Psalter : in Latin

Item Information

Title:
Psalter : in Latin
Title (uniform):
Psalter
Creator:
Catholic Church
Former owner:
Draper, William, Sir, 1721-1787
Date:
[ca. 1250]
Format:
Manuscripts
Genre:
Manuscripts, Latin (Medieval and modern)
Blind tooled bindings
Wooden boards
Inscriptions
Autographs
devotional calendars
Location:
Boston Public Library
Rare Books Department
Collection (local):
Medieval and Early Renaissance Manuscripts (Collection of Distinction)
Places:
Belgium
Extent:
170 leaves : parchment, ill. ; 274 x 183 (170 x 105) mm.
Permalink:
https://ark.digitalcommonwealth.org/ark:/50959/gq67mz04h
Terms of Use:
No known copyright restrictions.
No known restrictions on use.
Place of origin:
Flanders
Language:
Latin
Table of Contents:
1. ff. 1-6v: calendar.
2. ff. 7-13: full-page miniatures on versos, rectos blank (see below).
3. ff.14-162v: Psalter, ten-fold division (lacking one leaf after f. 118, Ps. 108:28-110:3 "opus eius").
4. ff. 162v-167: Litany.
5. ff. 167-170: Office of the Dead (use of Tournai; Ottosen responsory series 83 25 138 58 29 93 72 82 38).
6. f. 170v: blank.
Notes:
Ms. codex.
Bibliographic record created by BPL staff based on description by Dr. Lisa Fagin Davis.
Secundo folio: KL [M]artius habet dies xxxi …
Origin: Written in Flanders or northern France. In addition to the localizable style of the miniatures, the attribution to Flanders is supported by the contents of the manuscript. The calendar includes several Flemish and northern French saints: Bertinus (5 September), Firminus of Amiens (25 September), Amandus (26 October), Winocus (6 November), Martin (11 November, in red), Bricius (13 November). In addition, the litany includes Gangericus and Vulmarus, saints venerated in that region, and the Office of the Dead is for the use of Tournai. The unusual series of Labors of the Months, including the Virgin bearing candles in February, is nearly identical to the series preserved in calendars from three manuscripts for the use of St. Omer, near Calais: British Library Additional Ms 36684; Southern Methodist University, Bridwell Library, MS 13 ("The Sellers Hours"); and Walters Art Museum W. 90.
Former call no. BPL Ms. 1510.
Current call no. MS f Med. 84.
Notes (ownership):
Provenance: Apparently owned by an early Protestant, as the word "Pope" has been scraped away wherever it appears in the calendar (for example, Pope Leo on 28 June). Also present in the manuscript is a ca. 18th century signature of William Draper (possibly the William Draper who died in 1787), f. 124v. Sold Sotheby's London, 19 May 1936, lot 2, to Quaritch (SDBM 5116).
Notes (acquisition):
Immediate source of acquisition: Sold by Quaritch to the Boston Public Library in 1940, cat. 532, nr. 433.
Notes (date):
Date from Faye and Bond.
Notes (citation):
Bond, W.H. Supplement to the Census of medieval and Renaissance manuscripts in the United States and Canada, page 208
Notes (object):
Collation: Parchment codex, fol. 170; 1⁶, 2², 3⁶, 4-14⁸, 15⁸-¹ (lacking one leaf after f. 118) 16-21⁸ 22⁴ (final leaf is a pastedown).
Layout: One column, 20 lines; bounding and writing lines in brown ink; pricking in margins.
Script: Written in a gothic bookhand with no rubrics. Psalm numbers were added in the fifteenth century as Roman numerals in the outer margin.
Decoration (primary): 12 miniatures depicting the labors of the month, one on each calendar page: f. 1 (January): Janus feasting; f. 1v (February): the Virgin Mary carrying two candles; f. 2 (March): peasant pruning a tree; f. 2v (April): nobleman with flowering branches; f. 3 (May): hawking; f. 3v (June): woodsman carrying cut wood; f. 4 (July): peasant mowing with a scythe; f. 4v (August): peasant reaping wheat with a sickle; f. 5 (September): peasant sowing seeds; f. 5v (October): peasant harvesting grapes; f.6 (November): peasant feeding pigs; f. 6v (December): peasant preparing to slaughter a pig; f. 7v: Nativity; f. 8v: Adoration; f. 9v: Presentation; f. 10v: Scourging; f. 11v: Crucifixion; f. 12v: Resurrection; f. 13v: Christ in majesty.
Binding: Heavily repaired with modern burgundy morocco over original wooden boards. Some of the early (ca. 14th century) blind-tooled morocco has been retained, primarily on the lower cover and at the head of the upper cover. Text block edges painted in a green and gold diaper pattern (discernable primarily on the upper edge).
Notes (bibliography):
Bibliography: More Books XXIII (1948), 251 and 253.
Notes (language):
In Latin.
Call #:
MS f Med. 84
BPL Ms. 1510 (no longer used)
Barcode:
39999085232690