Code: 12854
A beautifully decorative single leaf from a psalter book. On each side of the page are 21 lines of text written in black, blue and red ink in a handsome early gothic book hand. The page has floriated text in red ink characteristic of French work from the early 13th century. The text is neatly written using an iron gall ink (IGI) that has a few holes where it has corroded through the vellum in places. Psalters contained the Book of Psalms and were typically accompanied by a calendar that listed important saints' days according to region, a litany of saints (invocations to individual saints), and prayers. In monasteries and churches, the Psalms were recited over the course of a week during the eight 'canonical hours' into which each day was divided. Psalters were also used for private devotion before Books of Hours began to be made in the thirteenth century.
OBJECT: A page from an illuminated Psalter
CULTURE: Medieval, Paris
DATE: 13th century AD
MATERIAL: Vellum
SIZE: 14cm x 10cm
PROVENANCE: Ex. Private Collection, Lyon. France.
