Princeton, Princeton University Library, 67.4

Cantus Siglum

US-PRu 67.4

Holding Institution

Princeton, Princeton University Library (US-PRu)

Manuscript/Print

Manuscript

Summary

17th-century antiphoner for use in Franciscan-Conceptionist community of nuns. Dimensions 45 x 91 cm; covers made of wooden boards covered with leather, with plain metal bosses. Five-line staves with square neumatic notation.

Liturgical Occasions

3r, Holy Name of Mary; 12r, Presentation of Mary; 13v, Expectation of Mary; 16r, Agatha; 18r, Joachim, 19v; Gabriel; 26v, Corpus Christi; 32v, Triumph of the Holy Cross; 37v, Anne; 38v, Mass of the Dead (sequence); 47v, Archangel Gabriel

Description

17th-century antiphoner mostly containing antiphons for Lauds, Vespers, and in some cases Matins. Contains Spanish index with table of contents. A date of 1637 is inscribed in the initial for the second antiphon for Vespers of the feast of the Holy Name of Mary, “A solis ortu,” and an inscription on the last folio of the manuscript, in Spanish, states that the manuscript was created at the request and at the expense of the vicaress of the choir, “Senora Dona Brijeda de Bonilla y Rojas,” in a convent dedicated to the Conception of the Virgin Mary, of the order of St. Francis. A comparison of the texts of the office chants of the Holy Name of Mary in US-PRu 67.4, which contains the antiphons for Vespers and Lauds, shows that they are identical with the antiphons in a print version of the office, the 1625 “Officium de Nomine Beatissimae Virginis Mariae,” published in Madrid, for use in the the Archdiocese of Toledo. The Office chants in this source not only represent the gradual spread of this newer Marian devotion to Toledo, but also the active endorsement of this newer Marian feast by the nuns of this community, forming an important part of their own Mariological devotions and practices. This manuscript may have belonged to the Franciscan-Conceptionist convent in Toledo, Spain, founded by St. Beatriz de Silva in the fifteenth century, under the royal patronage of Queen Isabella I of Castille. A few chants for the Mass, including the "Dies irae" sequence for the Mass of the Dead, as well as the Mass of St. Gabriel the Archangel, are included towards the end of the manuscript.

Notes on the Inventory

This partial inventory for the Office of the Holy Name of Mary in US-PRu 67.4 was created by Lucia Denk (Princeton University) and proofread by Debra Lacoste (Dalhousie University). It was the topic of "Chant From Manuscript," a workshop session at the ICMS in Kalamazoo in May 2025.

Full Texts Entered by

Lucia Denk

Description Entered by

Lucia Denk

Full/Partial Inventory

Partial Inventory

Complete Source/Fragment

Complete (or mostly complete)