Montréal, McGill University - Rare Books and Special Collections - Manuscript Collection, MS Medieval 0208

Cantus Siglum

CDN-Mrb MS Medieval 0208

Holding Institution

Montréal, McGill University - Rare Books and Special Collections - Manuscript Collection (CDN-Mrb)

Manuscript/Print

Manuscript

Summary

Missal, fragment of bifolium, 13th century. German notation on four-line staff.

Liturgical Occasions

Saturday, 1st week, Lent.

Description

Partial bifolio from a noted missal, recovered from a binding, with chants for the first Saturday in Lent.

Irregularly shaped in its present condition: the more complete folio is approximately 200 mm wide, while the other is cut off to a width of only 95 mm. Both have a margin of approx. 30 mm. The bottom of each folio is also cut off, slightly on the diagonal, so that one vertical edge measures 200 mm and the other 205.
Thus the one folio measures approximately 200 x095 mm, with a writing surface of 180067 mm, while the other is 205x200 mm with a writing surface of 185x140 mm.
Text in brown ink, in an early Gothic hand. Ruled for at least 21 lines; the page is written "above top line." Musical notation is in a narrow Hufnagel style, with a c-clef and a dot for the f clef, on very pale staves (lighter than the ruling for the text). Staves are four lines, and offset from the text ruling so that approximately a half-space's worth appears between the top of the staff and the text line.

Quite discoloured, so that rubrics appear to be part orange and part black/brown; this has also affected the decorated initials.

McGill's catalog in 2025 describes the fragment as follows:

One damaged vellum bifoilium from a 14th-century noted missal probably written in Germany ; texts in light-brown ink, arranged in a single column ; German hufnagel musical notation on four-line light-brown staves ; liturgical rubrics in red ; folio 1 measures 20 x 10 cm ; folio 2 measures 21 c 20 cm ; recovered from a binding.

Damage includes missing bottom of the bifolium ; folio 1 is missing a large portion: from the mid point to the outside non-binding edge.

Decoration: initial (A, of Actiones) in faded blue ; large initial (I, of In) in red and blue, in margin, along seven lines of text ; two-line initial (B, of Benedictus) in light-blue ; four-line initial (F, of Fratres) in light-blue, with light-brown ink single and double bars ; three-line initial (L, of Laudate) in dark-blue.

Mass texts and chants for Sabbato quatuor temporum Quadragesima."

The 2018 description includes more precise measurements and a purchase date:

"Fragment in bifolium used for binding. Vellum, in latin, 14th century. In textualis gothic. Unknown origin. Light-brown ink, rubrics in faded red. Initials faded to pale-blue and brownish red. Musical notation with text. f. 1. 200x095 mm., writing surface 180x067 mm. f. 2. 205x200 mm., writing surface 185x140 mm.


[...]

Provenance: Presented by J.R.Redpath, 1938 (agent: von Scherling)."

(Holland, Anne Marie, compiler. "MS Medieval 208". Long Descriptions Ms Medieval Manuscript Antiphonals, Missals and Graduals. Digitization and Cataloguing Project- Antiphonals, Missals and Gradual. Updated December 6, 2018), 27-28.

Other Editors

Jennifer Bain
Lucia Denk

Full Texts Entered by

Martha Culshaw

Melodies Entered by

Martha Culshaw

Description Entered by

Anna de Bakker

Full/Partial Inventory

Full Inventory

Complete Source/Fragment

Fragment

Fragmentarium ID

F-v52I

DACT ID

D:0v52I