Halifax (Canada), St. Mary’s University - Patrick Power Library, M2149.L4 1554

Cantus Siglum

CDN-Hsmu M2149.L4 1554

Holding Institution

Halifax (Canada), St. Mary’s University - Patrick Power Library (CDN-Hsmu)

Manuscript/Printed

Manuscript

Summary

Cistercian antiphoner from the Abbey of Salzinnes, Namur, in the Diocese of Liège. Manuscript produced on vellum and completed in 1554 and 1555. Square notation on red, 4-line staves. Monastic cursus. 238 folios with two lacunae (Volume I, f.125 and Volume II, f.32) and several inserted folios with full-page illuminations (between ff.45 and 46, ff. 50 and 51, and ff.117 and 118). 61.5 x 39.5 x 14.5 cm. There are two digitizations of this manuscript. That hosted in Montréal presents the original ordering of the manuscript; the other, hosted in Leuven, presents the folios as they are currently bound.

Liturgical Occasions

Volume I: Ff. 1r-126v: Winter Temporale. 1r, Saturday before the first Sunday of Advent; 1v, Advent; 28r, Great “O” Antiphons; 29r, Nativity; 45v, Epiphany; 55r, Ferial Office; 69v, Septuagesima; 101v, Lent; 121r, Holy Saturday.
122v, Te Deum; 123v, Te decet laus; 123v, Responsory tones; 124v, Vigil for Easter; 125r, Lacuna; 126r, full-page illumination of The Resurrection; 126v, full-page illumination of Christ in Majesty.
127r-198v: Winter Sanctorale (except for the addition of several antiphons for Roch and Hubert). 127r, Andrew; 134r, Conception or Birth of Mary; 142v, Stephen; 147v, John the Evangelist; 152v, Holy Innocents; 157r, Agnes; 162r, Conversion of Paul; 168v, Purification of the Virgin; 174r, Agatha; 179r, Chair of Peter; 185r, Benedict; 191v, Annunciation of Mary; 197v, Roch; 198r, Hubert.
198v, empty staves.

Volume II: Ff. 1r-24v: Common of Saints. 1r, Common of Apostles; 5v, Common of Two Apostles; 7v, Feast of the Evangeslists; 14r, Canticles; 17r, Common of one Martyr; 23v, Feast of several Martyrs; 29r, Feast of one Confessor who is a Pope; 32r-32v, Lacuna; 34v, Feast of one Confessor not a Pope; 35r, Common of several Confessors; 35r, Feast of one Virgin.
40v, Colophon.

Description

The colophon on f. 40v in Volume II reads: “Che libure feist faire Dame Julienne de glymes prieuse de Salsines Jadit grande chantre de ce lieu. Pryes dieu pour elle.” The date of 1554 appears on ff.122r and 197r in Volume I, and on f.16v in Volume II. The date of 1555 appears at the end of Volume I on f.197v and the end of Volume II on f.40v. According to the colophon the book was commissioned by Dame Julienne de Glymes, prioress and former cantrix of the Cistercian Abbey of Salzinnes, Namur, in present day Belgium, likely with parts of it completed in 1554 and the rest in 1555. Founded in 1196-97 by Philip the Noble Count of Namur, the Abbey was incorporated in the Cistercian Order in 1204 under the Diocese of Liège. It was destroyed by the French Revolutionary armies in 1795.

The Salzinnes Antiphoner was likely acquired in the 1840s or 1850s in France by Bishop William Walsh, the first Archbishop for the Diocese of Halifax. It was donated to the Patrick Power Library, Saint Mary’s University by Archbishop James M. Hayes in 1975.

Painted in a bright palette in gouache, the Salzinnes Antiphonal contains six full-page illuminations (Adoration of the Magi, Baptism of Christ, Agony in the Garden, Resurrection, Christ in Majesty, Holy Kinship) and six historiated initials (Annunciation, Adoration of the Shepherds and Saints George, Maurice, Hubert, and Juliana) and includes several scenes depicting multiple narratives from the Bible. The most significant feature of the Antiphonal is the full-length portraits of thirty-four nuns with their names in cursive and block script, some with patrons’ coats-of-arms. In addition, three different religious orders are represented: Cistercians, Carmelites and Benedictines, in honour of the de Glymes family.

There are two digitizations of this manuscript, reflecting changes to the manuscript over the course of its history. A rebinding of the book re-ordered the first quire, so that folios are now in the order 2r-7v, 1r-v, 8r. This current ordering is reflected in the high-resolution "Leuven" images courtesy of the Alamire Institute. The "Montreal" images are ordered starting from the original 1r, and with several of the inserted and unnumbered full-page illuminations removed for enhanced readability of the chants.

• "Leuven" images: http://cantus.simssa.ca/manuscript/25/


• "Montreal" images: http://cantus.simssa.ca/manuscript/209

Selected Bibliography

• Bain, Jennifer and Judith Dietz. "Family Ties and the Salzinnes Antiphonal." Studi musicali Nuova serie 1:1 (2010), 105-145. 


• Dietz, Judith. Centuries of Silence: The Discovery of the Salzinnes Antiphonal. MA thesis, Saint Mary’s University, Halifax 2006.


• Dietz, Judith and Sherry Guild. "The Salzinnes Antiphonal: History and Conservation." Chant Old and New/Plain-chant: L'Ancien et le Nouveau, Proceedings of the Conference of the Gregorian Institute of Canada/Actes du colloque de l'Institut grégorien du Canada. Edited by William Renwick, 1-14. Lions Bay: Institute of Mediaeval Music, 2012. 

Notes on the Inventory

The inventory for CDN-Hsmu M2149.L4 was prepared by Judith Dietz (Saint Mary’s University), aided in liturgical and musical matters by Jennifer Bain and Meredith Evans (Dalhousie University), with editorial assistance from Debra Lacoste (University of Western Ontario). Melodies in Volpiano were entered by Maria Murphy and Meredith Evans (Dalhousie University), and edited by Clare Neil and Barbara Swanson (Dalhousie University). Alessandra Ignesti (McGill University) proofread the "MS reading" full texts.

Full Texts Entered by

Judy Dietz

Melodies Entered by

Meredith Evans
Maria Murphy

Full/Partial Inventory

Full Inventory

Complete Source/Fragment

Complete source