P-Ln (Lisboa) Biblioteca Nacional de Portugal L.C. 258
P-Ln L.C. 258
Temporale (ff. 1r-62v), Proprium Sanctorum (ff. 62v-124v), Commune Sanctorum (ff. 126r-185v).
Music written in black on a red pentagram, in square and in semi-mensural notation, and uses time signatures, clefs and custodes. The musical notation is mostly in figured chant (the figures of longa, brevis, semibrevis and minima), but there are also melodies written with the common square notation.
The decoration of the hymnal is sober and is limited to the initials of the text, usually in red and/or blue, either filigreed in the opposite color or in calligraphy. There are four large capitals with this decoration, which mark the beginning of the codex (fol. 1), the beginning of the Commune Sanctorum (fol. 126r) and the feasts Nathaliciis unius martiris (fol.138r) and Nathaliciis plurimorum martyrum (fol.145v).
Most of the parchment is well preserved. However, there are some folios with the text scraped off, bottom margins trimmed too much and the final guard-leaves mutilated. The choir book is incomplete, with a total of 40 folios missing.
Current measures of the folios: 330 x 454 mm. The pages were trimmed and the measurements of the original folios were 405 x 506 mm. Writing area 255 x 395 mm. Text and music arranged in one column, 6 lines with music and text (pentagram 255 x 43mm, interlinear space is 11 mm).
Three foliation in Arabic numbering can be found in the codex. The original foliation is brown numbers written on the bottom right-hand corner. The second foliation, probably written in the 16th or 17th century, is black color and thinner stroke on the bottom right-hand corner. After the digitalization of the manuscript, a modern foliation was added in pencil in the top right-hand corner added to filling in the foliation lacuna.
I13 (fols.1-10, 8 folios in gathering and 5 fly-leaves), II8 (fols. 11-18), III6 (fols. 19-24, missing the folios 20-21), IV8 (fols. 25-32), V4 (fols. 33-40, missing the folios 35-38), VI8 (fols. 41-48), VII6 (fols. 49-56, artificial quire), VIII8 (fols. 57-64), IX2 (fols. 65-72, missing the folios 66-71), missing quire (fols. 73-80), X6 (fols. 81-86), XI7 (fols. 87-93, missing the folio 94), XII6 (added quire, fols. 93x1-94), XIII4 (added quire, fols. 94x1-96), XIV6 (fols. 97-102, missing the folios 95-96), missing quire (fols. 103-110), XV4 (fols. 111-120, missing the folios 113-118), fly-leaves (fols. 121-124), XVI8 (fols. 126-137), XVII8 (fols. 138-145), XVIII4(fols. 146-153, missing the folios 148-151), XIX8 (fols. 154-161), XX7 (fols. 162-169, missing the folio 164), missing quire (fols. 170-177), XXI8 (fols. 178-185).
The bookbinding is made of wooden planes covered in wet stamped leather. Each plan has four bosses and a central stamped star with a boss in the center. The poor state of preservation can be seen in the damaged back and covering and in the traces of clasps on the back cover.
Martins, Inês. “Perspectives on the Hieronymite hymnal P-Ln L.C. 258: a complex and modified choir book”. Chapter to be published in the volume Actas of V MEDyREN International Congress "Encrucijadas musicales" (forthcoming).