Manuscript leaf from a Psalter, in Latin, produced in Germany

MS 5650/125

Manuscript leaf from a Psalter, in Latin, produced in Germany

Text: From a Psalter, in Latin

Script: Textualis Formata (Textus Quadratus)

The text shows the whole of Psalm 42 and parts of Psalms 41 and 43, in the Vulgate.

Twenty lines are written in a Textualis Formata (Textus Quadratus) script in black ink. There is a ten-line initial ‘I’ and a three-line initial ‘D’ both possibly in burnished gold, or a gold substitute, with red, green, blue and black decoration. There are twenty one-line initials in blue or red with decoration. Lines are ruled in black and there is line pricking on the outer edge.

In the early part of the thirteenth century mosaic gold, consisting of a sulphide of tin (stannic sulphide - SnS2), was sometimes used as a substitute for real gold. It is thought that mosaic gold may have been used in this leaf.

Transcription

Recto:

1 [41:12] . . .[a]nima mea (et) quare conturbas me .

2 spera in deo quo(niam) adhuc confitebor illi

3 salutare vultus mei (et) d(eu)s meus . P(salmu)S

4 [42:1] I Udica me d(eu)s (et) discerne causam mea(m)

5 de gente non s(an)c(t)a ? ab homine iniquo (et)

6 doloso erue me . [42:2] Q uia tu es d(eu)s fortitu-

7 do mea quare me repulisti (et) quare

8 tristis incedo du(m) affligit me inimicus .

9 [42:3] E mitte lucem tua(m) (et) veritate(m) tua(m) ip-

10 sa me deduxer(un)t (et) adduxerunt in mon-

11 tem s(an)c(tu)m tuu(m) (et) in tabernacula tua [42:4] E t

12 introibo ad altare dei ad d(eu)m qui letifi-

13 cat iuventute(m) mea(m) . C onfitebor tibi i(n)

14 cythara d(eu)s deus meus [42:5] quare tristis es

15 anima mea (et) quare conturbas me .

16 S pera in deo quo(niam) adhuc confitebor illi ?

17 salutare vultus mei (et) d(eu)s meus . P(salmu)S

18 [43:2] D eus aurib(us) n(ost)ris audivimus .

19 patres n(ost)ri annuntiaver(un)t no-

20 bis . O pus quod op(er)atus es in

Verso:

1 dieb(us) eor(um) (et) in dieb(us) antiquis . [43:3] M anus

2 tua gentes disp(er)didit (et) plantasti eos

3 afflixisti p(o)p(u)los (et) expulisti eos . [43:4] N ec e-

4 nim in gladio suo possederunt terra(m)

5 (et) brachium eor(um) non salvabit eos .

6 S ed (et) dextera tua (et) brachiu(m) tuum et

7 illuminatio vultus tui quo(niam) conpla-

8 cuisti in eis . [43:5] T u es ipse rex meus (et) d(eu)s

9 meus ? qui mandas salutes iacob .

10 [43:6] I n te inimicos n(ost)ros ventilabimus cor-

11 nu ? (et) in nomine tuo sp(er)nemus insur-

12 gentes in nobis . [43:7] N on eni(m) in arcu meo

13 sp(er)abo (et) gladius meus n(on) salvabit me .

14 [43:8] S alvasti eni(m) nos de affligentib(us) nos et

15 odientes nos confudisti .[43:9] I n deo lauda-

16 bimur tota die (et) in nomine tuo confi-

17 tebimur in s(e)c(u)l(u)m . [43:10] N unc aute(m) repulis-

18 ti (et) confudisti nos (et) non egredieris

19 d(eu)s in virtutib(us) n(ost)ris . [43:11] A vertisti nos re-

20 trorsu(m) post inimicos n(ost)ros (et) qui ode[runt]. . .

Notes:

A Letters: a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i,l,m,n,o,p,q,r,s,t,u/v,x,y,U.

Versals: A,C,D,E,I,M,N,O,P,Q,S,T.

Note the decoration on the red and blue one-line versals.

Note the dotted ‘y’ in ‘cythara’ (recto, line 14).

B Alternative forms of ‘d’(2), ‘r’(2) and ‘s’(2).

C Fusion between letters ‘pp’ in ‘populos’ (verso, line 3).

D Elision between letters ‘fi’, ‘ti’ and ‘tu’, and possibly others.

E Ligature in ‘st’, e.g. in ‘tristis’ (recto, line 8).

F There are two abbreviated forms of ‘et’, the ampersand form of ‘et’

(e.g. in recto, line 1) and less frequently the Tironian form

(e.g. in recto, line 10), as well as the full unabbreviated form.

G Hairlines on letters ‘h’, ‘x’, ‘y’ and the ‘rum’ ending.

H Much use of a dashed diacritic on letters ‘i’, especially on the verso.

I A missing ‘s’ has been inserted before ‘pera’ (recto, line 2).

J A spurious letter has been deleted from ‘erue’ (recto, line 6).

K Some ascenders, especially on ‘b’, ‘d’ and ‘h’, are very short.

L Abbreviation of ‘quoniam’, (recto, line 2).

M Abbreviation of ‘deus’, (recto, line 3).

N Abbreviation of ‘PsalmuS’, (recto, line 3).

O Abbreviation of ‘sancta’, (recto, line 5).

P Abbreviation of ‘nostris’, (recto, line 18).

Q Abbreviation of ‘operatus’, (recto, line 20).

R Abbreviation of ‘eorum’, (verso, line 1).

S Abbreviation of ‘diebus’, (verso, line 1).

T Abbreviation of ‘populos’, (verso, line 3).

U Abbreviation of ‘non’, (verso, line 13).

V Abbreviation of ‘seculum’, (verso, line 17).

W Use of a question mark, e.g. in verso, line 9.

X Text is written above the top line suggesting a date prior to c. 1240.

MS 125

Latin

1 leaf

Material: Vellum leaf