Hymnary
Hymn for the Common of a Virgin
F-qmbo
General Information
Original Condition
Current Condition
This leaf is badly warped and the bottom outside edge has been cut. The dimension of this leaf are anywhere from 470-483 mm high by 339-345mm wide and the area for the writing also changes from left to right. Holes from the original sewing structure can be seen along the spine edge, and a small (15mm long) piece of the sewing chord is visible on the verso near the center of the leaf amongst discoloration that looks like glue.
When donated, this leaf was in a frame that had started to deteriorate. It had been framed to free-float within two planes of glass so both sides of the leaf could be seen.
The recto is lighter in color than the verso, but the ink along the bottom edge on both sides is deterioriating, in part, matching the warping of the parchment along the bottom corner edge. There is ink bled near the center of the leaf on the verso from some of the ruling lines, while ink bled occurs higher up amongst the words on the recto.
Staining from dirt and ink are not limited to the margins but can be observed throughout the written area of the leaf. In the upper outside corner of the recto in pencil someone has written "102" under an area of heavy ink damage.
Book Decoration and Musical Notation
Fragment: The size of this leaf is 340 x 480 mm. Damage to this fragment includes various marks, discoloration, and staining, as well as damage to the spine edge of the leaf from where it has been separated from the bifolium. On both sides of the text, there are four examples of lombardic capital initials, two red and two blue, without backgrounds. Very obvious red guidelines can be seen on both sides (described below).
Recto: This side features religious text with two lombardic capital initials. The first is blue, the other red, and neither feature any extra decoration. At the bottom of the page, there is the beginning of a music staff as well as description of the following hymn written in red. The term “fortem” is featured below the staff as musical notation, also in red. There is no marginal decoration. The vertical guidelines are double and extend from the top of the page to the beginning of the musical staff. There are no guidelines along the bottom or sides of the hymn. One horizontal guideline across the top of the text extends across the entire leaf. The horizontal guidelines within the text are not even on either right or left. On the left side, four guidelines touch the innermost vertical guideline while six do not. On the right side, eight of the horizontal guidelines conclude with the outer vertical guideline, while three extend into the margins.
Verso: This side is almost entirely sheet music for a hymn, continuing from the recto, complete with clefs and lyrics. The notes, clefs, and lyrics are written in black ink. At the very bottom of the page, following a blue lombardic capital initial, the hymn continues without sheet music. There is no marginal decoration. There are no guidelines around the musical staff, while the last four lines of text are surrounded on the left, right, and bottom with double vertical guidelines, all of which extend to the edges of the page. There are three guidelines within the text. None connect with the lefthand guidelines, while on the right, two touch the outer guideline, and the third ends between the two guidelines.
Neumes on a staff with the third line identified as "C." Neumes are both square and diamond-shaped.
Music remained handwritten with square and diamond neumes in monasteries or for noble families scattered throughout Italy and Spain into the 17th century.
Content
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Content Item
- Persons Silvio Cardinal Antoniano
- Text Language Latin
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Content Description
The recto of this leaf contains a prayer for the Common of a Virgin.
The bottom of the recto is the beginning of a hymn written by Cardinal Antoniano, "Fortem virili pectore" intended for feasts of a female virgin or martyr.
Antoniano lived from 1540 to 1603 and was tasked by Pope Clement VII to revise The Breviary.
History
This leaf was purchased in one of the shops lining the walls of the former swimming pool area of the Alcazar Hotel (now the restaurant in the Lightner Museum) in the 1970s. The donor was told the leaf came from an Antiphonal. The donor donated this leaf to Flagler College's Rare Books, Floridiana & Institutional Repository unit in September 2022.