Original leaf from a manuscript Spanish Choir (Ferial) Psalter on animal parchment. (550 x 380mm – 21 ¾ x 15 ¼’’)
Manuscript text beautifully executed by hand over 450 years ago. Signed by the scribe “L. Ruiz” in one of the initials elsewhere in the parent manuscript.
Spain (Dominican Use), c. 1520.
Eleven one-line illuminated initials alternating in red with violet internal & external penwork, & blue with red internal & external penwork.
The one-line illuminated “A” begins Psalm 39 (King James 40) 10-17: “Annunciavi…” (I have declared thy justice in a great church, lo, I will not restrain my lips: O Lord, thou knowest it. I have not hid thy justice within my heart: I have declared thy truth and thy salvation. I Have not concealed thy mercy and thy truth from a great council. Withhold not thou, O Lord, thy tender mercies from me: thy mercy and thy truth have always upheld me….).
The psalms were central to medieval liturgy, and constituted the core of the Divine Office. In addition to the psalms, a ferial psalter, also known as a choir psalter, contained items of the Divine Office that did not change from day to day, often including the invitatories, antiphons, canticles, short responsories, hymns, and litanies.
As is usual with Medieval and Renaissance parchment, the hair side of the leaf is darker than the flesh side, but may take ink somewhat better. The differences in tone caused scribes to arrange their quires so that the hair side of one sheet faced the hair side of the next, and the flesh side faced the flesh side.
Shipped unmatted
