Durham University Library Archives & Special Collections Catalogue
Two bifolia from an early Gradual, probably written in France, perhaps Normandy or north-east coastline, later 12th century.
Parchment
Red rubrics, capitals touched in red, one initial in scrolling bars and teardrop shapes in black penwork, the other initials in bright red, the larger with stylised foliate forms and baubels at midpoints.
Some near-contemporary pen trials, annotations (including an ?autograph cross) and a trimmed pencil drawing of an initial.
Written in France, Normandy?, later 12th century.
Another bifolium (with a quite separate recent provenance) was sold by Bloomsbury, 9 December 2015, lot 15. The parent manuscript was there ascribed to “probably southern France” on the arabesque forms of some initials, but the larger initials here with their swirls of foliage and baubels placed at the midpoints of their bowls, point instead to Normandy or the north-east coastline of France.
Bifoilum A includes material for St Agatha (5 February) (“Gaudeamus omnes in domino diem festum celebrantes sub honore agathe ...”) and St Valentine (14 February) (“in virtute tua domine letabitur iustus ... Desiderium anime eius tribuisti ei et voluntate labiorum ...”). Bifolium B includes Lectio “mensis iste” (?Exodus 12:2) and “Eripe me” (Psalm 139.2), and Feria VI “Domino audivi auditum tuum et timui consideravi opera tua ...”, with the folios numbered lix and lx.