simple or rhomboid neumes; various kinds of square notation

110 ff

parchment

RISM B/IV 1: A 13th century parchment manuscript meas. 218 x 140 mm. and containing 110 folios. Originally there were 119 or 120 folios, but now more than 8 or 9 are missing. The codex was written during the pontificate of Gregory IX (1227-1241) and probably before the marriage of Louis IX with Margaret of Provence (1234), in other words near the time when the cathedral foundation stone was laid at Beauvais, for this is a Beauvais manuscript. LoA remained in this town till the French Revolution; in the mid-19th century it belonged to the Pacchiarotti Library in Padua, and was finally incorporated into the British Museum holdings in 1883. There is an 18th century ink foliation, which numbers off 109 folios, while a modern pencil foliation at t.r.r. goes up to 110 (excluding the empty final page of part 1). There is one new unnumbered parchment flyleaf at each end as well. The binding is of original thick wooden boards with a modern dark blue leather spine. - The three parts of the ms are differently notated. Part 1 originally comprised 11 fascicles, of which no. 6 is now missing (f. 40-41); now there are 9 quaternios (f. 1-72) and an irregular fascicle of 7 folios (f. 73-78bis), all marked with fascicle numbers at the end of each fascicle (I-V, VII-XI). The contents are made up of the New Year Office (f. 1-68v) and the first group of polyphonic compositions (f. 69-78). In the Office and on f. 69 there are 10, from f. 69v onwards 12 systems per page in 4 or 6 accolades of 2 or 3 systems. The notation of the Office is in neume-like rhombs throughout. The organa and motets are sometimes in simple or rhomboid neumes, or in various kinds of square notation, or both. The T notes are often oblongs with or without a short descending tail on the right. - Part 2 (f. 79-84) consists of 2 quaternios, which do not continue the old fascicle numbering. Both have an old numeration from I-IIII for the first four pages. The rest of this part is lacking. The contents are polyphonic organa, conductus and motets from the Notre Dame repertoire, some of them repeating examples from part 1. The good quality square modal notation reveals that this part was copied slightly later than part 1. The miniatures have been mostly cut away in this section. - Part 3 is again made up of 2 quaternios. The first has the number I in red at the bottom of f. 102v. Hence this part was originally separate from the rest, but must have soon been joined with parts 1 and 2. The contents are the Daniel play (f.95-108) and 2 lections (f.108v-110); in the play there are 10 staves of 4 lines, in the lections 11. There is no polyphony here, and the script too suggests that this is the oldest part of the ms. This part as well as part 1 is for the New Year. In addition to the written-out polyphony, there are 10 pieces in part 1 which bear the words cum organo.

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