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[FRAGMENT of a SACRAMENTARY]

Substantial remnant of a bifolium from a Sacramentary, in Latin, decorated manuscript on vellum

[Germany]
[late 12th century]

€500 - €700

Remains of two conjoined leaves, recovered from reuse on a binding and hence with approximately a third of one leaf trimmed away from its outer vertical edge, text written in single column of 19 lines of an angular Romanesque bookhand, with some biting curves, capitals touched in red, pale red rubrics, one-line initials in same, six large initials in same, some decorated with foliate infill or baubles mounted in their bodies, a few extra readings added in a thirteenth-century hand at head of one leaf, some stains, scuffs and cockling, traces of paper from previous mounting on upper edges of reverse, overall fair and legible, 222 by 264mm. in total

The Sacramentary was the forerunner of the Missal, intended for use by the priest or bishop to lead services and masses. They were clearly in use by the seventh century in the West, with the earliest surviving examples from that century, and were promoted during the Carolingian renaissance, but were gradually replaced by other liturgical compilations, such as the Missal, in the 12th and 13th centuries

Manuscripts