Psalters.
Subject
Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
Scope Note: Refers to books or other document forms containing the Book of Psalms, which is composed of 150 psalms of the Old Testament. A psalter is usually divided into sections to be recited daily at Matins and Sunday Vespers, used as a liturgical book for the clergy in the Divine Office (forming the basis for the Breviary) or by the laity for private devotions. In addition to the psalms, psalters generally contain an ecclesiastical calendar, canticles, creeds, and the litany of the saints. King David and his court musicians were traditionally considered to be the authors of the psalms; the subjects of the psalms have to do with hymns in praise of God and pleas for help and mercy. In the Christian tradition, the psalms were interpreted with the Lord of the Old Testament understood to be Christ the Messiah. Various passages of individual psalms were seen as Christian metaphors and prefigurations. The Hebrew text of the psalms reached the Latin West by way of translations made by St. Jerome in the 4th century AD, two from the Greek version (the Septuagint) and one directly from the original language. The three versions, known respectively as the Roman, Gallican, and Hebrew Psalters. The psalter was one of the most frequently illustrated medieval texts in the West, beginning around 725 and flourishing between the 12th and 14th centuries. The text was often enhanced with precious ornament and images; however, psalms did not readily lend themselves to literal illustration, in contrast to the narrative portions of the bible. Consequently, their illustration was varied, both in format and in iconography. Most illuminated psalters were illustrated with decorated or historiated initials at the main divisions of the text.
Found in 5 Collections and/or Records:
Brigittine psalter and hours, apparently written for an Italian convent., 1535.
Item
Identifier: MS.1904
Scope and Contents
The contents are as follows.(i) Calendar, with entries for the Translation of St Bridget, 28 May, her Deposition, 23 July, and Canonization, 7 October. (Folio 1.)(ii) Rules for finding the date of Easter; in Italian as well as Latin. The date of the volume is given by the following: 'Nel presente anno del mille cinquecento trentacinque corrte laureo numero, xvi'. (Folio 7.)(iii) Psalter (folio 9); the seven canticles from Lauds for the week, Magnificat,...
Dates:
1535.
Cover of a book (probably an incunable) with a pastedown consisting of a complete vellum leaf from a noted fifteenth-century psalter., 15th century.
Item
Identifier: MS.7147
Scope and Contents
The fragment contains Psalms cx(111), verse 1-cxi(112), verse 5, and probably the two preceding psalms.
Dates:
15th century.
Found in:
National Library of Scotland Archives and Manuscripts Division
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Miscellany of medieval manuscripts, chiefly books of hours, which were part of a collection of manuscripts (as well as printed books and paintings) formed by William Finlay Watson, a book-seller in Edinburgh; together with a list of the full collection.
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Miscellany of medieval manuscripts, chiefly books of hours, which were part of a collection of manuscripts (as well as printed books and paintings) formed by William Finlay Watson, a book-seller in Edinburgh.
Miscellany of medieval manuscripts, chiefly books of hours, which were part of a collection of manuscripts (as well as printed books and paintings) formed by William Finlay Watson, a book-seller in Edinburgh., 13th century-17th century.
Sub-Series
Identifier: MSS.7122-7149
Scope and Contents
From the Series:
In addition to the medieval manuscripts, there are some non-religious books of later date, and a few unrelated fragments.
Dates:
13th century-17th century.
Found in:
National Library of Scotland Archives and Manuscripts Division
/
Miscellany of medieval manuscripts, chiefly books of hours, which were part of a collection of manuscripts (as well as printed books and paintings) formed by William Finlay Watson, a book-seller in Edinburgh; together with a list of the full collection.
Psalter of French provenance, written for a community of Dominican nuns., 2nd half of 15th century.
Item
Identifier: MS.7122
Scope and Contents
The contents are as follows:
(i) Psalter (folio 1);
(ii) Canticles (folio 135 verso);
(iii) Litany and supplications (folio 138);
(iv) Vespers of the Dead, followed by the 'Commendatio Animae' and the 'Subvenite' (folio 142 verso) (folio 149 should precede folio 143);
(v) Gospel according to St John, XIII-XVIII (folio 159).The margins of many leaves are defective; some of them have been supplied by means of fresh pieces of vellum. The extract from St John's Gospel is in a...
Dates:
2nd half of 15th century.
Found in:
National Library of Scotland Archives and Manuscripts Division
/
Miscellany of medieval manuscripts, chiefly books of hours, which were part of a collection of manuscripts (as well as printed books and paintings) formed by William Finlay Watson, a book-seller in Edinburgh; together with a list of the full collection.
/
Miscellany of medieval manuscripts, chiefly books of hours, which were part of a collection of manuscripts (as well as printed books and paintings) formed by William Finlay Watson, a book-seller in Edinburgh.
Psalter of Low Countries provenance., ?2nd half of 13th century.
Item
Identifier: MS.7123
Scope and Contents
The contents are as follows:
(i) Calendar (folio 1);
(ii) Psalter (folio 15);
(iii) Canticles of the Psalter, 'Confitebor' to 'Quicunque vult',and Magnificat (folio 186);
(iv) Capitula and collects for the feast of St Lambert (folio 204). Lacking leaves after folios 91, 104, 203. Red and blue penwork initials. Some names including Saints Dominic and Donatus have been added in a later hand to the calendar; others, including some of the additional names, have been erased. The...
Dates:
?2nd half of 13th century.
Found in:
National Library of Scotland Archives and Manuscripts Division
/
Miscellany of medieval manuscripts, chiefly books of hours, which were part of a collection of manuscripts (as well as printed books and paintings) formed by William Finlay Watson, a book-seller in Edinburgh; together with a list of the full collection.
/
Miscellany of medieval manuscripts, chiefly books of hours, which were part of a collection of manuscripts (as well as printed books and paintings) formed by William Finlay Watson, a book-seller in Edinburgh.