Description of UB Bergen MS 1549, 5

Introduction

This fragment was used as a cover on a protocol from Bryggen (Dat Gartenrecht in den Jacobsfjorden unndt Bellgarden, MS 213), but removed and catalogued separately in 1911. From Bryggen we would perhaps expect a fragment of German origin, but this fragment comes from a missal written in England in the early 12th century. Lilli Gjerløw assumes that the fragment (and the missal it once belonged to) was somewhere in Bjørgvin see in the middle ages, and was used here from an early date (Gjerløw 1970). The contents of the bifolium is from the liturgy for Lent.

Manuscript Identification

settlement

Bergen University Library, Art and Humanities Library

repository

Bergen University Library

idno

MS 1549, 5

altName

MS 410, 5

Manuscript Content

The contents has been studied by Lilli Gjerløw (Missaler 1970, pp. 83-85). The bifolium contains the liturgy for Wednesday (feria quarta) after first Sunday of Lent and, after a lacuna, the liturgy for Saturday of that same week, and for the second Sunday of Lent. At the end of Saturday mass, the fragment also gives the prayers super populum and ad vesperas. The super populum prayer only seems to occur in French and English sources, and the prayer for Vesper is also rare, occurring in an early French and two early English Missals (Gjerløw 1970 p. 84).

Parchment, a bifolium fol. size ca 32 x 19,5 cm

Lay-out: A bifolium, probably the leaves 2/7 in a quire. The writing space is 25 x 14,5 cm, with 31 lines. Pricking for ruling is visible in the margin. Dry point ruling.

Protogothic script. Two hands are represented; the first one on f.(1)r and first part of f.(1)v , the second one on the last part of f.(1)v and f. (2). According to Lilli Gjerløw the first hand is a conservative one, while the second hand uses the "new", more angular hand from the time after 1100 (Gjerløw 1970 p. 83). At the international fragment workshop in October 2005 it was suggested by Michael Gullick that the second hand might be that of a Norman scribe influenced by the first scribe, who is certainly English. Rubricated. No musical notation, but the sung texts are written in smaller letters. At the before-mentioned workshop Susan Rankin (Cambridge) pointed out that the text in this missal has been horisontally spaced for musical notation, and that therefore the exemplar used by the scribe had notation. The reason why music was never added in this case is probably because of the date: between the mid 11th century and the mid 12th century, English music scribes changed from notating music in campo aperto to notating music on lines (staves). The exemplar used by this scribe was older and had neumatic notation. Anyone wanting to add musical notation on staves would not have been able to do so, because it calls for a different ruling system (since more than the equivalent of one text line is needed).

Initials: The initials are plain, alternating blue and red.

Condition: The fragment, being an uncropped bifolium, is generally in good condition, although the front and back are quite stained and worn.