Manuscript: Cambridge, Great Britain, Magdalene College, MS Pepys 1760

Manuscript type: choirbook

RISM siglum: GB-Cmc 1760

DIAMM Source Key: 1671

Image repositories: DIAMM

Folio(s): All folios

Date: c. 1509-c. 1514

The date of production of the manuscript variously established in relation to a note in the 1697 catalogue (see provenance) as before the death of Prince Arthur, 1502 (Merritt 1957), during the reign of Henry VII, d. 1509 (Kakmann 1956, Brown 1964), following the accession of Henry VIII in 1509 (Fenlon 1982), or 1516, the year of the birth of Mary, daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon (Lowinsky 1971). Probably made before the death of Anne of Brittany in 1514 (Kellman 1970), but after c. 1509 (see notes on repertory in Lowinsky 1971), and adapted for Henry VIII (added and overpainted arms).

Location of origin: France

Provenance

1. Anne of Brittany (d. 1514), Queen of France, wife of Charles VIII and Louis XII: frequent use of the heraldic ermine tail of Brittany as a run-over sign perhaps points to her ownership; overpainted arms (ff. 5v, 6r) are perhaps those of the French royal Order of St. Michael; 2. Henry VIII (b. 1491, d. 1547), King of England and Ireland: probably adapted for him: added Tudor royal arms of England as used by Henry VII and Henry VIII (f. 2v) and the arms of St George (as the patron saint of the Order of the Garter) overpainting the arms of the Order of St Michael (ff. 5v, 6r); 3. English Royal library: moved to the Upper Library at Westminster during the amalgamation of manuscripts after the death of Henry VIII; includes the 'high' Westminster inventory number: no 1281 (f. 1r) (see Carley 2000); the same number is also included in the British Library Royal 20 A XVI; 4. Lady Anne Stanhope (b. c. 1510, d. 1587), Countess of Hertford, Duchess of Somerset, attendant of Catherine of Aragon and subsequently wife of Edward Seymour, Lord Protector of England during the minority of Edward VI: inscription encoded in a numeric-alphabetic cypher: '1.13.13.5.18. 19.1.13.8.14.15.9.18.12.9.8.14.15.5.' for 'annestanhopismihope' (inside of the front cover), and 'ffor my lade anne...' (inside of the back cover); Inscribed in a 16th-century hand: 'he that stelle thys boke a shalle be hangked up on a hoke nouther be watter nor be lond bot wyt a fayer hempyng bond (inside of the front cover); 5. Samuel Pepys (b. 1633, d. 1703), English naval administrator, Member of Parliament and bibliophile: his bookplates (ff. 2r, 92r); included in his catalogue, Librum manuscriptorum viri sapientissimi Samuelis Pepysi..., in Edward Bernard, Catalogi Manuscriptorum Angliae et Hiberniae, 2 vols (Oxford 1697), II, p. 209, no 6806: 'Vocal Musick (of different styles) compos'd by the most Eminent Masters, English and Forrein in the time of King Hen. VII for the then Prince of Wales; being the Prince's Original Book, elegantly prickt and illuminated with his Figure in Miniature. Pergam'; bequeathed by Pepys with his entire library to Magdalene College, Cambridge, and m in 1723, on the death of his nephew and heir, John Jackson.

Artists/Scribes

Person: Anonymous, Anonymous
Person type: artist
Location of origin: France
Note: Miniature on f. 2v only.

Person: Anonymous, Anonymous
Person type: scribe
Note: One sribe responsible for text and music throughout.

Person: Bourdichon, Jean
Person type: artist
Location of origin: Tours, France
Note: On the basis of stylistic comparison, the decoration of borders and initials can be attributed to Jean Bourdichon and/or his workshop (see <a href="/bibliography/#entry508" data-tooltip="" class="has-tip tip-top reference" data-placement="top" rel="tooltip" data-original-title="" title="Fenlon, Iain (ed.), Cambridge Music Manuscripts 900-1700 (Cambridge, 1982) "><i class="fa fa-book"></i>Fenlon 1982</a>).

Person: Anonymous, (member of workshop of Jean Bourdichon (Tours, France))
Person type: None

Bibliography

Frere 1894–1932, repr. 1967, II, 145; James 1923, 36-38; Blume 1949–79, VI, 70; Bukofzer 1950, 190-216; Kahmann 1956, 126-128; Merritt 1957, 91-99; Lowinsky 1957, 120; Kabis 1957, 19 passim; Picker 1960, 351; Brown 1964, 5; Russell 1967, 64; Braithwaite 1967, I, 54-5; II, passim; V, 79-200; Lowinsky 1968, III, 129; Jeppesen 1968–70, II, 17; Douglas 1969, 86-88; Lowinsky 1971, 162-164; Kellman 1970; Bent/Bent/Trowell 1970, XVIII, 108; Bernstein 1973, 8, 13; 9, 11-2; Charles 1974, 62-68; Litterick 1976, 76-77; van Benthem 1976, 429; Fenlon 1982, 38; Brown 1988; Carley 2000, 213; Dumitrescu 2007, 121-122; Robinson 2009.

Basis for description: high-quality image