Medieval Manuscripts in Cambridge Libraries

A catalogue of Western manuscripts and papyri at Cambridge University Library, the Fitzwilliam Museum and selected Cambridge colleges

Cambridge, Fitzwilliam Museum, MS 38-1950

Psalter ('Bohun Psalter', previously known as the 'Riches Psalter' and the 'Psalter of John of Gaunt')

Contents

Introduction: The Bohun psalter at the Fitzwilliam Museum belongs to a unique group of ten manuscripts produced in England during the second half of the fourteenth century. Each was lavishly decorated by illuminators who were employed by members of the Bohun family: first, at the family castle at Pleshey, Essex; and subsequently at the Rochford, Essex residence of Joan de Bohun (d. 1419), widow of Humphrey, 'the seventh', the last Bohun earl of Hereford, Essex and Northampton (d. 1373). The circumstances of production of these manuscripts are unusual in that they were illustrated by 'house artists' at a time when most luxury books were produced in urban centers by craftsmen who worked for a variety of clients. Even more unusual is the fact that the name of one of the artists - John de Teye - is known, and still more unexpected, that John was an Augustinian Friar, identified as 'mon luminour' ('my illuminator') in the will of Humphrey de Bohun, 'the sixth', earl of Hereford and Essex (d. 1361), who asked for his prayers and left him a bequest of ten pounds. John de Teye illuminated the first page of the Fitzwilliam psalter and another artist, his frequent collaborator who remains anonymous, carried out the rest of the pictorial program of the manuscript, aided by a third craftsman who supplied some of the lesser decoration. The pictorial program of the Fitzwilliam psalter includes half-page miniatures and historiated initials at the first twelve text divisions, together constituting a cycle of more than thirty scenes from the life of David, from fighting the bear and the lion to the victory of Joab over Sheba (1 Kings 17 – 2 Kings 20). A further half-page miniature and historiated initial of the Last Judgement marks the beginning of the Penitential Psalms. In addition, a genre scene of apes fishing, cooking, and preparing to serve the catch fills of bas de page of the Beatus page (Psalm 1) of the manuscript. Characteristic of the Bohun manuscripts, the main method of illustration is historical. As in the Bohun Psalter in the British Library ( London, British Library, Egerton MS 3277 ), the subjects are drawn from the Old Testament books of Kings, a logical choice considering that King David was thought to be the author of the Psalms. In the Fitzwilliam manuscript the narrative is presented in clusters of episodes focused on the young David, on David and Goliath, David and Saul, David and Abigail, David and Bathsheba, and David and Absalom. Each sequence begins with two or more subjects in the miniature, followed by another episode in the historiated initial. While long series of miniatures of the life of David occasionally prefaced psalters (for example, the Psalter of Saint Louis: Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, MS latin 10525 ), the only earlier example of detailed biographical/historical illustration on the pages of the psalter text itself is the marginal cycle of the Tickhill Psalter ( New York, New York Public Library, Spencer MS 26 ), produced in England in the first decade of the fourteenth century. The decorative scheme of the Fitzwilliam psalter is as elaborate as the pictorial program of the miniatures and historiated initials. Every page has an elegant partial border. Two other features are especially noteworthy. First is the use of detailed micro-architecture with finely wrought pairs of ogee arches, surmounted by pinnacles, crockets, and supported by flying buttresses in the Gothic Decorated Style to frame the miniatures; the subtle variations in design from one to the next are remarkable. John de Teye designed similar architectural frames for the Bohun psalter in Oxford, Exeter College, MS 47 as well as the psalter portion of the Bohun psalter and hours in the Bodleian Library ( Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS Auct. D.4.4 ). The second feature of the non-figural decoration that stands out is the profusion of heraldry. Carefully blazoned heraldic shields are prominent in the frames on each page with a miniature, physically serving as punctuation points at corners of the images. In addition, the arms displayed as a group in six shields on the Beatus page are repeated individually in the next six psalm initials on the following pages. In total, Bohun family arms appear twenty-three times, more frequently than any other armorials; in fact, in the absence of any other form of written documentation, such as calendar obits or inscriptions of ownership, it is these coats of arms that identify the manuscript as made for a member of the Bohun family. Fundamentally, all 'Bohun' manuscripts are identifiable as such in the same way, first and foremost by multiple representation of shields with the family arms. As much as the Fitzwilliam psalter is identifiable as a Bohun manuscript by its heraldry, it also displays a characteristic Bohun painting style, both in figural imagery and in non-figural decoration. The narrative compositions are crowded with small-scale large-headed figures gesticulating, interacting through facial expression, and thus 'real', but with little physical substance and placed in almost spaceless environments. The sparkling gold backgrounds of miniatures and initials are finely tooled. Surface detail is rich and colorful: garments and accessories are carefully delineated, ladies have seductive bosoms and men wear elaborate silver armor, while ground areas are patterned in stylized zig-zags strewn with tiny flowers. Antecedents of the Bohun style can be traced back to earlier fourteenth century manuscripts such as the St. Omer Psalter ( London, British Library, Yates Thompson MS 14 ), the Brescia Psalter ( Brescia, Biblioteca Queriniana, MS A.V.17 ), and the Psalter of Queen Philippa ( London, British Library, Harley MS 2899 ), all pre-Black Death works marked by narrative detail, refined, small-scale figures, and delicate surface patterning. The impact of the Bohun style is still evident in manuscripts produced in London in the years around 1400, in particular the Carmelite Missal ( London, British Library, Add. MSS 29704-29705 and Add. MS 44892 ). While it is certain that the Fitzwillam psalter was made for a member of the Bohun family, conclusions about both the identity of this individual and the date of the production of the manuscript have changed over time. Early twentieth-century scholars such as George Warner and Montague Rhodes James (Thompson (1912)), identified the Bohun heraldry, but focused on the shields with arms they blazoned as those of John of Gaunt (France and England quarterly, a label of three points ermine) and Henry, duke of Lancaster, d. 1361, John's father-in-law (England ancient, a label of three points flory or). Consequently they called the manuscript the Psalter of John of Gaunt, and dated it c. 1360. More recently, Lynda Dennison (Dennison (1988) and subsequently) concluded that from a stylistic point of view the manuscript dated to the early 1370s, and on the basis of the heraldry, which includes the arms of John of Gaunt as king of Castile (quarterly Castile and Leon) on the Beatus page, assigned a specific date between 1371, when John claimed the Spanish throne, and 1373, when Humphrey de Bohun, the seventh and last Bohun earl died. All conclusions about heraldry - and, as a result, dating and intended ownership - have had to be revised in light of the recognition by Lucy Freeman Sandler (Sandler (2003) and (2014)) that the label on the arms previously identified as those of John of Gaunt is actually argent, not ermine. These are the arms of the royal heir apparent, not John of Gaunt. The reidentification made it clear that the heraldry in the Fitzwilliam psalter is organized programmatically, purposefully underscoring the importance of the Bohun family in relation to the English royal family. On the Beatus page, Sandler read the heraldic display as highlighting two father-son relationships: around the miniature on the top left, the position of precedence, the arms of the king of England above the arms of the heir apparent; on the upper right, the arms of John of Gaunt as king of Castile (a claim he retained until 1386) above those of his son, Henry Bolingbroke, as the Lancaster heir; and at the bottom of the page, the arms of the Bohuns as earls of Hereford and Essex, and as earls of Northampton, earldoms joined by Humphrey, 'the seventh'. The explanation for the introduction of Lancastrian arms is that Henry Bolingbroke was married to Humphrey's daughter Mary (d. 1394). The programmatic arrangement is reiterated in the sequence of armorials in the psalm initials on the following pages: England after 1340; John of Gaunt as king of Castile; heir apparent of king of England; Henry Bolingbroke, as Lancaster heir; Bohun of Hereford, Essex and Northampton; Bohun of Northampton; Butler, earl of Ormonde; and Courtenay, earl of Devon (these last two referring to the husbands of female Bohuns of the generation of Humphrey the seventh's father William, earl of Northampton). The arms of Bohun and Bolinbroke recur together on the pages with the miniatures for Psalm 38, Psalm 52, and Psalm 80. Sandler concluded that the inclusion of both Bohun and Lancastrian arms on multiple pages of the manuscript referred to the marital alliance of Mary de Bohun and Henry Bolingbroke, and suggested that the book was made to celebrate their marriage in early 1381. Lucy Freeman Sandler

Physical Description

Form: codex
Extent: Codex: 1 + ii + 1 + 3 | 243 | 3 + 2 leaves. 170 × 120 mm.
Foliation:

20th-century foliation:

[a] + [b]-[c] + [d] + i-iii | 1-243 | iv-vi + [e]-[f]

Numbering in pencil in the lower left-hand corners of all the rectos of ff. i-iii, 1-243, iv-vi, and sometimes also in the lower right-hand corner (e.g. ff. 1, 2, 4, 7, 28, 29, 46, 54, 61, 62, 63, 78, 99, 173; NB. f. 33 has the number 6 in the lower right-hand corner). The latter numbers appear to represent an initial foliation that has been largely erased from the manuscript and is still faintly visible on many folios. Folios i-iii and iv-vi are the manuscripts earliest and probaly original flyleaves. Folios [a], [d], [e]-[f] are later parchment flyleaves. Folios [b]-[c] are two added modern paper flyleaves. Note that this is the foliation that has been followed by scholars and is used in this catalogue record.
Foliation:

20th-century foliation:

i, ii-iii, iv + v-vii | 1-243 | [viii]-[x] + [a]-[b]

Numbering in pencil in the upper right-hand corners of the first seven flyleaves at the beginning, and the rectos of ff. 1-28. Subsequently, only the rectos of the tens are physically numbered (30, 40, 50, etc.) [with one exception: folio 68 has been foliated as well]. This pattern continues until f. 160r, after which the only numbered leaves are 217 and 230. The flyleaves at the end have not been numbered but the first three flyleaves at the end have been allocated the numbers [viii]-[x] to indicate that they are consecutive with the v-vii, forming the manuscript's earliest and probably original parchment flyleaves, and the letters [a]-[b] have been allocated to the final two flyleaves at the end. The later parchment flyleaves were added later, perhaps at the same time as ff. i and iv (ff. ii-iii are two added modern paper flyleaves). Please note that this foliation is not followed in this catalogue record.

Collation

The manuscript is currently too tightly bound to establish a collation formula securely. However, this catalogue record suggests a formula that deviates significantly from that of Wormald and Giles (1982). It agrees with them up to Quire 27, but proposes that Quire 28 comprises not 8 but 12 leaves. This is supported by the leaf signatures ‘i’-‘vj’ on folios 215r-220r and the catchword on f. 226v. Whereas Wormald and Giles state that the manuscript consists of 32 quires, this record proposes that Quire 28 is followed by only two further quires: Quire 29, of uncertain original structure but now containing eleven leaves, and Quire 30, which consists of six leaves. The latter quire comprises the Calendar and clearly forms a separate codicological unit.

  • 3 leaves (ff. i-iii) |
  • Quires 1-6 8 (ff. 1-48)
  • Quire 76 (ff. 49-54)
  • Quires 8-278 (ff. 55-214)
  • Quire 2812 (ff. 215-226)
  • Quire 29eleven (ff. 227-237) ;
  • Quire 306 (ff. 238-243) |
  • 3 leaves (ff. iv-vi)

3 leaves | 1-68 76 8-278 2812 29eleven ; 306 | 3 leaves

Binding

17th-century olive morocco binding with on both the outside covers: a border of gilt-tooled double-lined fillets, and, at the centre, a gold-stamped decorated medallion with the IHS monogram featuring, above, the Cross flanked by the sun and moon, and, below, the Sacred Heart with the Nails; gold-tooled fillets on the spine but no spine inscription; gilt-tooled edges and gauffered fore edge; two clasps with scallop shell design with catches on the lower cover.

Binding height: 175 mm; width: 125 mm; depth: 60 mm.

History

Provenance and Acquisition

Mary de Bohun (c. 1369/70–1394) , daughter of Humphrey de Bohun (1342–1373), 7th Earl of Hereford, and Joan Fitzalan (1347/8–1419, or her husband Henry Bolingbroke (1367–1413) , later King Henry IV (1399–1413): probably made for Mary on the occasion of her marriage to Henry Bolingbroke in 1380, as suggested by the arms of Bohun and Henry Bolingbroke, Earl of Derby, son of John of Gaunt in corners of borders and miniatures and inside initials (see Decoration). Other coats of arms, including those of Butler, Courtenay, John of Gaunt and England, reflect those of family into which past members of the Bohun family had married. A twin manuscript, now Oxford, Bodleian Libraries, MS. Auct. D. 4. 4 is thought to have been made for the same occasion, specifically for Mary de Bohun (see Havens (2020), passim).

Margaret of Anjou (1430–1482) , Queen of England (1445–1461) or her husband Henry VI (1421–1471) , King of England (1422–1461): the Royal Arms impaled with those of Anjou were later added to the upper corner of the outer margin of 1r.

John Stafford (d. 1452) , Bishop of Bath and Wells (1424-1443) and Archbishop of Canterbury (1443-1452): his arms added to the outer margin of f. 1r, below the Royal Arms impaled with those of Anjou. Stafford had crowned Margaret of Anjou Queen in 1445.

Barnaby [Burneby] family : obits for their family members (‘Anne B[u]rneby’ and ‘Phelippe burneby’)inserted in the Calendar in a neat 15th-centry textualis hand (imitating the original script).

Walton family of Longford : memoranda and obits for their family members inserted in the Calendar, dating to 1580-1592 and 1624, in secretary hands.

Henry Valentine Stafford-Jerningham (1802–1884) , 9th Baron Jerningham: Acquired the manuscript through purchase before 1884, according to Henry Yates Thompson's Catalogue (1912), p. 52.

Emma Eliza (née Gerard) Stafford-Jerningham (bef. 1842-1912) , Lady Stafford. Daughter of Frederic Sewallis Gerard and Mary Ann (née Wilkinson) Gerard. Former second wife of 9th Baron Stafford, and later wife of Basil Thomas Fitzherbert. Was gifted the manuscript by her husband Henry Valentine Stafford-Jerningham (1802–1884) according to Henry Yates Thompson's Catalogue (1912), p. 552.

Beatrice Mary Teresa (née FitzHerbert) Plowden (c. 1862–1949) , Lady Chichele-Plowden. Daughter of Basil Thomas Fitzherbert and Emily Charlotte (née Stafford-Jerningham) Fitzherbert; wife of Trevor John Chichele Chichele-Plowden, KCSI; and step-daughter of Emma Eliza (née Gerard) Stafford-Jerningham, Lady Stafford: sold the manuscript to Henry Yates Thompson in 1907. her name inscribed in pencil on f. i recto: ‘Lady Chichele-Plowden’.

Henry Yates Thompson (1838–1928) , collector of illuminated manuscripts, newspaper proprietor, and grandson of Joseph Brooks Yates: purchased the manuscript from Lady Chichele-Plowden on 31 December 1907 as is indicated by a printed ex libris on the inside of the upper cover from the library of Henry Yates Thompson with the gold-stamped inscription: ‘EX MUSAEO HENRICI YATES THOMPSON’ that bears the handwritten number: ‘C’ [but the number ‘XCIX’ written in pencil above the label] and the handwritten note: ‘[...] Lady Plowden Dec. 31 1907’. This manuscript is listed in the following catalogues of his library: Heny Yates Thompson, of Fourteen Illuminated Manuscripts; nos. XCV to XVII and 79A Completing the Hundred in the Library of Henry Yates Thompson (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1912), pp. 45-52 (no. XCIX); and Heny Yates Thompson, Illustations from One Hundred Manuscripts in the Library of Henry Yates Thompson, 7 vols (London: Chiswick Press, 1907-1918), IV (1914): pp. 33-35; plates LII-LIX. Sold the manuscript at Sotheby's, Lot 40, 23 March 1920 see Sotheby's Catalogue of Twenty-Six Illuminated Manuscripts and Eight Fifteenth Century Books Printed on Vellum: The Property of Henry Yates Thompson (London: Dryden Press, 1920), pp. 85-86 ['The Psalter of John of Gaunt'].

Thomas Henry Riches (d. 1935) , art collector: owned until his death in 1935 as indicated by his donation bookplate on the inside of the front cover: ‘Fitzwilliam Museum - Bequeathed by T.H. Riches, M.A. Gonville and Caius College - 1935’, with the handwritten addition: ‘Received 1950’. The latter refers to the fact that although Riches bequeathed the manuscript to the Fitzwilliam Museum in 1935, the museum only received it on the death of his widow Katherine Anne Riches (née Maclean) who had a life-interest, in 1950.

Bequeathed to the Fitzwilliam Museum by Thomas Henry Riches (d. 1935) , art collector, and received on the death of his widow Katherine Anne (née Maclean) Riches who had a life-interest, in 1950. The institution's name printed on a paper label pasted on the inside of the front cover.

Part 1 (first section) [Cambridge, Fitzwilliam Museum, MS 38-1950, ff. i-iii, iv-vi]

Contents

Language(s): Middle English and Latin

1. i verso
Suffrage to 29 Holy Helpers (Auxiliary Saints)
Language(s): Latin
Incipit: i verso Sancte dei beate et priuelegiati orate pro nobis ad dominum pro remissione criminum vt nostrorum per praeconium mereamur celeste gaudium . Versiculus . Esto nobis domine pie propiciatus per priuilegiatorum almos deprecatus . Oremus . Domine Sancte pater omnipotens sempiterne deus qui beatorum martirum tuorum Dionisij Blasij Georgij Christophori Thome Erasmi Cerici Eutropij et Pantilionis sanctorum confessorum Liuini Antonij Egidi Nicholai Martini sanctarum virginumque tuarum Katerine Margarete Honoreque Dorothee Barbare Julitte Cristine Appolonie Agathe Agnetis Cecilie Lucie Marthe Wenefride Vrsule cum sociabus suis patrocinia Innotantibus [sic] tuum promisisti in angustijs succursum succursum concede nobis quesumus eorum intercessione nostre peticionis salutaris effectum et auxilium in cunctis necessitatibus oportunum Per Christum Dominum nostrum A.M.E.N.

Added to the manuscript by a 15th-century hand.

Full transcription. The saints occur as listed by their modern names in Wormald and Giles (1982), p. 432, with the exception of 'Eleanora' which appears to be a misreading of 'Honoreque'.

2. ii recto-ii verso
Suffrage to St Nicholas
Language(s): Latin
Incipit: ii recto O pastor eterne o clemens o bone custos qui dum deuoti gregis preces attenderes voce lapsa de celo presuli sanctissimo dignum episcopatu Nicholaum ostendisti tuum famulum . Ora pro nobis beate nicholae. Vt digni. Oremus
Explicit: ii verso O beatissime et sanctissime pater nicholae qui fatigatis nautis tempestate senissima mirabiliter succuristi et tres Iuuenes morti destinatos festinanter liberasti et anticipicando uirginum incestus misericorditer prohibuisti et omnibus miseris semper condoluisti per nomen et amorem domini nostri ihesu Christi in cuius donis . tu fidelis dispensator extitisti in omni tribulacione et angustia te inuocantem exaudi et libera tuo pro interuentu a dampnacione et ab ira indignacionis dei a subitania et eterna et in prouisa morte a peccatis et penis perpetuis a laqueo diaboli et ab omni periculo anime et corporis et impetra mihi a deo spacium penitencie et emendacionem uite atque remissionem peccatorum meorum . ut in tuo nomine exhibeam aliquod honoris et reuerencie quatinus animam meam miseram de manu inferni eripias et ab omni malo me custodias et ad uitam eternam me perducas ad iuuante domino nostro ihesu Christo qui cum deo patre et spiritu sancto viuit et regnat deus Per omnia secula seculorum Amen Benedicamus domino . Deo gracias.

Added to the manuscript by a 15th-century hand; the same hand that has added the suffrage to St Fronto.

3. ii verso-iii recto
Suffrage to St Fronto
Language(s): Latin
Incipit: || ii verso [B]eatus fronto confessor domini preciosus qui a domino ihesu in discipulum electus et a beato petro apostolo ad predicandum destinatus multos ad fidem Christi sua predicacione conuertit et oracione sanauit Ora pro nobis beate fronte Ut digni effici
Explicit: iii recto [D]eus qui beatum frontonem confessorem tuum spiritualium corporalium que infirmitatum curacione decorasti presta quesumus ut propicio unigenito filio tuo domino ihesu Christo suis intercedentibus meritis ab omnibus meritis et corporis protegamus aduersis per eundem Christum dominum nostrum Amen

Full transcription; the first prayer in the suffrage is incomplete with further text planned but never executed on the upper half of f. iii recto.

Added to the manuscript by a 15th-century hand; the same hand that has added the suffrage to St Nicholas.

4. iii recto
Medical recipe and charm against acute fever
Language(s): Middle English
Rubric: iii recto This medecyn ys good for the axces
Incipit: iii recto Take an halfe penyworth of peper and an halfe penyworth of Safroun and make powther of hem and medil hem to gether and departe it on thre partyes euery parte lyke moche and then gathyr iij rede [crossed out: netel] nettyl croppys and stampe hem and take the Juce of hem and putte it into a drawth of small ale and J parte of peper and Safroun and yf he \be/ coold that shall drynke it warme your ale and if he be hooth warme nat your ale also at the gederyng of this netelis say v aue maria and whan ye haue made the medcyn say .v. pater noster and .v. Aue and v. Credes the ij tyme take .v. rede nettyl croppys and serue hem lyke wyse the thirde tyme take ix nettyl croppys and serue hem lyke wyse with prayers and all this medecyn may nat \be/ take but on the day that þe sekenes comyth

Full transcription; added by a later 15th-century hand.

5. iii verso
Papal indulgences confirmed by Pope Eugenius IV (1437-1447) for thos who visit houses of the Order of St John of Jerusalem in England [first half]
Language(s): Middle English
Incipit: || iii verso These are the pryuylages or ellis þe indulgendez grauntyd be oure holy faders popis of Rome and confermed by oure holy fader Eugenye now pope of Rome that who that visitees ony place of the Brether of seint John of Jerusalem with ynne yngelond he shal haue thys pardon . þat is to say eche monday . wennesday and ffryday thorouȝ oute all þe lenten eche day .xl. yere and xl. lentes . and þe seuenþe part of penaunce relesyd of peynes of purgatory . Item on good frydays is C lx ix ȝere and an C. lx ix. lentens and þe þridde parte of penaunce relesyd of peynes in purgatory and eche day of all the weke is þe same pardoun . Item on witsonday and eche day of all þe weke is the same pardoun . Item on holy rood day in may is iiij.xx and ix. yere and iiij.xx ix lentens. Item on the Natiuyte of seint John Baptist is .ix.xx ix yere and ixxx ix lentens and the thridde parte of penaunce relesid of peynes in purgatory and eche day of alle þe weke is the same pardon. Item in the assumpcioun of oure lady is xl ix. yere and xlix lentens and

Added by a later 15th-century hand.

Full transcription; the text continues on f. iv recto.

Physical Description

Secundo Folio: ii recto: O pastor eterne
Form: codex
Support: Parchment
Extent: Codex: 3 leaves.

Collation

  • 3 leaves (ff. i-iii)

Layout

100-130 × 60-80 mm. Ruled in ink frame and line ruling. Single columns. 19-25 lines to the page, written below and above top line.

Hand(s)

The prayer to the Holy Helpers on f. i verso has been copied by a 15th-century hand working in a cursive script with anglicana features.

The suffrages on ff. ii recto=iii recto have been copied by a 15th-century hand working in a neat textualis script.

The medical recipe and charm in the upper half of f. iii recto has been copied by a 15th-century hand working in a cursive script with both secretary and anglicana features.

The text on indulgences associated with the Order of St John of Jerusalem that has been didvided with one half on the last flyleaf at the beginning (f. iii verso) and the other half of the first flyleaf at the end (f. iv recto) has been copied by a 15th-century hand working in a secretary script.

Decoration

Three large (2-3 lines) initials in brown ink decorated with cadels on f. ii recto.

History

Origin: 15th century. ; England.

Part 2 [Cambridge, Fitzwilliam Museum, MS 38-1950, ff. [b]-[c], 1-243]

Contents

Language(s): Latin

1. 1r-188v
Psalter, Gallican version
Language(s): Latin
Incipit: 1r Beatus uir qui non abijt in consilio impiorum et in uia peccatorum non stetit: et in cathedra pestilencie non sedit
Explicit: 188r-188v Laudate eum in cymbalis benesonantibus ; laudata eum in cymbalis iubilacionis omnis spiritus laudet dominum.
2. 108v-204r
Canticles
Language(s): Latin
Incipit: 188v Confitebor tibi domine quoniam iratus es michi; conuersus est furor tuus et consolatus es me
Explicit: 204r Lumen ad reuelacionem gencium ; et gloriam plebis tue israel.
3. 204r-206v
Quicumque Vult
Language(s): Latin
Incipit: 204r Quicumque uult saluus esse ; ante omnia opus est ut teneat catholicam fidem.
Explicit: 206v Hec est fides catholica quam nisi quisque fideliter: firmiterque credide ut saluus esse non poterit. Ne remmiscaris domine - Psalmus

The word ‘Psalmus’ has been added to the explicit by a 15th-century hand.

207r-216r
The Seven Penitential Psalms
Language(s): Latin
Incipit: 207r Domine ne in furore tuo arguas me; neque in ira tua coripias me
Explicit: 215v-216r Et perdes omnes qui tribulant animam meam quoniam ego seruus tuus sum . [a] Ne reminiscaris domine delicta nostra uel parentum nostrorum neque vindictam sumas de peccatis nostris.
4. 216r-227v
Litany with ferial divisions and collects
Language(s): Latin
Incipit: 216r Kyrieeleyson Christeleyson Christe audi nos. Pater de celis deus miserere nobis. Filij redemptor mundi deus miserere nobis.
Explicit: 227v et omnibus fidelibus vivis ac defunctis in terra viventium vitam et requiem æternam concede. Per eundem Christum dominum nostrum. Amen
5. 227v-228v
Veni Creator Spiritus
Language(s): Latin
Rubric: 227v Ympnus
Incipit: 228r Veni creator spiritus mentes tuorum uisita imple superna gracia que tu creasti pectora
Explicit: 228v uersikulus Emitte spiritum tuum et creabuntur. Responsorium. Et renouabis faciem terre . Oremus.
6. 228v
Collect for Purity
Language(s): Latin
Incipit: 228r Deus cui omne cor patet et omnis uoluntas loquitur et quem nullum latet secretum purifica per infusionem sancti spiritus cogitaciones cordis nostri ut te perfecte diligere et digne laudare mereamur . Per dominum . et in unitate eiusdem spiritus sancti deus Per omnia secula seculorum. Amen.

Full transcription.

7. 228v-229r
Collect for Wisdom
Language(s): Latin
Incipit: 228r Deus qui corda fidelium sancti spiritus illustracione docuisti da nobis in eodem spiritu recta sapere et de eius semper consolacione gaudere. Per

Full transcription.

8. 229r-230r
Five Salutations to the Virgin Mary commemorating her life from the Annunciation to the Assumption
Language(s): Latin
Rubric: 229r Salutaciones episcopi ad beatissimam mariam
Incipit: 229r Ave benignissima uirgo maria que illud iocundum
Explicit: 230r Benedicta tu in mulieribus et benedictus fructus uentris tui ihesus Christus amen Pater noster Aue maria.

This sequence of five prose Aves celebrates the Annunciation, Nativity, Adoration of the Kings, Resurrection, and Assumption, each followed by ‘Benedicta tua’, ‘Pater noster’, and ‘Ave Maria’. This sequence also occurs in Vercelli, Bibloteca Capitolare, MS CCXXV. For this copy, see Juliette Vuille, 'A Description of the Manuscript Contents', in An English Prayerbook of the Fifteenth Century in Vercelli: Studies in the Palaeography and History of Vercelli, Bibloteca Capitolare, MS CCXXV, ed. by Winfried Rudolf and Timoti Leonardi (Vercelli: Fondazzione Museo del Tesoro del Duomo e Archivio Capitolare of Vercelli Piazza Alessandro D'Angennes, 2012), pp. 27-60 (pp. 51-52, no. 61).

9. 230v-232r
O Intemerata
Language(s): Latin
Rubric: 230r Oracio.
Incipit: 230v O Intemerata et in eternum benedicta uirgo singularis et in comparabilis dei genitrix maria gratissimum dei templum
Explicit: 232r Qui patre et filio consubstancialis et coeternus cum eis et in eis uiuit et regnat omnipotens deus in secula seculorum. Amen.
10. 232r-233r
Prayer before Mass
Language(s): Latin
Rubric: 232r Oracio sancti Ambrosij
Incipit: 232r Indignum me esse fateor domine sacris . qui in numeris cotidie fulcor peccatis
Explicit: 232v-233r tuum est ea ut nubem cito delere et licet innocencie pallium inimico sua dente amiserim . saltem per confessionem et omni sanctorum tuorum intercessione ueniam te miserante merear . ut tibi sit laus honor gloria cuncta regenti in secula seculorum . Amen.
11. 233r-233v
Prayer before the altar
Language(s): Latin
Rubric: 233r Oracio ante altare
Incipit: 233r Ante conspectum diuine maiestatis tue domine deus omnipotens reus assisto qui inuocare nomen tuum sanctum praesumo.
Explicit: 233v Sed tu domine qui non uis mortem peccator da mihi ueniam in carne constituto ut per penitencie labores uita eterna perfrui merear in celis . Per te ihesu Christe.
12. 233v-234r
Prayer for Mass
Language(s): Latin
Rubric: 233v Oracio
Incipit: 234r Domine deus omnipotens qui es magnus et mirabilis dominus qui nobis donasti introitum in sancta sanctorum per incarnacionem unigeniti filij tui domini nostri ihesu Christi obsecrantes postulamus benignitatem tuam quia in timore sumus et tremore ante sanctum et gloriosum altare tuum ut emittas super nos domum gracie spiritus sancti . et innoues animas nostras et corpora et mundo corde et corpore offeramus tibi sacrificium donum fructiferum in remissionem peccatorum nostrorum et populi tui per gloriam et humilitatem Christi filij tui. Qui tecum viuit etcaetera

Full transcription.

13. 234r-235r
Prayer of confession
Language(s): Latin
Rubric: 234r Oracio.
Incipit: 234r Confiteor tibi peccata mea eternis pontifex et sanctorum minister et uerus tabernaculi sacerdos qui semel in anno in mistica sancta incrasti et sanctum et immaculatum agnum proprij corporis tui ad hostiam dedisti pro peccatis nostris tibi confiteor.
Explicit: 234v-235r et per id ueniam merer omnium delictorum meorum quatimus ad tremendum iudicum tuum securum me ab omnibus accusacionibus inimici facias peruenire. Saluator mundi.
14. 235r-235v
Prayer before communion
Language(s): Latin
Rubric: 235r Oracio.
Incipit: 235r Domine ihesu Christe immensam clemenciam tuam humili deuocione deposco ut non irasceris mihi indigno famulo tuo pro eo quid in mundo corde
Explicit: 235v sed penitenciam michi agere dignam fontemque lacrimarum habere concedas ut puro et mundo corde iam non ad iudicium sed ad remedium anime mee et remissionem omnium peccatorum meorum te miserante percipere merear. Saluator mundi
15. 235v-237v
Prayer to All Saints (excerpt from the Favus Mellis)
Language(s): Latin
Rubric: 235v Oracio rithmia [sic] ad omnes sanctos de libello qui dicitur famis mellis
Incipit: 235v Pater cuius omnia uerbo sunt patrata . Ad te suspirancium suscipe precata . Ut in tui nominis fide mens fundata . Stabilis per maneat et inmolata
Explicit: 237v Nostris precibus . preces electorum . Animabus omnium . prosint defunctorum . Vt uel pena micior. fiat tormentorum . Uel salus scelerior . in te saluandorum .Amen.
16. 238r-243v
Calendar, Use of Sarum
Language(s): Latin

Added: A) Saints: Winifred (3 November) and John of Beverley (7 May and 25 October); the name of St Thomas Becket effaced B) Royal obits: Edward, eldest son of Henry VI [in red] (4 May); Henry VI [in red] (16 May); 1482. Queen Margaret (2 August); John, Duke of Bedford (14 September); 1432. Anne, Duchess of Bedford (14 November); C) Obits from the Burneby family (15th century) and Waltons of Longford (16th century).

At the foot of each month is a list of feasts on which cessaion of all work was obligatory.

Physical Description

Secundo Folio: 2r: conuenerunt in unum
Form: codex
Support: Parchment (FHHF)
Extent: Codex: 243 leaves.

Collation

  • Quires 1-6 8 (ff. 1-48)
  • Quire 76 (ff. 49-54)
  • Quires 8-278 (ff. 55-214)
  • Quire 2812 (ff. 215-226)
  • Quire 29eleven (ff. 227-237) ;
  • Quire 306 (ff. 238-243)

Leaf signatures ‘Aj’ to ‘Aiiij’ in brown ink at the centres of the lower margins of the rectos in the first half of Quire 11 (ff. 79r-82r) [the number ‘Aiiij’ also seems to occur on f. 194r]; and the cropped numbers ‘ij’-‘vj’ visible in Quire 28 (ff. 216-220). Anther copped and unidentified signature visible on f. 227r.

A cross in (?) pencil added to the first lower margins of the recto of the inner leaves of Quire 11 (i.e. f. 83r).

 Catchwords in brown ink in the lower right corners of the last versos of quires, usually cropped off, but sometimes still legible: see ff. 62v, 102v, 226v.

Layout

100 × 60 mm. Ruled in ink, frame and line ruling. Single columns. 18 lines to the page, written below top line.

Hand(s)

Folios 1r-243v have been copied by a single scribe working in a textualis script.

Decoration

The manuscript contains thirteen half-page miniatures in colours on gold-patterned grounds and inside architectural (Gothic pinnacled canopies) frames: twelve show scenes from the Life of David at the liturgical divisions of the Psalter, and one marks the begining of the Seven Penitential Psalms. The miniatures were painted by a group of artists who produced several psalters and books of hours for the Bohun family. Among this group was the Augustinian friar John de Teye (doc. 1361-1384), who is responsible for the opening miniature in this mansucript (f. 1r). The other paintings were done by a close associate who worked with him on most of Teye's other surviving Bohun manuscripts (see Sandler, Illuminators and Patrons (2014), p. 237). The miniatures show the following scenes:

  • Miniature no. 1 at Psalm 1 (Beatus vir) on f. 1r: David with raised club threatens a bear devouring one of his sheep (left). David about to sling a stone at a lion seizing a sheep (right). The two scnes are separated by a river with an angel with folded legs hovering above.
  • Miniature no. 2 at Psalm 26 (Dominus illuminatio mea) on f. 29r: David leading a procession of armed men, carrying Goliath's head and lance, and meeting a company of ladies with musical instruments.
  • Miniature no. 3 at Psalm 38 (Dixi custodiam) on f. 46r: David fleeing the soldiers of Saul (left). David escaping captivity by climbing down a rope from a window with the help of Michal, Saul's daughter (right).
  • Miniature no. 4 at Psalm 51 (Quid gloriaris) on f. 61r: King Saul enthroned, surrounded by courtiers, with a kneeling messenger (left). Doeg slays six priests (right).
  • Miniature no. 5 at Psalm 52 (Dixit insipiens) on f. 62r: David kneeling on a hilltop in the wilderness of Paran and praying to a vision of God in the sky with armed men below (left). David's messenger speaks to Nabal seated on a second hilltop among his flock, with another man shearing sheep (right).
  • Miniature no. 6 at Psalm 68 (Salvum me fac) on f. 78r: Abigail kneeling and seeking forgiveness from David, who is in full armour and accompanied by an army, and pointing to three horses or donkeys, laden with goods, led by attendants.
  • Miniature no. 7 at Psalm 80 (Exultate Deo) on f. 99r: The Witch of Endor, kneeling and holding a gold cup, calling up the prophet Samuel who sits upright in his marble tomb (left). The battle of Mount Gilboa with the death of Saul and his armour-bearer (right).
  • Miniature no. 8 at Psalm 97 (Cantate Domino) on f. 120r: David is anointed by one of a band of eight priests in white (left). David seated on throne is crowned as king of Judah by four bishops while one figure stands to the side holding a mace (right).
  • Miniature no. 9 at Psalm 101 (Domine exaudi) on f. 123r: Bathseba bathing in stream among trees, attended by three women, while David watches from a turret (left). David on a throne surrounded by five courtiers hands a sealed document for Joab to a messenger, kneeling (right).
  • Miniature no. 10 at Psalm 109 (Dixit Dominus) on f. 142v: David prostrating, while his crown lies on the ground and a group of men (one holding a mace) points at him, before the prophet Jonathan who is guided by God, above in the sky (left). Bathseba holding her hands clasped and standing at a bed with her ill child lying on the coverlet. Below, David prostrates in prayer with his crown lying next to him (right).
  • Miniature no. 11 at Psalm 119 (Ad dominum cum tribularer) on f. 163v: The crowning of David at Rabbath by two bishops (left). The battle between the armies of David and Absalom in the wood at Ephraim (right).
  • Miniature no. 12 at Psalm 137 (Confitebor tibi) on f. 174v: David on throne commands Amasa to muster the men of Judah. Five men stand behind Amasa, one with a mace points to the scene on the right (left). Joab kills Amasa with a sword. Abishai, standing behind Joab, watches the event (right).
  • Miniature no. 13 at the opening of the Penitential Psalms on f. 207r: The Last Judgement: Christ enthroned displaying wounds, his feet on a rainbow, and accompanied by four angels holding the instruments of the Passion. Below the arc of the rainbow, the dead rise from their graves, one crowned and two with mitres.

With the exception of the miniature on f. 61r, all the half-page miniatures feature coats of arms in colours on gold grounds at their corners. Most have a coat of arms at each corner, but the miniatures on f. 174v and f. 207r only feature two. The first half-page miniature has two additional coats of arms in the lower corners of the full borders. The coats of arms that extend from the miniatures and borders as follows:

  • f. 1r: [I] France and England quarterly (Edward III from Jan. 1340) [II] Castille and Leon quarterly (the arms of John of Gaunt as king of Castile; a claim he retained until 1386) [III] France and England quarterly, with a label three points argent (heir apparent of the English throne). [IV] England with a label of France, semé-de-lis (Henry Bolingbroke, son of John of Gaunt, as the Lancaster heir) [V] and [VI] Bohun.
  • f. 29r: [I] Bohun [II] Bohun differences by three mullets gules on the bend [III] Butler [IV] Courtenay.
  • f. 46r: [I] France and England quarterly [II] Heir apparent of the English throne. [III] Bohun [IV] Lancaster.
  • f. 62r: [I] England (before 1340) [II] Bohun [III] Bohun differences by three mullets [IV] Lancaster.
  • f. 78r: [I] Bohun [II] Bohun differenced by three mullets [III] Butler [IV] Courtenay.
  • f. 99r: [I] England (before 1340) [II] Bohun [III] Bohun differenced by three mullets [IV] Lancaster.
  • f. 120r: [I] Bohun [II] Butler [III] Courtenay [IV] Bohun differenced by three mullets.
  • f. 123r: [I] England (before 1340) [II] Bohun [III] Bohun differenced by three mullets [IV] England (before 1340).
  • f. 142v: [I] Bohun [II] Bohun differenced by three mullets [III] Butler [IV] Courtenay.
  • f. 163v: [I] England (before 1340) [II] Bohun [III] Bohun differenced by three mullets [IV] England (before 1340).
  • f. 174v: [I] Butler [II] Courtenay.
  • f. 207r: [I] Bohun [II] Bohun differenced by three mullets.
  • Finally, two heraldic shields were added to the outer margin of f. 1r: [A] Henry VI, impaling the arms of Margaret of Anjou surmounted by a royal arched crown. [B] John stafford, Archbishop of Canterbury (Or, on a chevron gules a mitre, within a bordure engrailed sable)

The lower margin of f. 1r contains a scene in colours, featuring a landscape with six monkeys engaged in, respectively, carrying a dish; fishing; cutting up a fish; heating water in a cauldron using another monkey's body as a pair of bellows for blowing on the fire; and carrying a dish.

At the half-page miniatres (ff. 1r, 29r, 46r, 61r, 62r, 78r, 99r, 120r, 123r, 142v, 163v, 174v, and 207r) are full bar borders in blue, pink, and gold with acanthus leaves in blue, gold, grey, and orange. The upper halves of the borders, enclosing the half-page miniatures, feature architectural motifs, including turrets, rooftops, walls, and other structures that often are interconnected with similar architectural structures that vertically divide the miniatures into two panels. Some of the borders are inhabited by winged dragon-like creatures with a antropomorphic or zoomorphic heads (ff. 10v [with headdress], 28r, 33r [with mitre], 38v, 51r, 73v, 81r, 104r, 121r [with mitre], 145v, 158v [with mitre], 166v).

Partial bar borders (full bars in the outer margins and half bars in the upper and lower margins) in blue, pink, and gold with acanthus leaves in blue, gold, grey, and orange on every page. Some of the borders are inhabited by winged dragon-like creatures with a antropomorphic or zoomorphic heads (ff. 10v [with headdress], 28r, 33r [with mitre], 38v, 51r, 73v, 81r, 104r, 121r [with mitre], 145v, 158v [with mitre], 166v).

Accompanying the manuscript's thirteen half-page miniatures at the major sudivisions of the Psalms and at the beginning of the Penitential Psalms are thirteen large (4 or 5 lines) historiated initials in blue and purple, sometimes with knotwork motifs, in frames with gold patterned grounds and miniatures inside their letters. The subjects of the miniatures are as follows:

  • Historiated initial ‘B’ at miniature no. 1 on f. 1r: David astride Goliath, who lays down in full armour, raising a sword (Goliath's) to cuts his head off.
  • Historiated initial ‘D’ at miniature no. 2 on f. 29r: David seated in a chair plays the harp to Saul lying under a coverlet.
  • Historiated initial ‘D’ at miniature no. 3 on f. 46r: Ahimelech [Achimelech], the priest, giving David the sword of Goliath, and the shewbread.
  • Historiated initial ‘Q’ at miniature no. 4 on f. 61v: David with raised hand (left). David holding a sword slays the Philistines at Keilah [Wormald and Giles (1982), p. 435] or cutting the robe of Saul in the cave of Engedi [Sandler (1986), p. 159]. God, from a cloud above, puts his hand on David's right shoulder.
  • Historiated initial ‘D’ at miniature no. 5 on f. 62r: Abigail seated on chair, with a female servant standing behind her, is warned by a messenger, kneeling before her.
  • Historiated initial ‘S’ at miniature no. 6 on f. 78r: Nabal lies in bed with Abigail kneeling at his side.
  • Historiated initial ‘E’ at miniature no. 7 on f. 99r: The Amalekite offering Saul's gold crown and bracelet to David.
  • Historiated initial ‘C’ at miniature no. 8 on f. 120r: Battle between the armies of Joab and Abner.
  • Historiated initial ‘D’ at miniature no. 9 on f. 123r: Uriah is slain in battle.
  • Historiated initial ‘D’ at miniature no. 10 on f. 142v: David enthroned while two men blow long trumpets (buisines) over his head.
  • Historiated initial ‘A’ at miniature no. 11 on f. 163v: Absalom hanging by his hair from a tree is killed by Joab who is in full armour and on horseback.
  • Historiated initial ‘C’ at miniature no. 12 on f. 174v: A woman, perhaps representing the unnamed wise woman of Abel, on the battlements throws Sheba's head to Joab.
  • Historiated initial ‘D’ at miniature no. 13 on f. 207r: Hell-mouth enclosing the damned in flames, one wearing a mitre.

Large (3 lines) initials for the initials of psalms: in blue and/or pink with acanthus leaves and in frames with gold grounds with decorative motives (e.g. knotwork) painted with white and red on the letters, sometimes with foliate patterns with acanthus leaves inside their letters but often with more extensive decorative features:

  • [A] Initials with coats of arms in colours and gold inside their letters: f. 1v features the Royal Arms, France and England quarterly; f. 2v the arms of Castile and Leon quarterly (John of Gaunt as king of Castile; a claim he retained until 1386); f. 3r the arms of the heir apparent of the English throne); f. 4r the arms of Lancaster; f. 5r the arms of Bohun; f. 5v the arms of Bohun; f. 7r the arms of Butler, Earls of Ormond; and f. 7v the arms of Courtenay, Earl of Devon.
  • [B] Initials with human heads in colours inside their letters (ff. 12v [with headdress], 23r, 25v [with headdress], 40v, 44r, 49v, 55v [with crown], 63r [with crown], 69r [with mitre], 69v [with nun's veil], 71r, 87r, 102r, 117r [with tonsure], 121r [with crown], 157v [with tonsure], 162r,, 178v, 179r [with knight's helmet], 212r,230v [woman with red veil, probably representing the Virgin Mary]).
  • [C] Initials with animals inside their letters (ff. 51v [hare], 145r [stag's head], 185r [stag's head]).
  • [D] Initials with grotesque heads inside their letters (ff. 186r, 199v).
  • [E] Initials with dragons, hybrid figures, and other grotesque creatures inside their letters (14r, 20r, 88r, 88v, 106r, 111r, 119r [with a spoon], 129v [with sword and shield], 136r, 167r, 167v, 168v, 169r, 169v, 170v, 171r [2x], 172v, 181r, 189r).
  • [F] Initials with letters formed by winged dragon-like creatures with human or animal heads (ff. 11v, 26v, 30v, 67r [with mitre], 91r, 112v, 168r [with bowl and spoon], 173v, 195r, 204r).
  • [G] Initials with faces circumscribed by wavy lines, sometimes sticking out tongues, either emerging from the letter's opposite sides (ff. 13v, 25r, 69r, 87r, 101r, 111r, 117r [one side only], 117v [demon's face], 156v, 177r [one side only], 191v [one side only], 214v) or opposing each other inside the letters (f. 59v).

Small (1 line) champ-style gold initials in frames with blue and purple grounds for the ferial letter ‘A’in the Calendar.

Small (1 line) initials alternating between blue and pink with foliate motifs inside their letters in the opposite colour and orange edges inside gold frames at the beginning of psalm verses.

Gold horizontal bars as line-fillers, usually with geometric or foliate motifs in colours but sometimes also featuring hybrid and dragon-like creatures (see ff. 5r, 178r, 187r, 189r, and 213r).

Marginal headings dividing the Litany of Saints, titles of and introductory rubrics to prayers, written in red ink. Entries in the Calendar highlighted in blue or red ink.

Additions

A list of the subject contents of the full-page miniatures in the manuscript on ff. [b] recto-[c] recto, entitled: ‘Explanation of the Paintings’ written in a late 19th-century or early 20th-century hand. The same hand has numbered the manuscript's miniatures with pencil in the outer margins of the pages.

The manuscript is kept in a box together with a small paper folder with the classmark ‘MS. 38-1950’ stamped on the front. It contains: a rectangular paper label with the printed text: ‘Bohun Psalter. c. 1370. English. Bequeathed by T.H. Riches, 1935. MS. 38-1950’; a round paper label with a hanwritten inscription in brown ink: ‘H. Yates Thompson’, followed by a number (not read) and a question mark; and a rectangular paper label with the manuscript's classmark written in pencil, a handwritten inscription in brown ink (‘Riches bequest’), and a handwritten inscription in pencil: ‘Bohun [...] Exhibited’

History

Origin: c. 1380-c. 1394. ; London. ; Pleshey Castle, Essex.

Part 1 (second section) [Cambridge, Fitzwilliam Museum, MS 38-1950, ff. i-iii, iv-vi]

Contents

Language(s): Middle English and Latin

6. iv recto
Papal indulgences confirmed by Pope Eugenius IV (1437-1447) for thos who visit houses of the Order of St John of Jerusalem in England [second half]
Language(s): Latin
Incipit: iv recto eche day of alle þe weke is þe same pardon . Item on þe decollacioun of seint John Baptiste is vij.xx xix yere. and vij.xx xix. lentens and eche day of all þe weke is þe same pardon . Item in þe Natiuite of oure lady is xlix yere and xlix. lentens and þe thridde parte of penaunce relesid of peynes in purgatory and ech day of the weke is þe same pardoun. Item in the latter holy roode day þat is callid Excaltacioun sancte crucis . viij.xx ix yere and viijxx .ix. lentens. Item in þe feste of allhalowis xlix. yere and xlix. lentens. Item in þe feste of seint Michel is .xlix yere and xlix lentens and þe thridde part of penaunce relesid off peynes in purgatory . Item in þe Natiuite of oure lord þat is Cristemas day and eche day of all þe weke is þe same pardon . Item in þe feste of seint John þe Euaungeliste in Cristemas woke . is iiijxx ix yere and iiij.xx ix. lentens - Summa of Indulgences is .xxiij.ml vijC yere. Summa of lentens is .v.ml and vij.C

Added by a later 15th-century hand.

Full transcription; the text begins on f. iv recto.

7. iv verso
Suffrage to Henry VI
Language(s): Latin
Incipit: iv verso Hic vir dispiciens mundum et terrena triumphans diuicias celo condidit ore manu Ora pro nobis beate Henrici Vt digni efficiamur promissionibus Christi
Explicit: iv verso Oremus - Deus qui vnigenitum filium tuum dominum nostrum Christum ihesum famulo tuo regi henrico corpore et anima glorificatum demonstrare uoluisti praesta quesumus vt eius meritis et precibus ad eternam eiusdem domini nostri ihesu Christi visionem pertingere \mereamur/ Per dominum nostrum ihesum

Full transcription; added by a 15th-century hand.

8. v recto
Legend of the vision of St Thomas of Canterbury in which the Virgin Mary gave him the phial to be used for anoininting future kings of England
Language(s): Latin
Incipit: v recto Quando ego Thomas Archiepiscopus Cantuariens exul ab anglia fugiebam veni ad papam Alexandrie qui tunc erat Senonis erat vt ei ostenderem consuetudines malas et abusiones quas Rex Anglie in ecclesiam introducebat
Explicit: vi recto-vi verso Et hec omnia sibi tradidi inclusa in quodam vase plumbeo

Copied by a 15th-centur hand.

For a transcription based on other copies of this text, see Riley (1866), pp. 297-298.

9. vi verso
Suffrage to St Winifred
Language(s): Latin
Incipit: vi verso Antiphona Virgo cum occiditur occisor resanat Ubi caput plectitur ibi fons emanat Cuius a qua colitur languores sanat Nec sanguis ut cernitur a petris emanat .versiculus. Ora pro nobis beata wenefreda . Responsorium. Ut digni efficiamur promissionibus Chrsti . Oremus. Deus qui beatam uirginem wenefredam post capitis abscisionem tua potencia rediuiuam fieri precepisti fac nos quesumus ea interueniente vite presentis pariter et future subsidia conuenienter adipisci . Per Christum dominum nostrum .Amen.

Added by a 15th-century hand. The addition of this prayer may well be motivated by Lancastrian interest in the cult of St Winifred: Henry V gave thanks at her well at Holywell (Treffynon) after his victory at the battle of Agincourt and Lady Margaret Beaufort built a chapel for the well.

Full transcription.

Physical Description

Secundo Folio: ii recto: O pastor eterne
Form: codex
Support: Parchment
Extent: Codex: 3 leaves.

Collation

  • 3 leaves (ff. iv-vi)

Layout

100-130 × 60-80 mm. Ruled in ink frame and line ruling. Single columns. 19-25 lines to the page, written below and above top line.

Hand(s)

The text on indulgences associated with the Order of St John of Jerusalem that has been didvided with one half on the last flyleaf at the beginning (f. iii verso) and the other half of the first flyleaf at the end (f. iv recto) has been copied by a 15th-century hand working in a secretary script.

The suffrage to King Henry VI on f. iv verso has been copied by a 15th-century hand working in a textualis script.

The text on the legend of the oil of St Thomas of Canterbury on ff. v recto-vi verso has been copied by a 15th-century hand working in a secretary script.

The suffrage to St Winifred on f. vi verso has been copied by a 15th-century hand working in a textualis script.

Decoration

One large (2 lines) plain red 'D' initial on f. vi verso.

Rubricated letters 'a' and 'v' to indicate Antiphons and Versicles on f. vi verso.

History

Origin: 15th century. ; England.

Additional Information

Record Sources

This catalogue entry draws on the descriptions provided by Francis Wormald and Phyllis M. Giles, of the Additional Illuminated Manuscripts in the Fitzwilliam Museum Acquired between 1895 and 1979 (Excluding the McClean Collection), 2 vols (Cambridge: Cambridge University Library, 1982); Lucy Freeman Sandler, 'Lancastrian Heraldry in the Bohun Manuscripts', in The Lancastrian Court: Proceedings of the 2001 Harlaxton Symposium, ed. by Jenny Stratford, Harlaxton Medieval Studies, New Series, 13 (Donington: Shaun Tyas 2001), pp. 221-232; Kari Anne Rand Manuscripts in the Library of Pembroke College, Cambridge and the Fitzwilliam Museum, Index of Middle English Prose, 18 (Woodbridge: Brewer, 2006); and Lucy Freeman Sandler, Illuminators and Patrons in Fourteenth-Century England: The Psalter and Hours of Humphrey de Bohun and the MAnuscripts of the Bohun Family (London: The British Library, 2014).

Availability

Visitors to the Fitzwilliam Museum who wish to consult Collection material are required to apply to the Museum in advance of their visit. For information on eligibility and admission procedures see: Fitzwilliam Museum: Study Room.

Bibliography

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(Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1912) Illustrations from One Hundred Manuscripts in the Library of Henry Yates Thompson, Thompson, Henry Yates (London, 4, 1914) Les manuscrits de la collection Yates Thompson Bulletin de la Société française de reproductions de manuscrits à peintures, Ricci, Seymour de (10, 1-35, 1926) English Illuminated Manuscripts from the XIVth to the XVth Centuries, Millar, Eric George (Paris, G. van Oest, 1928) La miniature anglaise aux XIVe et XVe siècles, Millar, E. G. (Brussels, G. Van Oest, 1928) Victoria and Albert Museum, Exhibition of English mediaeval art, 1930 Victoria and Albert Museum Publication, Wardrop, JMaclagan, Eric (London, 193-194, Board of Education, 1930) British Art: An Illustrated Souvenir of the Exhibition of British Art at the Royal Academy of Arts, London, Llewellyn, WillliamConstable, W.G.Man, J.G. (London, published for the Executive Committee of the exhibition by W. 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