Psalter
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A psalter is a volume containing the
The English term (
Western Christianity
Dedicated psalters, as distinct from copies of the Psalms in other formats, e.g. as part of a full edition of the Old Testament, were first developed in the Latin West in the 6th century in Ireland and from about 700 on the continent.
The extensively illustrated Utrecht Psalter is one of the most important surviving Carolingian manuscripts and exercised a major influence on the later development of Anglo-Saxon art.[2] In the Middle Ages psalters were among the most popular types of illuminated manuscripts, rivaled only by the Gospel Books, from which they gradually took over as the type of manuscript chosen for lavish illumination. From the late 11th century onwards they became particularly widespread - Psalms were recited by the clergy at various points in the liturgy, so psalters were a key part of the liturgical equipment in major churches.
Various different schemes existed for the arrangement of the Psalms into groups (see Latin Psalters). As well as the 150 Psalms, medieval psalters often included a calendar, a litany of saints, canticles from the Old and New Testaments, and other devotional texts. The selection of saints mentioned in the calendar and litany varied greatly and can often give clues as to the original ownership of the manuscript, since monasteries and private patrons alike would choose those saints that had particular significance for them.
Many psalters were lavishly illuminated with full-page miniatures as well as decorated initials. Of the initials the most important is normally the so-called "
The psalter is also a part of either the Horologion or the breviary, used to say the Liturgy of the Hours in the Eastern and Western Christian worlds respectively.
Eastern Christianity
Non-illuminated psalters written in Coptic include some of the earliest surviving codices (bound books) altogether; the earliest Coptic psalter predates the earliest Western (Irish) one by more than a century. The Mudil Psalter, the oldest complete Coptic psalter, dates to the 5th century. It was found in the Al-Mudil Coptic cemetery in a small town near Beni Suef, Egypt. The codex was in the grave of a young girl, open, with her head resting on it.[3] Scholar John Gee has argued that this represents a cultural continuation of the ancient Egyptian tradition of placing the Book of the Dead in tombs and sarcophagi.[4]
The Pahlavi Psalter is a fragment of a Middle Persian translation of a Syriac version of the Book of Psalms, dated to the 6th or 7th century. In
The established Orthodox tradition of Christian burial has included reading the Psalms in the church throughout the vigil, where the deceased remains the night before the funeral (a reflection of the vigil of Holy Friday). Some Orthodox psalters also contain special prayers for the departed for this purpose. While the full tradition is showing signs of diminishing in practice, the psalter is still sometimes used during a wake.[5]
Significant psalters
Manuscripts
See also Category:Illuminated psalters
Early Medieval
- Psalter of St. Germain of Paris, 6th century[6]
- Cathach of St. Columba, early 7th century
- Faddan More Psalter
- Vespasian Psalter, 2nd quarter of the 8th century
- Montpellier Psalter
- Chludov Psalter, 3rd quarter of the 9th century
- Southampton Psalter
- Utrecht Psalter, 9th century
- Salaberga Psalter[7]
- Lothair Psalter, 840–855, British Library, Add. MS 37768[8]
- Stuttgart Psalter
High Medieval
- Paris Psalter, 10th century
- Ramsey Psalter
- Gertrude Psalter, late 10th century with mid-11th century illuminations
- Theodore Psalter, 1066, at the British Library
- Psalterium Sinaiticum, 11th century
- Melisende Psalter, circa 1135
- Eadwine Psalter, c 1160
- Harley Psalter
- St. Albans Psalter
- Winchester Psalter
- Westminster Psalter
- Felbrigge Psalter
- Great Canterbury Psalter (Anglo-Catalan Psalter or Paris Psalter), c.1200 and 1340s
- Psalter of St. Louis
- Ormesby Psalter, start 13th century, Bodleian Library[9]
- Potocki Psalter, mid 13th century, now Warsaw with detached leaves elsewhere.[10]
Late Medieval
- Queen Mary Psalter
- Luttrell Psalter
- Gorleston Psalter
- Macclesfield Psalter
- Tickhill Psalter
- Sofia Psalter
- Tomich Psalter
- 232/15 Psalter at OPenn[permanent dead link]
- Kiev Psalter of 1397
- Psalter of Jean, Duc de Berry
- Burnet Psalter
Early modern / Tudor period
Printed editions
See also Category:Psalters
Incunabula
- Psalterium Benedictinum, 1459 [Mainz], Johann Fust and Peter Schöffer. The second printed psalter.[12]
Early modern editions
- Coverdale's Psalter, 1535
- Genevan Psalter, 1562
- David's Psalter, a translation of the Book of Psalms into Polish by Jan Kochanowski, 1579
- Scottish Psalter, 1635 and 1650
- Bay Psalm Book, 1640, the first book printed in British North America. The Psalms in it are metrical translations into English.[13]
- New England Psalter
Modern editions
- Grail Psalms, 1963, 2008
- ICEL Psalter, 1995
See also
- Metrical psalter
- Book of Hours
- Latin Psalters
- Pahlavi Psalter
- Psalms
References
- ^ Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. .
- ^ Francis Wormald, The Utrecht Psalter, Utrecht, 1953
- ISBN 978-90-429-1409-4. Archivedfrom the original on 4 May 2018. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
- ^ "BMSAES" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2018-04-09. Retrieved 2017-06-15.
- ^ The Psalter According to the Seventy Archived 2011-07-16 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Psalter of Saint Germain of Paris". wdl.org. 4 May 2018. Archived from the original on 27 December 2017. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
- ^ Northumbria, first half of eighth century, now Berlin.Introduction to facsimile edition Archived 2017-02-08 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Digitised Manuscripts". www.bl.uk. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
- ^ "Psalter (known as the 'Ormesby Psalter')". Digital Bodleian. Archived from the original on 21 August 2016. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
- ^ "The Crucifixion (a Leaf from the Potocki Psalter)". mfa.org. 4 April 2018. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
- ^ Margaret Stillwell, The Beginning of the World of Books: 1450 to 1470, New York, 1972, no. 18.
- ^ Margaret Stillwell, The Beginning of the World of Books: 1450 to 1470, New York, 1972, no. 27.
- ^ The Bay Psalm Book From the Collections at the Library of Congress
Further reading
- Annie Sutherland, English Psalms in the Middle Ages, 1300–1450, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015.