MEDIEVAL MANUSCRIPT CHOIRBOOK LEAF SPAIN c 1475, GRADUAL, EASTER SUNDAY

Description

Original Manuscript Gregorian Chant from a GRADUAL,
SPAIN, c 1475-1500
Victime Paschali
Sequence
for Easter Sunday
:
“
...
The tomb the Living did enclose; I saw Christ's glory as He rose..."
(IM-12935)
Original medieval illuminated manuscript leaf with Gregorian chant from a large Spanish
Gradual
on animal parchment.
Size of the leaf is 21 x 14.5 inches -
533 x 370 mm.
The manuscript Latin text and music were skillfully written by hand in black ink on both sides of the leaf, consisting of 5 lines of music on  five-line staves.
There are t
hree elaborate knot-work (cadel) initials
heightened with yellow – each with a very intricate internal design in violet.
It was created in
Spain, c. 1475-1500,
beautifully
executed by hand
over 500 years ago in the 15
th
century!!!
The text continues the
Victime Paschali Sequence
for Easter Sunday
:
“
Sepulcrum
…” (The tomb the Living did enclose; I saw Christ's glory as He rose! The angels there attesting; shroud with grave-clothes resting. Christ, my hope, has risen:
He goes before you into Galilee…).
This is an original, more than 500 years old, not a reproduction, and is in excellent condition with bold calligraphic text as seen in the photos.
I
t comes with a certificate of authenticity.
Graduals contain the musical chants for the proper of the Mass: introits, graduals, tracts, alleluia, offertory and communion verses, and sequences for special feasts.
They were used by priests, monks and nuns in churches and religious enclaves. The large size allowed them to be seen by multiple members of a choral section.
They may also include chants for the ordinary of the Mass: Kyrie, Gloria, Sanctus, Agnus Dei, and for the introductory ‘asperges’ rite.
As is usual with Medieval and Renaissance parchment, the hair side of the leaf is darker than the flesh side, but may take ink somewhat better.  The differences in tone caused scribes to arrange their quires so that the hair side of one sheet faced the hair side of the next, and the flesh side faced the flesh side.
We have been full-time dealers in Illuminated Manuscripts, Maps, Prints and Antiquities since 1980.