Berlin, Staatsbibliothek Preussischer Kulturbesitz, Mus. 40047

Cantus Siglum

D-B Mus. 40047

Holding Institution

Berlin, Staatsbibliothek Preussischer Kulturbesitz (D-B)

Manuscript/Printed

Manuscript

Summary

Eleventh-century antiphoner. Secular cursus. Late Carolingian minuscule script. Non-diastematic neumatic notation. Light to medium brown ink used for text and neumes; red ink used for rubrics, initials, etc. Leaves approximately 25 x 19 cm. Prefaced by liturgical calendar. 144 folios.

Liturgical Occasions

Ff. 1-6: Calendar.
Ff. 7-75: Winter Temporale and Sanctorale.
007r, Advent; 10r, Lucy; 17r, Christmas; 021r, Stephen; 023r, John the Evangelist; 024v, Holy Innocents; 027r, Epiphany; 031r, 033v, Fabian and Sebastian; 035v, Agnes; 037v, Purification of Mary; 039r, Agatha; 040v, Scholastica; 041v, Benedict; 042v, Septuagesima; 047r, Ash Wednesday; 056r, Passion Sunday; 058v, Palm Sunday; 060r, Holy Week; 064v, Triduum.
Ff. 76-120: Summer Temporale and Sanctorale.
067r, Easter; 075v, Common of several Martyrs, Eastertide; 076v, Philip and James; 077v, Inventio Crucis; 078v, Alexander and Eventius; 079r, Servatius; 081v, Ascension; 083v, Pentecost; 086r, John the Baptist; 087v, John and Paul; 088v, Peter; 091r, Paul; 093r, Translation of Justa; 093r, Finding of Stephen's relics; 095r, Laurence; 097v, Assumption of Mary; 099v, Passion of Laurentia; 100r, Beheading of John the Baptist; 101r, Nativity of Mary; 104r, Holy Cross; 104v, Maurice and Companions; 106r, Michael the Archangel; 108v, Dionysii; 111r, All Saints; 112v, Martin; 114v, Cecilia; 116r, Clement; 116v, Andrew; 118v, Common of Saints; 129r, Dedication of a Church; 131r, Trinity Sunday; 133v, Summer Histories; 142r, Sundays after Pentecost.

Description

Quedlinburg was an important political and spiritual centre of Saxony in the tenth and eleventh centuries, closely associated with the Ottonian dynasty; it was likely both the place of origin and the intended destination of both the calendar and the antiphoner. These were likely copied between the years 1025 and 1070 (Möller, vol. 1, 32-8). Möller also suggests that these two documents could have been drafted independently of one another (ibid., 21). The original script of the antiphoner is supplemented by numerous marginal additions by later hands. These additions have been included in the index with identifiers in the “marginalia” field of the index (see the Widescreen File Description). In places where these additions are illegible in the facsimile, Möller’s transcriptions have been adopted in the index. Of particular interest are the chants for Godehard (77r, marginal), Servatius (079r, main text), the Translation of Justa (093r, marginal), the Translation of Servatius (93v, marginal), and the Passion of Laurentia (099v, marginal). Godehard was appointed bishop of Hildesheim (near Quedlinburg) by the Ottonian Henry II in the early eleventh century. The most prominent church in Quedlinburg is dedicated to Servatius, the first bishop of Tongeren, and his relics were translated to Quedlinburg from Maastricht (Servatius’s final resting place) in the tenth century (Zender, et al., p. 25 and Map 28). The identity of Justa in this manuscript is currently unknown. Relics of a “Jungfrau Laurentia” were obtained by King Otto I (912-973) during his exploits in Italy and brought to Quedlinburg (Schramm and Mütherich, p. 27), but whether this is the same person has not yet been substantiated. The rubric "post b" is found a number of times in the added marginalia of the Quedlinburg antiphoner, always preceding an antiphon, either at the end of Lauds or at the end of Vespers. The rubric is sometimes given as "post benedicam" (= post Benedicamus, top margin of folio 73r) or as a variant of "post b Mag" (folio 104r) or "p Magnif." (folio 41v). Many of the antiphons indicated by these rubrics have the character of memorials. In addition to their positition at the end of Lauds and Vespers, the texts also suggest memorials. These antiphons include Christmas chants found on the feasts of Stephen, John the Evangelist and Holy Innocents; moreover, the chant on the first Sunday of Advent, Ecce dominus veniet (cao2509), is often used in Office books to commemorate All Saints during this season of the liturgical year. In some cases, these antiphons do not suggest memorials as clearly, for example, Quam pulchra es (cao4434) on the feast of the Assumption and Domine si tu es (cao2387) on the feast of Peter’s Chair. Both of these chants are typical of the prevailing feast. However, because of their position and how they are marked in the manuscript (in the same way as chants that seem less ambiguous), these chants have provisionally been identified as memorials. It may be that these antiphons were intended for use as memorials during the octaves of these feasts, but no clear indication is given in the manuscript.

The index for this manuscript was drafted using Möller’s facsimile, in which differentia formulas are very difficult to read. Accordingly when present, differentia are indicated by question marks.

Modes for responsories are provisional; they are being proposed according to an analysis of the neume patterns found in responsory verses and the modal designations of corresponding responsories in other sources represented in the database. This analysis has demonstrated that the standard verse tones are consistently represented within these leaves by neume patterns distinctive for each mode. Because of their provisional nature, all mode numbers for responsories in the file are followed by a question mark. Where there is any ambiguity (such as in cases where a non-standard tone is given for a verse or where the verse cannot be sufficiently read), a mode has not been assigned.

Chants not found in CAO have been assigned arbitrary numbers beginning with “que”.

Selected Bibliography

• Möller, Hartmut. Das Quedlinburger Antiphonar. Vol. 1. Untersuchungen. Vol. 2. Edition und Verzeichnisse. Vol. 3. Fotografische Wiedergabe.
• Mainzer Studien zur Musikwissenschaft. Tutzing: Hans Schneider, 1990.
• Schramm, Percy Ernst and Florentine Mütherich. Denkmale der deutschen Könige und Kaiser. München: Prestel, 1962.
• Zender, M. and J. Fellenberg gen. Reinold. Reliquientranslationen zwischen 600 und 1200. In Atlas zur Kirchengeschichte: Die Christlichen Kirchen in Geschichte und Gegenwart, Commentary, pp. 24-25 and Map 28. Ed. Hubert Jedin, Kenneth Scott Latourette and Jochen Martin, et al. Freiburg: Herder, 1970.

Notes on the Inventory

The index for D-B Mus. 40047 was prepared by Kate Helsen (Universität Regensburg) with editorial assistance from Elizabeth Sander and Andrew Mitchell (University of Western Ontario).

Full/Partial Inventory

Full Inventory

Complete Source/Fragment

Complete source