PRoMs - The Production and Reading of Music Sources

Mise-en-page in manuscripts and printed books containing polyphonic music, 1480—1530

Manuscript: Paris, France, Bibliothèque Nationale, MS Rés. Vmc. 57

Manuscript type: choirbook

RISM siglum: F-Pn Rés Vmc. 57

DIAMM Source Key: 2374

Image repositories: Gallica

Folio(s): All folios

Date: c. 1470

First campaign, in which all folios were ruled and the text on ff. 2v-72v was copied: c. 1460-1465, according to Higgins 1984; late 1460's or early 1470's, according to Perkins 1979; after 1470, according to Alden 2010; later additions, ff. iv-iir, 73v-80r: last quarter of the 15th century; c. 1500, according to Gutiérrez-Denhoff 1985.

Location of origin: France

Provenance

1. The devise 'Tous par amor', possibly of the original owner, included in the tenor initial (f. 62r); 2. Inscribed 'Hic liber discantus mea interest Jo. Gueri... [edge of the folio trimmed]' and, in another hand, 'de palacio bit(uricensis) ', c. 1500 (f. 1r), possibly referring to the manuscript's presence at the royal palace of Bourges, lat. Bituricum (see Higgins 1984, ix-x); 3. Several inscriptions including names, c. 1500 or early 16th century: 'François Bernard . . .' (visible in ultra-violet light), 'Francoys', 'Aqua', and 'Brossemonoye' (f. 1r), and 'Francoys Petit', 'Aqua Brossemonoye', 'Gillet Boenon', 'Jaques Bernar', 'Symon Lelun', 'Francoys Rossynol' and 'Michau Ribie' (f. 80v); 4. Pierre-Claude Nivelle de la Chaussée (b. 1692, d. 1754): inscription 'nivelle Delachaussée' (f. 1v) perhaps referring to him or to another member of his family. 5. consigned by Maggs Brothers Ltd, Paris office, to Sotheby's (see Higgins 1984, i); Sotheby’s sale, London, March 7, 1939, lot 358a; sold to to Geneviève Thibault; 6. Geneviève Thibault, comtesse Hubert de Chambure (b. 1902, d. 1975), French musicologist: passed from her estate to the Bibliothèque nationale de France in 1979.

Artists/Scribes

Person: Anonymous, Anonymous
Person type: scribe
Note: Scribe 2 (ff. i verso -ii recto; 73v-78r)

Person: Anonymous, Anonymous
Person type: scribe
Note: Scribe 3 (ff. 78v-79r).

Person: Anonymous, Anonymous
Person type: scribe
Note: Scribe 1 (ff. 2v-72v)

Person: Anonymous, Anonymous
Person type: scribe
Note: Scribe 4 (ff. 79v-80r)

Person: Anonymous, Anonymous
Person type: artist
Note: Artist responsible for the initials (ff. 2v-72v)

Person: Anonymous, Anonymous
Person type: artist
Note: Artist responsible for one initial on f. 51r.

Bibliography

Jeppesen 1927 (repr. 1965), I; Sotheby 1939, 49-50; de Van/Besseler 1948–66, VI, iii, xviii-xix, lx, lxii, 94-98; Blume 1949–79, X, 801; Picker 1960, I, 36; Lerner 1961–70, V, lxxxiv-lxxxvii, 116-117; Thibault 1964–77, 11-16; Atlas 1975–6, I, 164-6, 192-5, 216-7, 268; Perkins/Garey 1979, I, 15, II, 171-172, 19; Atlas 1981, xxiii-xxvi, 77-85; Higgins 1984; Gutiérrez-Denhoff 1985, 81-88, 98, 293-294, 301, passim; Goldberg 2001, 1-22; Alden 2011, esp. 114-123, Appendix A.

Basis for description: high-quality image

Paris, France, Bibliothèque Nationale, MS Rés. Vmc. 57, All folios

Physical description

Material: parchment

Number of leaves: ii + 77 + ii

Format: upright

Page dimensions: 180 x 125

Quire structure: Text version

Non-musical texts: 1. A portion of a Latin legal treatise, incipit: 'Per racionem enim' (f. 1r).
2. Two inscriptions: 'Sicut aqua extinguit igne / ita elemosinam extinguit peccatum' (Ecclesiasticus 3:30) and 'Cum facis elemosinam nesciat / dextera quid faciat cinistram” (Matthew 6:2–3) (f. 1r).
3. Two excerpts from Pslams: 'Deus meus ad te de luce vigilo' (Psalm 62: 2) and 'non tradas tradas' (Psalm 118: 121), at the end of the discantus part (f. 22v).
4. A proverb: 'Numquam letus eris si vulgo te Regendum tradideris' (f. 80v).
5. A note on color symbolism: 'Ladevise des couleurs / Rouge—orgeuil / Vert—gayté / Jaulne—joyssance / Gris—esperance / Violé—traison / Bleu—loyauté / Blanc—humilité /Noir—deul / Tanné—desesperance' (f. 80v).
6. A citation from Gregory the Great, Thirty-eighth Sermon on the Gospels, 'Gregorius / Non est perfecte bonus nisi qui etc. fuit cum malis / bonus quia bonus non fuit qui malos tolerare recusa / vit' (f. 80v).
7. Proverbs in French: 'Justice dort Raison est morte / Verité le coul tort A celuy qui la porte'; 'De l’ouvrage suis bien recors /
que femme est maulvaise beste / car dieu le Père feist le corps / mais le grant Dyable feist la teste.'

Other devices: 1. Original ink foliation recto top right, i-lxxii, followed by modern pencil foliation, 73-80.

Page details (zoom):

Preparation and Copying

1v-2r, 73v-80r

Preparation

Disposition of Voice Parts Key

Pricking none visible
Ruled grid always,
Justification lines to left and right, no text lines visible.
Ruling pattern highly regular
Staves omitted from grid never
Incomplete staves never
Medium and colour of grid Frequency Folios Note
red ink always same as staves
Colour of staves Frequency Folios Note
red always
Ruling medium Frequency Folios Note
single rastrum always
Indentation for initials Frequency Folios Note
single normally Only top staves are indented. The text and music are normally indented on staves at the beginning of other voice parts.
Extra space between voice parts Frequency Folios Note
empty ruled staves on grid often
Space provided for separate text Frequency Folios Note
not in dedicated space always 73v, 74v, 75v, 76v, 77v, 78v, 79r, 79v Additional stanzas in three-part compositions are written on staves below discantus. Additional text in four-part composition is written partly on staves, partly in the lower margin (ff. 78v-79r)
Adhoc adaptation Frequency Folios Note
none always

Copying of text and music

Language(s) French
Order of Copying music first
always
Presence/absence of text Voice part Frequency Folios Note
provided with single incipit contratenor secundus always
fully texted with one text discantus normally 1v, 73v, 74v, 75v, 76v, 77v, 78v
fully texted with one or two texts discantus rarely 79v Residuum.
provided with single incipit tenor normally 2r, 74r, 75r, 76r, 77r, 78r, 79r
provided with two incipits tenor rarely 80r Residuum.
untexted contratenor normally 2r, 74r, 75r, 76r, 77r, 78r
provided with two incipits contratenor rarely 80r Residuum.
provided with single incipit contratenor always 78r
Music 1
Colour(s) of notation light brown
Colour of notation folios 1v-2r, 73v-78r
Type(s) of notation void mensural
Type of notation note Rhomboid-shaped notation, rounded and flattened on right-hand side
Monophonic notation absent
Level of calligraphy high
Non verbal performance instructions Folios Note
signa congruentiae 1v-2r, 73v-74r, 74v-75r, 75v-76r, 76v-77r, 77v-78r
Music 2
Colour(s) of notation light brown
Colour of notation folios ff. 78v-79r
Type(s) of notation void mensural
Type of notation note Rhomboid-shape notation
Monophonic notation absent
Level of calligraphy fair
Non verbal performance instructions Folios Note
signa congruentiae 78v-79r
Music 3
Colour(s) of notation light brown
Colour of notation folios 79v-80r
Type(s) of notation void mensural
Type of notation note Rhomboid-shaoed notation
Monophonic notation absent
Level of calligraphy fair
Non verbal performance instructions Folios Note
signa congruentiae 79v-80r
repeat signs 80r
Text 1
Types of script cursive (bastarda)
Types of script folios 78v-79r
Level of calligraphy fair
Colour(s) of text light brown
Multiple texts no
Text repetitions none
Abbreviations very few
In non underlaid text only.
Non underlaid vocal text additional
Text 2
Types of script cursive (bastarda)
Types of script folios 1v-2r, 73v-78r
Level of calligraphy high
Colour(s) of text light brown
Multiple texts no
Text repetitions none
Abbreviations very few
Non underlaid vocal text additional
1v, 73v, 74v, 75v, 76v, 77v
Liminary text Inscription 'par despit' (erased but visible in ultra-violet light) in the upper margin.,
73v, 74v, 75v, 76v, 77v
Text 3
Types of script cursive
Types of script folios 79v-80r
Level of calligraphy poor
Colour(s) of text light brown
Multiple texts yes
Text repetitions none
Abbreviations very few
79v
Non underlaid vocal text additional
79v

Decoration

Level of Decoration n/a
Decoration initial type Frequency Folios Initial type(s) Size position Description Discrepancies
initials planned normally
2v-72v

Preparation

Disposition of Voice Parts Key

Pricking none visible
Ruled grid always,
Justification lines to left and right, no text lines visible.
Ruling pattern highly regular
Staves omitted from grid never
Incomplete staves never
Medium and colour of grid Frequency Folios Note
red ink always Same as staves
Colour of staves Frequency Folios Note
red always
Ruling medium Frequency Folios Note
single rastrum always
Indentation for initials Frequency Folios Note
single normally Only the top staves on each page are indented. The text and music are normally indented at the beginning of other voice parts with initials painted over the staves.
none occasionally 39v, 45v Text and music not indented at the beginning of the tenor primus with the initial added in between the staves (f. 39v) or in the margin (f. 45v).
Extra space between voice parts Frequency Folios Note
empty ruled staves on grid occasionally
Space provided for separate text Frequency Folios Note
not in dedicated space always In three-part compositions, additional stanzas are written on staves below discantus. In four-part compositions, they are included in any available space on staves (see f. 65v).

Copying of text and music

Language(s) French
Order of Copying music first
always
Presence/absence of text Voice part Frequency Folios Note
provided with single incipit tenor normally
provided with single incipit contratenor normally
fully texted with one text discantus normally Text almost fully or partially earsed, but presence of texture partly visible (ff. 2v, 6v)
fully texted with two texts discantus occasionally 3v, 14v, 28v, 34v, 36v, 43v, 45v, 46v, 53v, 57v In residua only.
provided with two incipits tenor occasionally 15r, 29r, 35r, 37r, 44r, 48r, 54r, 58r In residua only
provided with two incipits contratenor occasionally 9r, 15r, 29r, 35r, 37r, 40r, 44r, 46r, 48r, 54r, 58r In residua only
provided with two incipits bassus occasionally 9r, 46r in residuum only.
fully texted with one text tenor occasionally ff. 38v, 50v, 58v, 65v
fully texted with one text contratenor occasionally 39r, 56r, 59r
partially texted with one text bassus rarely 56r
provided with single incipit bassus rarely f. 66r
fully texted with one text bassus rarely 59r
Music
Colour(s) of notation light brown
Type(s) of notation void mensural
Type of notation note Teardrop-shaped notation
Monophonic notation absent
Level of calligraphy high
Non verbal performance instructions Folios Note
signa congruentiae 14v, 44r, 47r, 48r
Later changes Folios
Notation erased (ff. 2v-3v, 6v-7r, 48v-51r). Correction made to music (f. 72v, first stave from the top). 2v-3v, 6v-7r, 48v-51r, 72v
Text
Types of script cursive (bastarda)
Level of calligraphy high
Colour(s) of text brown
Multiple texts yes
3v, 9r, 14v, 15r, 28v, 29r, 34v, 35r, 36v, 37r, 43v, 44r, 45v, 46r, 47v, 48r, 53v, 54r, 57v, 58r,
Double texts (or incipits) occur in residua only. Visible under the erasure (f. 3v)
Text repetitions none
Abbreviations very few
Non underlaid vocal text additional
Almost all songs have additional stanzas written below discantus. There is no additional text in residua.
Liminary text Names of composers: 'Binchois' (f. 26v), also spelled 'Bunchois (f. 51v), 'Busnois' (ff. 27v, 33v, 35v, 40v, 41v, 54v, 58v), 'Delhaye' (ff. 29v, 35v, 31v, 32v, 39v, 65v, 67v), 'Okeghem' (ff. 52v, 55v, 56v, 66v, 69v), 'Boubert' (f. 63v), 'Barbigant' (f. 68v), 'Fede' (f. 72v), and 'Dufay' (ff. 25v, 60v, 64v), twice with performance instructions: 'Dufay tempora bina file dyapson postea scande' (f. 25v) and 'Dufay Ad secundum perfecte' (f. 60v). ,
15v, 26v, 17v, 29v, 30v, 31v, 32v, 33v, 35v, 37v, 39v, 40v, 41v, 51v, 54v, 55v, 56v, 58v, 60v, 63v, 64v, 65v, 66v, 67v, 68v, 69v, 72v
Later changes Text erased except for illuminated initials (ff. 2v, 3r, 3v, 6v, 7r, 48v, 49v, 50r, 50v, 51r). Correction made to text (f. 72v, first stave from the top); added stanza (f. 56r).,
2v, 3r, 3v, 6v, 7r, 48v, 49v, 50r, 50v, 51r, 56r, 72v

Decoration

Level of Decoration fair
Decoration border frequency Border type Folios Size Position Description Discrepancies
always decorated partial borders: one- and two-sided outer margin, upper margin Vine-scroll border extensions of the initials incorporating some naturalistic flowers and leaves.
Decoration initial type Frequency Folios Initial type(s) Size position Description Discrepancies
painted initials always decorated Initials in alternating colours of blue or red on square grounds in opposite colour with modelling and decoration in shell gold 'en camaïeu d'or', some inhabited by human heads or aminals (mainly boars).