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Book/Printed Material Golden Munich Psalter. Psalterium

About this Item

Title

  • Golden Munich Psalter.

Other Title

  • Psalterium

Summary

  • This manuscript is one of the most lavishly illuminated psalters of the Middle Ages. It includes 91 full-page miniatures, most of which contain gold, in five picture cycles that give an overview of the most important scenes of the Bible, and especially the Old Testament, which is depicted in no fewer than 176 scenes. Among these, several very unusual motifs concerning heroic women are especially noteworthy. The style of the illumination is typical for the transition period between late Romanesque and early Gothic art. With its calendar, the texts of the Psalms, 15 canticles, and ten prayers, this book was intended for the private use and devotion of an important noble lady. Although its English provenance has long been known, it was only recently that the origin of the manuscript could be determined more precisely. In view of the close parallels with another dated calendar of known origin, it now seems probable that the book was commissioned in an Oxford workshop as a present for Margaret de Briouze on the occasion of her marriage to the nobleman Walter de Lacy II in the year 1201. According to an ex libris preserved on the front pastedown, the manuscript must have reached the Bavarian State Library by the 1620s. Dynastic links between the house of Wittelsbach-Straubing-Holland and members of the English aristocracy in the 13th and early 14th centuries could explain the manuscript's migration to continental Europe.

Created / Published

  • [place of publication not identified] : [publisher not identified], [1200 to 1225]

Headings

  • -  United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland--England--Oxford
  • -  1200 to 1225
  • -  Bible. Old Testament
  • -  Illuminations
  • -  Miniatures (Illuminations)
  • -  Prayers
  • -  Psalms
  • -  Psalters

Notes

  • -  Title devised, in English, by Library staff.
  • -  "BSB Shelfmark: Clm 835"--Note extracted from World Digital Library.
  • -  Original resource extent: 164 sheets, parchment : illustrations ; 27.7 x 19.3 centimeters.
  • -  Original resource at: Bavarian State Library.
  • -  Content in Latin.
  • -  Description based on data extracted from World Digital Library, which may be extracted from partner institutions.

Medium

  • 1 online resource.

Source Collection

  • Illuminated Manuscripts from Europe

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 2021667767

Online Format

  • compressed data
  • pdf
  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Rights & Access

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Credit Line: [Original Source citation], World Digital Library

More about Copyright and other Restrictions

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Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Golden Munich Psalter. [Place of Publication Not Identified: Publisher Not Identified, to 1225, 1200] Pdf. https://www.loc.gov/item/2021667767/.

APA citation style:

(1200) Golden Munich Psalter. [Place of Publication Not Identified: Publisher Not Identified, to 1225] [Pdf] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2021667767/.

MLA citation style:

Golden Munich Psalter. [Place of Publication Not Identified: Publisher Not Identified, to 1225, 1200] Pdf. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2021667767/>.