Medieval Manuscript in the John Miller Burnam Classics Library
15TH-CENTURY ITALIAN CHOIR PSALTER IN THE BURNAM LIBRARY, UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI
As the librarian was dusting and reviewing books in the former Pal cage to prepare for a book move, she came upon a large size book (16 x 22 inches), an original medieval choir book on parchment with a wooden cover adorned with metal bosses and metal studs at the edges. She could not find either a title page or a call no. In fact, the book had not been cataloged and neither staff of 48 years nor previous librarians were aware of its existence. The current librarian set out to try to solve the mystery of its provenance and date, but also its acquisitions history. She could find no information in the minutes of the UC Trustees, or in any library history, so the acquisitions history may never be fully known. The manuscript was included in the Adopt-a-Book event in Langsam in March of 2019 which generated interest and a generous donation for conservation work.
Regarding the identification of the manuscript, the librarian contacted specialists she knew, Carmela Vircillo Franklin, President of the Medieval Academy of America and Professor of Medieval Latin at Columbia, and Consuelo Dutschke, the Curator of Medieval and Renaissance Collections at Columbia University’s Rare Book and Manuscript Library. There are few more distinguished experts in the field. Dr. Dutschke identified the mystery manuscript as Italian, possibly northeastern, [from the Veneto area?], and originating in the 15th century. Below are Dr. Dutschke’s careful notes. She has closely examined f. 1-25 so far. Notes for the rest of the manuscript will soon be added.
-------
"The scribe of this manuscript isn't a very good speller, or rather, he shows some spellings that I expect to find only in books produced along the valley of the Po river. In particular, I have noticed the doubling of consonants that should be single, and the "singling" (if that's a word) of consonants that should be double. This is the case in Italy, today, even: people who live in the Veneto have a harder time than any other Italians in keeping their double/single consonants the way they should be. So that's interesting: given the extreme formality in the production of a choir book because by this date, choir books or rather books intended for religious services are the only ones consistently written in this very formal **liturgical** book hand, this book's scribe has managed to **copy** the book with the correct letter forms, but his spelling isn't so great.
The one painted initial in the book is of Peter of Alcántara, which I can tell by these facts: the historiation shows a sainted Franciscan who is holding a cross. But what is unusual is the fact that he's here! He was canonized in 1669 and this book is certainly older than that; the book was probably produced towards the middle to the end of the 15th century. But it was surely and certainly in the hands of a Franciscan convent at the point when this initial was added: who else but Franciscans would care about Peter of Alcántara? Note that the text next to his picture has also been rewritten, and it was done so at the same much later date than the rest of the book: look at the spikes on the letter "m" for example.
I will add that there is no reason to put a major initial on Ps. 4; this is not the switch to a new liturgical hour of the day, or to a new day. I think that they simply had this painted, historiated initial C and they went looking for a place to glue it in, and very handily, here was a psalm beginning with a letter C." -- Consuelo Dutschke
Choir Psalter for ferial use, with psalms, hymns and other texts (invitatories; antiphons; responsories; etc.
Italy (possibly Veneto), s. XV with later (possibly s. XVIII) additions, including an alphabetical index to the psalms as the front pastedown (signed and dated 1728), as well as some replacement leaves (e.g., f. 68), and some added prayers (e.g., the Salve Regina at the end of the book).
Large size book (16 x 22 inches), an original medieval choir book on parchment with a wooden cover adorned with metal bosses and metal studs at the edges (see photos at the bottom of this page).
One historiated initial remains: on a verso (folio not known), to open the service at compline, a 4-line initial C in white-patterned pink, set on a cusped gold ground, with blue and green acanthus leaves as terminals; the initial encloses the bust of a tonsured religious man wearing black robes, holding a rosary in his right hand, and with a large wooden cross leaning against his left shoulder.
The psalm with the added image is:
Cum invocarem exaudivit me deus iustitie mee . . .
= Psalm 4 that normally does NOT have illumination. It may be that those who added the initial here needed a psalm that begins with the letter C, since that’s the letter in the decorated initial.
Note that these last three lines of text on this page are also later additions; they’re not by the hand of the scribe who wrote the original text of this book (this added text is too spiky and sharp; look at the top of the letter “m,” for example (in the word “mee”).
The tonsure and the robes (?) suggest that this sainted figure is a Franciscan.
Most likely it is Peter of Alcántara. Feast day: 19 October. Canonized in 1669, which is after the date of the production of this choir book; note, however, that the initial containing this saint has been added here from another source.
Added on the front pastedown is an alphabetical list of the psalms with references to folio numbers in this volume; at the end of the list, a separate list of the psalms used in the Office of the Dead. The list is signed: “P. M. PR Fecit 1728”; the first “P” might stand for “Pater/Padre”; the “PR” might stand for “Presbyter” (?).
A verso //<Patri simulque filio tibique sancte> Spiritus sicut fuit sit iugiter seculum per omne Gloria. Amen. <added versicle and response; then:> Ad Magnificat antiphona, Suscepit deus Israel puerum suum sicut locutus est . . . , Ad complectorium antiphona, Miserere. Antiphona, Alleluia. In secula seculorum amen. Psalmus, Cum invocarem exaudivit me iustitie mee in tri<bulatione dilatasti michi> . . .
End of the hymn, Verbum supernum prodiens; antiphon for vespers; beginning of service for compline with Ps.
Note in the upper margin: Ad completorium. The bottom three lines of the leaf, but carefully maintaining the original historiated initial, are an 18th century replacement. The outlined style of the initial’s ground (very cusped) and the small flourished gold dot above the initial may point to northern (even northeastern?) Italy.
1.1 Invitatoria subscripta dicuntur singula singulis diebus dominicis a dominica prima post octavam epyphanie usque ad Septuagesimam. Et a kalendis octobris usque ad adventum. Ita tamen quod ultimum invitatorium si oportuerit repetatur. Invitatorium, Venite exultemus domino . . .
Invitatories for Sundays from the first Sunday after the octave of Epiphany until Septuagesima Sunday (basically from mid-January until February, since Septuagesima equals the 9th Sunday before Easter), and from the first of October until Advent (basically from early October until the end of November).
f. 1v double l: and the same abbreviation, with two letter Ls, on the top line of the next page. And then a line or so later the abbreviation for ‘hymn’ written as hynus with a superscript line (I would have expected hymus with a superscript).
1.2 Hymns from the beginning of Lent and from the beginning of October until Advent, beginning with the hymn, Primo die quo Trinitas beata mundum condidit...
This first hymn for Sunday at matins; note that the second part of the line, i.e., “quo Trinitas beata mundum condidit” is a re-writing over an erasure.
f. 2v (and thus in fact probably on f. 2 as well): a narrow strip of parchment (or is it paper?) running down the length of the page with the otherwise covered-over letters transcribed onto this new strip.
f. 3v same spellings: kallendas; hynus.
f. 7v double L in ‘millia.’
f. 10 need an m, not an n circundabit (instead of the correct form: circumdabit)
f. 11 verso here, ‘lactentium’ for ‘lactantium’
f. 12 peccora should be spelled with one c
f. 15 That curly mark in the middle of the last line shown here is punctuation...
cuius maledictione os plenum est et amaritudine . . . It is an unusual form for a punctuation mark!
1.68 Constituite diem solemnem in condempsis usque ad cornu altaris, Deus meus es tu et confitebor tibi, deus meus es tu et exaltabo te. Confitebor tibi quoniam exaudisti me et factus es mihi in salutem . . . Psalmus, Beati immaculati in via qui ambulant in lege domini, Beati qui scrutantur tes<timonia eius . . .>
End of Ps. 117 and beginning of Ps. 118; this leaf is an 18th century (probably?) replacement for the original leaf, carefully cut off along the inner bounding line that left the original pen flourishing of the initials in place.
A verso //<quoniam non de>reliquisti querentes te domine. Psallite domino qui habitat in syon . . . Exultabo in salutare tuo, infixe sunt gentes in interitu//
Ps. 9, vv. 11-16; a note in a later hand in the upper margin reads “Dominica.”
1.110 //<cum ex>ultatione portantes manipulos suos. Antiphona, Facti sumus sicut consolati. Ymnus, Telluris alme conditor mundi solum qui separans pulsis aque . . .
Ps. 125, v. 6; antiphon and hymn for Tuesday evening.
149v-150 Salve Regina, ending on the recto of f.150 (but probably continuing on later pages) at “et Iesum benedictum fructum ventris”//Added in an 18th century hand (?).
-- Consuelo Dutschke, Curator of the Medieval and Renaissance Collections at Columbia University’s Rare Book and Manuscript Library.
-------------
It was an exciting find in an obscure corner of our Library where no one knew of its existence until the librarian stumbled upon it in 2019. Thanks to Dr. Dutschke and to the anonymous donor who gave us the financial support we needed, we will now be able to catalog and conserve and formally add this magnificent 15th century Italian choir book to the John Miller Burnam Classics Library’s manuscript collection. Thanks also to Mike Braunlin, the Burnam Library’s bibliographer, for photographing the pages and to Angelica Wisenbarger, the Burnam Library’s digital consultant, for uploading Mike’s images and turning them into the PDF folder at the top of the page.
RL
“An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.”