I-La MS 238 (Lucca Choirbook or Strohm Codex)

Archivio di Stato Lucca, Lucca, Italy

choirbook fragment: Mid-15th century: ca. 1463-64, with additions until ca. 1500

Archive Archivio di Stato Lucca, Lucca, Italy (I-La)
Shelfmark MS 238 (Lucca Choirbook or Strohm Codex)
Surface Parchment
Numbering System Foliation
Measurements RISM: 460 x 340; DIAMM Size: 475 (H) x 345 (W) mm
Other Identifiers
  • RISM: I-Las238
  • RISM: Ms. Strohm
  • CCM: LucAS 238
Notations
  • black void mensural
Copyists
Relationships
Provenance
  • Bruges? Flanders
Contents Contains 62 compositions, 33 from 12 composers, 29 are anonymous.
General Description

Once part of larger musical manuscript; additional folios from same manuscript now I-PIarc Cartella 11/III & I-Lcr MS 97 - see below. Main scribe was a certain 'Waghes' (inscriptions on ff. 7, 15, 49'); later additions by three other scribes (StroMB). Main corpus probably copied in Bruges (StroMB). By 1472 at latest, manuscript given to Lucca Cathedral by Giovanni Arnolfini, a Lucca merchant doing business in Bruges. Used by cathedral's maestro di cappella, John Hothby; several pieces added, along with some texts and notes.

Original manuscript disassembled in early 17th century; folios used as binding material. In 1963-4, Reinhard Strohm recovered 56 folios from bindings of archival registers in the Archivio di Stato at Lucca, and an additional bifolio at the Biblioteca Arcivescovile at Pisa. The Pisa bifolio (= ff. 41/44 in Strohm’s reconstruction) is I-Plarc Cartella 11/III (or PisaBA s.s), q.v.

In 1976, Agostino Ziino and Strohm recovered, respectively, three and two additional bifolios at the Archivio di Stato in Lucca. Four of these bifolios are catalogued as I-Lcr MS 97 (q.v.)

Strohm's final reconstruction re-numbers & re-orders some of the leaves compared to his earlier papers. Folios in gatherings 1-10 are numbered consecutively (apart from f. 30.5, the sole survivor of gathering 8); the folios in gatherings 11-16 are numbered with decimals to indicate the approximate placings within the gathering; and folios in gatherings 17-20 are again numbered consecutively.

The full foliation is set out on this page where a reconstruction of the fragments is also available, .

Reinhard Strohm, 2009; updated DIAMM, 2020
Binding

Preserved loose, as fascicles reflecting above foliation, in modern folder.

Reinhard Strohm, 2009
Notation

black void mensural

Reinhard Strohm, 2009
Ruling

10 staves per page; Width of rastrum: 18mm (measured on fol. 1)

Reinhard Strohm, 2009
Foliation

Modern foliation.

Strohm's final foliation, replacing earlier (1976) foliation: 1-30; 30.5; 31-36; 37.1-2, 37.5-6; 38, 38.1-5, 38.9; 39, 39.1, 39-7-8; 40.2-3, 40.5-6, 40.8-9; 41-42; 42.1-4; 43-60.

Strohm's full foliation, including the other fragments, can be found here.

DIAMM 2020
Decoration

Painted initials and inked calligraphic initials in blue, brownish-red, and gold.

Reinhard Strohm, 2009
Index

Modern index by Reinhard Strohm

Reinhard Strohm, 2009
Surface

parchment

Reinhard Strohm, 2009
RISM Description

Catalogue entries for LucAS 238:

RISM B/IV 5: XVe s. 58ff. Parchemin, 460 x 340 mm. Foliotation moderne en haut des ff. Les ff. 11, 21, 35v, 48, 58r-v sont blancs. Lef. 1 coupé longitudinalement, le f. 11 très mutilé. Notation mesurée blanche. 10 portées par p. Six capitales enluminées or et coul., restes d'une miniature au f. 1v.

Dépecé au XVIIe s. pour servir de couvertures aux actes notariés des Archives, ce ms. reconstitué en 1965 à partir de feuillets épars, appartient au même groupe que les mss. de l'Estense à Modena (MOe 456) et de la Vaticana (Rvat. 51) copiés à la fin du XVe s. et avec lesquels il présente d'ailleurs quelques concordances (nos 2, 5b, 11, 13, 14). Il est possible qu'il ait été copié en Flandre vers 1470 et qu'il soit en relation avec l'évêque de Lucca Stefano Trenta (1448-1478) qui était nonce du pape en Angleterre et en Bourgogne sous Paul II dont on relève le nom plusieurs fois au f. 1. Le répertoire en tout cas, ne permet guère de repousser la date de la copie au delà de 1485. Malheureusement, aucune pièce n'est complète, mais le ms. a tout de même permis de découvrir l'auteur d'une messe restée jusque là anonyme dans TR89 (nos 736-740): Henricus Tik (no 1), ainsi qu'un Kyrie inconnu de Frye (no 4).

Le dépouillement suit la numérotation donnée par Strohm qui a découvert, mis en ordre et étudié le ms.

This information is reproduced here by kind permission of the publishers. It is COPYRIGHT and copying/reproduction of any of this content without permission may result in legal action.

Répertoire International des Sources Musicales
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.

17 Masses, 2 Magnificats, 9 motets = 28 (fragmentary and in-complete)

Domarto-1, (Dufay)-1 + 1?, Frye-1, (Heyns)-1, (Isaac)-1, (Martini)-1, (Plummer)-1, J.? Stone-1, Tik-1, anon-18

61 parchment folios, originally ca. 470 x 340. Once part of larger musical manuscript; two additional folios from same manuscript now PisaBA s.s. Modern (1976) foliation by Reinhard Strohm: 1-24; 24bis; 24ter; 25-30; 30bis; 31-40; 42-43; 45-46; 46bis; 47-48; 48bis; 49-58. Preserved loose, as fascicles reflecting above foliation, in modern folder. Modern index by Reinhard Strohm. Copied by one main scribe (Netherlandish hand), with several additions by later (Italian) hands. Painted initials and inked calligraphic initials in blue, brownish-red, and gold.

Ca. 1470, with additions ca. 1485-1500 (StroMB). Main corpus probably copied in Bruges (StroMB). By 1472 at latest, manuscript given to Lucca Cathedral by Giovanni Arnolfini, a Lucca merchant doing business in Bruges. Used by cathedral's maestro di cappella, John Hothby; several pieces added, along with some texts and notes. Original manuscript disassembled in early 17th century; folios used as binding material. In 1963-4, Reinhard Strohm recovered 56 folios from bindings of archival registers in the Archivio di Stato at Lucca, and an additional bifolio at the Biblioteca Arcivescovile at Pisa. In 1976, Agostino Ziino and Strohm recovered, respectively, three and two additional folios at the Archivio di Stato in Lucca. Bifolio discovered in Pisa (= ff. 41/44 in Strohm's reconstruction) is PisaBA s.s.

Vol 4

Composers: Add "(Busnois?)-1" and "(Joye?)-2"; change "(Plummer)-1 " to "(Plummer)-1 + 1?"; change "anon-18" to "anon-14."

Physical: Main scribe was a certain "Waghes" (inscriptions on ff. 7, 15, 49'); later additions by three other scribes (StroMB).

Date: Ca. 1467-70 (main corpus), with additions from 1470's until ca. 1500 (StroMB).

Census-Catalogue of Manuscript Sources of Polyphonic Music 1400-1550

40.5

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Sets

Select a set to see its sources.

‡ denotes primary source study

Cook, James. 2015. The Style of Walter Frye and an anonymous mass in the Lucca Choirbook. Music and letters, vol 96, issue 1: 1-27.

Strohm, Reinhard. 2008. John Hothby, the Lucca Choirbook - and Further Dragon's Heads? Acta Musicologica, 80: 59–66.

‡ Strohm, Reinhard. 2008. The Lucca Choirbook: Lucca, Archivio di Stato, MS 238; Lucca, Archivio Arcivescovile, MS 97; Pisa, Archivio Arcivescovile, Biblioteca Maffi, Cartella 11/III, facs. ed. with an introduction and inventory. Late Medieval and Early Renaissance Music in Facsimile, vol. 2.  Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press.

Haar, James, and John Nadas. 2007. Johannes de Anglia (John Hothby): Notes on His Career in Italy. Acta Musicologica, 79: 291-358.

Strohm, Reinhard (editor). 2007. Mass Settings from the Lucca Choirbook. Early English Church Music, vol. Fifteenth-Century Liturgical Music vol. VI.  Stainer and Bell.

Strohm, Reinhard (editor). 2007. Fifteenth-Century Liturgical Music, VI: Mass Settings from the Lucca Choir Book. Early English Church Music, vol. 49.  London: Stainer and Bell for the British Academy.

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.

Taruskin, Richard. 1986. Antoine Busnoys and the L'Homme armé Tradition. Journal of the American Musicological Society, 39: 255-93. Pages: 258-9. Notes: contents list (partial); concordances (partial); mention of MS; discussion.

Strohm, Reinhard. 1985. Music in Late Medieval Bruges.  Oxford. Pages: 120-42, 192-200,220-35,238-49; frontispiece; Plates 6 and 8. Notes: physical description; contents list; concordances; incipits (partial); transcription (partial); facsimile (partial); mention of MS; discussion.

Strohm, Reinhard. 1979. Die Missa super 'Nos amis' von Johannes Tinctoris. Die Musikforschung, 32: 34-51. Pages: 39. Notes: contents list (partial).

Staehelin, Martin. 1977. Die Messen Heinrich Isaacs. Publikationen der Schweizerischen Musikforschenden Gesellschaft Serie II, vol. 28/I-III.  Bern and Stuttgart. Pages: I, xxix, 30-1, 60, 86; III, 87-9. Notes: physical description; contents list (partial); concordances (partial).

Planchart, Alejandro Enrique. 1976. Guillaume Dufay's Masses: A View of the Manuscript Traditions. Papers read at the Dufay Quincentenary Conference, Brooklyn College, December 6-7, 1974, 26-60,150-1. Brooklyn. Pages: 37-8, 41-2. Notes: contents list (partial); concordances (partial); mention of MS; discussion.

Hamm, Charles E, and Ann Besser Scott. 1972. A Study and Inventory of the Manuscript Modena, Biblioteca Estense, a.X.I.11 (ModB). Musica Disciplina, 26: 101-43. Pages: 138. Notes: contents list (partial); concordances (partial).

Planchart, Alejandro Enrique. 1972. Guillaume Dufay's Masses: Notes and Revisions. The Musical Quarterly, 58: 1-23. Pages: 1, 8-13. Notes: physical description (partial); contents list (partial); concordances (partial); mention of MS; discussion.

Scott, Ann Besser. 1972. English Music in Modena, Biblioteca Estense, a. X. 1.11 and Other Italian Manuscripts. Musica Disciplina, 26: 145-60. Pages: 146. Notes: mention of MS.

Strohm, Reinhard. 1968. Ein unbekanntes Chorbuch des 15. Jahrhunderts. Die Musikforschung, 21: 40ff. Notes: physical description; contents list; concordances.

Harrison, Frank Llewellyn (editor). 1963-. Early English Church Music.  London: Stainer & Bell. Pages: XXII, 173ff. Notes: mention of MS; contents list (partial); concordances (partial).

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M. Jennifer Bloxam

Monday, 28 July, 2025

The 'O pulcherrima' at f.52v-53 is the motet "O pulcherrima mulierum surge propera" elsewhere identified in DIAMM as by "Plummer, John (ca.1410-ca.1484) (?),"

Reinhard Strohm

Saturday, 13 November, 2021

Provenance: Bruges (?), date: ca. 1463-64, with additions until ca. 1500

David Wyatt

Tuesday, 4 May, 2021

Superseded by work done on Strohm Codex, but filed in case needed for future reference -- DW

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