Roman Psalter, Plantin 1571

This a thread on one of the most spectacular books in my collection. I have added several links for the readers that want even more information.

The books itself is a folio sized (40x27x12 cm) and weighs more than 10 kilograms. This volume is bound in contemporary calf over wooden boards, with 8 brass knobs & corner pieces, and two brass clasps. The corner pieces and know were added to keep the book undamaged when it was lying open on a book standard. Because of the weight of the book, it will damage itself though..



The contents of this book is a so called Roman Psalter or Psalterium Romanum in Latin and was printed in 1571 and 1572 bij Christophe Plantin in Antwerp. In 1572 Plantin printed supplement to this work called the Antiphonary. I think I have found a matching Antiphonary, it has the same binding, the same repairs and the same written additions.

Antiphonary

A psalter is a collections of musical scores, written in the so called "neumes". As you see in the pictures this notation contains only 4 staffs instead of the modern 5 staffs. Books like this were used for choirs (mostly monks or nuns in these times) to sing plainchants.


Most of the book looks like this


In this Youtube clip you can see how it was used and how it sounds:



A Roman Psalter is divided in two parts: The Proprium Tempore (Proper of the Season) and the Proprium Sanctorum (Proper Office of the Saints). It covers the period from Advent (end of November) until Pentecost. This start of the Advent was also the start of the liturgical year.




This is the first page. it is not completely clear to me if this book should have a frontispiece (title page). You see this page is repaired,




Somebody was not happy with this part


Some (missing/damage) pages were added later in manuscript.



Christoph Plantin , royal chief printer (King Phillip II of Spain), printed this book in Antwerp 1571 (MDLXXI)



It is quite difficult to find more information about this book. I know there is a description of it in The Plantin Press, by Leon Voet, I do not have access to a library near me where I can find it. These books are much more expensive than than I payed for the Psalter itself .

 

The proper name of the book is: Antiphonarii, iuxta breuiarium Roman. restitutu[m], pars hyemalis

I am still a bit puzzled about my edition, that mentions 2 dates: 1571 and 1572. A very similar book (the second part) was sold in 2014. The binding is exacly the same as mine, so I believe they belonged together once. Unfortunately the seller passed away about ten years ago.


Record in the STCV database

Here you see two monks singing from the same book (another (vellum) edition of course) in the Plantin Moretus Museum.