Copied by a single scribe. Copied and decorated in Low Countries (perhaps at Antwerp), or in England, by artisans working in Netherlandish style; not part of Netherlands court complex. Produced for Henry VIII, King of England, and his wife, Catherine of Aragon. Apparently commissioned by 'P O' (inscription on f. 1), possibly identifiable with Petrus de Opitiis, father of Benedictus, who evidently had contacts with court of Emperor Maximilian I; Benedictus de Opitiis moved from Antwerp to London in 1516 to become organist at court of Henry VIII. HugheCM suggests (less plausibly) that 'P O' may be William Peto (d. 1558), a Franciscan Observant friar who became tutor and confessor to Princess Mary. Manuscript eventually incorporated in Old Royal Library, which passed to newly founded British Museum in 1757.
| Archive | British Library, London, England (GB-Lbl) |
|---|---|
| Shelfmark | Royal 11 E. xi |
| Surface | Other |
| Numbering System | Foliation |
| Measurements | 490 x 355 mm |
| Other Identifiers |
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| Notations |
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| Relationships |
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| External Links | |
| Provenance |
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| Contents | Contains 7 compositions, 4 from 3 composers, 3 are anonymous. |
General Description
Binding
New covers of white parchment on wooden boards, with gold decoration front and back, date from 1757
Notation
black void mensural.
On ff. 2'-3, bassus and contratenor of motet, 'Salve radix vários' (see above), each notated in circular format, with painted Tudor rose within each circle; formula for deriving an additional canonic voice appears at top of each page. Inscription on f. 1: 'Me fieri ac componi fecit P O [initials connected at top by inverted 'V' surmounted by inverted 'T'] 1516.'
Foliation
New pencil foliation, 1-17
Decoration
Flemish style painted initials, gold on orange, blue, and green grounds; inked calligraphic initials. Elaborate full-page miniature on f. 2, style resembling Ghent-Bruges illumination, symbolizes royal house of Tudor and its offspring. Miniature also contains two allegorical texts praising royal dynasty: 'Psallite felices,' in honor of Henry VIII (= text for Sampson motet on ff. 3'-9); 'Salve radix vários,' perhaps celebrating birth of Mary, daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon, in 1516 (= text for motet on ff. 2'-3).
Surface
Paper and parchment
Census Catalogue of Music Description
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7 motets
Opitiis-1, Sampson-2, anon-4
ii paper + 17 parchment + ii paper folios, 490 x 355. New pencil foliation, 1-17. New covers of white parchment on wooden boards, with gold decoration front and back, date from 1757. No index. Copied by a single scribe. Flemish style painted initials, gold on orange, blue, and green grounds; inked calligraphic initials. Elaborate full-page miniature on f. 2, style resembling Ghent-Bruges illumination, symbolizes royal house of Tudor and its offspring. Miniature also contains two allegorical texts praising royal dynasty: "Psallite felices," in honor of Henry VIII (= text for Sampson motet on ff. 3'-9); "Salve radix vários," perhaps celebrating birth of Mary, daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon, in 1516 (= text for motet on ff. 2'-3).
On ff. 2'-3, bassus and contratenor of motet, "Salve radix vários" (see above), each notated in circular format, with painted Tudor rose within each circle; formula for deriving an additional canonic voice appears at top of each page. Inscription on f. 1: "Me fieri ac componi fecit P O [initials connected at top by inverted "V" surmounted by inverted "T"] 1516."
1516 (inscription on f. 1). Copied and decorated in Low Countries (perhaps at Antwerp), or in England, by artisans working in Netherlandish style; not part of Netherlands court complex. Produced for Henry VIII, King of England, and his wife, Catherine of Aragon. Apparently commissioned by "P O" (inscription on f. 1), possibly identifiable with Petrus de Opitiis, father of Benedictus, who evidently had contacts with court of Emperor Maximilian I; Benedictus de Opitiis moved from Antwerp to London in 1516 to become organist at court of Henry VIII. HugheCM suggests (less plausibly) that "P O" may be William Peto (d. 1558), a Franciscan Observant friar who became tutor and confessor to Princess Mary. Manuscript eventually incorporated in Old Royal Library, which passed to newly founded British Museum in 1757.
We are grateful to Dr Nicolas Bell for providing us with an updated bibliography for this MS.
2
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‡ denotes primary source study
Dumitrescu, Theodor. 2009, 17 Feb. A Choirbook for Henry VIII and his Sisters. <www.cmme.org>.
Bell, Nicolas, and David Skinner (editors). 2009. Music for King Henry: BL Royal MS 11 E XI: Facsimile, Commentary and Performing Edition. London.
Dumitrescu, Theodor. 2007. Constructing a Canonic Pitch Spiral: The Case of Salve radix. Canons and Canonic Techniques, 14th–16th Centuries: Theory, Practice, and Reception History, edited by Theodor Dumitrescu, 141-70. Leuven: Peeters.
Dumitrescu, Theodor. 2007. The Early Tudor Court and International Musical Relations. Aldershot.
Parsons, Anna, and Nicholas Sandon. 2005. The Crowned Rose: Motets for Henry VIII from London, British Library, Royal MS 11 E. XI. Moretonhampstead: Antico Edition.
Wahlgren-Smith, Lena. 2000. Heraldry in Arcadia: The Court Eclogue of Johannes Opicius. Renaissance Studies, 14: 210-34. Pages: 229-29.
Backhouse, Janet. 1993. A Salute to the Tudor Rose. Miscellanea Martin Wittek: Album de codicologie et de paléographie offert à Martin Wittek, edited by Janet Backhouse, 1-14. Louvain.
Dunning, Albert. 1969. Die Staatsmotette 1480-1555. Utrecht. Pages: 121-8, 344, Abb. 1 [some information incorrect]. Notes: physical description (partial); contents list (partial); transcription (partial); facsimile (partial); texts (partial); mention of MS; discussion.
Braithwaite, James Roland. 1967. The Introduction of Franco-Netherlandish Manuscripts to Early Tudor England: The Motet Repertory. Boston University, Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation. Pages: I, xxi, 30, 57-9, passim. Notes: contents list (partial); mention of MS; discussion.
Harrison, Frank Llewellyn. 1958, second ed. 1963. Music in Medieval Britain. London: Routledge. Pages: 338-40, Plate XIII. Notes: physical description (partial); contents list; transcription (partial); facsimile (partial).
Hughes, Dom Anselm. 1953. Catalogue of the Musical Manuscripts at Peterhouse, Cambridge. Cambridge. Pages: I, 259 II, 1, 193. Notes: physical description (partial); contents list.
Blume, Friedrich (editor). 1949-79. Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart: Allgemeine Enzyklopädie der Musik. Kassel. Pages: VIII, 1176-7. Notes: physical description (partial).
Warner, Sir George F, and Julius P Gilson. 1921. Catalogue of Western Manuscripts in the Old Royal and King's Collections. London. Pages: I, 360. Notes: physical description; contents list.
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Edward Tambling
Friday, 19 May, 2017
Nicholas Bell
Monday, 23 January, 2017
NB: Migrated from old site. Credit for notes may not be completely accurate. General Description; Binding Note; Notation Note; Foliation Note; Decoration Note; Surface Note
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