Vespasian Psalter
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The Vespasian Psalter (London, British Library,
Cotton Vespasian This is an incomplete list of some of the manuscripts from the Cotton library that today form the Cotton collection of the British Library. Some manuscripts were destroyed or damaged in a fire at Ashburnham House in 1731, and a few are kept in othe ...
A I) is an
Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...
illuminated Illuminated may refer to: * "Illuminated" (song), by Hurts * Illuminated Film Company, a British animation house * ''Illuminated'', alternative title of Black Sheep (Nat & Alex Wolff album) * Illuminated manuscript See also * Illuminate (disambi ...
psalter A psalter is a volume containing the Book of Psalms, often with other devotional material bound in as well, such as a liturgical calendar and litany of the Saints. Until the emergence of the book of hours in the Late Middle Ages, psalters we ...
decorated in a partly
Insular style Insular art, also known as Hiberno-Saxon art, was produced in the post-Roman era of Great Britain and Ireland. The term derives from ''insula'', the Latin term for "island"; in this period Britain and Ireland shared a largely common style dif ...
produced in the second or third quarter of the 8th century. It contains an
interlinear gloss In linguistics and pedagogy, an interlinear gloss is a gloss (series of brief explanations, such as definitions or pronunciations) placed between lines, such as between a line of original text and its translation into another language. When gloss ...
in
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 settlement of Britain, Anglo ...
which is the oldest extant English translation of any portion of the
Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
. It was produced in southern
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, perhaps in St. Augustine's Abbey or Christ Church,
Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...
or
Minster-in-Thanet Minster, also known as Minster-in-Thanet, is a village and civil parish in the Thanet District of Kent, England. It is the site of Minster in Thanet Priory. The village is west of Ramsgate (which is the post town) and to the north east of Cant ...
, and is the earliest illuminated manuscript produced in "Southumbria" to survive. The Psalter belongs to a group of manuscripts from Southern England known as the Tiberius group, also including the
Stockholm Codex Aureus The Stockholm Codex Aureus (Stockholm, National Library of Sweden, MS A. 135, also known as the Codex Aureus of Canterbury and Codex Aureus Holmiensis) is a Gospel book written in the mid-eighth century in Southumbria, probably in Canterbury, wh ...
, Barberini Gospels, the
Book of Cerne The Book of Cerne (Cambridge, Cambridge University Library, MS Ll. 1. 10) is an early ninth-century Insular or Anglo-Saxon Latin personal prayer book with Old English components. It belongs to a group of four such early prayer books, the others ...
, the
Tiberius Bede British Library, MS Cotton Tiberius C. II, or the Tiberius Bede, is an 8th-century illuminated manuscript of Bede's '' Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum''. It is one of only four surviving 8th-century manuscripts of Bede, another of which ...
, and the
Book of Nunnaminster The Book of Nunnaminster (London, British Library, Harley MS 2965) is a 9th-century Anglo-Saxon prayerbook. It was written in the kingdom of Mercia, using an " insular" hand (as used in the British Isles), related to Carolingian minuscule. It was ...
.


Description

The psalter contains the
Book of Psalms The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived f ...
together with letters of
St. Jerome Jerome (; la, Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was a Christian priest, confessor, theologian, and historian; he is com ...
, hymns and canticles. The main scribe was also the artist of the miniatures. It was written in
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
on
vellum Vellum is prepared animal skin or membrane, typically used as writing material. Parchment is another term for this material, from which vellum is sometimes distinguished, when it is made from calfskin, as opposed to that made from other anima ...
, using a southern English
Uncial Uncial is a majuscule Glaister, Geoffrey Ashall. (1996) ''Encyclopedia of the Book''. 2nd edn. New Castle, DE, and London: Oak Knoll Press & The British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one ...
script with
Rustic Capital 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 ca ...
rubric A rubric is a word or section of text that is traditionally written or printed in red ink for emphasis. The word derives from the la, rubrica, meaning red ochre or red chalk, and originates in Medieval illuminated manuscripts from the 13th cent ...
s. There were additions made by a
scribe A scribe is a person who serves as a professional copyist, especially one who made copies of manuscripts before the invention of automatic printing. The profession of the scribe, previously widespread across cultures, lost most of its promi ...
named
Eadui Basan Eadwig Basan (Latin: Eaduuius Basan) was an eleventh-century monk and scribe of Christ Church Canterbury, who worked on several manuscripts, including the ''Eadwig Gospels'' and ''Eadwig Psalter,'' both of which were named after him, and the ''Gr ...
in an English
Carolingian minuscule Carolingian minuscule or Caroline minuscule is a script which developed as a calligraphic standard in the medieval European period so that the Latin alphabet of Jerome's Vulgate Bible could be easily recognized by the literate class from one reg ...
. The English gloss was written in a
Southumbrian The Southumbrians or 'Suðanhymbre' were the Anglo-Saxon people occupying northern Mercia. The term might not have been used by the Mercians and was instead possibly coined by the Deiran or Bernician people as a territorial response to their ow ...
pointed
minuscule Letter case is the distinction between the letters that are in larger uppercase or capitals (or more formally ''majuscule'') and smaller lowercase (or more formally ''minuscule'') in the written representation of certain languages. The writing ...
. The
codex The codex (plural codices ) was the historical ancestor of the modern book. Instead of being composed of sheets of paper, it used sheets of vellum, papyrus, or other materials. The term ''codex'' is often used for ancient manuscript books, with ...
is 235 by 180 mm. The text is written in an area of about 175 by 135 mm. There are 160 folios. There are several major initials which are historiated,
zoomorphic The word ''zoomorphism'' derives from the Greek ζωον (''zōon''), meaning "animal", and μορφη (''morphē''), meaning "shape" or "form". In the context of art, zoomorphism could describe art that imagines humans as non-human animals. It c ...
, or decorated. Major initials are found at the beginning of Psalms 1, 51 and 101. This tripartite division is typical of Insular Psalters. In addition, the psalms beginning each of the liturgical divisions of the Psalter are given major initials. The beginning letters of the other Psalms have smaller "minor" initials which are decorated or zoomorphic and are done in what is called the "antenna" style. The only surviving full-page miniature shows
King David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
with his court musicians, and is now folio 30 verso. It is possible that this miniature was originally the frontispiece or opening miniature of the psalter, and that a decorated ''incipit'' page at the start of the Psalms is missing, as well as a
carpet page A carpet page is a full page in an illuminated manuscript containing intricate, non-figurative, patterned designs.Moss, 57 They are a characteristic feature of Insular manuscripts, and typically placed at the beginning of a Gospel Book. Carpet p ...
at the end. Sir Robert Cotton pasted a cutting from the
Breviary A breviary (Latin: ''breviarium'') is a liturgical book used in Christianity for praying the canonical hours, usually recited at seven fixed prayer times. Historically, different breviaries were used in the various parts of Christendom, such a ...
of
Margaret of York Margaret of York (3 May 1446 – 23 November 1503)—also by marriage known as Margaret of Burgundy—was Duchess of Burgundy as the third wife of Charles the Bold and acted as a protector of the Burgundian State after his death. She was a daugh ...
on folio 160 verso. He also inserted a miniature from a 13th-century liturgical psalter as folio 1.


History

The manuscript was produced during the second quarter of the 8th century, and probably the earliest of the Tiberius group. The script of the Old English gloss is typical of the script produced in Canterbury scriptoria from about 820 to 850. Eadui Basan, who made additions to the manuscript, was a monk at Christ Church, Canterbury during the early 11th century.
Thomas of Elmham Thomas Elmham (1364in or after 1427) was an English chronicler. Life Thomas Elmham was probably born at North Elmham in Norfolk. He may have been the Thomas Elmham who was a scholar at King's Hall, Cambridge from 1389 to 1394. He became a Benedi ...
recorded a Psalter at Canterbury which may have been the Vespasian Psalter. The manuscript was at Canterbury in 1553. By 1556 it was owned by Sir William Cecil, who lent it to
Matthew Parker Matthew Parker (6 August 1504 – 17 May 1575) was an English bishop. He was the Archbishop of Canterbury in the Church of England from 1559 until his death in 1575. He was also an influential theologian and arguably the co-founder (with a p ...
,
Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...
. By 1599 it was the possession of Sir Robert Cotton, who signed it on folio 12 recto. It became national property, along with the rest of the
Cotton library The Cotton or Cottonian library is a collection of manuscripts once owned by Sir Robert Bruce Cotton MP (1571–1631), an antiquarian and bibliophile. It later became the basis of what is now the British Library, which still holds the collection. ...
in 1702 and was incorporated into 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 ...
when it was founded in 1753.Brown The volume was the first in the
Vespasian Vespasian (; la, Vespasianus ; 17 November AD 9 – 23/24 June 79) was a Roman emperor who reigned from AD 69 to 79. The fourth and last emperor who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors, he founded the Flavian dynasty that ruled the Empi ...
shelf section in the part of the library indexed by the names from a set of busts of the Roman Emperors on top of the shelves. Its current binding, with metal clasps, was provided by Cotton.


Notes

{{reflist


References

* Brown, Michelle P., in Webster, Leslie E. and Backhouse, Janet M. eds., ''The Making of England'', BM/BL exhibition catalogue (London, 1991), no.153 (see also no.171 etc). *De Hamel, Christopher. ''A History of Illuminated Manuscripts''. Boston: David R. Godine, 1986. * Wilson, David M.; ''Anglo-Saxon Art: From The Seventh Century To The Norman Conquest'', Thames and Hudson (US edn. Overlook Press), 1984.


Further reading

*Alexander, J. J. G. ''Insular Manuscripts, 6th to the 9th century'' (Survey of Manuscripts Illuminated in the British Isles), (Harvey Miller, London, 1978), no.29. *Brown, M. P., ''The Book of Cerne'' (London and Toronto, 1996), pp. 20–23, 69-73, 120-129 and passim. *Brown, M. P. "Female Book-Ownership and Production in Anglo-Saxon England: the Evidence of the Ninth-Century Prayerbooks." ''Lexis and Texts in Early English: Studies Presented to Jane Roberts'', ed. C. J. Kay and L. M. Sylvester, (Amsterdam/Atlanta, 2001), pp. 45–67. *Brown, M. P. ''A Guide to Western Historical Scripts from Antiquity to 1600'' (London, 1990), pl.17. * Bruce-Mitford, R. L. S. “The Reception by the Anglo-Saxons of Mediterranean Art following their conversion from Ireland and Rome.” ''Settimane di studio del Centro italiano di studi sull’alto medioevo Spoleto'' 14 (1967) pp. 822–825. *Gneuss, H. ''Handlist of Anglo-Saxon Manuscripts: A List of Manuscripts and Manuscript Fragments Written or Owned in England up to 1100'' (Tempe, Arizona, 2001), no.381. *Gneuss, H. "A preliminary list of manuscripts written or owned in England up to 1100." ''Anglo-Saxon England'' 9, ed. P. Clemoes (Cambridge, 1981), no.381. *James, M. R. ''The Ancient Libraries of Canterbury and Dover'' (Cambridge, 1903), pp.lxv-lxvi, 501. *Kendrick, T. D. ''Anglo-Saxon Art to A.D. 900'' (London, 1938), pp. 159 ff., 181. *Ker, N. R. ''Catalogue of Manuscripts Containing Anglo-Saxon'' (Oxford, 1957), no.203. *Kuhn, S. M. "From Canterbury to Lichfield," ''Speculum'' 23 (1948), pp. 591–629. *Kuhn, S. M. ''The Vespasian Psalter'' (Ann Arbor, MI, 1965). *Kuhn, S. M. "The Vespasian Psalter and the Old English Charter Hands" in: ''Speculum''; 18 (1943), pp. 458–483. *Lowe, E. A. ''Codices latini antiquiores'' (1934–1971), vol. 2, no. 193. *Nordenfalk, C. ''Celtic and Anglo-Saxon painting. Book Illumination in the British Isles 600-800'' (New York, 1976), p. 95. * Sisam, K. "Cynewulf and his Poetry" in: ''Proceedings of the British Academy''; 18 (1932) *Sweet, H., ed. ''The Oldest English Texts. Glossaries, the Vespasian Psalter, and other works written before A.D. 900''.
Early English Text Society The Early English Text Society (EETS) is a text publication society founded in 1864 which is dedicated to the editing and publication of early English texts, especially those only available in manuscript. Most of its volumes contain editions of ...
(London, 1885). *Temple, E. ''Anglo-Saxon Manuscripts 900-1066'' (Survey of Manuscripts Illuminated in the British Isles), (Harvey Miller: London, 1976), no.55. *Turner, D. ''Illuminated Manuscripts Exhibited in the Grenville Library'' (London, 1967), no.13 (for f.1). *Wright, D. H. ''The Vespasian Psalter'' (Early English Manuscripts in Facsimile, XIV), 1967. *Zimmermann, E. H. ''Vorkarolingische Miniaturen'' (Berlin, 1916), esp. pp. 120, 131, 133-134, 289-291.


External links


British Library Digitised Manuscript PageTranscript of the Vespasian Psalter (Old English with parallel Latin), on pages 188-421More information at Earlier Latin Manuscripts
Illuminated psalters Hiberno-Saxon manuscripts 8th-century biblical manuscripts Bible translations into English Cotton Library 8th-century illuminated manuscripts