Beinecke MS 211                                                    Germany, s. XIII^^2
Psalter, etc.

     1. ff. 1v-2r    Calendar, all entries in black (4 folios containing
     March through October cut out); among those listed: Pantaleon (18
     Feb.), Willibrord (7 Nov.), Othmar (16 Nov.), Peter, bishop and martyr
     (25 Nov.; instead of St. Catharine of Alexandria), Barbara (4 Dec.).

     2.    ff. 2v-111v Biblical psalter adapted to liturgical use through
     the addition of antiphons in the margins (missing 40.7-43.6 after f.
     35, 61.6-77.38 after f. 49; Pss. 148-50 run on).

     3. ff. 111v-123v    Six ferial canticles, Benedicte, Benedictus,
     Magnificat, Nunc dimittis ("Canticum symeon"), Te deum, Quicumque uult
     ("Fides catholica").

     4. ff. 123v-125r    Litany (with three entries on f. 123v erased,
     including one later addition "Bertilia" visible under ultraviolet
     light; undetermined number of leaves appear to be missing between ff.
     123 and 124), followed by prayers, the final ones written in a slightly
     later hand after f. 125 was glued to back cover.

          Parchment (sturdy), ff. 125 (125 = back pastedown), 196 x 141 (128
     x 89) mm. Written in 20 long lines; double horizontal bounding lines,
     single vertical, all full across. Ruled in ink; prickings (slashes) in
     upper, lower, and outer margins.
          I^^6 (-2, 3, 4, 5), II^^10, III^^8, IV^^8 (+1 at end), V^^8 (-1, 8),
     VIII-X^^8, XI^^10 (-10, no loss of text), XII-XVI^^8, XVII^^3 (1 tipped in;
     2 and 3 conjugate, with 3 pasted to back cover).
          Written by a single scribe in bold, early gothic bookhand. Notes
     by several later scribes, some of which have been erased.
          Full page initial B (f. 2v) in blue with pink and blue interior
     vine-stem patterns, on gold ground surrounded by red rectangular frame
     outlined in black. Smaller gold initials, 10- to 8-line, for Psalms 26,
     38, 51, 52, 80, 97, 101, 109 (ff. 21r, 33v, 43r, 43v, 53v, 68r, 70r,
     83r), of similar design, on blue ground with vine-stem patterns of
     olive green, white, and red, and rectangular frame of red and white.
     Other psalms introduced by gold initials, 9- to 3-line, outlined in
     red, infilled and surrounded by blue penwork designs; headings and
     first letter of each verse in red. Most decorative initials are
     severely rubbed.
          Trimming of outer margins on ff. 8 and 122 affects text.
          Binding: s. xvi-xvii. Resewn with three strands of thread on four
     round, twisted, vegetable fiber cords laid in forked grooves and laced
     in and out of flush oak boards. The cords are pegged twice: from
     outside to inside and vice versa with almost square pegs. The vegetable
     fiber endband cores are laced into the boards, the endbands themselves
     wanting. The spine is rounded, with traces of adhesive. Covered in
     tawed skin, once white, now tan and white. The turn-ins are sometimes
     turned in over small fragments of a parchment manuscript, in other
     cases, under, and the corners cut square. There is some inscribed
     parchment on the outside of the upper board, probably part of a spine
     lining. The discoloration on the endleaves does not match the present
     turn-ins. There are traces of four round bosses on each board and of a
     pin in the center of the upper one. The white, tawed strap, most of
     which is now wanting, is attached to the lower board through a metal
     plate. One corner of the upper board is cut away and the covering of
     the spine and part of the boards wanting. A messy, somewhat primitive
     binding.

          Written in Germany in the second half of the 13th century, perhaps
     in Trier. Unidentified round tag on front cover with notation "HSS
     1021." Belonged to Professor Leander Van Ess of Marburg (signature on
     f. 2r; booklabel inside front cover) who is known to have acquired
     manuscripts from St. Maximinus of Trier following its secularization
     during the French Revolution. See H. Schiel, "Erwerb von zwei
     Mattheiser Handschriften des 11. und 12. Jahrhunderts fuer die
     Stadtbibliothek Trier," Vierteljahrsblaetter der Trierer Gesellschaft
     fuer nuetzliche Forschungen 1 (1955) pp. 6-9; for van Ess in general, N.
     Adler, "Leander van Ess und seine Uebersetzung des Neuen Testaments,"
     Archiv fuer mittelrheinische Kirchengeschichte 14 (1962) pp. 575-76 and
     H. Becker, "Der Nassauische Geheime Kirchen- und Oberschulrat Dr.
     Johann Ludwig Koch (1772-1853)," Archiv fuer mittelrheinische
     Kirchengeschichte 15 (1963) pp. 147-79. Some of the unusual saints in
     the calendar (Pantaleon [Feb. 18] and Peter, bishop and martyr [25
     Nov.]) occur in a few Trier manuscripts of the 10th through 14th
     centuries (see P. Miesges, "Der Trierer Festkalender," Trierisches
     Archiv, Ergaenzungsheft 15 [Trier, 1915]). (We thank J.-C. Muller and
     J. Schiffauer for this information.) Van Ess sale to Sir Thomas
     Phillipps (no. 485; stamp and inscription on f. 1r; see Phillipps
     Studies, v. 3, pp. 29-33). Acquired by Yale in 1955 from V. G.
     Simkhovitch.

     secundo folio: [text, f. 4] qui tribulant

     Bibliography: Faye and Bond, p. 41, no. 211.

     Barbara A. Shailor