Choirbook, re-discovered in 2008, formerly mis-catalogued as a plainchant manuscript. Contents: 26 mass ordinary cycles & 2 Credos. Written by a single scribe; pieces numbered continuously. Modern pencil foliation.

311 paper folios. The front paper pastedown (damaged, missing some numbers & letters) lists the Masses included in the manuscript according to the number of voices: 'Catalogue Missa[rum in] hoc libro contentarum', 'Cum sex vocibus', 'Quinque vocum' and 'Quattuor vocum'. Dated [15]50 below the catalogue (perhaps the binding date?) with the coat of arms of a burgher benefactor, and a strip of tape with initials: 1st initial missing, 2nd is probably 'H'.

Bifolia 264-271 and 263-270 and all bifolia of gatherings XXXV to XXXIX were created by pasting together papers of half the size. Only papers with watermarks of types 2 and 3 were used in these bifolia. Fols.310 and 311 are also pasted and glued to the back cover. In gathering XX the right half of the middle bifolio has been excised.

The original boards are covered with blind-stamped brown leather which has many small worm-holes. The cover is fastened by brass cornerpieces and a central boss in the shape of a circle surrounded by six floral-shaped tabs. There are two brass clasps for closure straps which are no longer there. On the back cover below the central boss is a stamped mark that also occurs in the front pastedown. The round spine bears a paper label with the shelfmark '15' (probably added in 1911).

originally in parish library of St.Jakub (St. James Major), Prague. Since 1931, on deposit at Brno City Archive

There are three types of watermark:

(1) A two-headed eagle with an imperial coat of arms on the chest and an imperial crown above, measuring 15 x 8 cm, is found on almost all gatherings with the exception of XXXV, XXXVII and XXXVIII.

(2) A coat of arms with a diagonal bar and two six-pointed stars, measuring 3 x 2.5 cm, is found only in gatherings XXXIV, XXXV and XXXVI (fols.270, 274, 277, 276, 280)

(3) An anchor in a circle surmounted by a narrow six pointed star, measuring 6 x 4.3 cm, occurs in gatherings XXXVI to XXXIX (fols.283, 289, 290, 291, 292, 293, 296, 298, 300, 301, 302, 303, 307), for which thinner paper of lower quality was used.

None of the watermarks has an identical match in the catalogues of Briquet and Piccard. The fact that similar watermarks do occur elsewhere in Central Europe, mostly in the south German and Austrian lands as well as in Venice, supports a date of origin around the middle of the 16th century.

black void mensural

modern pencil foliation

Paper

Recently rediscovered choirbook containing masses by Josquin; the first 10 folios (including title pages) are lacking. [Modern pencil foliation by Horyna & Manas ignores these missing folios.]