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no. 42, Psalterium
No full textCaption "This leaf from the Book of Psalms was written in the Benedictine monastery of St. Stephan in Wurzburg and dated 1499 A.D. The book hand closely resembles the fine early gothic types called lettre de forme and used by Fust and Schoeffer in their superb Psalter issued in 1457. It is known that these printers also used this type to print the Canon of the mass which was frequently sold as a replacement for the soiled and worn out manuscript pages of that text. A close examination indicates that the scribe apparently tried to imitate printing type characters in many instances. In just the same way, the first printers had copied in their designs the current local book hand. The line of music giving the "free" melody of the psalm here retains the early XIIth century staff, with the C-line colored yellow and the F-line red. These note forms are frequently called Hufnagelschrift or horse-shoe nail notation because of their resemblance to hobnails." (written by Otto Ege) In Angular Gothic Script, Gothic Notation. This manuscript was probably made in Germany.Vellum leaf from set number 37 of the collection of: Fifty Original Leaves From Medieval Manuscripts, Western Europe, XII-XVI Century, compiled by Otto F. Eg
no. 44, Biblia Sacra Latina, Versio Vulgata
No full textCaption "The Vulgate Bible, a translation credited to St. Jerome, was adopted by the Catholic Church as the authorized version. This leaf was written in Germany nearly sixty years after the invention of printing by movable type. Its semi-gothic book hand is very similar to the type-faces used by the early printers. The numerous contractions and marks of abbreviation have been inserted boldly, but the little strokes which were added to help identify the letters i and u are barely visible. The new art of printing concerned itself at once with the printing of Bibles of folio size, in Latin as well as the vernacular. In Germany, prior to the discovery of America, twelve printed editions of the Bible appeared in the German language and many others in Latin. An oversupply developed, and more than one printer of Bibles was forced into bankruptcy." (written by Otto Ege) In Semi-Gothic Script. This manuscript was probably from Germany.Vellum leaf from set number 37 of the collection of: Fifty Original Leaves From Medieval Manuscripts, Western Europe, XII-XVI Century, compiled by Otto F. Eg
no. 47, Horae Beatae Mariae Virginis
No full textCaption "In assigning this leaf from a Book of Hours to the Netherlands it must be remembered that some sections of that country were once part of France, while others belonged to what is now Germany. In this leaf French characteristics predominate, but in no other country did the study of nature have a more direct influence on miniatures and ornamentations that in the Netherlands. Carnations, pansies, columbines, and many other flowers were faultlessly and realistically drawn. A few decades later, at the turn of the century, cast shadows as well as snails, butterflies, and birds were added with the result that the borders became a distraction to the reader." (written by Otto Ege) In Angular Gothic Script. This manuscript is probably from the Netherlands.Vellum leaf from set number 37 of the collection of: Fifty Original Leaves From Medieval Manuscripts, Western Europe, XII-XVI Century, compiled by Otto F. Eg
no. 41, S. Gregorius Magnus, Dialogi
No full textCaption "This composite text includes the Dialogues of Pope Gregory I (St. George the Great, 540- 604 A.D.), which are largely autobiographical, and his writings on the lives and miracles of the early Italian Church Fathers. The book hand used is known as lettre batarde, a semi-cursive hand closely related to the everyday writing used by the people. Many French and Flemish printing types were based on similar batarde hands. The writing was done with comparative speed; the even tone and the exact alignment of the right hand margin, as well as the beauty of individual letters, are admirable. The long ascenders in the upper line were borrowed from the legal documents of that day. Many printers followed the practice shown here of emphasizing the tone of the first word or two in the beginning of a paragraph. It was usually done without varying the style of the letters, while here we see angular gothic used in the first third of the line, followed by the batarde script." (written by Otto Ege) In Lettre Batarde. This manuscript was probably made in France.Vellum leaf from set number 37 of the collection of: Fifty Original Leaves From Medieval Manuscripts, Western Europe, XII-XVI Century, compiled by Otto F. Eg
no. 45, Horae Beatae Mariae Virginis
No full textCaption "This manuscript leaf came from a Book of Hours, sold probably at one of the famous shrines to which wealthy laymen made pilgrimages. To meet the demand for these books, the monastic as well as the secular scribes produced them in great numbers. The freely drawn, indefinite buds here entirely supplant the ivy, fruits, and realistic wayside flowers which characterized the borders of manuscripts of the preceding half century. The initial letters of burnished gold on a background of old rose and blue with delicate white line decorations maintain the tradition of the earlier period. The vellum is of silk-like quality that often distinguished the manuscripts of France and Italy." (written by Otto Ege) In Gothic Script. This manuscript is probably from France.Vellum leaf from set number 37 of the collection of: Fifty Original Leaves From Medieval Manuscripts, Western Europe, XII-XVI Century, compiled by Otto F. Eg
no. 40, Super Primo IV Libros Sententiarum. Liber 1
No full textCaption "This text on the Sententiae of Peter Lombard by St. Thomas Aquinas, the "Angelic Doctor," was the forerunner of the latter's great work Summa Theologica. It is most unusual to find the writings of a Church Father presented in a humanistic book hand. Some of the humanists called this form of writing antiqua littera, with reference to the carolingian script, which they mistook for that of antiquity. In this humanistic script, fusion disappeared, letters became more simple, and shading decreased. The first more or less humanistic type of writing appeared in Florence about 1400 A.D." (written by Otto Ege) This vellum leaf was created in Italy. In Humanistic Book HandVellum leaf from set number 37 of the collection of: Fifty Original Leaves From Medieval Manuscripts, Western Europe, XII-XVI Century, compiled by Otto F. Eg
no. 28, Horae Beatae Mariae Virginis
No full textCaption: "This Book of Hours shows definite characteristics of the manuscript art of France and the Netherlands of about 1450 A.D. It was probably one of many copies prepared for sale at a shrine to which devout pilgrims came to worship or to seek a cure. The spiked letters and the detached ornamental bar are unmistakably Flemish in spirit, while the free ivy sprays are distinctively French. The burnished metal in the decorations shows the use of alloyed gold (oro di meta) as well as silver. Various metals were added in different localities to the fine gold. English illuminations frequently had a decided orange hue, while the French had a lemon cast. The quality of the gold was best enhanced by the use of burnishing tools equipped with an emerald, a topaz, or a ruby. Less successful burnishers contained an agate or the tooth of a wolf, a horse, or a dog." (written by Otto Ege) In Angular Gothic Script. This manuscript is probably from Northern France.Vellum leaf from set number 37 of the collection of: Fifty Original Leaves From Medieval Manuscripts, Western Europe, XII-XVI Century, compiled by Otto F. Ege
no. 33, Missale
No full textCaption "The Missal, written for the convenience of the priests, combined the separate books formerly used in different parts of the service; namely, the Oratorium, Lectionarium, Evangeliarium, Canon, and others. Gutenberg, who printed his famous First Bible about the time this manuscript was written, based his type designs on a contemporary book hand similar to this example. The craftsmen who created this manuscript had the difficult problem of evolving a harmonious page with two sizes of writing, inserted rubrics, and large and small colored initials. The smaller writing is used for the Orationes, the Psalms, the Secreta, and other parts of the service; the larger script or the Sequentia." (written by Otto Ege) In Angular Gothic Script. This manuscript was probably from Germany.Vellum leaf from set number 37 of the collection of: Fifty Original Leaves From Medieval Manuscripts, Western Europe, XII-XVI Century, compiled by Otto F. Eg
no. 30, Horae Beatae Mariae Virginis
No full textCaption "The text of a Book of Hours consists of Gospels of the Nativity, prayers for the Canonical Hours, the Penitential Psalms, the Litany, and other prayers. The beauty of the rich borders found in some of these books frequently claims our attention more than the text. In these borders it is easy to recognize the ivy leaf and the holly, but is usually more difficult to identify the daisy, thistle, cornbottle, and wild stock. The monks had no hesitancy in letting these flowers grow from a common stem. Because of the translucency of vellum, the flowers, stems, and leaves of the border were carefully superimposed on the reverse side in order to avoid a blurred effect." (written by Otto Ege) In Angular Gothic Script. This manuscript was probably from France.Vellum leaf from set number 37 of the collection of: Fifty Original Leaves From Medieval Manuscripts, Western Europe, XII-XVI Century, compiled by Otto F. Eg
no. 37, Epistolarium
No full textCaption "Epistolaries are among the rarest of liturgical manuscripts. Their text consists of the Epistles and Gospels with lessons from the Old Testament for particular occasions. Sometimes, as in this leaf, they had interlinear neumes in red to assist the deacon or sub-deacon in chanting parts of this section of the church service while he was standing on the second step in front of the altar. The text is written in well executed rotunda gothic script with bold Lombardic initials. Some of the filigree decoration which surrounds the initial letters has faded because it was executed in some of the fugitive colors which were then prepared from the juices of such flowers and plants as tumeric, saffron, lilies, and prugnameroli (buckthorn berries)." (written by Otto Ege) This vellum leaf was created in mid-fifteenth century Italy. In Rotunda or Round Gothic Script, Square Rhetorical Neumes.Vellum leaf from set number 37 of the collection of: Fifty Original Leaves From Medieval Manuscripts, Western Europe, XII-XVI Century, compiled by Otto F. Eg