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Missal (Dominican)

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Utopia, armarium codicum bibliophilorum, Private Collection, Canada, Fr.G1-7

Private Catalogue, Canada, 2025. (Born Digital)

General Information

Title Missal (Dominican)
Material Parchment
Place of Origin Northern France or Low Countries

Current Condition

Dimensions 302 mm x 210 mm
More about the Current Condition

The leaf has some light soiling, particularly visible on the top left of the recto.

Book Decoration and Musical Notation

Description

On both the recto and verso, sections begin with alternating red/blue initials and contrasting blue/red penwork. On the recto are two faint drawings in the margin of the left-side column. A side profile stems from the letter E at the beginning of the introit for the office for the feast of Saints Nereus, Achilleus, and Pancras (Ecce oculi domini super metuentes eum) and a cat dangles from the letter S at the beginning of the oration for the same office (Semper nos domine, martyrum tuorum). Both were likely later additions to the leaf. This side also contains a large, ornate letter I illuminated with blue and pink at the beginning of the introit for the office for the feast of the translation of the relics of Saint Dominic (In medio Ecclesiae). Rubrication is penned in red ink. 

Content

  • Content Item
    • Content Description

      The missal leaf contains offices and an oration for feasts in the month of May. The left-side column on the recto begins with the end of the office for the feast of Saints Gordian and Epimachus (martyrs, May 10) and continues with the office for the feast of Saints Nereus, Achilleus, and Pancras (martyrs, May 12). On the right-side column on the recto is an oration for the feast of Saint Pudentiana (virgin and martyr, May 19) and the office for the feast of the translation of the relics of Saint Dominic (confessor, May 24). The verso continues with the latter office, including readings from 2 Timothy 4 and Matthew 5:13-19.

      There is an addition on the bottom of the recto in a different hand. It specifies that the office for the feast of Saint Servatius (bishop, May 13) is the same as the office for the feast of Saint Germanus (bishop, May 28), with the exception of the Gospel, which begins from Luke 12:35 (Sancti servacii confessoris et pontificis officium, sicut infra in festo sancti germani praeter evangelium quod est, sint lumbi uestri praecincti). The office for the feast of Saint Servatius was added to the Dominican liturgy in 1332.

History

Origin

The leaf was part of a missal used by a Dominican order. The offices (Saints Gordian and Epimachus; Saints Nereus, Achilleus, and Pancras; Translation of the Relics of Saint Dominic) and oration (Saint Pudentiana) match those in the Humbert of Romans Codex (Santa Sabina MS XIV L1, fol. 412r-v). Moreover, the rubric for the Feast of the Purification (Candlemas, February 2) from a sister leaf (Item 83, That Guy with the Books Catalogue 26) precisely matches the rubric for the feast in the codex (fol. 11v). Gratitude is owed to Fr. Augustine Thompson and Fr. Innocent Smith for confirming the leaf was intended for Dominican use.

The leaf was likewise examined by Fr. Augustine Thompson to determine its origin and date. Based on the script, including the crossed 7 abbreviation for “et,” its origin was determined to be Northern France or the Low Countries. The leaf was estimated to date between the last quarter of the thirteenth and early-fourteenth centuries.

The leaf was purchased from That Guy with the Books (Zubairul Islam) on 26 October 2024. It was listed as Item 86 in the seller's Catalogue 26. Sister leaves were also included within the catalogue (Items 83-85 and 87-89). 

Bibliography

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