The Stowe Psalter (
British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...
Stowe MS 2, also known as ''Spelman Psalter'' or ''King Alfred's Psalter'') is a
psalter from the "2nd or 3rd quarter of the 11th century", at the end of
Anglo-Saxon art. The text includes the
Gallican version of the Psalms, followed by the
Canticle
A canticle (from the Latin ''canticulum'', a diminutive of ''canticum'', "song") is a hymn, psalm or other Christian song of praise with lyrics usually taken from biblical or holy texts. Canticles are used in Christian liturgy.
Catholic Church ...
s with an interlinear
Old English
Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th c ...
gloss.
Description
This Psalter is closely related to the
Tiberius Psalter (British Library
Cotton MS. Tiberius C.VI). Both Psalters have identical prayers added to the end of each psalm. The Psalters also each have large initial "B"s,
Beatus initials, at the beginning of
Psalm 1
Psalm 1 is the first psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in the English King James Version: "Blessed is the man", and forming "an appropriate prologue" to the whole collection.Kirkpatrick, A. F. (1906)Cambridge Bible for Schools and Collegeson ...
which closely resemble each other in form. The Anglo-Saxon glosses appear to have been written at the same time as the Latin text.
There are 180 extant vellum folios. The folios are 220 by 180 mm, with the text being written in an area of 225 by 120 mm. In its current binding there are two vellum flyleaves that are not counted in the foliation of the manuscript. Two folios at the end of the Canticles have been cut away. The manuscript was re-bound in tooled leather during the 17th century.
The text is written in English
half-uncials, while the titles of the Psalms are written in
rustic capitals
Rustic capitals ( la, littera capitalis rustica) is an ancient Roman calligraphic script. Because the term is negatively connoted supposing an opposition to the more 'civilized' form of the Roman square capitals, Bernhard Bischoff prefers to call ...
. The large decorated
Beatus initial at the beginning of Psalm 1 (folio 1r), and smaller decorated initials at the beginning of
Psalm 51
Psalm 51, one of the penitential psalms, is the 51st psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "Have mercy upon me, O God". In the slightly different numbering system used in the Greek Septuagint and Latin Vu ...
(folio 56r) and Psalm 101 (folio 111v), are the only major decorations in the manuscript, a common pattern in psalters. Other divisions in the text are marked by smaller colored initials. There are occasional marginal ritual directions and
antiphons
An antiphon (Greek language, Greek ἀντίφωνον, ἀντί "opposite" and φωνή "voice") is a short chant in Christianity, Christian ritual, sung as a refrain. The texts of antiphons are the Psalms. Their form was favored by St Ambrose ...
added in a 15th-century hand. There are also a few added marginal decorations.
The manuscript was probably created at the abbey of
New Minster, in
Winchester. There are three other manuscripts from New Minster that were written by the scribe of this manuscript. The manuscript is signed on folio 9 recto "Kateryn Rudston" in a 16th-century hand. It belonged to Sir
Henry Spelman
Sir Henry Spelman (c. 1562 – October 1641) was an English antiquary, noted for his detailed collections of medieval records, in particular of church councils.
Life
Spelman was born in Congham, Norfolk, the eldest son of Henry Spelman (d. 1581 ...
, who signed it on folios 1 recto and 180 verso. An edition of the text was published by Spelman's son.
It was sold by Walter Clavell in 1742. The manuscript was later owned by
Thomas Astle
Thomas Astle FRS FRSE FSA (22 December 1735 – 1 December 1803) was an English antiquary and palaeographer. He became a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and the Royal Society.
Life
Astle was born on 22 December 1735 at Yoxall on the ...
, who called it ''King Alfred's Psalter''. Astle included a facsimile of folio 1 verso in his ''Origin and Progress of Writing''.
[Astle, T., ''Origin and Progress of Writing'', p. 86, and plate xix. no. 6, London, T. Payne and Son, 1784.] It was owned by the
and kept at
Stowe House. It contains his press mark inside the front cover. In 1849 it was sold by the
his son, along with the rest of the manuscripts from Stowe House to
Bertram Ashburnham, 4th Earl of Ashburnham
Bertram Ashburnham, 4th Earl of Ashburnham (23 November 1797 – 22 June 1878) was a British peer. He was the fourth son of George Ashburnham, 3rd Earl of Ashburnham. As the eldest son still living when his father died in 1830, he succeeded as ...
. In 1883, the
British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
purchased this manuscript, along with 1084 other manuscripts from the Stowe collection, from the
5th Earl of Ashburnham.
Gallery
Image:PsalterBLStowe2Folio111vInitialD.jpg, "D" at Psalm 101
Image:PsalterBLStowe2Folio56rInitialQ.jpg, "Q" at Psalm 51
See also
*
St. Albans Psalter
*
Tiberius Psalter
References
{{reflist
*Andrew C. Kimmins, ''The Stowe Psalter'', Toronto Old English Series (1979).
;manuscript catalogues
*''Catalogue of the Stowe Manuscripts in the British Museum'', 2 vols (London: British Museum, 1895–1896), I, no. 2.
*Gneuss, Helmut, ''Handlist of Anglo-Saxon Manuscripts: A List of Manuscripts and Manuscript Fragments Written or Owned in England up to 1100'', Medieval and Renaissance Texts and Studies, 241 (Tempe: Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, 2001), no. 499.
*Ker, N. R., ''Catalogue of Manuscripts containing Anglo-Saxon'' (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1957), no. 271.
*O'Conor, Charles, ''Bibliotheca Ms. Stowensis: A Descriptive Catalogue of the Manuscripts in the Stowe Library'', 2 vols (Buckingham: Seeley, 1818–1819), II, 27–34.
*Pulsiano, Phillip, ''Anglo-Saxon Manuscripts in Microfiche Facsimile'', Volume 2: Psalters I, Medieval & Renaissance Texts & Studies, 137 (Binghamton, NY: Medieval & Renaissance Texts & Studies, 1994), pp. 65–68.
*Temple, Elzbieta, ''Anglo-Saxon Manuscripts 900-1066'', Survey of Manuscripts Illuminated in the British Isles, 2 (London: Harvey Miller, 1976), no. 99, p. 64, pl. 296
ith additional bibliography
External links
British Library catogue entryBritish Library catalogue of illuminated manuscripts entry
Illuminated psalters
2 (Psalter)
Later Anglo-Saxon illuminated manuscripts