Medieval Manuscripts in Law Book Bindings, no. 5

Fragment: Missal (France?)
Date: c. 1150-1225

Found in: La Pape, Guy de. Lectura subtilis et aurea … Guidonis Pape. [Lyons: for Simon Vincent?, 1517.]

The parchment cover for this 16th-century book is made from a medieval missal. The folio visible here contains the chants, prayers, and readings for celebrating Mass on the first Sunday after Easter, the Octava Paschae. The service opens with the introit (introitus), an antiphon sung as the priest approached the altar. Here the text is accompanied by neumes (early musical notes) that appear to be of the German or Saint Gallen variety. Next comes the collect (oratio), the prayer said before the Epistle reading, which here begins “Presta quaesumus omnipotens…” The Epistle reading is 1 John 5:4-10, and it is followed by the Gospel reading, which starts with John 20:24. Along the deteriorating spine of the book you may be able to see that additional manuscript fragments were used as linings.

    – Notes by Benjamin Yousey-Hindes, Stanford University

POSTSCRIPT: Thanks to Richard Rouse (UCLA) for clarifying the origin of the manuscript fragment.

Larger versions of this and other images are available from the Medieval binding fragments gallery of the Rare Book Collection’s Flickr site. If you can provide additional information about the manuscript fragment displayed here, you are invited to send an email to .[at]yale.edu>

“Reused, Rebound, Recovered: Medieval Manuscript Fragments in Law Book Bindings” is curated by Benjamin Yousey-Hindes and Mike Widener, and is on display through May 2010 in the Rare Book Exhibition Gallery, Level L2, Lillian Goldman Law Library, Yale Law School.