A lavishly decorated psalter from Spain with marvellous floral borders

13 Psalter

Illuminated manuscript on vellum. Spain (Barcelona?), shortly after 1400 and c. 1440-50.

286 x 207 mm. 150 leaves, complete: I2+1, II4, III-V12,VI10,VII-XIII12, XIV6, XV2, XVI4+1, catchwords. Modern foliation in pencil, in the lower right corner. – Written space 180 x 122 mm, one column (litany in two columns) of 21 lines, (34 for the calendar), written in a Textualis in red and black ink, ruled in brown, later additions from fol. 146 in black ink in a different hand. One-line initials alternately in red and blue with violet resp. red pen-work; in the litany gold with black pen-work, line fillers of the same colours.Two-line initials in red, blue and mauve partly decorated with white, on gold ground and in filled with floral elements in red, blue, green and mauve.Three- to six-line initials in red and blue with white ornaments, in filled with tendrils, on gold ground.Tendrils or finely interwoven acanthus and palmettes with blossoms and gold-bezants emanating from the initials, filling the left outer margins to the entire height and mostly extending also into the upper and lower margins. Prefations with square musical notes above single line stave. 7 openings and 2 single decorated pages introducing the main psalms plus one decorated page at the beginning of the hymnary. fol. 146-149v with fine borders of acanthus, gold-bezants and putti; in filled with pen-work. – Overall very fine condition, colours and burnished gold shining bright and fresh; some minor rubbing, very little water staining in the lower margins (as the black ink for the decorative elements seems to have been less adhesive); some erased 18th(?)-century entries (e.g. fol. 68v, 69); contemporary (?) brown stain in the lower margins of fol. 147-48; pricking still visible in some parts. – Red morocco binding imitating the Ottoman style of 16th-century bindings: brown and green tendrils on gilt ground filling the geometrical divisions of the frame and the central panel (Carl Sonntag, jun., Leipzig, early 20th century); endpapers consisting of vellum pastedown and 3 flyleaves, the second of which repeat the gilt motif of the central panel; spine with title: “Psalterium hispaniense/dictum mozarabes/sec. XV.”

PROVENANCE:1. The liturgical division of the psalter as well as the prefations with musical notations suggest a clergyman as first owner of the manuscript, most likely from the archdiocese of Santiago di Compostela. 2. Dionisio Camacho, 1748; erased entry on fol. 27. 3. William Davignon; his ex-libris on the inside of both covers. In his days the volume received its present binding by Carl Sonntag, one of the best bookbinders of his days. 4. Private collection, Germany.

TEXT:fol. 1v-7: Calendar – fol. 1: blank (traces of earlier notes of ownership) – fol. 7v: blank – fol. 8-121: Psalter (fol. 100v-102: Litany) – fol. 121v-139: Hymnary – fol. 139v-140: Capitular – fol. 141-149v: Liturgical texts – fol. 141-143v: Prefations with square notation – fol. 144:Texts for the mass beginning with the consecration to the end of the mass – fol. 146-149v: added in a different hand around 1440-50 – fol. 149v ending – fol. 150: no text, later entries of names. The manuscript at hand is a Psalterium Gallicanum feriatum. Hence, it contains the psalms in the subdivisions of the liturgical hours, artistically highlighting the psalms of matins for every day of the week in eight divisions. Apart from those saints who were popular all over Spain, the calendar emphasizes saints that were especially venerated in the archdiocese of Santiago di Compostela. The litany and hymnal likewise show the imprint of Santiago di Compostela. After the completion of the volume the text was carefully revised.

ILLUMINATION: The decoration of the large and lavishly illuminated psalter is restricted to floral elements. Border decoration emanating from all larger initials that mark the beginnings of the psalms can be found on almost every page. The major divisions of the psalter are recognizable by full borders extending onto the facing page so as to form luxurious openings. The decoration is determined by long slender acanthus leaves and multi-coloured drop-shaped elements. Star-shaped flowers consisting of gold-bezants,multi-coloured blossoms and black pen-work complement the decoration. The special attraction of the illumination lies in its vivid palette dominated by shades of green, blue and orange and enriched with burnished gold. The decoration is characteristic of Catalan manuscript production of the beginning of the 15th century, whose origins lie mainly in Bolognese illumination of the second half of the 14th century. However, the manuscript at issue reveals also southern French influences, especially from Avignon, as can be seen, for example, in the Livre de bonnes moeurs of Jacques Legrand in the Getty Museum (Ludwig ms. XIV 9) and a group of related manuscripts produced during the reign of the anti-pope Benedict XIII (1394-1417, died in 1423 in Peñiscola). A prayerbook, written by Johannes de Ecclesia in Bruges towards the end of the 14th century and illuminated in Catalonia (formerly Chester Beatty Collection,Western ms. 77, later Dr. Jörn Günther - Antiquariat, now in a private collection), reveals close parallels to our manuscript both in the general execution and in the use of characteristic elements (cf. Sotheby’s London 1968, lot 21; H.P. Kraus 1974, no. 29; exh. cat. Cologne 2001, no. 13). It has been attributed to Arnaldo Bassa from Barcelona (cf. cat. H.P.Kraus).This Catalan artist, who flourished through the end of the 14th century, also provides an approximate date for the illumination of our psalter. In 1987 Joachim Plotzek dated the psalter to around 1420, considerably later than the prayer book. In 2001 he corrected this view, favouring a date shortly after 1400 (exh. cat. Cologne 2001). Some motifs of the illumination, such as the stalks set with small leaves or the border decoration on fol. 8v suggest moreover the impact of English illumination around 1400, as can be seen, for example, in a book of hours produced c. 1405 in London (Cambridge, University Library, ms. Ee.1.14, cf. Scott 1996, no. 16, ill. 69-72). By contrast, the borders of the last pages of the psalter, added by the mid-15th century, are decorated with acanthus, putti and fabulous creatures, and thus rooted in the Aragonese-Catalonian tradition, which is determined by Neapolitan manuscript production. Due to its rich ornamental decoration the manuscript presented here is a beautiful specimen of Catalan manuscript illumination of the early 15th century, of which very few examples survive.

LITERATURE: Sales cat. Sotheby’s London, 25 June 1985, lot 74; Plotzek 1987, no. 43; Scott 1996, no. 16 and ill. 69-72; exh. cat. Cologne 2001, p. 230. H.P.Kraus,Monumenta Codicum Manu Scriptorium,New York 1974. This description is largely based on Joachim M. Plotzek’s entry in the catalogue of the exhibition Andachtsbücher des Mittelalters aus Privatbesitz, Cologne 1987.