Description of Free Library of Philadelphia, Lewis E 231: Choir psalter; HymnalcontributorDiane BiunnocatalogerOliver MitchellCouncil on Library and Information ResourcesFree Library of PhiladelphiaThese images and the content of Free Library of Philadelphia, Lewis E 231: Choir psalter; Hymnal are free of known copyright restrictions and in the public domain. See the Creative Commons Public Domain Mark page for usage details, http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/.To the extent possible under law, Free Library of Philadelphia, Special Collections has waived all copyright and related or neighboring rights to this metadata about Free Library of Philadelphia Lewis E 231: Choir psalter; Hymnal. This work is published from: United States. For a summary of CC0, see https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/. Legal code: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/legalcode.Front cover and top flyleaves detachedSome damage from flakingMarginal and interlineal annotations in near-contemporary and later handsJ. Thomson, Hither and Thither (Philadelphia, 1905), pp. 135-144.Supplement to the Census of Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts in the United States and Canada, originated by C.U. Faye, continued and edited by W.H. Bond (New York: The Bibliographical Society of America, 1962), p. 452-53, no. 35.United StatesPhiladelphiaFree Library of PhiladelphiaJohn Frederick Lewis Collection of European ManuscriptsLewis E 231https://know.freelibrary.org/Record/159760035This large manuscript contains a Ferial (or Choir) Psalter, which comprises the text of the Psalms themselves as well as the unchanging daily items of the Divine Office (fols. 1r-172v). Following this is a short hymnal, without musical notation (fols. 172v-189v). Psalms 4 and 22 have been appended as paper end leaves, written in what is possibly an eighteenth-century hand. The text is adorned with numerous colored and decorated initials in black, red, green, and blue with pen-work decoration. Seven of these–marking important divisions with the Psalms–are further embellished with partial geometric and foliate borders (fols. 3r, 38v, 61v, 80v, 99r, 126r, and 146r). A handful of the smaller initials appear unfinished, and others to have been completed by a later and lesser hand. Throughout, the parchment shows evidence of historic damage and repairs (especially along the lower margin). Folio 26 is completely torn in half horizontally. The binding is eighteenth century, and is very similar to that of Free Library MSS Lewis E 221-234. This, along with the shared elements of their provenance, had led to these manuscripts all being associated with the Jerónimos Monastery in Belém, Portugal. According to the colophons in Lewis E 221 and 222, they were the gift of King John III in June 1548. The present manuscript, however, is stylistically quite distinct from the others and it is unclear whether it too formed an original part of this royal bequest.LatinChoir psalter; Hymnalformer ownerMosteiro dos Jerónimos (Lisbon, Portugal)former ownerKarl W. Hiersemann (Firm)1rChoir (Ferial) Psalter172vHymnalInside back coverIndex of Psalms
Parchment
ii+189+vii; 590 x 400 mm bound to 613 x 420 mmEarly foliation in ink, upper right recto; modern foliation in ink, upper right recto; modern foliation in pencil, upper right recto and lower right recto
1-13 (8), 14 (6), 15-23 (8), 24 (8, -8)
Occasional early ink quire signatures, lower right recto
One column of fifteen lines; lead point ruling; written area: 460 x 280 mmGothic--rotundaSeven large decorated initials with partial foliate and geometric borders; numerous colored initials in red, blue, green, and black with pen-work decorationInside front coverHand-written description in pencilInside front coverBookplate, Free Library of PhiladelphiaInsert rectoType-written description3rDecorated initial B3rPartial bar border with foliate decoration38vDecorated initial D38vPartial panel border with geometric decoration61vDecorated initial D61vPartial panel border with geometric decoration, coat of arms80vDecorated initial D80vPartial panel border with geometric decoration99rDecorated initial S99rPartial panel border with geometric decoration126rDecorated initial E126rPartial panel border with geometric and foliate decoration146rDecorated initial C146rPartial panel border with geometric decoration173rPartial panel border with geometric decoration
Eighteenth-century stamped dark brown calfskin; metal corner and bosses; remains of clasps; edges stained red
Mid-16th century
Belém, PortugalMay have been made for the Jerónimos Monastery near Lisbon; Hiersemann of Leipzig (bookseller); bought by the Free Library in 1900; catalog entry and typed description pasted onto the inside front cover; bookplate of the Free Library of Philadelphia pasted on to inside front cover; Stamped "Geo. S. Pepper Fund" and "3079," bottom of fol. 2rBook TypeAccountsAntiphonaryArmorialBibleBiographyBook of HoursBreviaryChronicleCollection of SermonsCommentaryDocumentDogaleFriendship bookGenealogyGlossaryGospel LectionaryGospelsGradualHaggadahHomilaryHorologionHymnalKoranLectionaryMass bookMiscellanyMissalPontificalPortolan chartPrayer bookPrivate devotional textProcessionalProtective scrollPsalterPsalter-HoursQur`anRecipe bookSaint's LifeScribal manualTorahTreatiseCentury6th century7th century8th century9th century10th century11th century12th century13th century14th century15th century16th century17th century18th century19th century20th centuryCultureAbbasidArabicArmenianAshkenaziAustrianByzantineCarolingianChineseChristianCopticDutchEgyptianEnglishEthiopianFatimidFlemishFrenchGermanIndianIslamicItalianJewishMamlukMughalOttomanOttonianPersianPortugueseQajarRajputRussianSafavidSephardiSpanishTimuridTurkishYemeniteDescriptive termAccordion bookAlbumAnnotatedBindingCalligraphyCaroline minusculeChartCharterColophonDamageDiagramsDrawingEarly Abbasid scriptFragmentGlossGothicGothic book handGrisailleGrotesquesHeadpieceHeraldryHistoriated initialHumanisticIlluminationIllustrationInhabited initialKuficManiculesMedallionMicrographyMiniatureMissing leavesMusical notationNew Abbasid styleNotable bindingOriginal bindingOrnamentPaintingPalimpsestPaperPenwork initialPuzzle initialRaginiRomanesqueScrapbookScrollScroll-work initialSealsTablesTexturaTreasure bindingWatermarkWhite-vine letteringWoodcutsGeographyAfghanistanArmeniaAustriaBelgiumCentral Arab lands (Near East)Central AsiaChinaEgyptEnglandEthiopiaFlandersFranceGermanyGreeceIndiaIranIraqIsraelItalyMaghrebMoroccoNetherlandsPakistanPortugalRomaniaRussiaSpainSub-Saharan (West) AfricaTurkeyYemenOtherAlchemyAllegoryAstrologyAstronomyBiblicalCartographyChurch FathersCosmologyDevotionFinancial recordsFortune-tellingFriendshipGamesGeographyGeomancyGrammarHistoryKabbalahLegalLiterature -- PoetryLiterature -- ProseLiturgyLogicMagicMaritimeMathematicsMineralogyPhilosophyPiyutimResponsaScienceScience -- MedicineScriptureSufismTheology16th centuryNotable bindingLiturgyHymnalPsalter