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Jonathan Devaux

ANTIPHONARY-GRADUAL. Elephant folio (approximately 85 x 60 cm), bound in calf over wooden boards (about 2 cm thick), the boards decorated with metal bosses and corner pieces, with leather; 96 vellum leaves numbered in brown ink. 

A rare liturgical hybrid: this manuscript combines both an Antiphoner and a Gradual, likely organized according to the liturgical seasons or specific feasts. The Antiphoner contains chants for the Divine Office—the Church’s daily cycle of psalms, hymns, and readings prayed at fixed hours—while the Gradual includes the sung propers for the Mass, the central act of Catholic worship centered on the Eucharistic sacrifice. Such combined manuscripts were typically produced for larger monastic or cathedral communities, where both the Office and the Mass were celebrated regularly and required coordinated musical settings for the same liturgical occasions.
Designed to be used communally, the manuscript’s large format allowed it to be read by a group of singers gathered around a lectern, often a rotating or elevated stand in the choir. Rather than commissioning complete liturgical books for the entire year, monasteries frequently produced custom volumes tailored to specific seasons, such as Advent, Easter, or (as appears here) the Sundays after Epiphany—a liturgical period to which this manuscript seems to be dedicated.

A notable feature of the manuscript’s layout is the variation in the number of musical staves per page. In the Office section, chants are typically syllabic—with one note per syllable—which allows for more staves per page and a more compact presentation. By contrast, the Mass section employs melismatic chant, in which a single syllable is extended over multiple notes in flowing, ornamented musical phrases. This requires greater spacing on the page, resulting in fewer staves and visually reflecting the increased musical complexity of the Mass Proper’s.

For an antiphon-gradual this text is decorated with unusual intricate penwork, that places the book firmly in the 16th century, possibly late 15th.  The textualis quadrata (Gothic bookhand) used in the chant text — with its angular, heavy black strokes, diamond-shaped serifs, and distinct separation between letters — suggests a late Gothic script. This style is typical from the 14th to 16th centuries, but the clarity, roundness, and consistency point closer to the 15th century or early 16th.  The rubrics (in red ink) are also in a formal Gothic rotunda or bastarda variant — slightly more rounded, a bit looser, again pointing to a production around that time. The large illuminated initials (especially the blue-and-red “Q” with fine pen flourishes) show a high-quality, Gothic illumination style. These decorative elements are typical of manuscripts from ca. 1450–1500 in Southern or Central Europe (especially Spain, Italy, France, or Germany).

The manuscript also shows evidence of adaptation and re-use, with several instances where original instructions written in an angular Gothic script have been erased and overwritten in, later hand. This suggests a subsequent modification of the manuscript’s liturgical function—perhaps to adjust for evolving local practices or calendar change 
Of particular interest are the antiphons for Saints James, Jerome, and Augustine on folios 8–9. Their placement is unusual for this portion of the liturgical calendar, suggesting that the manuscript was customized to reflect specific local devotions. The prominence of Saint James may point to a Spanish origin or influence, while the inclusion of Saints Jerome and Augustine, both central to the spirituality of the Hieronymite Order, strongly suggests that this manuscript may have originated in or been intended for a Hieronymite monastery.

The Hieronymites were hermit monks who lived according to the Rule of Saint Augustine, yet the guiding spiritual figure of their order was Saint Jerome, the 5th-century hermit and biblical scholar. Many surviving Hieronymite manuscripts feature similar decorative initials, though often without the extremely fine penwork and flourishing seen in this volume. This level of detail may push the date earlier, from the mid-16th century to the early 16th or even the late 15th century.

The manuscript's decoration is exceptional. The initial 'D' on the first leaves displays craftsmanship so intricate it resembles enamelwork (and although it is glued on), one finds similar initials throughout the manuscript. Throughout the volume, approximately 10 large initials feature penwork extending into the entire margins. Additionally, the manuscript features around 90 large red and blue initials, each adorned with elaborate penwork, significantly enhancing the visual richness of the volume. The cost of producing such a book must have been staggering — the vellum leaves alone would have required an entire herd of cattle, a testament to the resources and ambition behind its creation.

A clear sign of reuse and later modification appears on the first leaf, which has been repurposed: it is turned upside down, with the current "In hoc tomo..." text visible on the verso, while the recto displays a beautifully executed red penwork initial. This unusual arrangement strongly suggests that the leaf was not originally intended to serve as the opening of the volume but was later adapted for that purpose. Furthermore, the manuscript’s designation as “Volume 4” implies it once belonged to a larger liturgical set, indicating a comprehensive and likely lavish collection typical of a well-funded monastic community.
The dimensions of this manuscript are truly exceptional. In my career as a bookseller, I have never encountered a volume of this size — or this weight. It is, quite literally, too heavy to carry alone.

Condition notes: one leather compartment is missing from the spine; there is damage to one raised band, resulting in a loss of leather; water stains are visible on the covers; creasing affects 13 leaves (fols. 68–80); and some leaves show browning. The photographs I took were not random — they follow the manuscript sequentially from the front to the last leaf, offering a full and accurate sense of its contents.
A final note: the shipping cost may appear high, but please consider that sending a 20 kg book with FedEx anywhere in the world is no small thing. Of course, if you're located in the Netherlands, you're welcome to collect it in person.


Quantity: 1 - Manuscript

Spain - Elephant Folio Liturgical Text Antiphonary - Gradual Gregorian Chant - 15

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Spain - Elephant Folio Liturgical Text Antiphonary - Gradual Gregorian Chant - 15

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765 objects

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