Introduction:
This manuscript contains all of the liturgical material required to conduct mass rituals,
including
songs, prayers, and mass forms proper to particular occasions, either relating to
saints' days (including collects for
St. John of Beverly on f. 261v) or significant life events, such as masses for
the dead (ff. 252v-258v). Among the latter is an English version of St. Gregory's
Trental, an unusual liturgical practice for the saving of a soul (f. 258v,
beginning 'Ordo trigintalis...'), which is of particular note because it is separate
from the more geographically
widespread 'Gregorian Trental'. The English St. Gregory's Trental extends beyond simply
celebrating consecutive masses
for the repose of a soul, and contains ten feasts that were to be repeated three times.
What is also notable is that
the practice and understanding of the trental was conflated with verse tales about
a papal character (not necessarily
Gregory in all cases) which date from between the 13th and 15th centuries. Further
liturgical and literary
idiosyncrasies are discussed in more depth by Richard Pfaff (see Bibliography below).
Made in the fourth quarter of the 14th century, MS Add. 451 bears the epithet 'The
Braybrooke Missal'
after Robert Braybrooke, bishop of London from 1382 to 1404. He was apparently the
first intended owner or
commissioner of this manuscript and his coat of arms is visible in the bottom margin
of f. 11r: a shield of seven red diamonds on a white ground, hanging from and encircled by
a blue border vine
decoration, and set within on a burnished and incised gold ground. The red pigment
on f. 11r appears to match that of
the holly leaves around it and has bled through the parchment in a similar manner,
probably ruling out the possibility
that the coat of arms was painted over those of an earlier owner. The same coat of
arms appears as part of a more
modestly decorated catchword on f. 18v, where red and black ink were used to render
the coat of arms on a faintly marbled ground encircled with a lettered scroll.
The border on f. 11r forms a partial frame, embellished with orange, pink and blue
holly leaves, black
sprays and gold details. Elsewhere in the manuscript, similar decorative approaches
are taken, such as on f. 35v which contains an initial 'P' of orange, pink and blue foliage, decorated in
white, on a ground of burnished and incised gold leaf. The treatment of catchwords
is indicative of the liveliness of
the decorative scheme: on ff. 26v, 90v and
106v, they are paired with context-appropriate drawings of a staff
('muneribus'), chalice ('hic est enim calix'), or cross ('super crucem'). On f. 26v
in particular, the illustrator's
attention to shadows lends a realistic depth to the scroll. Throughout the manuscript,
flourishing in fine purple and
red lines embellishes lesser initials and fills the margins. Within the text, one
finds stylised, geometric line
fillers in blue and gold. There are also signs of the cross, which instruct the reader
to make this gesture at certain
points in the liturgy. Examples of both, together with a large illuminated initial
and full border may be seen on f.
124r.
Within about a century, the manuscript had passed into the possession of the Hungerford
family of Down
Ampney, Gloucerstershire. The obits of several family members, women and men, have
been added to the calendar (see ff.
6r, 8r, 9v and
10v). The name 'Hungerford' has also been inscribed by a 16th-century hand on
an otherwise blank leaf (f. 262r). The production of the calendar was especially
elaborate, with entries of various degrees of importance written in burnished gold
leaf, blue or red pigments, and
ink. The feast day of Thomas Becket (29 December) has been utterly expunged, and that
of his translation (7 July)
deliberately smudged. Such interventions are indicative of a manuscript having been
in England and in use during the
Reformation. An explanation for losses elsewhere is less clear, however. While 'pape'
has apparently been washed or
scrubbed off against the names of Clement (23 November) and Silvester (31 December),
elsewhere it has been left
intact, as for Leo (28 June), Calixtus (14 October) and Linus (26 November). Some
changes at least are due to the
degradation of the pigments, red especially: see f. 5r for January, for example. The
same may also be the case for the entries for Gregory (12 March), Ambrose (4 April),
Erkenwald (30 April), Barnabus
(11 June), Paul (30 June), Mary Magdalene (22 July), Anna (26 July), Jerome (30 September),
Luke (18 October),
Katherine (25 November) and Nicholas (6 December), where the pigment has gone but
traces of the letters are still
visible on the page. Elsewhere, scarcely legible fragments of text remain: Philip
and James (1 May), Augustine of
Canterbury (26 May), Augustine of Hippo (28 August), Matthew (21 September) and Stephanus
(26 December).
The manuscript's binding may be original: plain alum-tawed covers such as this are
common coverings
during the 14th and early 15th centuries, before the shift to polished leather and
blind tooling later on. This plain,
suede-like leather cover is marked with a circular stain on the front cover, perhaps
caused by an inkwell. One can
also see (particularly on the front) the nails and holes for pins that secured two
fastening straps. The nails pass
through the wooden board to the inner cover and holes in ff. 1 and 263 align with
these, confirming that these leaves
were originally pastedowns. Now lifted, they reveal the slips of eight sewing supports,
which run through channels in
the wooden boards and are held in place by wooden pegs. This structure is relatively
rare: across J.A. Szirmai's study
of 810 Gothic manuscripts, only two have eight or more sewing stations.
The text was written in textura quadrata script, bearing the characteristic diamond-shaped
serifs that
come with this high-grade script. It was the work apparently of a single hand, however
a blank page between the Order
and Canon of Mass (f. 122v), and the presence once of a frontispiece at this
location, suggests a possible division of production: one scribe copying the Temporale
from Advent I to Easter Eve,
the other working concurrently on the Temporale from Easter to the Sunday before Advent.
Such arrangements were common
in the manufacture of liturgical books such as missals or breviaries, and accomplished
scribes - such as those seen
here - could execute a set bookhand to a consistently high standard and make it indistinguishable
from another's work.
The pages are populated heavily with musical arrangements and rubrics written in red
ink, which form a large portion
of the mass service in practice. Folios 115r and 116v display these two features particularly heavily, for example: they describe the baptismal
rite and
provide detailed instructions for the celebrant's and congregation's roles.
On one of the originally blank endleaves at the front of the volume (f. 2r), one or more 15th-century hands have added five medical recipes. They follow a familiar,
instructional format, specifying the ingredients and preparatory procedures the reader
should use. The presence of
both English and Latin, and the ease with which the writer(s) switch between them,
reflects the multilingual culture
of late medieval England. Such additions in a non-medical or non-scientific context
is not unusual and it may merely
reflect the use of blank parchment that was conveniently to hand. However, the recording
of recipes in manuscripts
that were evidently precious to their owners may also indicate a more conscious decision
to copy them in a place where
they were more certain to be preserved. Other examples of this approach are found
in
Cambridge, University
Library, MS Ii.6.2
, where a medical recipe and charms have been inscribed into a Book of Hours by
its 16th-century owners (see ff. 2r, 108r, 110r), alongside prayers that address their
spiritual concerns.
Niamh Vienne Bannan|Wolfson College, Cambridge
References
R. Pfaff, 'The English Devotion of St. Gregory's Trental', Speculum 49 1974),
75-90
J.A. Szirmai, The Archaeology of Medieval Bookbinding (New York, 1999)
Language(s): Latin, with added texts in Middle English
1. 2r
Medical recipes
Language(s): Middle English and Latin
Added in the 15th century. They are for the cough, for ?sexual function ('To Restore
manys kynd'), for ache in any
place, for a proven laxative for all evil worms in the body, and for the dry cough.
2. 5r-10v
Calendar
Language(s): Latin
Contains the feasts for British saints Chad, Patrick, John of Beverley, Osmund, Etheldreda,
Frideswide, Winifred,
Erkenwald, and Thomas Becket (29 December) [erased] and his translation (7 July) [smeared
through].
3. 11r-12r
Holy water service
Language(s): Latin
Rubric:
11r Omnibus dominicis diebus per annum post capitulum nisi in duplicibus festis
et in dominica ramis palmarum a sacerdote ebdomadario [etc.]
Incipit:
11r Exorziso te creatura salis per deum uiuum
Explicit:
12r Exaudi nos domine sancte pater omnipotens eterne deus et mittere dignare
sanctum angelum tuum de celis qui custodiat. foueat. protegat. uisitet et defendat
omnis habitantes in hoc habitaculo.
Per Christum dominum nostrum [R] Amen
4. 12r-12v
Order for Processions
Language(s): Latin
Rubric:
12r Deinde eat processio hoc ordine precedat aqua benedicta. deinde accolitus
crucem ferens et post ipsum duo ceroferarii pariter incedentes [etc.]
Incipit:
12r-12v Oremus pro ecclesia romana
Explicit:
12v Excita quesumus domine potenciam Que terminetur sic Qui uiuis et regnas
cum deo patre in unitate spiritus sancti deus per omnia secula seculorum. Amen.
5. 13r-118r
Temporale part I, Advent I to Easter Eve
Language(s): Latin
Rubric:
13r Peracta processione dum iij. [tertia] cantatur executor officii et sui
ministri ad missam dicendam se induant [etc.]
Incipit:
13r Ueni creator spiritus
Explicit:
118r Et sic missa et vespera simul finiantur. dyacono dicente. Ite missa
est.
6. 118v-122r
Order of Mass
Language(s): Latin
Incipit:
118v Omnibus dominicis per annum quando Gloria in excelsis
Explicit:
122r Deinde statim manibus iunctis et oculis elevatis incipiat: Te igitur
clementissime corpore inclinato donec dicat ac petimus
Folio 122v is blank.
124r-130v
Canon of Mass
Language(s): Latin
Incipit:
124r: Te igitur clementissime pater per ihesum christum filium
tuum
Explicit:
130v uel cantus de Christe de lux et origo. Ite missa est
A frontispiece to the Canon, inserted on a single sheet before f. 124, is now missing.
7. 130v-176r
Temporale part II, Easter to the Sunday before Advent
Language(s): Latin
Rubric:
130v In die pasche et in omnibus dominicis ab hinc usque ad festum sancte
trinitatis [etc.]
Incipit:
130v Resurrexi et adhuc tecum sum
Explicit:
176r Perficiant in nobis quaesumus domine tua sacramenta quod continent; ut
que nunc specte gerimus rerum ueritate capiamus. Per dominum
8. 176r-177v
Dedication Masses
Language(s): Latin
Rubric:
176r In dedicacione ecclesia quacumque die contigerit ad processionem tres
clerici de superiore gradu in medio processionis in capis sericis dicant prosa. Salue
festa dies
Incipit:
176r Terribilis est locus iste hic domus dei est et porta celi et vocabitur
aula dei
Explicit:
177v Similis est homini edificanti domum. Qui fodit in
altum et posuit fundamentum supra petram||
9. 179r-226v
Sanctorale
Language(s): Latin
Incipit: ||
179r salutem. Dicit enim scriptura. Omnis qui credit in
illum; non confundetur
Explicit:
226v Beatus seruus
Imperfect at the beginning.
10. 226v-239r
Communio sanctorum
Language(s): Latin
Rubric:
226vIn uigilia unius apostoli ad missam officium
Incipit:
226v Ego autem sicut oliua fructificaui in domo domini speraui in
misericordia dei mei et expectabo nomen tuum
Explicit:
239r Quinque prudenter
11. 239r-252v
Votive masses
Language(s): Latin
Incipit:
239r Ordinacio misse cotidiane beate virginis que dicitur Salue
Explicit:
252v ut quod temporaliter gerimus. eorum precibus adiuti eternis gaudiis
consequamur.
12. 252v-258v
Masses for the Dead
Language(s): Latin
Rubric:
252v Sciendum est quod cotidie per adventum domini quando chorus non regitur
usque ad uigiliam nativitatis domini [etc.]
Incipit:
253r Requiem eternam dona eis domine et lux perpetua luceat eis
Explicit:
258v illis qui in tua misericordia confidunt manum auxilij tui pijssime
largiendo
Includes the ‘Ordo Trigintalis’.
13. 258v
Three Mass collects for St Teilo
Language(s): Latin
Rubric:
258v De sancto Teilao
Incipit:
258v Omnipotens sempiterne deus virtuttum omnium fons et origo qui per
beatum theilaum gloriosissimum confessorem tuum atque pontificem ingentis vipere seuisiam
Explicit:
258v Insert text here
Added in the late 15th century.
Haddan and Stubbs (1869-1878), I, pp. 621-622
14. 259r
Blessing of meat at Easter
Language(s): Latin
Rubric:
259r Benedictio carnis in die Pasche
Incipit:
259r Deus celi terre que dominator
Explicit:
259r ut quicumque ex populis tuis fidelibus comederint ex ea omni caritate
benedictione celesti et grata saturitate repleantur in bonis per bonum
Added in a 15th century hand.
15. 260v
Office for the Name of Jesus
Language(s): Latin
Rubric:
260v Officium de sanctissimo nomine ihesu
Incipit:
260v In nomine ihesu omne genu flectatur
Explicit:
260v ad iubilandum in ihesu saluatore nostro dulcissimo tota mentis
[intencione] attencione promoueant. Per eundem dominum nostrum.
Added in the 15th century
16. 261r
Abridgement of John 19:1-35 with collect
Language(s): Latin
Rubric:
261r Passio domini nostri Ihesu Christi secundum Johannem
Incipit:
261r In illo tempore apprehendit pilatis ihesum et flagellauit eum
Explicit:
261r usque in finem. Per te ihesu saluator mundi qui cum deo patre et
spiritu sanctis vivis et regnas deus per omnia secula seculorum amen.
Added in the 15th century.
17. 261v
Collect for St John of Beverly (opening words)
Language(s): Latin
Incipit: ||
261v D[eus] qui presentem diem beati Johannis confessoris
tui atque po
Full transcription; added in the 15th century.
18. 262v
Three Mass collects for prisoners
Language(s): Latin
Rubric:
262v Pro eo qui tenetur in vinculis
Incipit:
262v Deus indulgencie. deus tocius consolacionis te supplices
deprecamur
Explicit:
262v et ab angustiis quas patitur et vinculis illesum abire faciat per
dominum nostrum
Added in the 15th century.
19. 262v
List of seven principal feasts (the so-called Seven Masses of St Giles) and three
Mass collects for St
Giles
Language(s): Latin
Incipit:
262v 1. De Annunciacione beate Mariae
Explicit:
262v atque abbatis intercessione tuis assequendis effice prompciores per
Added in the 15th century. The seven feasts are the so-called 'Seven Masses of St
Giles' as found in
London, British Library, Add MS 37787
, ff.
47v-48r.
Secundo Folio:
6r Primus mandemtem
Secundo Folio:
12r et caetera In unitate eiusdem
Form: codex
Support:
Parchment (FHHF)
Extent:
Codex:
2 + 242 +
4 leaves.
The manuscript also features a loose fragment from a printed (?) 17th- or 18th-century
English almanack
that is located in the gutter between f. 90 and f. 91, perhaps used to cover a tear
in the
parchment.
310 × 210-215 mm.
Foliation:
19th-century foliation:
1-2 + 5-49, 51-70, 72-73, 75-84, 86-88, 90-94, 96-122, 124-135, 137-146, 148-152,
154-177, 179-184, 186-208,
210-213, 215-259 + 260-263
Numbering in pencil in the upper right-hand corner of the rectos, by the hand of
Henry Bradshaw (1831-1866)
, University Librarian 1867-1886.
Folio numbers 3, 4, 50, 71, 74, 85, 89, 95, 123, 136, 147, 153, 178, 185, 209, and
214 assigned to leaves no
longer present in the volume (as per historic foliation practice at Cambridge University
Library).
Collation
- Quire 16 (ff. 5-10)
- Quires 2-58 (ff. 11-42)
- Quire 68-1 (ff. 43-49: 8th leaf,
after f. 49, missing)
- Quires 7-88 (ff. 51-66)
- Quire 98-2 (ff. 67-73: 5th and 8th
leaves, after f. 70 and f. 73, missing)
- Quire 108 (ff. 75-82)
- Quire 118-2 (ff. 83-90: 3rd and 7th
leaves, after f. 84 and f. 88, missing)
- Quire 128-1 (ff. 91-98: 5th leaf,
after f. 94, missing)
- Quires 13-158 (ff. 99-122)
- Quire 168+1-1 (ff. 124-131: 1st
leaf, a singleton inserted before f. 124, missing)
- Quire 178-1 (ff. 132-139: 5th leaf,
after f. 135, missing)
- Quire 188-1 (ff. 140-146: 8th leaf,
after f. 146, missing)
- Quire 198-1 (ff. 148-155: 6th leaf,
after f. 152, missing)
- Quires 20-218 (ff. 156-172)
- Quire 228-1 (ff. 173-179: 7th leaf,
after f. 177, missing)
- Quire 238-1 (ff. 180-187: 6th leaf,
after f. 184, missing)
- Quires 24-258 (ff. 188-203)
- Quire 268-1 (ff. 204-211: 6th leaf,
after f. 208, missing)
- Quire 278-1 (ff. 212-219: 3rd leaf,
after f. 213, missing)
- Quires 28-328 (ff. 220-259)
16 2-58 68-1(8th
missing) 7-88 98-2 (5 and 8 missing) 108 118-2 (3rd and 7th missing) 128-1 (5th missing) 13-158 168+1-1 (1st missing) 178-1 (5th missing) 188-1 (8th missing) 198-1 (6th missing) 20-218 228-1 (7th missing) 238-1 (6th
missing) 24-258 268-1 (6th missing) 278-1 (3rd missing) 8-328
Leaf signatures ('a-z, [et]' with Roman numerals) in the bottom right-hand corner
of
the recto side of the first leaf of Quires 3-31.
Catchwords in the right-hand corners of the last versos of quires, typically written
inside decorative
banderols.
Condition
Water damage to the upper margins, affecting the first lines of text on ff. 5r-43v.
Some of the rubrics
have been become smudged or faded (e.g. ff. 16v-17r). Stubs of removed parchment leaves
throughout the manuscript
(see foliation above). Minor and large tears in the lower margins, and somitimes the
outer margins throughout,
some have been repaired with parchment strips (e.g. ff. 20v, 23r, 23v, 26v, 28r, 35r,
38v, 43r, 48r, 54v). The
Canon of Mass (ff. 124r-128r) is heavily used as can be evidenced from surface dirt
and tears. From f. 228 until
f. 258 the lower right-hand corners have been torn or gnawed. The lower margins of
ff. 259 and 260 have been cut
out, but that of f. 259 has been replaced with a blank parchment strip. The lower
half of f. 261 has been cut out.
Layout
220 × 145 mm.
Ruled in leadpoint, frame and line ruling. Double columns. 30-39 lines per page, written
below
top line.
Hand(s)
Written in textura quadrata, either by a single scribe, or two working concurrently
(evidence of a division in production between the two sections of the Temporale).
Additional texts on ff. 2r, 258v, 259r, 260v, 261r, 261v, and 262v have been written by different 15th-century hands in cursive scripts with Secretary and
Anglicana features.
Decoration
A frontispiece to the canon on a single inserted leaf before f. 124 has been lost.
Partial and full bar borders in gold, blue, and purple with acanthus leaves in the
same colours, extending from
large illuminated initials on ff. 11r, 13v,
35v, 42v, 121v, 124r, 130v, 143v, 152v, 176r, 189r, 198r, 199v, 222v, 227r and 253r.
Large (6-8 lines) blue and/or purple initials patterned in white and filled with blue,
purple, orange foliage (ff.
11r, 35v, 42v, 124r, 130v, 143v, 152v, 176r, 189r, 198r, 222v, 227r, 253r); or burnished gold initials (3-4 lines) filled with blue, rose and orange foliate
on gold
ground (ff. 13v, 32r, 40r, 121v, 125v,
126v, 182v, 199v, 202r, 239r)
or set against blue and purple ground diapered in white (f. 19r).
Two- or one-line initials in blue in frames of red penwork decoration or gold in frames
of purple penwork
decoration throughout.
Small capitals higlighted in yellow throughout.
Geometric designs in gold and blue.
Cadels in brown ink attached to the ascender of an initial 'h' on f. 254v.
Feasts in the calendar highlighted in gold, or red or blue ink. Headings and liturgical
instructions rubricated in
red ink throughout.
Paraphs in blue or gold.
Catchwords written in decorative banderols in brown and red ink, sometimes with foliate
motifs, featuring a coat of
arms (f. 18v), staff (f. 26v), chalice (f.
90v), cross (f. 106v) and stave (f.
203v).
Two banderols in brown and red ink including the words 'minor' and 'maior' in the
outside margin of f. 238r.
Additions
A description of the manuscript, apparently extracted from the catalogue of manuscripts
by Thomas Rodd the younger
(1796-1849) in 1835, on f. 1r, added in the 19th century.
Quire signatures ('1-32') in the bottom right-hand corner of the recto side of the
first leaf of each quire, and
'+' in the same position on the first leaf after the centre of the quire, written
in pencil by a hand of the
19th/20th century.
Binding
Alum-tawed white leather over wooden (oak) boards with eight sewing stations, visible
on the inside covers, and the
remains of fastening strips on the uppper and lower covers (nails and holes for pins),
perhaps original to the
manuscript. A dark circulal stain on the outside of the front cover may have been
caused by an inkpot.
Binding height: 315 mm width: 220 mm depth: 60 mm.
Origin:
Fourth quarter of the 14th century.
; England.
Provenance and Acquisition
Robert Braybrooke (1382-1404)
: the manuscript may have been made for him: his intended ownership is suggested by
the Braybrooke arms
inscribed in colours and gold in the lower margin of f. 11r and in red ink in the
lower margin of f. 18v.
Hungerford family of Down Ampney, Gloucestershire
: the Calendar features an obit of Elizabeth, wife of Anthony Hungerford, 16 March
(f. 6r), Christine, wife of Sir Thomas Hungerford, 31 July 1504 (f. 8r),
Thomas Hungerford, knight, son of Edmond Hungerford, 21 October 1494 (f. 9v), Thomas
Hungerford, 3 December (f. 10v); the name 'Hungerford' is inscribed in a 16th-century hand on f. 262r.
Thomas Rodd (1796-1849)
, bookseller: listed as (?) no. 124 in his catalogue of manuscripts of 1835 (this
no. inscribed in pencil on
the inside upper cover); an description of the manuscript that is said to have been
extracted from this catalogue has
been added to f. 1r.
Purchased by the University Library from
William and Thomas Boone
on 22 November 1867 for £18, using the Rustat Benefaction (a paper pastedown with
the printed arms of
Tobias Rustat (c.
1608-1694)
, circumscribed by
the motto 'Munificentia Tobiae Rustat', and below that, 'Rustat Fund' inscribed in
pencil on f. 1r).
