PRoMs - The Production and Reading of Music Sources

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

Manuscript: London, Great Britain, British Library, MS Royal 8 G. vii

Manuscript type: choirbook

RISM siglum: GB-Lbl Royal 8.g.vii

DIAMM Source Key: 2032

Image repositories: British Library

Folio(s): All folios

Date: c. 1513-25

Probably 1516-22 (Kellman 1976)

Location of origin: Mechelen, Belgium

Provenance

1) Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon (heraldic arms of England supported by a red dragon and a white greyhound, surrounded by the Garter; badge of a portcullis; the Tudor rose; Catherine's badge of a pomegranate (ff. 2v-3); first motet dedicated to Henry and Catherine). 2) Presented to the British Museum by George II in 1757 as part of the Old Royal Library.

Artists/Scribes

Person: Anonymous, Anonymous
Person type: artist

Person: Scribe D, (member of Habsburg-Burgundian 'Alamire' workshop (Mechelen, Belgium))
Person type: scribe
Note: Scribe D wrote the music and the text (Kiel and Warmington in <a href="/bibliography/#entry635" data-tooltip="" class="has-tip tip-top reference" data-placement="top" rel="tooltip" data-original-title="" title="Kellman, Herbert (ed.), The Treasury of Petrus Alamire: Music and Art in Flemish Court Manuscripts 1500&ndash;1535 (Leuven, 1999)"><i class="fa fa-book"></i>Kellman 1999</a>, 52).

Bibliography

Kellman 1976, 190-2, 212; Census-Catalogue II, 103, IV, 432; Kellman 1987/2; Meconi 1998; Kellman 1999, no. 22; McKendrick/Lowden/Doyle 2011, no. 153.

Basis for description: original

London, Great Britain, British Library, MS Royal 8 G. vii, All folios

Physical description

Material: parchment

Number of leaves: ii + 64 + i

Format: upright

Page dimensions: 370 x 258

Quire structure: Text version

Other devices: 1. Modern Arabic pencil foliation, recto top right, 1-63

Page details (zoom):

Preparation and Copying

All folios

Preparation

Disposition of Voice Parts Key

Pricking always,
Prickings in corners at bottom and top throughout. Prickings in outer margins often visible as guides for maximum ten staves.
Ruled grid always,
single line to left and right, occasional text lines
Ruling pattern fairly regular
Staves omitted from grid often
Incomplete staves rarely,
4v, 12r, 52v, 53r
Medium and colour of grid Frequency Folios Note
light brown ink occasionally horizontal lines as guides for text
lead point always
Colour of staves Frequency Folios Note
black always
Ruling medium Frequency Folios Note
single rastrum always
Indentation for initials Frequency Folios Note
double often
single often
Extra space between voice parts Frequency Folios Note
empty ruled staves on grid occasionally
staves not ruled on grid often Between and below voice parts
Space provided for separate text Frequency Folios Note
no separate text never
Adhoc adaptation Frequency Folios Note
made for complete additional staves rarely 53v, 58v tenth stave added to lower margin

Copying of text and music

Language(s) Latin
Order of Copying music first
always
Presence/absence of text Voice part Frequency Folios Note
fully texted with one text all voice parts normally
Music
Colour(s) of notation black
Type(s) of notation void mensural
Type of notation note rhomboid shaped noteheads
Monophonic notation absent
Level of calligraphy high
Non verbal performance instructions Folios Note
signes-de-renvoi Clover shaped (ff. 21v, 22r, 33v, 34r), in red ink.
Text 1
Types of script display script
Types of script size position for voice-names and 'residuum' rubrics
Level of calligraphy high
Colour(s) of text red
Text 2
Types of script cursive (bastarda)
Level of calligraphy high
Colour(s) of text black red
Multiple texts no
Text repetitions few
Abbreviations few
Non underlaid vocal text none

Decoration

Level of Decoration very high
Decoration miniature frequency Folios Size position Description Discrepancies
rarely 2v, 3r first opening of the manuscript 2v: heraldic arms of England supported by a red dragon and a white greyhound, surrounded by the Garter, with Catherine's badge of a pomegranate and the Tudor rose 3r: badge of a portcullis 3r: Tudor rose and Catherine's badge of a pomegranate
Decoration border frequency Border type Folios Size Position Description Discrepancies
rarely None 2v, 3r partial borders: two-sided outer margin, upper margin flowers, strawberries, red currant, pomegranate, birds, butterflies, snales and a caterpillar on ocher grounds or set against parchment
Decoration initial type Frequency Folios Initial type(s) Size position Description Discrepancies
painted initials rarely 2v decorated first opening of the manuscript acanthus initial on ochre ground
penned initials normally calligraphic , decorated, flourished blue, red or green, partly decorated with heads or foliate decoration, partly flourished with the same or other ink(s); e.g. blue with pink flourishing (f. 6v), blue with pink and purple flourishing (ff. 12v, 18v, 23v), red with red and pink flourishing (f. 15v), green with pink flourishing (ff. 34v, 38v, 40v, 44v), blue with red flourishing (f. 42v). Last three works with calligraphic initials in brown ink (ff. 58v-63r).