The Psalms Shine Out in
New Manuscript at
Saint Martin's University
 |
| Just one of many illuminated pages from the Psalter |
A copy of an
illuminated medieval manuscript of the Book of Psalms has arrived at Saint
Martin's University. It comes from the Spanish publishing house Moleiro. The artisans and bookbinders at Moleiro have
produced an exact copy of the Great
Canterbury Psalter (also called the Anglo-Catalan
Psalter). So exact is the reproduction of the Psalter that even includes the thumb
smudges of the original pages and has the smell of the original The manuscript
is a gift of the Fr. Benedict Auer Poetry Endowment, which views the Psalter as a
fitting testament to the power, beauty, and influence of sacred poetry. Since the
original Psalter was crafted by the Benedictine monks over 800 years ago, it
reflects well our University’s commitment to its Benedictine heritage. It will
be on display in the O’Grady Library.
The Great
Canterbury Psalter begun in Canterbury around the year 1180, but was left
unfinished. In the year 1200 was taken to Catalonia (today’s northeastern
corner of Spain) perhaps as gift. In mid-1300s the illumination of Psalter was
completed by Catalan artists, possibly working out of Barcelona.
The final Psalter
produced in Catalonia includes three parallel columns of texts written in
Latin, Hebrew, and Catalan. The gifted Catalan artists also added illuminated
scenes from the Old and New Testaments at the beginning of the Psalter. The
manuscript measures 20” by 14”, has 356 pages with 140 miniatures embellished
with real gold, and includes 190 ornamental letters upon gold backgrounds. The Great Canterbury Psalter is truly a book to behold.
Fr. Peter Tynan, OSB
Special Collections Librarian
Saint Martin's University
