Copied by one main scribe (most of the carols) and about 15 additional scribes. Of English origin; probably copied at a Franciscan monastery in Devonshire, but designed for lay services (MllrE). Possibly originated at Exeter Cathedral (StE). Thomas Packe may have played a significant role in the compilation and copying. Manuscript later owned by the antiquarian Joseph Ritson, who donated it to British Museum in 1795.
GB-Lbl Add. MS 5665 (Ritson Manuscript)
British Library, London, England
manuscript of polyphony: c.1460-1510
| Archive | British Library, London, England (GB-Lbl) |
|---|---|
| Shelfmark | Add. MS 5665 (Ritson Manuscript) |
| Surface | Mixed Paper and Parchment |
| Numbering System | Foliation |
| Format | portrait |
| Measurements | 258 x 180 mm |
| Other Identifiers |
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| Notations |
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| Contents | Contains 95 compositions, 28 from 15 composers, 67 are anonymous. |
General Description
Binding
Modern covers of maroon cloth and leather on boards.
Watermark
(1) ox head surmounted by vertical line and star; (2) serpent. Neither in Briquet
Notation
black full mensural with red coloration; black void mensural; black full chant notation or 'strene' notation.
Foliation
Original ink foliation, 5-143 (first four and final three folios now unnumbered due to frayed corners); new pencil foliation, 1-148, begins with seventh modern flyleaf (number '26' omitted; last original folio not numbered).
Foliation
146 ff
Decoration
Carol section has blue painted initials ornamented with red.
Index
Modern index on ff. [vii-viii*].
Surface
viii paper + 146 parchment and paper + vi paper
DIAMM Note
Inventory taken from Miller, Catharine Keyes: A Fifteenth Century Record of English Choir Repertory: B. M. Add. Ms. 5665; A Transcription and Commentary, Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, 2 vols, Yale University (1948)
Census Catalogue of Music Description
This information is reproduced here by kind permission of the publishers. It is COPYRIGHT and copying/reproduction of this content without permission may result in legal action.
3 Masses, 1 Kyrie-Gloria pair, 1 Latin / English Te Deum, 1 canticle, 1 office hymn, 2 processional hymns, 22 motets (1 monophonic), 44 Latin and English carols, 1 English sacred piece, 18 English secular pieces, 1 French secular piece = 95 + 1 duplicate = 96
(Binchois-anon)-1, J. Cornyshe-1, Hawte-1, (Henry VIII)-1, Mower-2, Norman-1, Packe-5, Petyr-1, Smert-8, Smert/Trouluffe -5, T.B.-1, Trouluffe-2, Turges [Edmund Sturges]-1, W.P.-2 [one a simplified version of a "Salve Regina" attributed to Dunstable and Power-see BenhamSR], anon-63
viii paper + 146 parchment and paper + vi paper folios, 258 x 180. Original ink foliation, 5-143 (first four and final three folios now unnumbered due to frayed corners); new pencil foliation, 1-148, begins with seventh modern flyleaf (number "26" omitted; last original folio not numbered). New ff. 3-4, 10-11, 18-19, 27-28, 35-36, 44, 52-53, 58-59, 64, 71, 78, 84, 91-92, 102-103, and 114 are parchment; others are paper. Modern covers of maroon cloth and leather on boards. Modern index on ff. [vii-viii*]. Most carols in black mensural notation with red coloration; most other pieces in white mensural notation, but some voices and pieces in black chant notation or "strene" notation (discussed in BentN). Copied by one main scribe (most of the carols) and about 15 additional scribes. Carol section has blue painted initials ornamented with red. Two watermarks, neither in Briquet: (1) ox head surmounted by vertical line and star; (2) serpent.
Ca. 1460-1510 (MllrE); ca. 1500 (GreS). Of English origin; probably copied at a Franciscan monastery in Devonshire, but designed for lay services (MllrE). Possibly originated at Exeter Cathedral (StE). Thomas Packe may have played a significant role in the compilation and copying. Manuscript later owned by the antiquarian Joseph Ritson, who donated it to British Museum in 1795.
104
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‡ denotes primary source study
Curtis, Gareth R K, and Andrew B Wathey. 1994. Fifteenth-Century English Liturgical Music: A List of the Surviving Repertory. Royal Musical Association Research Chronicle, 27: 1-69.
Trowell, Brian. 1980. Faburden-New Sources, New Evidence: A Preliminary Survey. Modern Musical Scholarship, 28-78. Stocksfield, Boston, Henley, and London. Pages: 64,67,75,77. Notes: mention of MS; contents list (partial).
Hamm, Charles E, and Herbert Kellman (editors). 1979-1988. Census-Catalogue of Manuscript Sources of Polyphonic Music 1400-1550. Renaissance Manuscript Studies, vol. 1-5. 5 vols. Neuhausen nr. Stuttgart: American Institute of Musicology, Hänssler Verlag. Pages: II, 43.
Temperley, Nicholas. 1979. The Music of the English Parish Church. Cambridge. Pages: I, 9, 360; II,5,42. Notes: mention of MS; contents list (partial); transcription (partial).
Benham, Hugh Raymond. 1978. 'Salve Regina' (Power or Dunstable): A Simplified Version. Music and Letters, 59: 28-32. Notes: physical description (partial); contents list (partial); transcriptions (partial); mention of MS; discussion.
Benham, Hugh Raymond. 1977. Latin Church Music in England c. 1460-1575. London. Pages: 105-11, passim. Notes: physical description (partial); contents list (partial); transcriptions (partial); mention of MS; discussion.
Daniel, Ralph T, and Peter Le Huray. 1972. The Sources of English Church Music 1549-1660. Early English Church Music, vol. Supplementary Volume 1. London. Notes: contents list (partial); concordances (partial).
Preston, Michael J. 1972. A Complete Concordance to the Songs of the Early Tudor Court. Leeds. Pages: 5-6, 338-50, passim.
Danner, Peter Kolb. 1967. The Miserere Mihi and the English Reformation: A Study of the Evolution of a Cantus Firmus Genre in Tudor Music. Stanford University, Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation. Pages: 47,62ff,132-4,247-8. Notes: contents list (partial); transcriptions (partial); mention of MS; discussion.
Greene, Richard Leighton. 1962. A Selection of English Carols. Oxford. Pages: 91-2,115-6,175. Notes: physical description (partial); texts (partial); mention of MS; discussion.
Hughes, Dom Anselm. 1953. Catalogue of the Musical Manuscripts at Peterhouse, Cambridge. Cambridge. Pages: 139-40,171,212,258,260-1,396,425,463; II,52,125,465; III, 182. Notes: physical description (partial); contents list.
Stevens, John E. 1952. Early Tudor Songbooks. Cambridge University, Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation. Pages: I, 217-9, 480, passim; II,1-35,456-66.
Lewis, Anthony (editor). 1951-. Musica Britannica: A National Collection of Music. London. Pages: IV.xix, 125; Xll.xiii; XVIII,xv, 101-2,106; XXXVI,xvii-xix,xxiv,l-23,155ff.
Blume, Friedrich (editor). 1949-79. Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart: Allgemeine Enzyklopädie der Musik. Kassel. Pages: II,1340; VIII,1176; X, Tafel 42; XIII,939. Notes: physical description (partial); facsimile (partial).
Miller, Catherine Keyes. 1948. A Fifteenth Century Record of English Choir Repertory: B. M. Add. Ms. 5665; A Transcription and Commentary. Yale University, Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, 2 vols. Pages: I-II. Notes: physical description; contents list; texts; texts (partial); mention of MS; discussion.
Greene, Richard Leighton (editor). 1935, 2nd 1977. The Early English Carols. Oxford. Pages: 307-8, passim.
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Prof Nick Sandon
Friday, 6 February, 2026
Corrected inventory: f. 109v-112 is Sturges' Missa (Kyrie, Gloria)
Daniel Koplitz
Tuesday, 29 July, 2025
The first setting of Miserere michi/mihi (fol. 3) is transmitted *anonymously* (no ascription to John Norman) but the second setting at fol. 145 is indeed ascribed to John Norman. Compositions separated.
Census-Catalogue of Manuscript Sources of Polyphonic Music 1400-1550
Monday, 23 January, 2017
NB: Migrated from old site. Credit for notes may not be completely accurate. Census Catalogue of Music Description