Medieval and early modern liturgical books

May 27, 2009 7:26 PM

Graduel à l'usage de Saint-Diédigitizes a French gradual (choir music for the Mass) created in the late fifteenth or early sixteenth century. For more information about what's what, see the handy definitions offered by the British Library or Celebrating the Liturgy's Books.

A number of other beautiful liturgical manuscripts are now online. (Note: many sites are in French or German.)

• Leaves from various liturgical books
• Le Graduel de Bellelay (c. 12th century)
• Graduel de St. Katharinenthal (14th c.; three images)
• Sherborne Missal
• Missale Manuscripta Bruges (15th century)
• Book of Gregorian Chant (c. 16th century)
• Gradual (c. 16th century)
• Missale Lugdunense (16th century)
• Spanish antiphoner (16th century)
• Codices Electronici Sangallenses digitizes liturgical and other books from the Abbey Library of St. Gallen.
• For a growing archive of medieval polyphonic manuscripts, visit the Digital Image Archive of Medieval Music (go to "search" and click on the "images only" box; full-sized view requires registration).

posted by thomas j wise (5 comments total)

Thanks a lot !
posted by nicolin at 4:32 AM on May 28

awesome! Is there one of Torino J.II.9 kicking around (a.k.a. the Franco-Cypriot manuscript)? That had some awesome ars nova music in it, but I've been away from a library that has the (gorgeous) facsimile.
posted by LMGM at 6:21 AM on May 28

LMGM: here, although it's not exactly high-res. (via)
And thanks thomas j wise; your posts are always excellent!
posted by peacay at 7:38 AM on May 28

Magnifique!
posted by languagehat at 8:12 AM on May 28

thx peacay! I notice that they keep the resolution low enough that you'll still need to visit the archives if you want to transcribe something from it. I would hold it against them, except that it helps justify a research trip to Turin (if I were working on this codex).
posted by LMGM at 4:00 PM on May 29