Interesting Liturgical Sights on a Recent Trip to Europe (2): Venice

Concluding the gallery I began last week, today I have a small number of photos to share from Venice (and one that was taken elsewhere, as will be noted in due course).

In the Franciscan church Santa Maria Gloriosa “dei Frari - of the Friars”, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the altar in the Blessed Sacrament chapel had been fitted out with a new and rather handsome icon of St. Maximilian Kolbe.

In a side chapel, a Preparatio ad Missam next to a kneeler; rather oddly situated, I thought, and it made me wonder if it was the original location for it.

Also in the Frari: the chapel where Claudio Monteverdi is buried in a remarkably humble tomb compared to every other one in the same church.

It had been 27 years or so since my last visit to the Basilica of San Marco, and I had forgotten just how exquisite the mosaics are. Absolutely stunning! Here are depicted the six days of creation and the fall.

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A 9th-Century Ambrosian Psalter

Despite the huge number of articles we have published over the years about the Ambrosian Rite, we have shown very few examples of ancient Ambrosian liturgical books, many of which are in libraries where digitization is either going at a snail’s pace, or not at all. So I was very happy to stumble across this Ambrosian Psalter, which is in the Bavarian State Library in Munich, a collection that has been digitized with classically Germanic thoroughness. (BSB Clm 343) The library’s website says that it was produced in Milan, “as early as the last decades of the ninth century”, but Nicola found an Italian website that puts it in the last third of the 10th century. (A friend of ours who knows a lot about liturgical manuscripts thinks the latter more probable.) It was in the library of the dukes of Bavaria by 1580, but it is not known how it got there.

In the Ambrosian Office, there are no psalms at Matins of Sunday. Instead, three canticles from the Old Testament are said; these are placed after the Psalms in this manuscript. At Matins of Saturday, the canticle of Moses in Exodus (15, 1-19) is said, followed by Psalm 118, divided into two sections in winter, but in summer, four, which are said in alternate weeks. (In St Charles Borromeo’s reform, the four-division system is used all year.) The psalms of Roman Matins for the weekly cursus, 1-108, are divided into ten groups called “decuriae”, which are said over the ten ferial days of two weeks; however, unlike in the Roman system, none of the psalms which are used at other Hours (4 at Compline, 50 at Lauds, etc.) are omitted. The first decuria is psalms 1-16, the second, psalms 17-30, then so on by tens. This seems to be why the decorations in the manuscript are placed with the first of each group of ten psalms (1, 11, 21 etc.) although this arrangement only partly corresponds to the decuria system.

At the beginning of the psalter is a portrait of King David, along with four of the people to whom some of the psalms are attributed by their titles, Asaph, Heman, Ethan and Idithun, all shown writing in books.

Many of the psalms have a few lines of exegetical explanation written before them; before Psalm 1 only, this text is written in large caps within a frame: “This psalm has no title for this reason, that nothing ought to be put before our head, the Lord and Savior, of whom it is about to speak, since it (i.e. the psalm) talks about his holy incarnation, and the avenging of the wicked.”

“Here begins the book of Psalms”

The beginning of Psalm 1. As is typical of liturgical books in this period, the decorative elements for the most part have no particular correspondence with the text they accompany.

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Liturgical Books in the Abbey Library of Sankt Gallen

We recently published Nicola de’ Grandi’s pictures of the abbey of St Gallen in Switzerland, which is home to one of the most important libraries in the world; among other things, it houses several of the oldest manuscripts of Gregorian chant. Much of the collection is now free to consult via the website https://www.e-codices.unifr.ch/en, which also includes links to the digital collections of numerous other Swiss libraries. Here is a selection of some of the liturgical books which are kept on regular display in the library (under glass, obviously, which makes for less-than-ideal conditions for photography.)

A collection of sequences by Notker Balbus, a.k.a. Blessed Notker the Stammerer (840 ca. - 912), a monk of Sankt Gallen who was traditionally credited with inventing the genre. Manuscript of the mid-11th century.

The oldest tropar, i.e. a collection of tropes of liturgical texts, copied out in the 2nd quarter of the 10th century.

By the middle of the 11th century, the number of these was greatly reduced at San Gallen; this manuscript contains the ones that were retained, generally the more elaborate ones.

A manuscript of the mid-13th century, brought to Sankt Gallen from the cathedral of Lausanne, with several examples of two-voiced harmony from the cathedral of Paris, where the choir masters were experimenting with this then-new technique.

A manuscript of instruction on how to chant from roughly the same period, which among other things, enjoins the monks not to “neigh like donkeys, or bleat like sheep, or sound like herdsmen”, with threats of sever penalties for doing so.

A 13th century collection of processional chants, with the original box made to protect it from the elements in case it should be raining during the procession.

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The Golden Codex of Echternach - A Gospel Book of the 11th Century (Part 3)

In this third and final article about the Golden Codex of Echternach (Codex Aureus Epternacensis), an illuminated gospel book made at the abbey of Echternach circa 1030-50, we cover the images related to the Gospels of Luke and John; the first part covered the prefatory materials, and the second the Gospels of Matthew and Mark. The pictures of stories from the Gospels, its most interesting feature, are not spread through the book, placed with the corresponding text, but grouped together in four sets of four pages each, one set before each Gospel, and arranged in bands. These images run in the chronological order of Our Lord’s life (roughly), and are taken from all four Gospels simultaneously. The manuscript is now kept at the Germanisches Nationalmuseum in Nuremberg, and may be viewed at the following link in full: https://dlib.gnm.de/item/Hs156142.

The beginning of an introduction to the Gospel of Luke...

and the first word of it, the Evangelist’s name in Latin, Lucas.

The beginning of the list of its chapters, according to the system of the Eusebian canons (described in the first part of this series.)

Each Gospel has a pair of pages before it which reproduces the appearance of a very rich textile. The lion motif would perhaps be more appropriate for the Gospel of Mark rather than Luke.

The four pages of Gospel stories before the text of Luke are each dedicated to an extended treatment of a single parable; here we have the workmen in the vineyard, Matthew 20, 1-16, the Gospel of Septuagesima Sunday.

The parable of the man who sends his servants, and last of all his son, to collect the rent of his tenant farmers, Matthew 21, 33-46, the Gospel of Friday in the second week of Lent.

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The Golden Codex of Echternach - A Gospel Book of the 11th Century (Part 2)

Following up on the first part of this article about the Golden Codex of Echternach (Codex Aureus Epternacensis), here are the images related to the Gospels of Matthew and Mark; Luke and John will be in the third and final part. This manuscript, which was made at the abbey of Echternach circa 1030-50, has many things in common with other illuminated gospel books of the period, but also one rather unusual characteristic. The pictures of stories from the Gospel are not spread through the book, placed with the corresponding text, but grouped together in four sets of four pages each, one set before each Gospel, and arranged in bands. These images run in the chronological order of Our Lord’s life (roughly), taken from all four Gospels simultaneously, and are one of its most interesting features. The manuscript is now kept at the Germanisches Nationalmuseum in Nuremberg, and may be viewed in full at the following link: https://dlib.gnm.de/item/Hs156142.

The beginning of a prologue to the Gospel of Matthew.

The beginning of the list of its chapters, according to the system of the Eusebian canons (described in the previous article of this series.)

Each Gospel is also preceded by a pair of pages decorated with a reproduction of an extremely high-quality textile of some sort.

The four pages of events of the life of Christ, before the text of the Gospel of Matthew itself. From top to bottom: the Annunciation and Visitation; the birth of Christ and the adoration of the shepherds; the Magi before King Herod.

Second page: the adoration of the Magi; the Magi are warned in a dream to return to their own country, and do so; the Presentation. Note that in the latter, the prophetess Anna is absent, and Simeon is not shown as an old man.

Third page: the dream of Joseph and the flight into Egypt; the Massacre of the Innocents; Christ in the synagogue at Nazareth (Luke 4, 14 sqq.) and His baptism.

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The Golden Codex of Echternach - A Gospel Book of the 11th Century (Part 1)

The Golden Codex of Echternach (Codex Aureus Epternacensis) is an illuminated gospel book made at the abbey of Echternach circa 1030-50. (The abbey is now located at the extreme east of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, barely a third of a mile from the German border; for a sense of historical perspective, it was founded in 700, more than two-and-a-half centuries before the fort that eventually became the duchy.) The word “golden” in its name refers not just to the extremely high quality of the decorations and images, but also, and indeed primarily, to the fact that the text is written out in gold ink. It is now kept at the Germanisches Nationalmuseum in Nuremberg, and may be viewed at the following link in full: https://dlib.gnm.de/item/Hs156142

Usually, when I write about manuscripts of this sort, I give a selection of the images, but this one is so rich and beautiful that I am going to be much more comprehensive, and consequently, divide it into three posts; the first will cover all the prefatory materials, the second, the Gospels of Matthew and Mark, and the third, Luke and John. The cover was made about 50 years before the codex for a different manuscript, and has an ivory image of the Crucifixion mounted into the center of it, of uncertain age and origin. It is now displayed separately from the manuscript.

The first image in the manuscript is of Christ in majesty, surrounded by the symbols of the four Evangelists, and the four major prophets. The style here is very characteristic of the Ottonian period, which turned away to a large degree from the Carolingian interest in naturalistic art; the figures are stylized and essentially weightless.

A dedicatory inscription held up on a plaque by two angels, with representations of the four cardinal virtues in the middle of each side of the border.

The title page for St Jerome’s first preface to the Gospels...

and the opening words, “Beato Papae Damaso Hieronymus” (Jerome to the blessed Pope Damasus).

A second preface commonly included in Gospel manuscripts, and falsely attributed to Jerome.

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Two Manuscripts from the Sainte-Chapelle

To mark the feast of St Louis IX, king of France (1214-70; r. 1226), here is a look at two very different manuscripts from the collection formerly housed at the Sainte-Chapelle, the great chapel which he built to house the relic of Our Lord’s Crown of Thorns. The first is a missale festivum, a missal which was made to be used only a very limited number of major feast days. (Bibliothèque nationale de France. Département des Manuscrits. Latin 8890) This was produced in the first years of the 16th century during the reign of King Louis XII (1498-1515), and the images very much reflect the French interest in Italian art and culture. (Louis XII and his father Charles VIII were both deeply embroiled in invasions of the various Italian states.) Note, however, that the lettering throughout is the more traditional fraktur font typically used in liturgical books of the period.

The frontispiece, with the royal arms of Louis XII; at the bottom, the words “Louis, king of the French” (with the word Francorum misspelled as Frencorum.)

The Mass of Christmas day. Following a convention of Italian painters, the stable in Bethlehem is shown as a ruined building, symbolizing the condition of the fallen world as it waits for renewal with the coming of the Savior. The floral backgrounds are typical of high quality French books of Hours.

Most of the pages look like this, with various kinds of decorative letters at the beginnings of the prayers, or, as here, at the beginning of the proper part of the preface of Christmas.

The Mass of Easter Sunday.

The dedication of the church.

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A 14th-Century Illuminated Psalter

Here is something I stumbled across recently from the website of the Bibliothèque national de France (Fr. 13091), a psalter made at the end of the 14th century (ca. 1386-1400) for Jean, the Duke of Berry (1340-1416), the third son of the French King Jean II. He is better known as the patron who commissioned one of the most richly and beautifully illuminated manuscripts of all time, the famous Très Riches Heures (very rich Hours).

The most notable thing about this manuscript is the amount of space it gives to a legend which was widely known in the Middle Ages and beyond, concerning the Apostles’ Creed. This legend has it that the Creed was composed by the Apostles as a common rule of Faith before they decided to scatter throughout the world to preach the Gospel, each of the twelve contributing one section. Here, each individual Apostle is preceded by a Prophet of the Old Testament, with a prophecy relevant to the section of the Creed which he composed. Some of these prophecies, such as the first one, are broad paraphrases of the Biblical text; where this is the case, I give no exactly citation. The texts are given below each seated figure in Latin and French. These images are placed in one group at the beginning of the book; the borders of the pages are all pretty much the same, so I have given the first two as an example, and then cropped and joined the rest.

St Peter: “I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.”

King David: “The Lord said to me, Thou art my son.” (Psalm 2, 7) - St Andrew: “And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord.”

Isaiah: “Behold a Virgin shall conceive and bear a Son.” (7, 14) - St James the Greater: “Who was conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary.”

Zachariah: “They shall look upon me their God whom they have pierced.” (12, 10; the words in italics are not in the Bible) - St John: “Suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried.”

Hosea: “O death, I shall be thy death; I shall be thy sting, o hell, I shall be thy bite.” (13, 10) - St Thomas: “Descended into hell; on the third day He rose from the dead.”

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Repertorium Project Unearths 4,000 “Lost” Chants

A medieval chant manuscript in a digitized negative for scanning

In one of the better uses of technology (and EU funding), the Repertorium project is an effort to utilize “a set of AI-based tools to automate the digitalisation and cataloguing of historical mediaeval and classical music manuscripts.” In their own description:

REPERTORIUM is an ambitious European project with the primary goal of preserving and disseminating Europe’s historical musical heritage. Five Spanish organisations are participating in this initiative: the Higher Polytechnic School of Linares at the University of Jaén, the Complutense Institute of Musical Sciences, Complutense University, the University of Alicante, and the Hispanic Association for the Study of Gregorian Chant. This project, involving a total of 13 institutions and companies from eight countries, is creating a system based on open-source Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques to facilitate the digitisation and cataloguing of historical musical archives.

They are laying claim to some remarkable fruits of this endeavor already:

Thanks to the system developed by the REPERTORIUM project, around 4,000 pieces of Gregorian chant have been recovered, pieces that had not been transcribed, studied, catalogued, or sung for over 1,000 years. These pieces have been digitised and catalogued, making them accessible to researchers and the general public through digital libraries.

There is not let a place online where the rediscovered chants may be viewed or downloaded, but their availability is part of the overall project, as can be found on page 24 of their vision document:

The database of mediaeval works being developed will find its home in DIAMM, the Digital Image Archive of Medieval Music. Additionally, it will be indexed within the MMMO, also known as the Medieval Music Manuscripts Online database. DIAMM will inherit the metadata added via MMMO via API. These platforms will serve as the designated spaces for hosting and cataloguing the valuable collection of mediaeval musical works.

       The mediaeval data will be publicly accessible, allowing researchers and enthusiasts to explore and utilise it. The metadata associated with this data will include essential information linked to the Cantus ID. The Cantus ID will be the unique identifier for data access, enabling users to locate and retrieve the desired information effectively. Lastly, the extensive collection of around 2,000 hours of audio recordings, which captures the entire liturgical cycle of traditional Latin chants from the Abbaye Sainte-Madeleine (Task 2.3), will be allocated individual Cantus IDs as they are added to the Neumz app. This identification system guarantees that each recording is distinctly identified within the database.

On January 25, 2025, a concert was performed at the Cathedral of Salamanca utilizing at least some of these rediscovered chants:

To read more about the concert, visit this link.