Ramsey Psalter
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The Psalter of Oswald also called the Ramsey Psalter (
British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...
,
Harley Harley may refer to: People * Harley (given name) * Harley (surname) Places * Harley, Ontario, a township in Canada * Harley, Brant County, Ontario, Canada * Harley, Shropshire, England * Harley, South Yorkshire, England * Harley Street, in L ...
MS 2904) is an
Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...
illuminated Illuminated may refer to: * "Illuminated" (song), by Hurts * Illuminated Film Company, a British animation house * ''Illuminated'', alternative title of Black Sheep (Nat & Alex Wolff album) * Illuminated manuscript See also * Illuminate (disambi ...
psalter A psalter is a volume containing the Book of Psalms, often with other devotional material bound in as well, such as a liturgical calendar and litany of the Saints. Until the emergence of the book of hours in the Late Middle Ages, psalters we ...
of the last quarter of the tenth century. Its script and decoration suggest that it was made at
Winchester Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...
, but certain liturgical features have suggested that it was intended for use at the
Benedictine monastery , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...
of
Ramsey Abbey Ramsey Abbey was a Benedictine abbey in Ramsey, Huntingdonshire (now part of Cambridgeshire), England. It was founded about AD 969 and dissolved in 1539. The site of the abbey in Ramsey is now a Scheduled Ancient Monument. Most of the abbey's ...
, or for the personal use of Ramsey's founder St Oswald. The
litany Litany, in Christian worship and some forms of Judaic worship, is a form of prayer used in services and processions, and consisting of a number of petitions. The word comes through Latin ''litania'' from Ancient Greek λιτανεία (''litan ...
includes a gold-lettered triple invocation of
St Benedict Benedict of Nursia ( la, Benedictus Nursiae; it, Benedetto da Norcia; 2 March AD 480 – 21 March AD 548) was an Italian Christian monk, writer, and theologian who is venerated in the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Orie ...
of Nursia, and at the time of writing, probably before Oswald's death in 992, Ramsey was the only English monastery dedicated to this saint. A "Psalter of St Oswald" was listed in a 14th-century catalogue of the library at Ramsey. This manuscript is not to be confused with another Ramsey Psalter in the
Morgan Library & Museum The Morgan Library & Museum, formerly the Pierpont Morgan Library, is a museum and research library in the Murray Hill neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It is situated at 225 Madison Avenue, between 36th Street to the south and 37th S ...
, New York (MS M. 302), made between 1286 and 1316. The text is a Latin psalter using the Gallican version. The "elegant English
caroline minuscule Carolingian minuscule or Caroline minuscule is a script which developed as a calligraphic standard in the medieval European period so that the Latin alphabet of Jerome's Vulgate Bible could be easily recognized by the literate class from one r ...
" of the script inspired the influential "foundational hand" developed by the 20th-century
calligrapher Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "t ...
Edward Johnston Edward Johnston, CBE (11 February 1872 – 26 November 1944) was a British craftsman who is regarded, with Rudolf Koch, as the father of modern calligraphy, in the particular form of the broad-edged pen as a writing tool. He is most famo ...
. The two most famous illuminated pages are at the start of the manuscript and are illustrated here and discussed below. Apart from another very large illuminated initial at the start of Psalm 101, the rest of the illumination consists of smaller decorated initials with colour at the start of each psalm, and gold initials for each verse.


Illumination

Unsurprisingly for a manuscript with such strong connections to Oswald, a leader of the
English Benedictine Reform The English Benedictine Reform or Monastic Reform of the English church in the late tenth century was a religious and intellectual movement in the later Anglo-Saxon period. In the mid-tenth century almost all monasteries were staffed by secular ...
, the decoration shows the "Winchester style" associated with the reform, including continental influences. The famous tinted line drawing of
the Crucifixion The crucifixion and death of Jesus occurred in 1st-century Judea, most likely in AD 30 or AD 33. It is described in the four canonical gospels, referred to in the New Testament epistles, attested to by other ancient sources, and considere ...
is in the version of the English form of the coloured outline drawing that draws on the style of the
Utrecht Psalter The Utrecht Psalter (Utrecht, Universiteitsbibliotheek, MS Bibl. Rhenotraiectinae I Nr 32.) is a ninth-century illuminated manuscript, illuminated psalter which is a key masterpiece of Carolingian art; it is probably the most valuable manuscript ...
, and the painted miniatures use sprawling
acanthus leaves The acanthus ( grc, ἄκανθος) is one of the most common plant forms to make foliage ornament and decoration, and even as the leaf distinguishing the heraldic coronet of a manorial lord from other coronets of royalty or nobility, which us ...
, the Winchester version of decoration derived from Carolingian and
Ottonian art Ottonian art is a style in pre-romanesque German art, covering also some works from the Low Countries, northern Italy and eastern France. It was named by the art historian Hubert Janitschek after the Ottonian dynasty which ruled Germany and nort ...
. Equally, however, there is use of Insular interlace, restricted to the ends of the vertical element of the
Beatus initial Beatus vir (; "Blessed is the man...") are the first words in the Latin Vulgate Bible of both Psalm 1 and Psalm 112 (in the general modern numbering; it is Psalm 111 in the Greek Septuagint and the Vulgate). In each case, the words are used to r ...
of
Psalm 1 Psalm 1 is the first psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in the English King James Version: "Blessed is the man", and forming "an appropriate prologue" to the whole collection.Kirkpatrick, A. F. (1906)Cambridge Bible for Schools and Collegeson ...
and the "D" at
Psalm 101 Psalm 101 is the 101st psalm from the Book of Psalms. The Latin name is Misericordiam et judicium. It is attributed to David, and provides warnings for the wicked, while explaining the benefits the righteous will reap. In the slightly different n ...
. The artist of the Crucifixion miniature seems also to have worked at Fleury Abbey, where both Oswald and his uncle, Archbishop
Oda of Canterbury Oda (or Odo; died 958), called the Good or the Severe, was a 10th-century Archbishop of Canterbury in England. The son of a Danish invader, Oda became Bishop of Ramsbury before 928. A number of stories were told about his actions both prior to ...
, had trained, as well as the Abbey of Saint Bertin,
Saint-Omer Saint-Omer (; vls, Sint-Omaars) is a commune and sub-prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department in France. It is west-northwest of Lille on the railway to Calais, and is located in the Artois province. The town is named after Saint Audomar, ...
, both of these in France. At St Bertin he worked on the
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(municipal library there, MS 11) and at Fleury on the Harley Aratea (BL, Harley MS 2506). The figure of Christ is very similar to that on an Anglo-Saxon reliquary cross in the
Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...
, which was set on a small
reliquary A reliquary (also referred to as a ''shrine'', by the French term ''châsse'', and historically including ''wikt:phylactery, phylacteries'') is a container for relics. A portable reliquary may be called a ''fereter'', and a chapel in which it i ...
in Germany around 1000. The Beatus initial appears to be the first to use the "lion-mask" in the bridge, which was to be widely copied in England and abroad.Pächt, 86-89


Notes


References

* J. Backhouse, D. H. Turner and L. Webster, eds.: ''The Golden Age of Anglo-Saxon Art, 966-1066''. London: British Museum, 1984. *British Library
Detailed record for Harley 2904
in the BL Catalogue of illuminated manuscript (with several images and bibliography). * Michelle P. Brown: ''Manuscripts from the Anglo-Saxon Age''. London: British Library, 2007. , p. 119. *Otto Pächt: ''Book Illumination in the Middle Ages: an introduction''. London: Harvey Miller, 1986. .


Further reading

* (see index)


External links

{{commonscat, Psalter of Oswald (c.975-1000) - BL Harley MS 2904
images
on ramseyabbey.co.uk

Illuminated psalters 10th-century biblical manuscripts Harleian Collection 10th-century illuminated manuscripts Later Anglo-Saxon illuminated manuscripts