Manuscript: London, Great Britain, British Library, MS Harley 5242

Manuscript type: choirbook

RISM siglum: GB-Lbl Harley 5242

DIAMM Source Key: 1907

Folio(s): All folios

Date: c. 1509-1514

Francoise de Foix probably received the manuscript after her marriage to Jean de Laval-Montmorency in 1509. The reference to Anne of Brittany (see Provenance) suggests that the manuscript was probably made before her death in January 1514.

Location of origin: France

Provenance

1. Francoise de Foix, Countess of Châteaubriant (b. c. 1495, d. 1537), cousin of Anne of Brittany (d. 1514), wife of Jean de Laval-Montmorency (from 1509) and official mistress of King Francis I (from 1515); made or adapted for her: added borders with her initials 'FF' and a monogram 'ANNE' (? on this reading see Litterick 1976, fig. 1), perhaps referring to Anne of Brittany whose motto 'Non mudera' constitute the theme of the rondeu 'Non mudera ma constance et finesse' inserted twice in the present manuscript (ff. 9v, 40v) (see Chaillon 1953); the name 'Francoise' is substituted for 'ma belle amye' in three songs (ff. 2v, 3r, 15v, 23r), except for f. 2v it appears to have been added by a different scribe who also inserted the word 'Joyeulx' (f. 16r) and an additional stanza (f. 27v); according to Chaillon 1953 and Litterick 1976, a possible gift from Charles III de Bourbon, constable of France (d. 1527), Francoise's friend and perhaps lover (the initials in the manuscript were illuminated by the artist/workshop responsible for the majority of the initials in BnF ms. fr. 9346, which was made for Charles). 2. The Harley Collection, formed by Robert Harley (b. 1661, d. 1724), 1st Earl of Oxford and Mortimer, and Edward Harley (b. 1689, d. 1741), 2nd Earl of Oxford and Mortimer; it is unclear whether the manuscript was acquired by Robert or Edward Harley. The collection was bequeathed by Edward Harley to his wife Henrietta, née Cavendish Holles (b. 1694, d. 1755) and daughter Margaret Cavendish Bentinck (b. 1715, d. 1785), Duchess of Portland. 3. The British Museum purchased the Harley Collection for the nation in 1753 from Henrietta Cavendish Holles Harley and Margaret Cavendish Bentinck for £10,000 (a fraction of their contemporary value) under the Act of Parliament that also established the British Museum.

London, Great Britain, British Library, MS Harley 5242, All folios

Physical description

Material: parchment

Number of leaves: iv + 48 + ii

Format: upright

Page dimensions: 205 x 142

Quire structure: Text version

Other devices: 1. Leaf signature 'a iii' (f. 3r).
2. Modern foliation in pencil, 1-48

Page details (zoom):

Preparation and Copying

All folios

Preparation

Disposition of Voice Parts Key

Pricking	always, in outer margin for top line of every stave; top and bottom for vertical bounding lines
Ruled grid	always, single line to left and right no visible lines for text
Ruling pattern	highly regular
Staves omitted from grid	often
Incomplete staves	never

Medium and colour of grid	Frequency	Folios	Note
lead point	always
Colour of staves	Frequency	Folios	Note
light brown	always
Ruling medium	Frequency	Folios	Note
single rastrum	always
Indentation for initials	Frequency	Folios	Note
single	always
Extra space between voice parts	Frequency	Folios	Note
staves not ruled on grid	often
Space provided for separate text	Frequency	Folios	Note
provided, in dedicated space	often		always left below D on verso pages, but text only sometimes entered, with stavelines from reverse page as guides
Adhoc adaptation	Frequency	Folios	Note
partial additional staves	occasionally		fifth stave on verso pages

Copying of text and music

Language(s)	French
Order of Copying	music first always

Presence/absence of text	Voice part	Frequency	Folios	Note
fully texted with one text	all voice parts	normally
partially texted with one or two texts	all voice parts	rarely	7v-8r, 18v-19r, 39v-40r

Music

Colour(s) of notation	brown
Type(s) of notation	void mensural
Monophonic notation	absent
Level of calligraphy	high

Non verbal performance instructions	Folios	Note
repeat signs	7v-8r, 18v-19r, 21v-22r, 39v-40r

Text

Types of script	cursive (bastarda)
Level of calligraphy	high
Colour(s) of text	brown
Multiple texts	yes 7v, 8r, 17v, 18r, 21v, 22r, 39v, 40r
Text repetitions	many 2r-3r, 7r, 9r, 13r, 15r, 15v, 16r, 20r, 21r, 22v, 24r, 28v, 30r, 32r, 37r, 37v, 38v, 39r, 43r, 43v, 44r, 45r, 46v, 47r.
Abbreviations	very few
Non underlaid vocal text	additional 9v, 11v, 15v, 16v, 21v, 22v, 26v, 27v, 28v, 33v
Liminary text	Composer's name: 'Anth[oine] de Fevin' (f. 5v). Instructions: 'verte' (x 2) (ff. 16r); 'residuum' (ff. 16v, 39v)., 5v, 16r, 16v, 39v

Decoration

Level of Decoration	high

Decoration border frequency	Border type	Folios	Size	Position	Description	Discrepancies
rarely	None	1v, 2v, 28v	full borders		Full border compartmentalised into blue and brown-reddish squares, each scattered with golden dots. Each brown-reddish square encloses initials 'FF' (identified as those of Francoise de Foix, a probable owner of the manuscript), and each blue square encloses a monogram of invertible 'ANE' or 'ANNE' (possible reading). The border was probably not part of the original layout: on f. 28v it is adapted into shape of the pre-exhisting initial. By a different artist (possibly added later).
Decoration initial type	Frequency	Folios	Initial type(s)	Size position	Description	Discrepancies
painted initials	normally		decorated	13-26 x 15 mm; at the beginning of voice-parts.	Initials in blue and white on gold grounds formed of stylised leaves, branches and fleurons, some with grotesque masks.
initials planned	sometimes	3r, 6v-7r, 8v-9r, 14v-15r, 23v-24r, 25v-26r, 29v-30r, 31v-32r, 35v-36r, 37v-38r, 40r-48r		13-26 x 15 mm; at the beginning of voice-parts.
initials planned	occasionally	1v, 7v, 8r, 15v, 18v, 22v, 24v, 30r, 30v, 36r, 35v		Excised initials

PRoMs - The Production and Reading of Music Sources