New York City (NY), Columbia University - Butler Library - Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Plimpton MS 040H

Cantus Siglum

US-NYcub Plimpton MS 040H

Holding Institution

New York City (NY), Columbia University - Butler Library - Rare Book and Manuscript Library (US-NYcub)

Manuscript/Print

Manuscript

Summary

Late fifteenth-century manuscript containing eight separate leaves, some sequential from a Franciscan antiphoner originating in Venice. Square notation on 4-line ink-ruled red staves. Parchment measuring 568 x 420 mm. Written in Gothic liturgical book hand. (Summary based on information from Digital Scriptorium 1.0)

Liturgical Occasions

Comm. Apostolorum (Common of Apostles), Comm. plurimorum Confessorum Pontificum (Common of several Confessors (Popes)),Comm. unius Confessoris (Common of one Confessor), (De Sanctis TP) Common of Saints, Eastertide.

Description

Folio 1r–8v: Fragment of an antiphoner, containing the Common of Saints
Venice, c. 1490–1510
Parchment, ink, pigments, and gold leaf
Gothic liturgical book hand by Benedetto Bordon
(Information provided by Digital Scriptorium)

This eight-leaf fragment preserves portions of an antiphonal used for the Common of Saints, including sections for apostles, confessors, and Eastertide. Produced for the Franciscan convent of San Nicolò della Lattuga in Venice, the leaves were donated by Fra Pietro da Lucignano, Guardian of the convent from 1501 until his death in 1514. The manuscript shares its origins with Vatican Ross. 1195 and other surviving antiphonals from the same Venetian commission.
(Information provided by Digital Scriptorium)

Folio 1r. Paginated "3" in black ink in the upper right by a later hand.
This folio is framed by an elaborate floral acanthus border featuring blue, green, red, and gold leaf foliage and flowers, with fine brown pen flourishing as an infilling. At the center of a quatrefoil medallion in lower margin stands St. Francis displaying the stigmata to the kneeling donor, Fra Pietro da Lucignano, who wears the Franciscan habit. A hilltop fortress against a two-tone blue sky rises behind the pair. St. Francis stands on rocky ground and behind him extends a green field and trees.

The historiated initial "T" of "Tradant" depicts Christ commissioning the apostles, all shown with gold haloes. Christ is robed in red and blue, highlighted with gold leaf. The apostles wear multicolored garments. The top crossbar of letter T is red with white tracery and green foliate ornamentation. Notably, the vertical shaft of the "T" is absent (it would have occupied the empty space between Christ and the apostles, where a blue receding hilly landscape is visible, with a green meadow receding into low trees.)

The surrounding border is executed in burnished gold leaf with black ink outlines. The black ink of the text and music has suffered significant flaking, though the red and blue rubrication remains vivid. Small black spots are visible across the surface.

Folio 1v. Paginated "4" in black ink in the upper left by a later hand.
This side contains alternating red and blue pen-flourished puzzle initials. Each letter V in Venite is drawn in brown ink, flourished with delicate strokes of lighter brown ink and touched with yellow wash. The ink for both text and music remains better preserved than on the recto, permitting the observation of long-tailed custodes extending from the musical staves.

Folio 2r. Paginated "5" in black ink in the upper right by a later hand.
Red and blue initials with pen flourishing continue, as do the calligraphic initials in brown ink. The initial B of Benedicam features a whimsical pen-drawn face, possibly a dragon.

Folio 2v. Paginated "6" in black ink in the upper left by a later hand.
The historiated initial shows Christ, with a red and gold halo, flanked by two apostles (likely Peter and Paul). Set against a blue sky within a red initial, the letter is filled with green and purple floral motifs with gold highlights. The illumination has a gold leaf border; extensive foliate scrollwork in maroon, green, red, blue, and white extends from the top to the bottom of the left margin.

The text shows the same fading issues as earlier leaves, with the black/brown ink significantly worn.

Folios 3r–3v. Recto paginated "19" in black ink in the upper right by a later hand, apparently over another "19"; verso paginated 20 (only once.)
Folio 3r suffers extensive ink flaking and uneven rubrication. Folio 3v is better preserved, though still worn.

Folios 4r–4v Recto paginated "21" in black ink in the upper right by a later hand. Verso paginated "22".
Folio 4r features a blue initial matching the pigment used in earlier sky backgrounds, along with alternating red and blue pen-flourished capitals. Folio 4v contains a catchword hoc in the lower margin, decorated with a small profile face.

Folio 5r
This page bears the Arabic foliation “87” in the upper right, along with another, smaller number (44?). The text and music are severely faded. A red and blue pen-flourished initial is present. The flourishing appears to have been designed around a preceding rubrication.

Folio 5v
Bearing “88” in the upper left, this leaf features a historiated initial of a bishop added over a scraped red and blue penwork initial. Remnants of the earlier initial’s extensions remain visible around the edges of the initial, and form a vertical decoration along the left margin. The bishop, dressed in gold and white with a red and gold robe, is depicted within a red letter on a dark blue background, framed by green foliate motifs with white tracery and a gold leaf border. Additional foliate scrollwork in green, blue, red, and gold leaf appears to have been added along with the later illumination. Pen-drawn faces are visible in the initials of Intra in gaudi(a) at the bottom of the page.

Folio 6r–6v
Folio 6r features a pen-drawn face in the letter Manus and a pen-flourished initial. It is numbered “97” in Arabic numerals. Folio 6v, numbered “98”, exhibits further ink flaking.

Folio 7r–7v. Recto paginated "165" in black ink in the upper right by a later hand, over another number (94?).
Folio 7r shows a prophet in a maroon robe and tan turban against a blue sky. The historiated initial B is maroon, filled with blue, red, and green foliate elements with white tracery. The scrollwork border in the left margin extends the full length of the written space and includes floral and foliate elements with gold leaf, as on fol. 2v. Several pen-drawn faces appear on some initials. This folio is noticeably thicker than the others.
Folio 7v, numbered “166”, also contains pen-drawn faces in some initials.

Folio 8r–8v
Folio 8r, numbered “175”, returns to the standard parchment thickness. Folio 8v, numbered “176”, shows heavy ink loss across much of the surface.

Full/Partial Inventory

Full Inventory

Complete Source/Fragment

Fragment

Fragmentarium ID

F-k1rd

DACT ID

D:0k1rd