Antiphonal leaf.

Antiphonal leaf.

Italy,

ca. 1450.

Featuring text from Vulgate Psalms 86:1 and 88:2.

This manuscript leaf comes from an Italian antiphonal, a liturgical book that takes its name from the antiphons—short sacred verses sung before or after a chanted psalm or canticle. The text and music notes were written large enough to be used by several choristers at once. Although the provenance of this particular leaf is unknown, its decorative elements, four-lined red staves, and other physical characteristics point to a mid-15th century Italian origin—a period contemporary with Gutenberg’s printing activities in Germany.

From the collection of Rare Book School