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no. 26, Missale
No full textCaption "The fact that this Missal honors particular saints by its calendar and litany indicates that it was made by friars of the Franciscan order. This was established in 1209 by St. Francis. These wandering friars with their humility, love of nature and men, and their joyous religious ferver, soon became one of the largest orders in Europe. This leaf, with its well written, pointed characters and decorative initial letters, has lost some of its pristine beauty, doubtless through occasional exposure to dampness over a period of 600 years. The green tone of the ink is more frequently found in English manuscripts than in French. However, the ornament and miniature on the opening page of the manuscript definitely indicate that it is of French origin." (written by Otto Ege) In Angular 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. 24, Horae Beatae Mariae Virginis
No full textCaption "This particular Book of Hours, a devotional prayer book for the layman, was made for the use of Sarum, the early name for Salisbury, England. This text was accepted throughout the province of Canterbury. The manuscript was written about the time Chaucer completed his Canterbury Tales, but evidently by a French monk, who might have been attached, as was often the case, to an English monastery. Again, the book could have been specially ordered and imported from abroad. The initial letter and the coloring and the treatment of the ivy are unmistakably French. The lettering is an excellent example of the then current book hand. There are seven lines of writing to an inch. The words written in red, a heavy color made from mercury and sulphur, show almost the same degree of delicacy as those written with the more fluid ink." (written by Otto F. Ege) In Angular Gothic Script. This manuscript was probably from England.Vellum leaf from set 37 of the collection of: Fifty Original Leaves From Medieval Manuscripts, Western Europe, XII-XVI Century, compiled by Otto F. Ege
no. 23, Breviarium
No full textCaption "In the middle of the XIVth century many of the manuscripts show influences from other countries. Illuminators, scribes, and other craftsmen traveled from city to city and even from country to country. While the script of this leaf is almost certainly French, the initial letters and filigree decoration might easily be of Italian workmanship, and the greenish tone of the ink suggests English manufacture. The dorsal motif in the bar ornament is again decidedly French, and the lemon tone of the gold is a third indication of French origin. In England, the burnished gold elements are generally of an orange tint, due to the presence of an alloy; in Italy, they are a rosy color because the underlying gesso or plaster base was mixed with a red pigment." (written by Otto F. Ege) In Angular Gothic Script. This manuscript is probably from France.Vellum leaf from set 37 of the collection of: Fifty Original Leaves From Medieval Manuscripts, Western Europe, XII-XVI Century, compiled by Otto F. Ege
No. 22, Missale Herbipolense
No full textCaption "The Missal has been for many centuries one of the most important liturgical books of the Roman Catholic Church. It contains all the directions, in rubrics and texts, necessary for the performance of the mass throughout the year. The text frequently varied considerably according to locality. This particular manuscript was written by Benedictine monks for the Parochial School of St. John the Baptist in Wurzburg shortly after 1300 A.D. The musical notation is the rare type which is a transition between the early neumes and the later Gothic or horseshoe nail notation. The "C" line of the staff is indicated by that letter, and the "F" simply by a diamond, an unusual method. The bold initial letters in red and blue are "built up" letters; first the outlines were made with a quill and then afterward the areas were colored with a brush." (written by Otto F. Ege) In Gothic Script, Transitional Early Gothic Notation. This manuscript is probably from Germany.Vellum leaf from set 37 of the collection of: Fifty Original Leaves From Medieval Manuscripts, Western Europe, XII-XVI Century, compiled by Otto F. Ege
no. 21, Hymnarium
No full textCaption "At important festival services such as Christmas and Easter these small hymnals were generally used by the laymen as they walked in procession to the various altars. Much of the material incorporated in the hymnals was based on folk melodies. Hymns, like the other chants of the Church, varied according to their place in the liturgy. Their melodies are frequently distinguished by a refrain which was sung at the beginning and at the end of each stanza. The initial letter design of this leaf persisted with little or no change for a long period, but the simple pendant spear was used as a distinctive motif for not more than twenty-five years." (written by Otto F. Ege) In Angular Gothic Script, Gregorian Notation. This manuscript was probably from France.Vellum leaf from set 37 of the collection of: Fifty Original Leaves From Medieval Manuscripts, Western Europe, XII-XVI Century, compiled by Otto F. Ege
no. 19, Vulgate Bible, Biblia Sacra Latina, Versio Vulgata
No full textCaption "At this period, the St. Jerome Bible was not transcribed as often as one would expect in the country of its origin and the very land which held the seat of the Roman Church. During the greater part of the XIIIth century, while the popes were greatly concerned with gaining political power, art was at a low ebb in Italy, and religious manuscripts were comparatively few and far inferior to the work of monastic scribes in Germany, France, and England. But with the great wealth accumulating in Italy during the XIVth century through commerce and the Crusades, this country soon surpassed in richness as well as in numbers the manuscript output of all other nationalities. The rich black lettering of this manuscript is in the transitional rotunda script and is executed with skill and beauty. It is supplemented by initial letters in rich ultramarine blue and deep cinnabar (vermilion), which colors are reflected in the ornament of the romanesque capitals. All of these factors combine to indicate that the manuscript was executed in central Italy, possibly at Florence." (written by Otto F. Ege) In Transitional Rotunda Script. This manusript is probably from the Netherlands.Vellum leaf from set 37 of the collection of: Fifty Original Leaves From Medieval Manuscripts, Western Europe, XII-XVI Century, compiled by Otto F. Ege
no. 16, Breviarium
No full textCaption "Breviaries were seldom owned by laymen. They were service books and contained the Psalter with the versicles, responses, collects and lections for Sundays, weekdays, and saints' days. Other texts could be included. A Breviary, therefore, was lengthy and usually bulky in format. Miniature copies like the one represented by this leaf are rare. The angular gothic script required a skilled calligrapher. It would be difficult for a modern engrosser to match, even with steel pens, the exactness and sharpness of these letters formed with a quill by a XIIIth century scribe. Green was a decorative color added to the palette in the late XIIIth century in many scriptoria. The medieval formulae for making it from earth, flowers, berries, and metals are often elaborate and strange. This manuscript was written on fine uterine vellum, i.e., the skin of an unborn calf. It evidently had hard use, or may have been buried with its owner." (written by Otto F. Ege) In Angular Gothic Script. This manuscript is probably from England.Vellum leaf from set 37 of the collection of: Fifty Original Leaves From Medieval Manuscripts, Western Europe, XII-XVI Century, compiled by Otto F. Ege
no. 14, Biblia Sacra Latina, Versio Vulgata, France
No full textCaption "This copy of the Latin version by St. Jerome was made during the period when France stood at the height of her medieval glory. A decade or two before, Louis IX (Saint Louis), the strongest monarch of his age, had made France the mightiest power in Europe. This favorable political situation rendered possible the "golden age" of the manuscript, and Paris became the center in which the finest manuscripts were written and sold. In the quarter century from 1275 to 1300, marked advances were effected in the art. The bar borders came to be executed in rich opaque gouache pigments, with ultramarine made of powdered lapis lazuli predominating. The foliage scroll work inside the initial frame created a style that persisted with little or no change for nearly two hundred years. The script was well executed and was without rigidity or tension. All these elements, together with the sparkle which was created by the casual distribution of the burnished gold accents, give to this leaf a striking atmosphere of joyous freedom." (written by Otto F. Ege) In Angular Gothic Script. This manuscript is probably from France.Vellum leaf from set 37 of the collection of: Fifty Original Leaves From Medieval Manuscripts, Western Europe, XII-XVI Century, compiled by Otto F. Ege
No. 15, Missale Bellovacense
No full textCaption "This manuscript, a special gift to a church in the city of Beauvais, was written for Robert de Hangest, a canon, about 1285 A.D. At that time, Beauvais was one of the most important art centers in all Europe. The ornament in this leaf shows the first flowering of Gothic interest in nature. The formal hieratic treatment is here giving way to graceful naturalism. The ivy branch has put forth its first leaves in the history of ornament. The writing, likewise, is departing from its previous rigid character and displays an ornamental pliancy which harmonizes with the decorative initials." (written by Otto F. Ege) In Transitional Gothic Script. This manuscript is probably from France.Vellum leaf from set 37 of the collection of: Fifty Original Leaves From Medieval Manuscripts, Western Europe, XII-XVI Century, compiled by Otto F. Ege
no. 17, Psalterium
No full textCaption "Illuminated Psalters occur as early as the VIIIth century, and from the XIth to the beginning of the XIVth century they predominate among illuminated manuscripts. About 1220 A.D., portable manuscript volumes supplanted the huge tomes favored in the preceding century. This change in size caused the creation of a more angular and compact script. In general, smaller initial letters were used, and writing was done in double columns. At this time the pendant tails of the initial letters are rigid or only slightly wavy, with a few leaves springing from the ends. Later, they became free scrolls, with luxurious foliage, and were extended into all the margins. The blue and lake (orange-red) color scheme with accents of white is a carry-over from the Westminister tradition which prevailed in the previous century. The solid line-filling ornaments at the ends of the verses were a new feature added in the second half of the XIIIth century. Silver and alloys of gold are used on this leaf." (written by Otto F. Ege) In Angular Gothic Script. This manuscript is probably from England.Vellum leaf from set 37 of the collection of: Fifty Original Leaves From Medieval Manuscripts, Western Europe, XII-XVI Century, compiled by Otto F. Ege