inconnu - Grand Coutumier - 1500

Leaf from the “Grand Coutumier” – illuminated liturgical manuscript on parchment – France, end of the Middle Ages – Probably 16th century

Rare parchment leaf from a liturgical codex, bearing at the top the old designation “Grand Coutumier.”

The document combines liturgical text with square musical notation on red staves. An instruction in Old French specifies: “After the repetition of that antiphon at Benedictus the singers say:,” indicating its use to precisely regulate the flow of the chant during the office.

Remarkable large historiated initial, illuminated, painted in red and blue-green, ornamented with vegetal scrolls and enclosing a fantastical dragon-like creature.

The leaf presents several later annotations and alterations, notably the note “C’est ajouté la seconde musique,” testifying to prolonged use and adaptation of the manuscript.

France, late Middle Ages, with later annotations and additions. The original religious establishment could not be identified with certainty.

Old condition: wear, stains, folds, tears and peripheral gaps visible. Good preservation of the colors of the illumination.

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