GB-Odiamm Virtual Reconstruction of the Worcester Fragments ('Worcester 3', the 'conductus book') Virtual

DIAMM Virtual Manuscript Archive, Oxford, England

Reconstruction of dispersed fragments from a single archive: 14th century: c.1300

This is a virtual reconstruction assembled from selected pages of other physical sources. Its pages and inventory are independent snapshots with retained provenance links.
Archive DIAMM Virtual Manuscript Archive, Oxford, England (GB-Odiamm)
Shelfmark Virtual Reconstruction of the Worcester Fragments ('Worcester 3', the 'conductus book')
Surface Parchment
Notations
  • English mensural
Relationships
Provenance
  • England
Contents Contains 18 compositions, 18 are anonymous.
General Description

A reconstruction of a manuscript, referred to by Dom Anselm Hughes as 'the conductus book', which was subsequently re-used as flyleaves in several Worcester manuscripts, and now survives as fragments in the collections Worcester Add. 68.

Fragments remain of only 7 folios. The ms. was probably broken up in the 1520s; fragments have been recovered from volumes bound c. 1527-31 and surviving in Worcester Cathedral. The original order of the fragments cannot be fully determined; the order here follows EECM57.

The fr. xix leaves comprise 3 bifolia, probably from the same gathering: RISM orders them a-b-c (in DIAMM, 1-2-3), but EECM57 reverses the order, reflected in this inventory. Leaves c & b are adjoining, but at least one bifolium is missing between b & a and another missing within a (i.e. it is not the centre of a gathering). Only half of a1, b1 & c1 remain. Music was first entered, in the thirteenth century, on the left-hand leaves (c2, b2, a2), and later, in the fourteenth century, on the right-hand leaves (a1, b1, c1).

Fr. xxxii is a single leaf.

DIAMM, 2020
Notation

longs and breves, and the lozenge-shaped notes of the so-called English mensural notation

DIAMM, 2020
Ruling

Ruled in score, four 3-stave systems to a page, with red 5-line staves of gauge 14-17mm.

DIAMM, 2020
Foliation

No original foliation visible. Foliation 1-7 follows Lefferts.

DIAMM, 2020
Decoration

red-blue initials

DIAMM, 2020
DIAMM Note

For other information, bibliography, etc see the related sources.

DIAMM, 2020

(3v) GB-WOc Add. 68, fr. xix, a2-verso

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Eric Nemarich

Thursday, 20 November, 2025

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Eric Nemarich

Wednesday, 19 November, 2025

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