US-PHf (Philadelphia) Free Library of Philadelphia, Music Department Lewis E 221
US-PHf Lewis E 221
The first page of the manuscript features a large illuminated capital U[nus] and a fully decorated border. One historiated capital S represents St. Jerome kneeling before the cross (f. 151v). The other folios include refined red, blue and ink flourished initials with filigrees extending to the margin.
Generally fair. Some folios are missing (152, 158, 159, 181, 184 and 185) or damaged; the latter underwent repair.
Approx. dimensions 590x400 mm, textblock 450x257 mm, according to the Library catalogue. Written in one column of 20 lines, ruled in ink.
Original foliation in red ink. Small modern foliation near the top right corner (they diverge after fol. 152, on account of missing folios).
Leather over boards.
Diurnal antiphoner: Matins are not provided with musical notation. The text underwent some revision (e.g. fol. 53v-54, ant. Quomodo fiet istud angele dei). There are a few marginal additions in Humanistic (e.g. fols. 55v-56) or cursive scripts. The 18th-century marginalia concerning the feast of St. Cecilia (f. 177 ff.) imply substantial liturgical change. A melody for the Benedicamus Domino ("in omnibus festivitatibus beate Marie, ad vesperas") can be found at the end (f. 189v). On the initial guard-leaf (inside of the front cover) someone has pasted modern descriptions of the MS: a printed excerpt, in French, probably from the auction catalogue, and a librarian's typewritten summary. An earlier, penciled index can also be seen on the right. Stamped "Geo S. Pepper Fund" and "3074" at bottom of f. 2r. Although the French catalogue entry, based on Cintra pitoresca by Visconde de Juromenha (Lisboa, 1838) identifies friar Brás d'Olivença, mentioned in the Colophon, as Prior at the Monastery of Belém, Lisbon (and later Provincial of the Order of Saint Jerome in Portugal), he must have ended his two-year term as Prior in 1547 and in 1548 he was already rector of the Hieronymite's College at Coimbra, which was still being installed and functioned from 1550 onwards as part of the University in provisional facilities in spite of sustained support by King John III. João Pedro d'Alvarenga researched friar Brás d'Olivença and Santiago Ruiz Torres contributed to the preliminary description of this manuscript as part of the Belém project.