The Eadwine Psalter: Text, Image, and Monastic Culture in Twelfth-Century Canterbury

Gibson, Margaret T.; T.A. Heslop and Richard William Pfaff

ISBN 10: 0271008377 / ISBN 13: 9780271008370

Published by Modern Humanities Research Association/ The Pennsylvania University Press, London/ University Park, 1992

About this Item

Black cloth boards with gilt spine lettering; black dust jacket with color illustration, tan and red lettering; mylar cover; color illustrated frontispiece; xvii, 228 pp, 49 unnumbered pages of bw and color plates. Text mainly in English, with some text in Latin. The Eadwine Psalter (Cambridge, Trinity College MS R.17.1) is arguably the most ambitious manuscript produced in England in the twelfth century. Over a dozen scribes and artists combined to produce a book which contains five different versions of the text of the Psalms, three in Latin, one in Old English, and one in Anglo-Norman, with a prologue, a commentary, and a concluding prayer to each Psalm. In addition, the most complex set of Psalter illustrations available, those from the ninth-century Utrecht Psalter, was adapted for the project; the largest known cycle of prefatory biblical pictorial narratives of the period was devised and appended as a pictorial preface; and every Psalm, prayer, and Canticle was given a set of fully illuminated major initials as well as gold and silver minor initials throughout. Several other noteworthy images feature in the book: a portrait of the 'Prince of Scribes', Eadwine himself, the depiction of a comet, and the two plans of the precinct waterworks of Canterbury Cathedral Priory installed c. 1160. In the past the various aspects of this complex compilation have been treated individually (or in some cases not at all). It is the aim of the present volume of studies to counteract the tendency of modern scholarship to fragment its subjects by bringing under scrutiny between two covers all the major components of the Eadwine Psalter. To this end, thirteen distinguished specialists representing all the fields of enquiry have collaborated over a number of years and have consulted each other, comparing notes and opinions. The result is a volume of communal endeavour which locates the manuscript within a particular milieu, at once monastic and proud, aware of contemporary scholarship but inherently conservative. Contents include: Introduction / Margaret Gibson -- Ch. I. Codicology and Palaeography / Nicholas Pickwoad and Teresa Webber. 1. Codicology / Nicholas Pickwoad. A. The Original Format. B. The Membrane. C. Collation Marks. D. Endleaves. E. Pricking. F. Sewing. G. Lacing-In. H. The Seventeenth-Century Binding. 2. The Script / Teresa Webber. A. Introduction. B. Mise-en-Page. C. Script and Scribes. I. The Latin Psalter and Canticle Texts. II. The Latin Gloss. III. Other Latin Texts. IV. The Anglo-Norman Version. V. The Old English Texts. D. The Sequence of Production. E. The Eadwine Psalter and Book Production at Christ Church, Canterbury -- Ch. II. Decoration and Illustration / George Henderson and T.A. Heslop. 1. Introduction / T.A. Heslop. 2. The Four Bible Picture Leaves. A. The Place of the Leaves in the Eadwine Psalter / T.A. Heslop. B. The Visual Sources of the Picture Leaves / T.A. Heslop.; C. The Textual Basis of the Picture Leaves / George Henderson. I. New York, Pierpont Morgan Library, MS M. 724. II. London, British Library, MS Add. 37472. III. New York, Pierpont Morgan Library, MS M. 521. IV. London, Victoria and Albert Museum, MS 661. 3. The Psalm Illustrations / T.A. Heslop. A. The First Seven Psalms. I. The Psalm I Illustrator: The Superbia Master. II. The Psalm 2 Illustrator: The Mount Sion Artist. III. Psalms 3, 5, 6, and 7: The Principal Illuminator. IV. The Psalm 4 Illustrator: The Corpus 4 Master. B. From Psalm 8 to the End of the Canticles. 4. The Illuminated Initials / T.A. Heslop. A. The Large Painted Initials. B. The Minor Initials. C. The Calendar Initials. 5. The Artistic Context / T.A. Heslop -- Ch. III. The Calendar / Richard W. Pfaff. 1. General Considerations. 2. The Layout of the Calendar. 3. The Contents. 4. The Eleventh-Century Basis. 5. Conclusion; The Possible Role of Eadui Basan -- Ch. IV. The Tituli, Collects, Canticles, and Creeds / Richard W. Pfaff.; 1. The Tituli. 2. The Psalter Collects. 3. The.

Seller Inventory # 184314

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Eadwine Psalter: Text, Image, and Monastic Culture in Twelfth-Century Canterbury
• Publisher: Modern Humanities Research Association/ The Pennsylvania University Press, London/ University Park
• Publication Date: 1992
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0271008377
• ISBN 13: 9780271008370
• Binding: Hardcover
• Seller catalogs:
  • Books and Manuscripts and Printing

About this title

Synopsis

The Eadwine Psalter (Cambridge, Trinity College MS R.17.1) is arguably the most ambitious manuscript produced in England in the twelfth century. Over a dozen scribes and artists combined to produce a book which contains five different version of the text of the Psalms, three in Latin, one in Old English, and one in Anglo-Norman, with a prologue, a commentary, and a concluding prayer to each Psalm. In addition, the most complex set of Psalter illustrations available, those from the ninth-century Utrecht Psalter, was adapted for the project; the largest known cycle of prefatory biblical pictorial narratives of the period was devised and happened as a pictorial preface; and every Psalm, prayer, and Canticle was given a set of fully illuminated major initials as well as gold and silver minor initials throughout. Several other noteworthy images feature in the book: a portrait of the 'Prince of Scribes', Eadwine himself, the depiction of a comet, and the two plans of the precinct waterworks of Canterbury Cathedral Priory installed c. 1160.

In the past the various aspects of this complex compilation have been treated individually (or in some cases not at all). It is the aim of the present volume of studies to counteract the tendency of modern scholarship to fragment its subjects by bringing under scrutiny between two covers all the major components of the Eadwine Psalter. To this end, thirteen distinguished specialists representing all the fields of inquiry have collaborated over a number of years and have consulted each other, comparing notes and opinions. The result is a volume of communal endeavor which locates the manuscript within a particular milieu, at once monastic and proud, aware of contemporary scholarship but inherently conservative.

Synopsis

This is a study of the Eadwine psalter, considered one of the finest examples of Romanesque book production. It contains more than 400 illustrations, three versions of the Latin text of the Psalms, and a complete translation of the Psalms into Old English and Old French.