Beinecke MS 690
Villeneuve-les-Avignon, s. XIV 2
Carthusian Breviary, mutilated

1. ff. 1r-6v	Calendar in black, blue and red, one page for each month. The computistical data 
are: length of solar and lunar month, Golden Number, Day Letter, Roman Calendar. Among the 
feasts: Hugh Bishop of Grenoble (in red, 1 April), Pontius (11 May, instead of 14 May), 
Dedication of the church (in blue, 19 August), Agricola (2 Sept.), Hilarion (21 Oct.), "Reliquiae" 
(in blue, 8 Nov.), Sile (28 Nov.). Several additions were made s. XV/XVI: Catherine of Siena (d. 
1380, 6 May, but on 29 April "Katherine virginis" is erased), Hugh Bishop of Lincoln (17 Nov.), 
Lazarus Bishop of Marseille (17 Dec.). Erased feasts: ******** (29 June) and Conception of Our 
Lady (8 Dec., partly erased). The Calendar corresponds in general to the Carthusian Calendar 
printed in Grotefend, II, 2, pp. 18-20. Note the spellings "Febroarius" and "Novembre".	
	f. 7r-v ruled but blank

2. ff. 9r-71v, 8r-v, 72r-75v	Roman Psalter, Canticles (from f. 60v onwards) and Hymns (from 
f. 71v onwards). The beginnings of the following Psalms are preserved: 7-25, 28-37, 40-51, 55-
67, 69-79, 83-94, 98-107, 110-125, 134-135, 139-150. The only surviving dentelle initials are for 
Ps. 113 (Feria II, f. 49v), Ps. 134 (IV, f. 56r), Ps. 141 (Feria VI, f. 57v) and Ps. 144:10 (Sabbato, 
f. 59r), for the Canticles "Confitebor tibi, Domine, quoniam iratus est" (Feria II, f. 60v) and 
"Domine, miserere mei, te enim expectavi" (Diebus Dominicis, f. 66v) and for the beginning of 
the Hymns (Ad Vesperas cothidie ymnus, f. 8r).

3. ff. 76r-79v	Office of the Virgin.

4. ff. 80r-241r	Temporale.

5. ff. 241r-293v	Sanctorale.

6. ff. 293r -302v	Commune sanctorum. At the end, in blue: " Vallis
Benedictionis.  
a.b.de."

7. ff. 302v-303r	Secuntur suffragia sanctorum et primo de Sancta Cruce. The other 
suffrages are to the Virgin, John the Baptist, All Saints.

8. f. 303v	Incipiunt benedictiones.


Parchment, ff. II + 303 + II, 140 x 100 mm.

The manuscript is heavily mutilated, some leaves are out of order and many (presumably all 
illuminated) leaves are cut out. From f. 82 onwards there is early foliation in Roman numerals in 
the outer top corner of the rectos, from "V" to "CCLXXVIII"; almost all these numbers seem to 
have been altered. There is a parallel and unaltered foliation in Roman numerals in the lower 
corner of the rectos, mostly cut off at the trimming of the codex, apparently equally starting with 
"V" but from f. ... [XXXI] increasingly diverging:
Upper corner 	XXXI (f. 106) = lower corner XXX 	(difference: 1)
		LXXIII (f. 145)		LXII	(difference: 11)
		CXXI (f. 183)			CIX	(difference: 12)
		CCXVIII (f. 252)		CCV	(difference: 13)

Missing leaves: after ff. 8, 16, 21, 26, 30, 37, 42, 48, 56, 75, 79 ; and ff. XXII, XLIII, LXXI, 
LXXII, LXXV, LXXIX, XCIII, XCIV, XCVII, CIII, CIX, CXX, CXXVII, CXXXVII, 
CXLIII, CXLVI-CXLVIII, CLII, CLV, CLXI, CLXVI-CLXXII, CLXXIV, CLXXVII, 
CLXXVIII, CLXXXI, CC, CCVI-CCVIII, CCXIII, CCXIV, CCXVI, CCXXIV, CCXXVIII, 
The lower margin of f. 168 is cut off.
The order of the leaves after the missing f. CXXVII is: CXXXVIII - CXLI, CXXVIII - 
CXXXVI, CXLIV, CXLV (ff. 189-203).

Collation impossible. The quires are normally quaternions.

Ruled with red or purple ink for two columns of 30 lines below top line, 93/94 x 63/64 mm., 
intercolumnar space 6 mm. Ruling type 46. The Calendar is ruled for one column of 32 lines 
below top line, 97 x 63 mm., type 16, with three additional vertical lines within the ruled area. 

Copied by one hand in small Northern Gothica Textualis Libraria.

Due to the missing of all important illuminated leaves the description of the decoration is 
necessarily very incomplete. Headings in red. Yellow heightening of the majuscules. 1-line 
flourished initials alternately red and blue. Numerous 2-line flourished initials in the same 
colours. 3-line dentelle initials with partial floral borders in gold (on f. 56r with bar-shaped 
extensions, on f. 57v no border).

Binding s. XIX: light-brown leather over pasteboard; the covers gold-tooled with floral border 
and centre-piece. Gold-tooled spine with four raised bands. One large modern silver clasp 
attached to rear cover. Edges gilt and gauffered.

Copied in the Charterhouse Val de Benediction (Vallis Benedictionis) at
Villeneuve-les-Avignon, 
which was founded 1356; the letters "a.b.de." in the colophon are perhaps the initials of the 
scribe (see art. 6). In the lower margin of f. 1r the printed ownership-mark: "Cartusiae 
Villenovae". On the second front fly-leaf v, in pencil s. XIX: "Manuscrit du commencement du 
XIVe siecle". Bookplate of Frederick Haile Stebbins with motto "Inter folia fructus". Gift of the 
estate of Frederick H. Stebbins, 5 Dec. 1988.

Albert Derolez

R 17.02.09