Manuscript of polyphonic music, originated in the library of St Andrews Priory in Scotland. Contains what is probably the earliest extant version of the repertory of the Notre Dame school.

The volume is a fragment: only 197 of the original 215 folios remain. The 11 fascicles of the volume consist of 26 gatherings, most of which are quaternios. There are some exceptions: gathering 1 is a binio, 5 a ternio, 7 a binio, 11 a quaternio of which two folios are missing. Yet, these gatherings 1, 5 and 11 were originally quaternios. Gathering 10 is a ternio with three single sheets inside (the first quaternio of fascicle 10 is missing). Gathering 15 is a quinio, and 26 a ternio.

The text is legible but the volume as a whole has suffered from water damage and poor storage in the past. Some old folio numbers have been lost because the top margin has been cut.

Modern Binding of pulp boards.

In the same way as the manuscript W2, this volume seems to have come to Wolfenbüttel after the 1897 sale of the library of the the well-known Protestant theologian, Flacius Illyricus. The latter is thought to have obtained the volume through Marcus Wagner, one of his emissaries, who visited St Andrews in 1553.

The name of a scribe is found on f. 191v/174v (ink and pencil foliation respectively): 'Qui (overwritten to read 'Isti') liber est scriptus Walterus sit b(e)n(e)dict(us)'. This is written under a line of music (as though it is the text).

Mixture of old and new foliations. The currently 197 folios (of the originally 215 folios) are numbered in modern ink in the top right corners of the recto pages, while the old foliation is in the top middle of the rectos. While Roman numerals are used up to f. XXIX, after that there are Gothic numerals. The last number of the old foliation is actually 214, because the number 68 was repeated on the following page.

The missing folios are 1, 2, 7, 8, 36, 37, 51, 52, 83, 84 and 177-184. Staehelin's facsimile incorrectly reports that the missing folios are 82 and 83. No actual break occurs after folio 81 (74), and the leaf given by Staehelin as 84 (75) is actually 82 (75), as the original foliation indicates. The number that tops f. 85r, furthermore, seems to have had its second integer written over, changing what was originally a “5” to a “3” in an attempt to rectify the discrepancy. The “correction” progressed no further.

Parchment

RISM B/IV 1: A 13th century parchment manuscript meas. 215 x 150 mm. and containing probably the earliest extant version of the repertory of the Notre Dame school. In spite of this, it originated in the library of St. Andrews Priory in Scotland. Like W2, this codex apparently came into Wolfenbüttel upon the sale of the library of Flacius Illyricus, the well-known Protestant theologian, in 1597. He obtained it through one of his emissaries, Marcus Wagner, who visited St. Andrews in 1553 in the process of seeking out important documents of church history. Flacius himself published a number of texts from W1 in his Varia doctorum piorumque virorum de corrupto statu ecclesiae poemata dated 1557. The present catalogue lists both the new and old foliations, the latter in brackets since it is now defective owing to missing leaves. Of the original 215 folios, only 197 remain. These are numbered in modern ink at t.r.r. while the old foliation is at t.m.r. Roman numerals are used up to f. XXIX, then Gothic ones. The last number of the old foliation is actually 214, because 68 was repeated for the following page. The missing folios are nos. 1, 2, 7, 8, 36, 37, 51, 52, 84, 85 and 177-184. The top margin has been cut down somewhat, so that the old folio nos. are often missing. Moreover, the codex has suffered from damp and neglect, but is generally legible. As for the 11 fascicles into which the codex may be divided, this consists of 26 gatherings, mainly quaternios. The exception are gatherings 1: a binio, 5: a ternio, 7:a binio, 10: a ternio with 3 single sheets inside, 11: a quaternio minus 2 folios, 15: a quinio and 26: a ternio. The first quaternio of fascicle 10 is now missing altogether. Evidently gatherings 1, 5 and 11 were originally quaternios. The music is divided between the various fascicles as follows : 1 (f. l-4v) : 3 four-part organa; 2 (f. 5-12v): 4 three-part organa, 1 four-part conductus-motet minus the T, and 3 three-part conductus; 3 (f. 13-20v): 15 two-part organa, including 1 two-part Sanctus Tro; 4 (f. 21-42v): 32 two-part organa; 5 (f. 43 to 46v) : 34 two-part clausulae ; 6 (f. 47-54v) : 67 two-part clausulae and 1 two-part conductus ; 7 (f. 55-62v) : 5 three-part organa ; 8 (f. 63-85v) : 1 two-part conductus, 13 three-part conductus, 1 four-part conductus-motet minus the T, 2 three-part conductus, and the end of another, 2 three-part organa, 1 three-part conductus, 1 three-part organum, 1 three-part clausula, 3 three-part Sanctus Tro and 2 three-part Agnus Tro; 9 (f. 86-167v) : 4 two-part conductus (first sections of each à 3), 3 two-part Benedicamus, 1 two-part Gloria paraphrase, 1 two-part Benedicamus Tro, 1 two-part conductus, 3 three-part motets minus the T, 11 two-part conductus, 1 three-part motet minus the T, 12 two-part conductus, 1 two-part Agnus Tro, 49 two-part conductus and 1 two-part Agnus Tro; 10 (f. 168-175v): monodies; 11 (f. 176-197v): 7 Kyrie Tro, 1 Gloria Tro, 9 Alleluias, 1 Tractus, 15 sequences, 7 offertories etc., 4 Sanctus Tro and 3 Agnus Tro, all for two voices. The date of the manuscript itself is sometimes put as late as the early 14th century, but in any case the music dates from c. 1200, and the absence of motets, except in the form of 6 T-less conductus, is significant. Fascicle 11 appears to contain insular compositions for the most part (see HandschinWB). Certain insular traits come to light in the notation of W1 such as the English form of the conjunctura and the tendency to write breve shapes as semibreves. There are generally 12 red four-or five-line staves per page, though often the staves follow one another almost without a gap between. As usual in the Notre Dame sources, four-line staves are generally reserved for the plainsong T. Initials are in red and blue, and there is pen-and-ink ornament in the margin at various points. The name of one of the scribes is given on f. 165v: Qui liber est scriptus Walterus sit benedictus. The binding is a recent one of pulp boards.

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