{"id":12303,"date":"2020-01-01T22:23:49","date_gmt":"2020-01-01T22:23:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/manuscriptevidence.org\/wpme\/?p=12303"},"modified":"2022-11-20T00:42:43","modified_gmt":"2022-11-20T00:42:43","slug":"a-leaf-from-prime-in-a-large-format-latin-breviary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/manuscriptevidence.org\/wpme\/a-leaf-from-prime-in-a-large-format-latin-breviary\/","title":{"rendered":"A Leaf from Prime in a Large-Format Latin Breviary"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"J.

J. S. Wagner Collection. Leaf from from Prime in a Latin manuscript Breviary. Folio 4 Recto, with the opening of Psalm 117 (118) in the Vulgate Version.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u00a0Leaf “4” from Prime in a Large-Format Latin Breviary<\/h3>\n

Spain, 16th or 17th century<\/h3>\n

Single columns in 14 lines
\ncirca 395 x 515 mm
\nwith Foliate and Floral Decorated Initials<\/h3>\n

J. S. Wagner Collection<\/h3>\n
\"J.

J. S. Wagner Collection. King David as Penitent from a Book of Hours.<\/p><\/div>\n

[Published on 1 January 2020, with updates<\/em>]<\/p>\n

We continue our series of reports revealing unknown witnesses to the creativity of written materials, manuscript and in print, across the centuries.\u00a0 See the Contents List<\/a> for this blog for discoveries so far and unfolding.<\/p>\n

Now, with thanks to the collector, who brought this and other manuscript and early-printed materials to our attention, we offer images of a detached leaf from a large-format manuscript for liturgical use.<\/p>\n

Already<\/a> we showcased another leaf in that collection.\u00a0 It has an illustrated opening for one or another of the Penitential Psalms \u2014 we can’t know which one, given that its few visible opening lines pertain to 2 Psalms\u00a0\u2014 depicting the Old Testament King David<\/a> in his penitence, with crown and lyre set to one side.\u00a0 The publication of that illustration, and the gathering advice of experts whom we could ask, led to improved knowledge about the probable orgin of the leaf and its original manuscript.\u00a0 A similar process commences with this next leaf, also from a religious manuscript.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Element Number 4 out of N<\/em> (= Integer<\/a>)<\/h3>\n

Here we turn to a single Breviary leaf, which carries the modern arabic number “4” in ink at its top right corner of the recto. In my first iteration of this blogpost (1 January 2020), I asserted confidently:<\/p>\n

That number must belong to a consecutive series applied while the manuscript was still intact.\u00a0 The number identifies the front side of the former Folio 4, presumably, rather than a Page 4, partly because the verso of the leaf is unnumbered and partly because a Page 4 out of 4 would scarcely stand on a recto, rather than on a second verso.<\/p>\n

Then I observed:\u00a0 “Who knows how many leaves which the numbered sequence encompassed?\u00a0 Let’s call it “N”, meaning a whole number (so far unknown) of leaves.”<\/p>\n

Upon this basis, it seemed reasonable to observe that, because “so far the manuscript remains unknown”, such signs as “the folio number could aid in identifying which manuscript formerly contained this specimen”. And there’s more:<\/p>\n

For example, a full series might carry numbering written by a single hand more-or-less at a single sitting.<\/p>\n

If the formerly adjacent folios 3 and 5 survive, we might recognize them (and others from the same original book) through their shared folio numeration, signs of damage, style of script and decoration, and consecutive text.<\/p>\n

That was then.\u00a0 This is now (mid January).\u00a0 A dedicated and constructive critic has made suggestions worth reconsidering the assessment of the value of the number 4 in this position.\u00a0 Not sure that the number 4<\/em> has to be a ‘folio number’, attractive as that reasoning seemed.\u00a0 (See below.)<\/p>\n

For the moment, let’s stick with “4” in some sequence of 1\u20134 + N, without yet deciding which things (folios, specimens, something or other) that those numbers were designed to designate.\u00a0 But the consecutive sequence entered perhaps by a single hand at a single sitting still holds attraction.<\/p>\n

\"Leaf

J. S. Wagner Collection. Leaf from from Prime in a Latin manuscript Missal. Folio 4 Recto, top.<\/p><\/div>\n

Prime Facie<\/em>, or, Two Sides to the Story<\/h3>\n

Recto and Verso tell the tale.\u00a0 Each carries the running title, rubricated in red pigment, at the top center of the page.\u00a0\u00a0 Identifying the purpose and occasion of the readings presented in the single column of text on each page, the title proclaims that the section of liturgical readings pertains to Prime.<\/p>\n

The verso writes the title in full:\u00a0 Ad Primam<\/em> (“At [the Hour of] Prime”).\u00a0 The recto, however, abbreviates the title, with a suspension of the final m<\/em> indicated by a horizontal stroke above the preceding letter a<\/em>, according with standard practice for abbreviations in Latin already for centuries.<\/p>\n

The recto of the leaf:<\/p>\n

\"J.

J. S. Wagner Collection. Leaf from from Prime in a Latin manuscript Breviary. Folio 4 Recto.<\/p><\/div>\n

The verso of the leaf:<\/p>\n

\"J.

J. S. Wagner Collection, Leaf from from Prime in a Latin manuscript Breviary. Folio 4 Verso, with part of Psalm 117 (118) in the Vulgate Version, set out in verses with decorated initials.<\/p><\/div>\n

That the leaf exhibits multiple signs of damage from moisture, mold, tears, and other stains.\u00a0 Such traces would also, perforce, pertain to the other leaves of the book.\u00a0 No way could that amount of damage accrue solely to a single leaf while within a book.<\/p>\n

Now we’re talking about the archaeology of the book.\u00a0 The first of the layers would, of course, pertain to the manuscript in its original state.\u00a0 Then (among others), would come the assaults of damage, and persistent damage, as the book fell prey to multiple forms of depredation \u2014 culminating in the severance of the leaf from its companions, whereby that single leaf was set loose, alone, to find a new home.<\/p>\n

Text<\/h3>\n

Both the recto and verso of the leaf present texts for Prime<\/a> on each Sunday among the canonical hours<\/a> of the Divine Office<\/a> in the celebration of the Christian liturgy.\u00a0 The sequence for reciting all of Psalms at least once during the week was set out in the \u201cPSALTERIUM DISPOSITUM PER HEBDOMADAM\u201d, or \u201cWeekly Psalter\u201d, within which section of the Breviary our leaf belongs.<\/p>\n

Prime, or “The First Hour”, is intended to be said at the first hour of daylight, which occurs at 6:00\u00a0a.m. at the equinoxes, or earlier in summer and later in winter.\u00a0\u00a0 This Hour stands between the dawn hour of Lauds<\/a> and the 9 a.m. hour of Terce<\/a> .<\/p>\n

The recto of the leaf carries the conclusion of the reading of the text of Psalm 53.\u00a0 It closes the second half of the last verse of that Psalm, that is, verse 9:\u00a0 [quoniam ex omni tribulatione eripuisti me<\/em>\/] et super inimicos meos despexit oculus meus.
\n<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

This reading is followed by the cue for the Gloria Patri<\/a> (“Glory Be to The Father”), by which cue the celebrant or participant would understand the recital of a very familiar text, which comprises a short hymn of praise to God the Father as well as the rest of the Trinity.\u00a0\u00a0 Thus:<\/p>\n

Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto,<\/em>
\nSicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper, et in saecula saeculorum.\u00a0 Amen.<\/em><\/p>\n

“Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
\nAs it was in the beginning, and now, and ever shall be, world without end.\u00a0 Amen.”<\/p>\n

[Or, more literally:\u00a0 “As it was in the beginning, and now, and always, unto ages of ages.”]<\/p>\n

This cue functions in much the same way as poems in literature and arias in opera can familiarly be cited by their first lines.<\/p>\n

Next comes the reading of Psalm 117 (118)<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0 It starts with Verse 1, “Confitemini domino quonuam bonus<\/em>.\u00a0 The verso of the leaf ends near the end of Verse 8, about one-quarter of the way through the Psalm (which extends altogether to 29 verses).\u00a0 The page break comes mid-word:\u00a0 Bonum est confidere in Domino quam confide<\/span><\/em>[\/<\/span>re <\/span><\/em>in homine<\/span><\/em>].\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

By the sequence of the texts, we might expect that the leaf formerly preceding this one ends with the first part of Psalm 53:9 (to the words eripuisti me<\/em>), while the leaf formerly following it would begin with the close of Psalm 117 (118): 8 (-re<\/em> in homine<\/em>).<\/span><\/p>\n

All this text corresponds with the Vulgate<\/a> Version of the Bible.<\/p>\n

Decorated Initials<\/h3>\n

The several decorated initials enliven the pages.\u00a0 They variously open Verses of the Psalms, the Gloria<\/em>, and the Psalm as a whole.\u00a0 Examples here.<\/p>\n

\"J.

J. S. Wagner Collection. Leaf from from Prime in a Latin manuscript Breviary. Folio 4 Verso, detail.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"J.

J. S. Wagner Collection. Leaf from from Prime in a Latin manuscript Breviary. Folio 4 Recto, detail. The opening of Psalm 117 (118) in the Vulgate Version, with a framed initial C for ‘Confitimini’.<\/p><\/div>\n

All the decorated initials are enlarged and inset within the lines of text.\u00a0 The bodies of their letters alternate, mostly, between red pigment and blue pigment, from initial to initial, although, at the top of the recto, the G<\/em> of Gloria<\/em> and the following C<\/em> of Confitemini<\/em> share the same pigment red.<\/p>\n

“Our” leaf has both major and minor decorated initials.\u00a0 The major initial for Psalm 117 (118) stands 3 lines tall, set within a pen-line upright rectangular frame of doubled lines (whose contours overlap somewhat unevenly).\u00a0 All the other initials stand 1 line tall, without frames.<\/p>\n

For all the decorated initials, the foliate decoration comprises either inset marigold-type flowers (enclosed within the 6 initial D<\/em>s) or short segments of scrolling stems (G<\/em>, C<\/em>. B<\/em>).\u00a0 Those stems either fit within the initial (G<\/em>, B<\/em>), or fill the interior of both the letter and the frame.<\/p>\n

The polychrome foliate initials add attractive embellishment to the layout of each page.<\/p>\n

*****<\/p>\n

Sequence of Elements<\/h3>\n

The textual sequence of Psalm 53, the Gloria Patri<\/em>, and Psalm 117 (118) places this leaf within a larger setting of liturgical usage according to specific prescribed practice.\u00a0 The combination of these components, in this order, point to their liturgical intentions within their given institution.<\/p>\n

The Roman Breviary<\/a> (Breviarium Romanum<\/em>) “is the liturgical book of the Latin liturgical rites of the Catholic Church containing the public or canonical prayers, hymns, the Psalms, readings, and notations for everyday use, especially by bishops, priests, and deacons in the Divine Office (i.e., at the canonical hours or Liturgy of the Hours, the Christians’ daily prayer)”.\u00a0 The Sarum Breviary<\/a> belongs to the Use of Sarum, or Salisbury, a variant of the Roman Rite widely used in the British Isles for the ordering of Christian public worship, including the Mass and the Divine Office.<\/p>\n

The full sequence of hymns, readings, and prayers for the Hour Ad Primam<\/em> is edited, for example, in the Breviarum Ad Usum Insignis Ecclesiae Sarum<\/a> (Cambridge, 1838), Fascicle II, columns 37\u201358<\/a>.\u00a0 There (at columns 47\u201348), Psalm 53 ends with the Gloria Patri<\/em>, followed by Psalm 117.\u00a0 In contrast, the Tridentine Breviarum Romanum of 1838<\/a> follows Psalm 53 with Psalm 117, but omits the Gloria Patri<\/em>. Likewise does the 1799 Tridentine Breviary<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Although the text of Breviaries could vary considerably, according to changing customs and religious practices across time and place, the probable date of “our leaf” in the 16th or 17th century suggests conformance with one or another evolved forms of the Breviary, as they entered the modern period.\u00a0 A closer study \u2014 and the identification of other leaves from this manuscript \u2014 might better identify the specific Use for which it was intended.<\/p>\n

It is perhaps worth saying that the manuscript with “our leaf” apparently did not comprise a Missal.\u00a0 A Missal<\/a> was designed to serve for the priest’s use alone in the celebration of the Mass. Customilarly rubrics<\/a> would be indicated, with emphasized lettering (often colored in red) providing instructions which were to be followed, rather like stage directions. Not only does “our leaf” not possess rubrics; moreover, we have not yet found the requisite combination of Psalm 53 followed by Psalm 117 in Prime \u2014 although Psalm 117 itself occurs many times in, for example, the Sarum Missal<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Presumably this leaf belonged to a stately Breviary of folio size<\/a>.\u00a0 It has clearly written lines of text in single columns upon large-format pages.\u00a0 The embellishment includes rubricated running titles and polychrome initials enlivened by foliate and floral decoration.<\/p>\n

Palaeographical Features<\/h3>\n

Written in dark ink, the text script is rounded and upright, with both Uncial<\/a> and Minuscule elements.\u00a0 Elaborate Gothic-style capitals form the initial letters of names (Patri,<\/em> Israel<\/em>, Aaron<\/em>, Dominum<\/em>, and Ad Primam<\/em>).<\/p>\n

The text employs few abbreviations.\u00a0 Eschewing the traditionally abbreviated nomina sacra<\/a> (“sacred names”) for names of the divinity, the text consistently spells out the terms Dominus<\/em>, Dominum<\/em>, Domino<\/em> (“Lord” in the different cases, nominative, accusative, dative).\u00a0 For Prima<\/em>[m<\/em>] in the abbreviated running title on the recto, a horizontal stroke above the –a<\/em> marks the suspension of final –m<\/em>.<\/em>\u00a0 Similar pertains to the suspended –m<\/em> at the end of line 12 on the recto (= line “r12”) in s\u0119culu<\/em>[m<\/em>]\u00a0\u2014 which word employs an e-caudata<\/a> (“tailed e”) for the dipthong –ae<\/em>-. \u00a0 In line r5, a raised dot about the o<\/em> marks the suspension of final –n<\/em> of no<\/em>[n<\/em>].\u00a0 A curled 9<\/em>-shaped mark indicates the suspension of final –us<\/em> in eius<\/em> on both recto and verso (lines r7, r10, and v2).<\/p>\n

The punctuation takes the form of diamond-shaped marks or points. Resembling the modern period and colon, a single, low point and a vertical pair of points indicate pauses respectively of final and medial length.<\/p>\n

Note that the “dots” for the lower-case letters i<\/em> appear as extended strokes, variously vertical or slanting toward the right.\u00a0\u00a0 Some of these strokes bulge at the middle.\u00a0 Standing above the straight vertical stem of the letter, these strokes resemble the flames of candles.\u00a0 Indeed, their variable direction appears to emulate flickering or wind-swept flames.<\/p>\n

\"J.

D. S. Wagner Collection. J. S. Warner Collection. Leaf from from Prime in a Latin manuscript Breviary. Folio 4 Recto, top.<\/p><\/div>\n

Some Comparisons<\/h3>\n

Although the original manuscript is not yet identified, some relatives in terms of script offer points of comparison.\u00a0 For example:<\/p>\n