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Psalter (the 'Plantagenet Psalter'), in Latin

Manuscript
ca. 1430-1440 (made)
Place of origin
England (made)
London (made)

Foliation: parchment. i (19th-century paper), ii (19th-century parchment) + 203 + iii (19th-century parchment), iv (19th-century paper) ff.
Number of lines: 19 lines.
Language: Latin.
Script: formal Gothic bookhand.
Textual content:
ff. 1r-6v: Calendar, two-thirds full, of conventional Sarum aspect.
ff. 7r-171r: Psalms.
ff. 171r-188v: Canticles.
f. 188v: First few words of the litany.
ff. 189v-202v: Psalter of St Jerome.
ff. 203r-203v: Prayers added in a 16th-century Secretary hand.
Decoration: 9 half-page miniature with full-frame borders decorated with small acanthus sprays, tendrils, flowers, leaves and dots (ff. 7r, 30r, 46r, 61v, 77r, 96r, 114r, 132v, 189v). Series of decorated initials of various height. Pages with 2-line initials have text-high baguettes with sprouting leaves extending into the top, left and lower margins.
Artists: 3 hands worked on the decoration: Hand B is responsible for 7 illuminations, while Hand A and C are responsible for one illumination each, respectively f. 7r and f. 189v.
Binding: 19th century, England. Case binding with deep purple leather blocked with decorative frame. On spine five raised bands with simple blind-tooled ornament. Stamp BOUND BY HAYDAY, James Hayday of London and Oxford on f. i verso.

Object details

Categories
National Art Library
Books
Manuscripts
Medieval and Renaissance
Object type
Manuscript
TitlePsalter (the 'Plantagenet Psalter'), in Latin
Materials and techniques
Ink, pigments and gold on parchment. Case binding with leather.
Ink
Pigments
Gold
Parchment
Leather
Wood
Illumination
Brief description
Manuscript, Psalter (the 'Plantagenet Psalter'), England (London), ca. 1430-1440.
Physical description
Foliation: parchment. i (19th-century paper), ii (19th-century parchment) + 203 + iii (19th-century parchment), iv (19th-century paper) ff.
Number of lines: 19 lines.
Language: Latin.
Script: formal Gothic bookhand.
Textual content:
ff. 1r-6v: Calendar, two-thirds full, of conventional Sarum aspect.
ff. 7r-171r: Psalms.
ff. 171r-188v: Canticles.
f. 188v: First few words of the litany.
ff. 189v-202v: Psalter of St Jerome.
ff. 203r-203v: Prayers added in a 16th-century Secretary hand.
Decoration: 9 half-page miniature with full-frame borders decorated with small acanthus sprays, tendrils, flowers, leaves and dots (ff. 7r, 30r, 46r, 61v, 77r, 96r, 114r, 132v, 189v). Series of decorated initials of various height. Pages with 2-line initials have text-high baguettes with sprouting leaves extending into the top, left and lower margins.
Artists: 3 hands worked on the decoration: Hand B is responsible for 7 illuminations, while Hand A and C are responsible for one illumination each, respectively f. 7r and f. 189v.
Binding: 19th century, England. Case binding with deep purple leather blocked with decorative frame. On spine five raised bands with simple blind-tooled ornament. Stamp BOUND BY HAYDAY, James Hayday of London and Oxford on f. i verso.
Dimensions
  • Height: 285mm
  • Width: 205mm
  • Text block height: 155mm
  • Text block width: 100mm
Production typeUnique
Credit line
Bequeathed by George Reid in 1902.
Object history
Collection of George Reid, probably bought from Quaritch: given to the V&A by Reid in 1902.
Bibliographic references
  • Quaritch. Facsimiles of illustrations in Biblical and liturgical manuscripts, part 5. Londonm 1892, nos 206, 207.
  • Ker, N.R. Medieval Manuscripts in British Libraries I. Oxford: 1967.
  • Scott, K. Later Gothic manuscripts, 1390-1490. 2 vols. Part 6 of A Survey of Manuscripts Illuminated in the British Isles, ed. J.J.G. Alexander. London and Oxford, 1996. I, pp. 39, 42, 49, 56, 62, 70 no. 5, 72 no. 21, 77 no. 47, 78 nn. 2 and 5, figs. 339-341; II, pp. 108, 215-217 cat. no. 73, 250, 294, 296, 379
  • Watson, R. Western Illuminated Manuscripts.Victoria and Albert Museum. A catalogue of works in the National Art Library from the eleventh to the early twentieth century, with a complete account of the George Reid Collection. London, 2011. I, no. 37.
Other numbers
  • 42 - Reid Gift
  • KRP.F.2 - NAL Pressmark
  • 38041800599466 - NAL barcode
Collection
National Art Library
Library number
MSL/1902/1684 (Reid 42)

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Record createdAugust 2, 2018
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1457407/psalter-the-plantagenet-psalter-in-manuscript/
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