Two Pages from a Roman Breviary in Gothic Script
November 26, 2022 in Manuscript Studies, Reports
Two Framed Pages
from a Roman Breviary
on Vellum in Latin in Gothic Script
containing
Hours for First Sunday after Easter
and
Vespers for Holy Trinity Sunday
Private Collection, Roman Breviary Leaf in Frame: Page with Part of Vespers for Holy Trinity Sunday. Photography By Mildred Budny. Reproduced by permission.
Single-Column Pages
laid out in 27 lines of Gothic Script
with
Rubrications,
Minor Initials in Red or Blue Pigment,
and
Enlarged Initials
embellished with Pen-line Decoration
[Posted on 27 November 2022]
Two separate leaves, now in frames, in a Private Collection contain parts of a Latin Breviary for Roman Use, that is, the Church of Rome, or Breviarum Romanum. (See, for example, The Roman Breviary and Roman Breviary.)
Some earlier blogposts have considered fragments of Latin Breviaries or related liturgical books.
- Two Vellum Leaves from a Large-Format Breviary in Gothic Script
- The Pearly Gateway: A Scrap from a Latin Missal or Breviary
- A Leaf from Prime in a Large-Format Breviary
- Written in the Stars: Roman Breviary Fragment with Latin Lections on Astrology
For example, from a different Private Collection, several leaves from a Roman Breviary:
Private Collection. Breviary Fragment, Folios IIv/Ir, with Revised Title and Penultimate Page of the Lections. Photography by Mildred Budny.
The Pages from Two Leaves
Private Collection, Roman Breviary Leaf in Frame: Page in the Hours for First Sunday after Easter. Photography By Mildred Budny. Reproduced by permission.
The visible sides of the vellum leaves, on one page per leaf, contain parts of the text from the Hours for the First Sunday after Easter (see Second Sunday of Easter) and from Vespers for Holy Trinity Sunday (see Trinity Sunday). Let us call the Leaves 1 and 2, taking them in the sequence of their seasonal occasions in the cycle of the liturgical year, which extends from Advent to Trinity.
In the Western liturgical calendar, Trinity Sunday is the first Sunday after Pentecost; it is intended to celebrate the doctrine of the Trinity, the three Persons of God, namely the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Easter (or Resurrection) Sunday commemorates Jesus’ resurrection from the dead; the event is reported in the canonical Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) and some other sources. As the start of Eastertide, or the Paschal season, Easter Sunday is followed by seven weeks to the fiftieth day on Pentecost Sunday.
The contents of the other sides of the leaves are unknown, apart from show-through onto the visible sides. The text establishes that the two leaves were non-continuous in their former manuscript.
The vellum material of both leaves is evident in the texture of the visible surfaces as well as undulations across the expanse of the stretched animal skins. The smooth, whitish appearance makes it appear that both pages stand on the flesh sides of their skins.
Bringing the Leaves to light, we report the contents of the Pages, with descriptions and photographs.
