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Liturgical miscellany Ms. Codex 1248
Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts
Manuscript Overview
References
Binding Images

Abstract

Miniature manuscript of music and prayers from a monastic context. The manuscript has a pedagogical slant, beginning with the seven tones and some of the ordinary chants (Kyrie, Gloria, Ite missa est) written out repeatedly in different tones. It ends with a diagram of a Guidonian hand, a tool attributed to the 11th-century musical theorist Guido d'Arezzo and used in the 12th through 16th centuries for teaching sight-singing, and a ladder diagram of the gamut. Most of the content of the manuscript consists of brief chants for the liturgical cycle, with more extensive chants for Holy Week, including part of the Lamentations of Jeremiah (f. 54v-58r), and for the Office of and Mass for the Dead (Officium defunctorum, Missa pro defunctoris). The only antiphons indicated from the sanctoral cycle are for the Finding of the Holy Cross (May 3, f. 30r) and the Apparition of Saint Michael (May 8, f. 30v). Beginning of musical notation (primus tonus, secundus tonus) now lacking, perhaps 1-2 leaves; a catchword on the last leaf of musical notation suggests that at least one more gathering is missing between the last two. The musical notation is followed by prayers to Saint Michael, Saint Helena, and Saint Katherine of Alexandria, and a number of prayers for the death and burial of different categories of people, including priests, parents, and members of the order, with brief rubrics.

Physical Description

Support: parchment; Extent: 123 leaves : 82 x 60 (chant 68 x 42, text 55 x 40) mm bound to 88 x 70 mm; Collation: Parchment, 123; 1⁶ 2-14⁸ 15¹³ (+1); leaves 2-7 of the last gathering signed a2-a7; catchwords on last verso of gatherings 2-14, lower center; modern foliation in pencil, lower right recto.

Layout

Musical notation written on four 4-line staves in red ink with accompanying text; text (f. 111r-121v) written in 18 long lines; text ruled in drypoint with vertical bounding lines in faint ink or lead.

Script

Written in the Italian bookhand of Frater Johannes de plebe (f. 121v).

Decoration

Illustration in brown ink with details in red and blue ink of Guidonian hand with filigree cuff (f. 122r); ladder diagram of the gamut on a red 12-line staff and John 1.1-12 written in red ink and surrounded by a round penwork frame in blue ink (f. 122v); rubrics in red, initial letters touched in yellow with simple penwork tracery, 1- or 2-line initials alternating in red and blue throughout.

For a full list of Decorations in this manuscript please see the Content and Decorations section by clicking on the [i] button in the top left corner of the image viewer above.

Notes

Title supplied by cataloger.

Ms. codex.

5. f.112r-121v: [Prayers for the dead]

6. f.122r: [Guidonian hand]

4. f.111r-111v: [Suffrages]

3. f.85v-110v: [Chants for the dead]

1. f.1r-18v: [Tones 3-7 and ordinary chants]

2. f.18v-85r: [Chants for the liturgical cycle]

These are pages that we pulled aside that disrupted the flow of the manuscript reader. These may be bindings, inserts, bookmarks, and various other oddities.

Spine

Keywords
15th century
Song book
Liturgy
University of Pennsylvania, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts

Place of Origin

Italy

Date

Written in Italy in the second half of the 15th century (Sotheby's).

Binding

Early binding of brown leather over thin wooden boards, tooled with floral panels, leaves and symbols surrounding a Madonna and Child above a winged face, more easily seen on lower cover; remnants of a clasp; head and tail of spine now exposed (Sotheby's).

Language

Latin

Provenance

Sold at auction at Sotheby's, 8 July 2008, lot 24.

return to search Liturgical miscellany Ms. Codex 1248

Place of Origin

Italy

Date

Written in Italy in the second half of the 15th century (Sotheby's).

Language

Latin

Provenance

Sold at auction at Sotheby's, 8 July 2008, lot 24.

Manuscript Overview

Abstract

Miniature manuscript of music and prayers from a monastic context. The manuscript has a pedagogical slant, beginning with the seven tones and some of the ordinary chants (Kyrie, Gloria, Ite missa est) written out repeatedly in different tones. It ends with a diagram of a Guidonian hand, a tool attributed to the 11th-century musical theorist Guido d'Arezzo and used in the 12th through 16th centuries for teaching sight-singing, and a ladder diagram of the gamut. Most of the content of the manuscript consists of brief chants for the liturgical cycle, with more extensive chants for Holy Week, including part of the Lamentations of Jeremiah (f. 54v-58r), and for the Office of and Mass for the Dead (Officium defunctorum, Missa pro defunctoris). The only antiphons indicated from the sanctoral cycle are for the Finding of the Holy Cross (May 3, f. 30r) and the Apparition of Saint Michael (May 8, f. 30v). Beginning of musical notation (primus tonus, secundus tonus) now lacking, perhaps 1-2 leaves; a catchword on the last leaf of musical notation suggests that at least one more gathering is missing between the last two. The musical notation is followed by prayers to Saint Michael, Saint Helena, and Saint Katherine of Alexandria, and a number of prayers for the death and burial of different categories of people, including priests, parents, and members of the order, with brief rubrics.

Notes

Title supplied by cataloger.

Ms. codex.

5. f.112r-121v: [Prayers for the dead]

6. f.122r: [Guidonian hand]

4. f.111r-111v: [Suffrages]

3. f.85v-110v: [Chants for the dead]

1. f.1r-18v: [Tones 3-7 and ordinary chants]

2. f.18v-85r: [Chants for the liturgical cycle]

Script note

Written in the Italian bookhand of Frater Johannes de plebe (f. 121v).

Decoration Note

Illustration in brown ink with details in red and blue ink of Guidonian hand with filigree cuff (f. 122r); ladder diagram of the gamut on a red 12-line staff and John 1.1-12 written in red ink and surrounded by a round penwork frame in blue ink (f. 122v); rubrics in red, initial letters touched in yellow with simple penwork tracery, 1- or 2-line initials alternating in red and blue throughout.

For a full list of Decorations in this manuscript please see the Content and Decorations section by clicking on the [i] button in the top left corner of the image viewer above.

References
Binding Images

These are pages that we pulled aside that disrupted the flow of the manuscript reader. These may be bindings, inserts, bookmarks, and various other oddities.

Spine

Keywords
15th century
Song book
Liturgy
University of Pennsylvania, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts
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