London, Great Britain, British Library, MS Royal 11 E. xi, All folios
Physical description
Material: parchment
Number of leaves: ii + 17 + ii
Format: upright
Page dimensions: 489 x 360
Quire structure:
Text version
i 9 (1-9 [+ 1]), ii 8 (10-17)
[2 modern paper flyleaves at the beginning and 2 at the end; f. 1 is a medieval parchment flyleaf; ff. 9v, 10r are blank].
Title page / Frontispiece: Full-page allegorical miniature incorporating an elegiac poem in honour of Henry VIII and the Tudor dynasty, perhaps composed by Johannes de Opitiis (see Bell and Skinner 2009), incipit: 'Psallite, felices, protecti culmine rose', which also provides text for Sampson motet on ff. 3v-9r; and verses in praise of the royal rose inscribed on a scroll: 'Salve, radix varios producens germine ramos, Quos inter ramus supereminet altior unus', perhaps celebrating the birth of Mary, daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon, in 1516, which also provide text for motet on ff. 2v-3r.
The miniature depicts a crowned Tudor rose in a walled garden symbolising England; daisies in the garden refer to Henry VIII's sister Margaret of Scotland, marigolds to his another sister, Mary of France, and a pomegranate bush is an emblem of his wife, Catherine of Aragon; the garden walls are surmounted by banners with the royal arms of England, St George, and Castile; the garden gateway with a half open portcullis (allusion to the badge of the Beauforts, first adpoted by Henry VII, son of Lady Margaret Beaufort) and a lion lying beneath is flanked by a red dragon and a white greyhound (the usual supporters of the Tudor arms) and inscribed with words 'salve felix Anglia'.
Other devices: 1. Modern Arabic foliation in pencil in upper right corner, 1-17.
Page details (zoom):
Preparation and Copying
2v-3r
Preparation
Disposition of Voice Parts
Key
- Discantus
- Altus
- Tenor
- Bassus
- Contratenor
- Sextus
- Quintus
- Vagants
- Textus
- Triplex
- Medius / Meane
- Quatriplex
- Signe de renvoi
Pricking |
none visible
|
Ruled grid |
always
|
Ruling pattern |
highly regular
2v-3r,
Separate ruling for the circular staves and text and the rubrics at the top of the page.
|
Staves omitted from grid |
never
|
Incomplete staves |
never
|
Medium and colour of grid |
Frequency |
Folios |
Note |
brown ink |
sometimes |
|
|
red ink |
sometimes |
|
Red ink used only for the ruling grid of the rubric at the top of the page. |
Colour of staves |
Frequency |
Folios |
Note |
brown |
always |
|
On f. 3r the staves corrected in black ink, possibly by the music scribe. |
Ruling medium |
Frequency |
Folios |
Note |
single rastrum |
always |
|
|
Indentation for initials |
Frequency |
Folios |
Note |
none |
always |
|
|
Extra space between voice parts |
Frequency |
Folios |
Note |
none |
always |
|
|
Space provided for separate text |
Frequency |
Folios |
Note |
provided, in dedicated space |
always |
|
|
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 |
always |
|
|
Music
Colour(s) of notation |
black |
Type(s) of notation |
void mensural |
Type of notation note |
rhomboid shaped notation
|
Monophonic notation |
absent
|
Level of calligraphy |
very high
|
Non verbal performance instructions |
Folios |
Note |
signa congruentiae |
2v, 3r |
|
end symbol |
2v, 3r |
|
Text
Types of script |
cursive (bastarda)
|
Types of script size position |
Voices names and titles written in larger script.
|
Level of calligraphy |
very high
|
Colour(s) of text |
black red
Voices names written in red. |
Multiple texts |
no
|
Text repetitions |
none
|
Abbreviations |
very few
|
Non underlaid vocal text |
none
|
Liminary text |
Rubric: 'Canon fuga in diatessaron'.,
2v, 3r
|
Decoration
Decoration miniature frequency |
Folios |
Size position |
Description |
Discrepancies |
always |
2v, 3r |
125 x 115, unframed, placed in the middle of the page. |
Red roses (associated with the house of Lancaster, and later with the house of Tudor) are encircled by music and the verses 'Salve radix', written in praise of the royal rose. |
|
3v-17r
Preparation
Disposition of Voice Parts
Key
- Discantus
- Altus
- Tenor
- Bassus
- Contratenor
- Sextus
- Quintus
- Vagants
- Textus
- Triplex
- Medius / Meane
- Quatriplex
- Signe de renvoi
Pricking |
none visible
|
Ruled grid |
always,
Only the justification lines are visible.
|
Ruling pattern |
fairly regular
|
Staves omitted from grid |
rarely
|
Incomplete staves |
never
|
Medium and colour of grid |
Frequency |
Folios |
Note |
light brown ink |
normally |
|
Justification lines only. |
Colour of staves |
Frequency |
Folios |
Note |
black |
normally |
|
|
Ruling medium |
Frequency |
Folios |
Note |
single rastrum |
always |
|
|
Indentation for initials |
Frequency |
Folios |
Note |
double |
often |
3v, 4r, 4v-7r, 9r, 10v, 11r, 12r, 12v, 13r, 13v, 14r, 15r, 15v, 16v |
ff. 4v-7r, 12v, 13r, 15r: rubric 'residuum' inscribed in the indented space.
f. 12: initial for contratenor only. |
single |
sometimes |
8v, 11v, 12r, 14v, 16r |
f. 12r: initial for tenor only. |
none |
rarely |
12v, 17r |
Initials painted over staves with text and music indented.
f. 12v: initial for bassus only. |
Extra space between voice parts |
Frequency |
Folios |
Note |
empty ruled staves on grid |
often |
4r, 4v, 5r, 5v, 6v, 7r, 7v, 8v, 9r, 13v, 14v, 15r, 16v |
Space left between voices (ff. 4v, 5r, 5v), below a voice (ff. 4r, 6v, 7r, 13v, 16v), between and below voices (ff. 7v, 8v, 9r, 14v, 15r, 15v). |
staves not ruled on grid |
rarely |
11v, 13r |
The space left blank on f. 11v was probably designed for enter decoration or rubric. |
Space provided for separate text |
Frequency |
Folios |
Note |
not in dedicated space |
rarely |
10v-11r |
|
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 |
always |
|
|
Music
Colour(s) of notation |
black |
Type(s) of notation |
void mensural |
Type of notation note |
rhomboid shaped notation
|
Monophonic notation |
absent
|
Level of calligraphy |
very high
|
Non verbal performance instructions |
Folios |
Note |
signes-de-renvoi |
15v-16r |
run-over symbol in the form of a trefle (bassus). |
coronae |
5v, 6r, 7v, 11v, 12r, 12v |
|
signa congruentiae |
12v-13r |
A circle with a dot inside. |
repeat signs |
10v, 14r |
|
Text
Types of script |
cursive (bastarda)
|
Types of script size position |
Names of voices written in larger script.
|
Level of calligraphy |
very high
|
Colour(s) of text |
black
|
Multiple texts |
no
|
Text repetitions |
very few
|
Abbreviations |
very few
|
Non underlaid vocal text |
none
|
Liminary text |
Names of composers: 'M. Sampson' (f. 3v); 'B. Opicius' (f. 10v); 'Benedictus de Opiciis' (f. 11r; inscribed on the lower stave); 'Sampson' (f. 11v).
Performance instruction: 'Verte folium' (f. 4r).
Added versicles and responses to the antiphon 'Sub tuum presidium' written in the margin below the motet which adapts the text of this antiphon: 'Post partum virgo inviolata permansisti dei genitrix intercede pro nobis. Pro rege domine falvum fac regem nostrum et exaudi nos in die qua invocaverimus te' (f. 10v); and 'Oremus. Concede nos famulos tuos quesumus Domine Deus noster perpetua mentis et corporis salute gaudere et gloriosa beate marie semper virginis intercessione a presenti liberari tristicia et eterna perfrui leticia. Per Christum dominum nostrum amen' (f. 11r).,
3v, 4r, 10v, 11r, 11v
|
Decoration 1
Decoration initial type |
Frequency |
Folios |
Initial type(s) |
Size position |
Description |
Discrepancies |
penned initials |
normally |
1r, 10r, 15v, 19r, 21r |
decorated |
c. 60 x 40 |
Outlined initials in black ink imitating decoration of printed books. |
|
penned initials |
rarely |
6v, 14r |
plain initials |
c. 60 x 40 |
Initials in black ink. |
|
Decoration 2
Level of Decoration |
very high
|
Decoration initial type |
Frequency |
Folios |
Initial type(s) |
Size position |
Description |
Discrepancies |
painted initials |
rarely |
10v |
historiated |
80 x 76 |
Acanthus initial 'S' in gold on rose ground with the Virgin and Child, opening the marian motet 'Sub tuum praesidium confugimus'. |
|
penned initials |
often |
8v, 9r, 11r, 12r, 13v, 14r, 16r, 17r |
calligraphic |
c. 80/50 x c. 70/40 mm |
|
|
painted initials |
sometimes |
3v-4v, 11v, 13v, 15v, 16v |
trompe l'oeil |
80 x 65/80 mm. Either for all four voices (ff. 3v-4v) or only for discantus (ff. 11v, 13v, 15v, 16v). |
Acanthus initials in shell gold on coloured grounds some with red roses referring to Henry VIII, the owner of the manuscript (ff. 3v, 11v, 13v) |
|
penned initials |
occasionally |
10v, 11r, 11v, 12r |
calligraphic with grotesque heads |
c. 80/50 x c. 70/40 mm |
|
|
initials planned |
rarely |
8v, 14v, 16v |
|
|
|
|