Manuscript leaf from a Book of Hours, in Latin, produced in France

MS 5650/122

Manuscript leaf from a Book of Hours, in Latin, produced in France

c.1512

Text: From a Book of Hours, in Latin

Script: Humanist

The leaf, from a French Book of Hours, comes from the Hours of the Virgin at Matins and shows Psalm 8. The text is in one column of seventeen lines written in a brown humanist bookhand in two sizes of script. The writing has a slight forward slope. Rubrics are in blue. Line marking is in red. There is one two-line initial and nine one-line initials in raised, burnished gold.

Transcription

Recto:

1 [sem]piterna secula . amen . [End of hymn

2 [8:1] anti(phona) Benedicta tu . p(salmu)s d(avi)d .

3 [8:2] D omine dominus n(oste)r [Psalm 8

4 q(uam) admirabile e(st) no-

5 men tuu(m) in universa terra

6 Q uoniam elevata est

7 magnifice(n)cia tua : super celos

8 [8:3] E x ore infantium et lac-

9 tentium perfecisti laudem

10 propter inimicos tuos : ut

11 destruas inimicu(m) et ultore(m) .

12 [8:4] Q uoniam videbo celos

13 tuos opera digitorum tuoru(m)

14 luna(m) et stellas q(ue) tu fu(n)dasti

15 [8:5] Q uid e(st) homo quod me-

16 mor es eius aut filius ho(min)is

17 quoniam visitas eum

Verso:

1 [8:6] M inuisti eum paulo min(us)

2 nus ab angelis gloria et ho- [duplication of ‘nus’

3 nore coronasti eum [8:7] et consti-

4 tuisti eum super op(er)a manu-

5 um tuarum .

6 [8:8] O mnia subiecisti sub pe-

7 dibus eius oves et boves uni-

8 versas : insuper et pecora ca(m)pi

9 [8:9] V olucres celi et pisces ma-

10 ris : qui perambulant semi-

11 tas maris .

12 [8:10] D omine dominus n(oste)r :

13 q(uam) admirabile e(st) nome(n) tuu(m)

14 in universa terra .

15 G loria patri . a(ntiphona) . Benedic-

16 ta tu in mulieribus et benedictus

17 fructus ventris tui . an(tiphona) Sicut

Notes:

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

Capital: B

B Versals: D,E,G,O,Q,M,V.

C Alternative forms of letters ‘d’(2), and ‘s’(2).

D Fusion between letters ‘bo’, ‘de’, ‘ho’, ‘od’ and ‘pe’.

E Elision between letters ‘fi’ and ‘fu’.

F Ligature with ‘ct’, e.g. in ‘Benedicta’ (recto, line 2).

G Ligature with ‘st’, e.g. in ‘est’ (recto, line 6).

H Abbreviation of ‘psalmus’ (recto, line 2).

I Abbreviation of ‘david’ (recto, line 2).

J Abbreviation of ‘quam’ (recto, line 4).

K Abbreviation of ‘est’ (recto, line 15).

L Abbreviation of ‘hominis’ (recto, line 16).

M Abbreviation of ‘opera’ (verso, line 4).

N Abbreviation of ‘noster’ (verso, line 12).

O The shapes of the gilded versals are very interesting.

MS 122

Latin

1 leaf

Material: Vellum leaf