Title: A Psalter-Lectionary for the Divine Office. Germany, Use of the Dominican Friars, Circa 1425-1450
Condition: Very Good
An early to mid 15th-century manuscript Psalter-Lectionary for the Divine Office, produced in Germany, and for the Use of the Dominican Friars, written on parchment. This appears to be the Winter Section, or Pars Hiemalis.
The text is written in Latin, and is a Gothic script written in brown ink, bearing thousands of of 1-line initials in red and blue, as well as hundreds of larger 2-line initials in red or blue with filigree penwork decoration in red, green, or blue, the penwork often forming a full one-sided border. There are also many long I’s, ranging from 5–8-line examples, and lastly a selection of large, ornate 3 to 7-line initials with extensive filigree penwork decoration, as well as puzzle design in red and blue, featuring grotesque motifs, plants highlighted in green and yellow, sometimes with grotesques. These initials mark the major divisions of text, being folios. 4v, 15r, 25r, 34v, 46v, 57v, 70r, 117v, 138r, 144v, 262r, and 263v.
The manuscript is lacking the first numbered leaf, as well as several leaves at the end.
The manuscript has been bound in a contemporary binding, being wooden boards covered in pink-dyed pigskin, and the spine with three raised bands. There is a brass clasp present.
This manuscript is written in a 19-line format.
One manuscript on parchment in 12mo (14.2 x 10 cm), 314 leaves
This manuscript is in very good shape, with some rubbing and wear to the binding, discoloration of the leather on the spine and joints, as well as some wormholes to the boards, and some old staining to the binding and a bit of splitting to the hinges. There is minor soiling and staining throughout, heavier to the upper right side of leaf 281 onwards.