Edinburgh, Great Britain, National Library of Scotland, MS Adv. 5.1.15, All folios
Physical description
Material: paper
Number of leaves: v + 180 + iii
Format: upright
Page dimensions: 382 x 282
Quire structure: Text version
Index / Table of Contents: typewritten table of content by D. W. Stevens, 1950 on modern endpapers ff. iv-v
Other devices: 1. Modern foliation 1-180, pencil top right
Page details (zoom):
Preparation and Copying
All foliosPreparation
Disposition of Voice Parts Key
Signe de renvoi
| Pricking | none visible |
| Ruled grid |
always,
single line to left and right, sometimes extra line in outer margin with narrower text block (or outer line first, then inner line added to make the text block narrower); often but not always double line for text, either c. 2.5 mm apart in red crayon, or c. 4 mm apart in hard point, almost invariably only where text present. |
| Ruling pattern |
highly irregular
5-12 pentagrams, ruled with pen and straightedge, very variable in precision and regularity of size and spacing; see 60v-61r for very irregular ruling, almost decorative; sometimes on a kind of 10-stave grid with unruled staved left as spaces between voices, but not very consistent or regular |
| Staves omitted from grid | n/a |
| Incomplete staves |
often,
often not clear whether stave left incomplete as part of pre-planning or partial stave added because scribe ran out of space |
| Medium and colour of grid | Frequency | Folios | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| red crayon or hard point | normally | ||
| Colour of staves | Frequency | Folios | Note |
| brown | often | ||
| black | often | ||
| Ruling medium | Frequency | Folios | Note |
| straightedge | always | ||
| Indentation for initials | Frequency | Folios | Note |
| single | normally | always there in main corpus, not in additions; usually single, c. 60-80 mm deep, but also very variable in depth and occasionally double | |
| Extra space between voice parts | Frequency | Folios | Note |
| variable space, not on grid | always | ||
| Space provided for separate text | Frequency | Folios | Note |
| no separate text | always | ||
| Adhoc adaptation | Frequency | Folios | Note |
| notation and staves extended into margin | rarely | ||
| partial additional staves | sometimes | often not clear whether stave left partial as part of pre-planning or partial stave added because scribe ran out of space |
Copying of text and music
| Language(s) | Latin |
|---|---|
| Higlighting | some litterae notabiliores, red |
| 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 brown |
| Type(s) of notation | void mensural |
| Type of notation note | void mensural, all, angular teardrop shape approaching rhomboid form, often leaning clockwise; upstems drawn together with noteheads, downstems separate |
| Monophonic notation |
present
4v, 5v, Tenor partly in square notation |
| Level of calligraphy | poor |
| Non verbal performance instructions | Folios | Note |
|---|---|---|
| signes-de-renvoi | rarely | |
| signa congruentiae | rarely | |
| numbers to indicate note lengths | 16v-18r | Apparently contemporary or near contemporary. Also in many triple-metre sections series of dots of division, again apparently contemporary or original. |
| Later changes | Folios | |
| rather many corrections, mostly through erasing and overwriting; later additions on blank spaces (f. 3v), untexted short pieces or drafts, 175r, possibly some of the short and incomplete pieces at beginning and end |
Text
| Types of script | cursive (Anglicana) |
| Level of calligraphy | fair |
| Colour(s) of text | black brown |
| Multiple texts | no |
| Text repetitions | none |
| Abbreviations | fairly many |
| Non underlaid vocal text | none |
| Liminary text | Composer designation Robert Carver (sometimes quite elaborate, esp. 70v, there in T in Gloria) sometimes, usually at end of piece bottom recto. ff. 7v, 8r: 'Cantus xix partium'. No voice designations. Occasional 'verte' instructions. |
| Later changes | text added later by different hand, rarely |
Decoration
| Level of Decoration | fair |
| Decoration initial type | Frequency | Folios | Initial type(s) | Size position | Description | Discrepancies |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| penned initials | always | decorated, decorated with grotesque heads, plain initials | in indentation at the beginning of every voice part. Some initials are for two voices at the same time. | large monochrome initials, mostly in red, some in greenish blue or with yellow wash (ff. 4r-6r, 158r-180v). |