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A Psalter is a volume containing the Book of Psalms and which often contains other devotional material. Various schemes for the arrangement of the Psalms are described in Latin Psalters
Latin Psalters

The Latin Psalters are the translations of the Psalms into the Latin language. They are the premier Liturgy resource used in the Liturgy of the Hours of the Latin Rites of the Roman Catholic Church....
.

In the early Middle Ages
Middle Ages

File:Karl 1 mit papst gelasius gregor1 sacramentar v karl d kahlen.jpgThe Middle Ages of European history are a period in history which lasted for roughly a millennium, commonly dated from the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century to the beginning of the Early Modern Period in the 16th century, marked by the division of Western Christi...
 Psalters were amongst the most popular types of illuminated manuscript
Illuminated manuscript

An illuminated manuscript is a manuscript in which the Writing is supplemented by the addition of decoration, such as decorated initials, borders and Miniature ....
s, rivaled only by the Gospel Book
Gospel Book

The Gospel Book, or Book of the Gospels is a codex or bound volume containing one or more of the four Gospels of the Christian New Testament....
s, from which they gradually took over as the type of manuscript chosen for lavish illumination. Medieval Psalters often included a calendar, a litany of saints, canticle
Canticle

A canticle is a hymn taken from the Bible. The term is often expanded to include ancient non-biblical hymns such as the Te Deum and certain psalms used liturgy....
s from the Old
Old Testament

In Western Christianity, the Old Testament refers to the books that form the first of the two-part Christianity Bible Biblical canon. These works correspond to the Hebrew Bible , with some variations and additions....
 and New Testament
New Testament

The New Testament is the name given to the second major division of the Christianity Bible, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
s, as well as other devotional texts.






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A Psalter is a volume containing the Book of Psalms and which often contains other devotional material. Various schemes for the arrangement of the Psalms are described in Latin Psalters
Latin Psalters

The Latin Psalters are the translations of the Psalms into the Latin language. They are the premier Liturgy resource used in the Liturgy of the Hours of the Latin Rites of the Roman Catholic Church....
.

In the early Middle Ages
Middle Ages

File:Karl 1 mit papst gelasius gregor1 sacramentar v karl d kahlen.jpgThe Middle Ages of European history are a period in history which lasted for roughly a millennium, commonly dated from the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century to the beginning of the Early Modern Period in the 16th century, marked by the division of Western Christi...
 Psalters were amongst the most popular types of illuminated manuscript
Illuminated manuscript

An illuminated manuscript is a manuscript in which the Writing is supplemented by the addition of decoration, such as decorated initials, borders and Miniature ....
s, rivaled only by the Gospel Book
Gospel Book

The Gospel Book, or Book of the Gospels is a codex or bound volume containing one or more of the four Gospels of the Christian New Testament....
s, from which they gradually took over as the type of manuscript chosen for lavish illumination. Medieval Psalters often included a calendar, a litany of saints, canticle
Canticle

A canticle is a hymn taken from the Bible. The term is often expanded to include ancient non-biblical hymns such as the Te Deum and certain psalms used liturgy....
s from the Old
Old Testament

In Western Christianity, the Old Testament refers to the books that form the first of the two-part Christianity Bible Biblical canon. These works correspond to the Hebrew Bible , with some variations and additions....
 and New Testament
New Testament

The New Testament is the name given to the second major division of the Christianity Bible, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
s, as well as other devotional texts. Many Psalters were lavishly illuminated with full-page miniatures as well as decorated initials.

In British North America, the first book printed was the Bay Psalm Book
Bay Psalm Book

The Bay Psalm Book was the first book printed in British North America.The book is a Psalter, first printed in 1640 in Cambridge, Massachusetts....
 in 1640 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The Psalms in it are metrical translations into English.

The psalter is also a part of either the Horologion
Horologion

The Horologion , or Book of Hours, provides the Acolouthia of the Daily Cycle of services as used by the Eastern Orthodox Church and Eastern Catholic Churches churches....
 or the breviary
Breviary

A breviary is a liturgical book of the Latin liturgical rites of the Catholic Church containing the public or canonical prayers, hymns, the Psalms, readings, and notations for everyday use, especially by, bishops, priests, and deacons in the Divine Office ....
, used to say the Liturgy of the Hours
Liturgy of the hours

The Liturgy of the Hours or Divine Office is the official set of daily prayers prescribed by the Roman Catholic Church to be recited at the canonical hours by the Clergy#Christian_clergy, Christian monasticism, and laity....
 in the Eastern and Western Christian worlds respectively.

Eastern Orthodox

In the Eastern Orthodox Church
Eastern Orthodox Church

The Eastern Orthodox Church is the second largest single Christian communion in the world with an estimated 225 million members worldwide. It is considered by its adherents to be the Four Marks of the Church established by Jesus Christ and his Apostles nearly 2000 years ago....
 the Psalter is divided into 20 kathisma
Kathisma

A Kathisma , literally, "seat", is a division of the Psalter, used by Eastern Orthodox Church Christians and Eastern Catholics who follow the Byzantine rite....
ta, for reading at Vespers
Vespers

Vespers is the evening prayer service in the Roman Catholic, Byzantine Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox Church, Anglican, and Lutheran Liturgy of the canonical hours....
 and Matins
Matins

Matins is the early morning or night prayer service in the Roman Catholic Church, Anglicanism, Lutheran and Eastern Orthodoxy liturgy of the canonical hours....
. Kathisma means sitting, since the people normally sit during the reading of the psalms. Each kathisma is divided into three stases
Stasis

The term stasis may refer to* A state of stability, in which all forces are equal and opposing, therefore they cancel out each other.* Stasis , as defined by Thucydides as a set of symptoms indicating an internal disturbance in both individuals and states...
, from stasis, to stand, because each stasis ends with Glory to the Father…
Doxology

A doxology is a short hymn of praises to God in various Christianity worship services, often added to the end of canticles, psalms, and hymns. The tradition derives from a similar practice in the Jewish synagogue....
, at which everyone stands. The reading of the kathismata are so arranged that the entire Psalter is read through in the course of a week (during Great Lent
Great Lent

Great Lent, or the Great Fast, is the most important fasting season in the church year in Eastern Christianity, which prepares Christians for the greatest feast of the church year, Easter ....
 it is read through twice in a week). During Bright Week
Bright Week

Bright Week or Renewal Week is the name used by the Eastern Orthodox Church and Eastern Catholic Churches of the Byzantine Rite for the period of seven days beginning on Easter and continuing up to the following Sunday, which is known as Thomas Sunday....
 (Easter Week) there is no reading from the Psalter. Orthodox Psalters usually also contain the Biblical canticles
Canticle

A canticle is a hymn taken from the Bible. The term is often expanded to include ancient non-biblical hymns such as the Te Deum and certain psalms used liturgy....
, which are read at the canon
Canon (hymnography)

A canon is a structured hymn used in a number of Eastern Orthodoxy services. It consists of nine odes, sometimes called canticles or songs depending on the translation, based on the Biblical canticles....
 of Matins during Great Lent. Some Orthodox Psalters also contain special prayers for the departed
Prayer for the dead

Wherever there is a belief in the afterlife of man's personality through and after death, religion naturally concerns itself with the relations between the living and the dead....
, which are used during the wake
Wake

A wake is the region of turbulence immediately to the rear of a solid body caused by the flow of air or water around the body.In fluid dynamics, a wake is the region of separated flow downstream of a solid body moving relative to the fluid, caused by the flow of liquid around the body....
, when the psalms are read over the deceased (see Christian burial
Christian burial

A Christian burial is the burial of a deceased person with Ecclesiology rites; typically, in consecrated ground....
).

Significant Psalters

Illuminated manuscripts
  • Cathach of St. Columba
    Cathach of St. Columba

    The Cathach of St. Columba is an early seventh century Ireland Psalter. It is traditionally associated with Columba , and was identified as the copy made by him of a book loaned to him by Finnian of Moville, and which led to the Columba#Early_life_in_Ireland in 561....
    , early 7th century
  • Psalterium Sinaiticum
    Psalterium Sinaiticum

    The Psalterium Sinaiticum is a 209-folio Glagolitic script Old Church Slavonic Old_Church_Slavonic#The_canon_of_Old_Church_Slavonic manuscript, the earliest Slavic psalter, dated to the 11th century....
    , 11th century
  • Canterbury Psalter, 1147CE
  • Salaberga Psalter
  • Vespasian Psalter
    Vespasian Psalter

    The Vespasian Psalter is an Illuminated manuscript Psalter produced in the second quarter of the 8th Century. It contains an interlinear gloss in Old English language which is the oldest extant English language translation of any portion of the Bible....
    , 2nd quarter of the 8th century
  • Irish Bog Psalter
    Irish bog psalter

    An Early Middle Ages Christianity psalter was discovered in a bog in July 2006, in the townland of Faddan More in north County Tipperary, Ireland....
  • Psalter of Lothaire
  • Montpellier Psalter
    Montpellier Psalter

    The Montpellier Psalter is one of the oldest Psalter from the Carolingian era and was made in the 8th century in the then-Bavarian Mondsee Abbey during the reign of the Agilolfings and was supposedly originally dedicated to the Bavarian ducal family of Tassilo III....
  • Chludov Psalter
    Chludov Psalter

    Chludov Psalter is an Illuminated manuscript marginal Psalter made in the middle of the 9th Century. It is a unique monument of Byzantine art at the time of the Iconoclasm, one of only three illuminated Byzantine Psalters to survive from the 9th century....
    , 3rd quarter of the 9th century
  • Stuttgart Psalter
  • Utrecht Psalter
    Utrecht Psalter

    The Utrecht Psalter is a ninth century illuminated manuscript psalter which is a key masterpiece of Carolingian art; it is probably the most valuable manuscript in the Netherlands....
    , 9th century
  • Southampton Psalter
    Southampton Psalter

    The Southampton Psalter is an illuminated manuscript believed to be from ninth century Ireland. Though seemingly intended for liturgical use, as attested by the high grade illumination of the psalter, it was also used for study and contains numerous annotations in both Latin and Old Irish....
  • Gertrude Psalter
    Gertrude Psalter

    The Gertrude Psalter is a Middle Ages illuminated manuscript Psalter preserved in the municipal museum of Cividale, Italy.It was originally created by the monks of the Abbey of Reichenau in the late 10th century for archbishop Egbert of Trier of Archbishopric of Trier....
    , late 10th century with mid-11th century illuminations
  • Stavelot Psalter
  • Bosworth Psalter
  • Aethelstan Psalter
  • Harley Psalter
    Harley Psalter

    The Harley Psalter is an illuminated manuscript of the second and third decades of the eleventh century, with some later additions. It is a Latin psalter on vellum, measures 380 x 310 mm and was probably produced at Christ Church, Canterbury....
  • Ramsey Psalter
    Ramsey Psalter

    The Ramsey Psalter is an illuminated manuscript of the tenth century. Its script and decoration suggest that it was made at Winchester, but certain liturgical features have suggested that it was intended for use at the Benedictine monastery of Ramsey, or for the personal use of Ramsey's founder St Oswald....
  • Codex Vossanius
  • Paris Psalter
    Paris Psalter

    The Paris Psalter is a Byzantine art illuminated manuscript containing 449 folios and 14 full-page miniatures "in a grand, almost classical style", as the Encyclopaedia Britannica put it....
    , 10th century
  • Heidelberg Psalter
  • Vatopedi Psalter
  • St. Albans Psalter
    St. Albans Psalter

    The St Albans Psalter, also known as the Albani Psalter or the Psalter of Christina of Markyate, is an English illuminated manuscript, one of several Psalters known to have been created at or for St Albans Abbey in the 12th century....
  • Theodore Psalter
  • Eadui Psalter
  • Tiberias Psalter
  • Vitellius Psalter
  • Winchester Psalter
    Winchester Psalter

    British Library, Cotton MS. Nero C.iv, is an English 12th-century illuminated manuscript psalter now usually known as the Winchester Psalter . It was probably made for use in Winchester, most scholars agreeing that the most likely patron was Henry of Blois, Bishop of Winchester 1129-1171....
  • Melisende Psalter
    Melisende Psalter

    The Melisende Psalter is an illuminated manuscript commissioned around 1135 in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem, probably by King Fulk of Jerusalem for his wife Queen Melisende of Jerusalem....
    , circa 1135
  • Shaftesbury Psalter
  • Westminster Psalter
  • Camaldoli Psalter
  • Gough Psalter
  • London Psalter
  • Psalter of Lambert de Bègue
  • Grandisson Psalter
  • Huth Psalter
  • Oscott Psalter
  • Alphonso Psalter
  • Rutland Psalter
  • Felbrigge Psalter
    Felbrigge Psalter

    The Felbrigge Psalter is an illuminated manuscript Psalter from mid-13th century England that has an embroidery bookbinding which probably dates to the early 14th century....
  • Psalter of Robert de Lindesey
  • Ramsey Psalter
    Ramsey Psalter

    The Ramsey Psalter is an illuminated manuscript of the tenth century. Its script and decoration suggest that it was made at Winchester, but certain liturgical features have suggested that it was intended for use at the Benedictine monastery of Ramsey, or for the personal use of Ramsey's founder St Oswald....
  • Psalter of St. Louis
    Psalter of St. Louis

    The Psalter of Saint Louis is a psalter created for Louis_ix sometime between the death of his mother Blanche_of_Castile in 1253 and his death in 1270....
  • Luttrell Psalter
    Luttrell Psalter

    Luttrell Psalter is an illuminated manuscript written and illustrated circa 1325 - 1335, by anonymous scribes and artists. It was commissioned by Sir Geoffrey Luttrell , a wealthy English landowner who lived at Irnham, Lincolnshire....
  • Gorleston Psalter
  • Macclesfield Psalter
    Macclesfield Psalter

    The Macclesfield Psalter is a lavishly illuminated manuscript from the English region of East Anglia, written in Latin and produced around 1330....
  • De Lisle Psalter
  • Queen Mary Psalter
  • St. Omer Psalter
  • Psalter of Henry VIII
    Psalter of Henry VIII

    The Psalter of Henry VIII is a 16th century illuminated manuscript psalter that belonged to Henry VIII of England. The king commissioned the book in the early 1540s from the France illuminator Jean Mallard, who had at one time worked for Francis I of France....
  • Tomich Psalter
  • Psalter of Bonne de Luxembourg
  • Tickhill Psalter
    Tickhill Psalter

    The Tickhill Psalter is an 14th century illuminated manuscript. It is beautifully illuminated with scenes from the life of King David. Created in the early 1300s, the manuscript was originally part of the library of the Worksop Priory in north Nottinghamshire....
  • Ormesby Psalter
  • Psalter of Jean, Duc de Berry
  • Vienna Bohun Psalter
  • Kiev Psalter of 1397
    Kiev Psalter of 1397

    The Kiev Psalter of 1397, or Spiridon Psalter, is one of the most famous East Slavic illuminated manuscripts, containing over three hundred miniature ....
  • Sofia Psalter
    Sofia Psalter

    The Sofia Psalter , also known as Ivan Alexander's Psalter or the Kuklen Psalter, is a 14th-century Bulgarian illuminated manuscript psalter....
  • St. John's Bible- Psalms, 2007


Printed Psalters
  • Psalterium Romanum, 1457 [Mainz], Johann Fust
    Johann Fust

    Johann Fust , was an early Germany printer ....
     and Peter Schöffer
    Peter Schöffer

    Peter Sch?ffer or Petrus Schoeffer was an early German printer, who studied in Paris and worked as a manuscript copyist in 1451 before apprenticing with Johannes Gutenberg and joining Johann Fust, a goldsmith, lawyer, and money lender....
    . The first printed psalter.
  • Psalterium Benedictinum, 1459 [Mainz], Johann Fust
    Johann Fust

    Johann Fust , was an early Germany printer ....
     and Peter Schöffer
    Peter Schöffer

    Peter Sch?ffer or Petrus Schoeffer was an early German printer, who studied in Paris and worked as a manuscript copyist in 1451 before apprenticing with Johannes Gutenberg and joining Johann Fust, a goldsmith, lawyer, and money lender....
    . The second printed psalter.
  • Geneva Psalter, 1562
  • Davids' Psalter
    Davids' Psalter

    Davids' Psalter by Jan Kochanowski, the most prominent Polish poets of the Renaissance, is one of the greatest pieces of Polish literature and of the Polish language....
    , 1579
  • Scottish Psalter,1635 and 1650
  • Bay Psalm Book
    Bay Psalm Book

    The Bay Psalm Book was the first book printed in British North America.The book is a Psalter, first printed in 1640 in Cambridge, Massachusetts....
    , 1640
  • Grail, The Psalms, 1963, 1993
  • ICEL Psalter
    ICEL Psalter

    The ICEL Psalter is a 20th century translation of the Book of Psalms, translated by the International Commission on English in the Liturgy, usually known as ICEL....
    , 1995
  • New England Psalter
    New England Psalter

    The New England Psalter was an early reading textbook for children which was first published in the late 17th century. It was preceded by the hornbook and the Alphabet book as early reading texts and by a variety of psalters which were used in religious services....


See also

  • Metrical psalter
    Metrical psalter

    A metrical psalter is a kind of Bible translations: a paraphrase of all or part of the Book of Psalms in vernacular poetry, meant to be sung as hymns in a church ....
  • Book of Hours
    Book of Hours

    File:Boucicaut-Meister.jpgFile:Meester van Catharina van Kleef - Getijdenboek van de Meester van Catharina van Kleef4.jpgThe book of hours is the most common type of surviving medieval illuminated manuscript....
  • Latin Psalters
    Latin Psalters

    The Latin Psalters are the translations of the Psalms into the Latin language. They are the premier Liturgy resource used in the Liturgy of the Hours of the Latin Rites of the Roman Catholic Church....