, 57, 28, 68 in Ottosen (1993). Followed by prayers for the dead (fols. 182v–184v) and the Commendation of the Souls (fol. 183r).

8. (183v–184v)

Prayers to the Blessed Sacrament:

(1) Aue ihesu christe verbum patris filius virginis agnus dei salus mundi hostia sacra ...
(2) Domine ihesu christe fili dei viui qui hanc sacratissimam carnem et preciosum sanguinem ...

9. (fols. 184v–186v)

Hymns: Christe qui lux es et dies (Chevalier, no. 2934); Te lucis ante terminum (Chevalier, no. 20138); Saluator mundi domine (Chevalier, no. 17808); Cultor dei memento te fontis (Chevalier, no. 4053); Iesu saluator seculi (Chevalier, no. 9677).

10. (fols. 186v–187r)

Added 15th-century prayer in English, beginning ‘O my souereyn lord ihesu the very soun off Almyghty god And of þe most clene and glorius virgyn sent mary that suffirdyst deth ...’ on leaves ruled but originally left blank.

11. (fol. 187v)

Added (?) prayer beginning ‘Domine iesu christe te adoro in cruce pendentem cum corona in capite ...’. Erased rubric in English at the end.

[a quire may be missing after fol. 187; items 12–13 occupy quire XXV]

12. (fols. 188r–191v)

Added (?) hymns: Conditor alme siderum (Chevalier, no. 3733); A solis ortus cardine (Chevalier, no. 26); Ad cenam agni prouidi (Chevalier, no. 110); Iesu nostra redempcio (Chevalier, no. 2934); Ueni creator spiritus (Chevalier, no. 21204); O Pater sancte mitis atque pie (Chevalier, no. 13376); Sacris solemniis juncta sint gaudia (Chevalier, no. 17713).

13. (fols. 191v–193v)

Hymn ‘Aue virgo gratiosa stella sole clarior’ (Chevalier, no. 2215) added in a 16th-century hand and signed ‘Quod Roger Bassyngham’. Fol. 194r–v is blank.

Language(s): Latin with additions in Middle English

Physical Description

Secundo Folio: mino in timore (psalter, fol. 8r)

Form: codex

Support: parchment; laid paper fly-leaves

Extent: 195 leaves

Dimensions (leaf): c. 185 × 130 mm.

Foliation: modern, in pencil; 1–195.

Collation

Layout

Ruled in ink with single vertical and double horizontal bounding lines, extending the full height and width of page; written below the top line; 18 lines per page; written space: c. 117 × 76 mm. ; prickings often survive in all three margins

Hand(s)

Formal Gothic book hand, black and brown ink, by at least two scribes.

Decoration

Blue KL monograms with red penwork in the calendar.

4-line gold Beatus-initial and three-quarter border, decorated with flowers, foliage and gold leaves and discs (fol. 7r).

3-line gold initials and partial borders, decorated with flowers, foliage and gold discs, at the beginnings of psalms 26 (fol. 28r), 38 (fol. 42r), 52 (fol. 55r), 68 (fol. 68v), 80 (fol. 85r), 97 (fol. 100r) and 109 (fol. 116v).

Borders: see above.

3-line blue initials with red penwork at the beginnings of the Litany of the Virgin and the Office of the Dead.

2-line blue initials with red penwork at the beginnings of psalms, canticles, litany, prayers, hymns and sections within the Litany of the Virgin and the Office of the Dead.

1-line alternating red and blue initials with contrasting penwork at the beginnings of verses and periods.

Rubrics in red ink.

Binding

Brown speckled and plain leather over pasteboard, 18th century. Double blind fillet lines round the outer edge of both covers. Rectangular decoration with floral cornerpieces at the centres of both covers. Five raised bands on spine; gilt floral designs framed by gilt fillet lines on the panels between the bands. Gilt lettering on spine: ‘PSALMS | OF DAVID | MSS.’. The edges of textblock speckled red. Laid paper pastedowns and fly-leaves without watermarks.

History

Origin: 15th century, middle ; English

Provenance and Acquisition

Apparently written for a woman (fol. 172r).

Obit of Johannes Blakeney (Norfolk (?)), armiger, in the calendar (20 August), 15th century: ‘obitus Ioh(ann)is Blakeney armiger’.

‘Franc(is) Bassyngham of Bassyngham oweth this boke’, 15th century (?) (fol. 1r).

Added hymn signed ‘Quod Roger Bassyngh(a)m’, 16th century (fol. 193v).

Owned by Ralph Thoresby (1658–1725) (Summary catalogue, vol. 3), see ODNB: inscribed ‘[...]esby’ (upper pastedown, partially covered by the Rawlinson bookplate); ‘price x s’ (fol. 1r).

Richard Rawlinson (1690–1755), see ODNB: bookplate and ‘590’ (upper pastedown).

Bodleian Library: bequeathed by Rawlinson; accessioned in 1756. Earlier shelfmarks: ‘Auct: Rawl: 20’, upper pastedown.

Record Sources

Elizabeth Solopova, Latin Liturgical Psalters in the Bodleian Library: A Select Catalogue (Oxford, 2013), pp. 259–63. Previously described in the Summary Catalogue.

Summary Catalogue, Vol. 3, p. 344

Digital Images

Digital Bodleian (2 images from 35mm slides)

Bibliography

Select bibliography to 2002:

Summary catalogue, vol. 3, no. 14753.

Frere, no. 470.

S. J. P. van Dijk, Latin Liturgical Manuscripts in the Bodleian Library, Oxford, vol. 2: Office Books (typescript, 1957), p. 59

Pächt and Alexander (1966–73), vol. 3, no. 1034.

Scott, K. L., ‘Limning and book-producing terms and signs in situ in late-medieval English manuscripts: a first listing’ in R. Beadle and A. J. Piper, New science out of old books: studies in manuscripts and early printed books in honour of A. I. Doyle (Aldershot: Scolar Press, 1995), pp. 142–88, at p. 166 n. 29.

Scott (2000–02), vol. 3, no. 951.

Abbreviations

View list of abbreviations and editorial conventions.

Last Substantive Revision

2024-06: Encode full description from Solopova catalogue.

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