Evanston, Northwestern University, Music Library, MS 1600 (NW-M1-3)

Cantus Siglum

US-Eu MS 1600 (NW-M1-3)

Holding Institution

Evanston, Northwestern University, Music Library (US-Eu)

Manuscript/Print

Manuscript

Summary

Single folium from a breviary with neumatic notation containing chants and readings for St. Denis and St. Gereon.

Liturgical Occasions

Dionysii, Gereonis

Description

Single folium, reused as a pastedown or part of a binding. Two scriptorial hands. First hand (older): Latin minuscule script, two-column layout, adiastematic neumes written campo aperto over sections of text. Second hand (later): Black ink in Dutch on recto, inscription reading “Copij va[n] zekeren gijchten(?) gedae[n] voer schep[en] | van b[...]yten Bilsen,” perhaps interpretable as “Copy of certain [documents] made before officials from outside Bilzen.” Below, fragmentary later Latin text “Pro capitulo S. Amoris"--possible the chapter of canonesses at the abbey of Saint Amour in Bilzen (or Munsterbilsen) in Belgian Limburg.
Contains material from the offices of St. Dionysius and St. Gereon and Companions, suggesting provenance from the Lower Rhine region; the neumes are largely "Germanic" in style, with a somewhat "Messine" appearance of the single virga. Latin text is in late Carolingian hand with Gothic characteristics (e.g. Uncial d), e caudata, ct and us ligatures, and likely dates to the late 12th century.

The office for St Gereon is a monastic cursus, lengthening the more typical secular office found in other manuscripts of the region (D-AAm G 20, NL Uu 406, NL-ZUa 6, MA Impr. 1537) with chants taken from the Common of Martyrs. The community at Munsterbilzen (a provenance suggested by the later marginalia on the fragment) was originally Benedictine, becoming a secular chapter of canonesses in the late 12th century--which would have rendered the breviary obsolete shortly after its creation.

Full/Partial Inventory

Full Inventory

Complete Source/Fragment

Fragmented

Fragmentarium ID

F-k8xi

DACT ID

D:0k8xi