Queen Mary Psalter
Encyclopedia
The Queen Mary Psalter is a fourteenth-century psalter
named for Mary I of England
, who received it in 1553. Besides devotional texts, the illuminated manuscript
contains a bestiary
. The psalter is an important devotional text and is noted for its beauty, and is called "one of
the choicest treasures of the magnificent collection of illuminated MSS. in the British Museum."
, though there is no agreement on the matter. For the next two hundred years, its history is not known. A note in a sixteenth-century hand indicates that it was owned by an Earl of Rutland, and though it doesn't identify the earl it appears likely that it was Henry Manners
. A Protestant, he was imprisoned in May 1553, which may explain how the psalter landed in the possession of Queen Mary: a second note, in Latin, explains that the psalter was impounded at the border by a customs officer and thus remained in England. It remained in the possession of Queen Mary and her successors until 1757, when George II
donated the Old Royal Library to the British Museum
.
Some of the captions and illustrations betray the influence of the twelfth-century Historia scholastica
. While the connection between the Historia and this and other psalters has not been defined, art historian Linda Morey Papanicolaou argues that the thirteenth-century "Genesis window" in the clerestory
of the Tours Cathedral may indicate "a thirteenth-century Parisian antecedent, reflected in the Tours Genesis window".
"One of the most important English luxury devotional manuscripts of the first half of the fourteenth century," the psalter's influence was widespread from early on. At least twenty manuscripts from the fourteenth century have survived that reflect the "Queen Mary style", indicating the influence of the artist. The contents indicate that it was probably made for a woman, perhaps a mother:
, the Munich Psalter, and the Imola Psalter) are drawn. Especially the Isabella Psalter is similar in content and style to the Queen Mary Psalter, strengthening the case for identifying the original patron or owner as Isabella of France. Kathryn Smith argues that specifically the scenes depicting Joseph, if read in the proper historical context, suggest Isabella: "it [the Joseph cycle] functioned in two ways: as a commentary on royal policy and current events during the reign of Edward II, and as an "anti-model" of conjugal fidelity for his queen, Isabella of France."
as a memento for her mother, Catherine of Aragon
, and the entire binding was probably done "by her own direction." The remaining clasp plates are engraved with images pertaining to the House of Tudor
.
The manuscript is richly illustrated. The psalms
(in Latin) are preceded by an Old Testament
cycle containing 223 scenes, and are glossed in Anglo-Norman
by way of a caption placed above the image. The psalms are accompanied by over 800 illustrations, which fall into three categories: initials, many containing imagery related to David
; large illuminations depicting the Life of Christ
; and "delicate marginal drawings" at the bottom of every page. This last section contains six sequences, including a bestiary and the "lives of the martyred saints." According to Anne Rudloff Stanton, "the codex is an intricately designed and encyclopaedic masterpiece, presenting largely visual stories that span the courtly world as well as biblical history." Among the themes she identifies among the narratives, Stanton notes the "crucial nature of women's actions" and especially mothers protecting their children. The selection of women is broad. Included are women from the Old Testament characters, including Eve
, Sarah
, and Bathsheba
; Stanton notes that four scenes of childbirth occur in the preface alone. Women from and associated with the New Testament include Mary
and Saint Anne
. A final group of images concerns saints, three of which are female (Catherine of Alexandria
, Mary Magdalene
, and Margaret the Virgin
); in the case of two of the three male saints, Thomas Becket
and Saint Nicholas
, special attention is paid to the saints' mothers.
Psalter
A psalter is a volume containing the Book of Psalms, often with other devotional material bound in as well, such as a liturgical calendar and litany of the Saints. Until the later medieval emergence of the book of hours, psalters were the books most widely owned by wealthy lay persons and were...
named for Mary I of England
Mary I of England
Mary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...
, who received it in 1553. Besides devotional texts, the illuminated manuscript
Illuminated manuscript
An illuminated manuscript is a manuscript in which the text is supplemented by the addition of decoration, such as decorated initials, borders and miniature illustrations...
contains a bestiary
Bestiary
A bestiary, or Bestiarum vocabulum is a compendium of beasts. Bestiaries were made popular in the Middle Ages in illustrated volumes that described various animals, birds and even rocks. The natural history and illustration of each beast was usually accompanied by a moral lesson...
. The psalter is an important devotional text and is noted for its beauty, and is called "one of
the choicest treasures of the magnificent collection of illuminated MSS. in the British Museum."
Origin and history of the manuscript
The psalter was produced ca. 1310-1320 by an unknown copyist and illustrator, possibly for Isabella of FranceIsabella of France
Isabella of France , sometimes described as the She-wolf of France, was Queen consort of England as the wife of Edward II of England. She was the youngest surviving child and only surviving daughter of Philip IV of France and Joan I of Navarre...
, though there is no agreement on the matter. For the next two hundred years, its history is not known. A note in a sixteenth-century hand indicates that it was owned by an Earl of Rutland, and though it doesn't identify the earl it appears likely that it was Henry Manners
Henry Manners, 2nd Earl of Rutland
Henry Manners, 2nd Earl of Rutland, 14th Baron de Ros of Helmsley, KG was the son of Thomas Manners, 1st Earl of Rutland. He also held the title of 14th Baron de Ros of Hamlake, a title to which he acceded in 1543....
. A Protestant, he was imprisoned in May 1553, which may explain how the psalter landed in the possession of Queen Mary: a second note, in Latin, explains that the psalter was impounded at the border by a customs officer and thus remained in England. It remained in the possession of Queen Mary and her successors until 1757, when George II
George II of Great Britain
George II was King of Great Britain and Ireland, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Archtreasurer and Prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire from 11 June 1727 until his death.George was the last British monarch born outside Great Britain. He was born and brought up in Northern Germany...
donated the Old Royal Library to the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
.
Some of the captions and illustrations betray the influence of the twelfth-century Historia scholastica
Historia scholastica
The Historia Scholastica is a twelfth-century Biblical paraphrase written in Medieval Latin by Petrus Comestor. Sometimes called the "Medieval Popular Bible", it draws on the Bible and other sources, including the works of classical scholars and the Fathers of the Church, to present a universal...
. While the connection between the Historia and this and other psalters has not been defined, art historian Linda Morey Papanicolaou argues that the thirteenth-century "Genesis window" in the clerestory
Clerestory
Clerestory is an architectural term that historically denoted an upper level of a Roman basilica or of the nave of a Romanesque or Gothic church, the walls of which rise above the rooflines of the lower aisles and are pierced with windows. In modern usage, clerestory refers to any high windows...
of the Tours Cathedral may indicate "a thirteenth-century Parisian antecedent, reflected in the Tours Genesis window".
"One of the most important English luxury devotional manuscripts of the first half of the fourteenth century," the psalter's influence was widespread from early on. At least twenty manuscripts from the fourteenth century have survived that reflect the "Queen Mary style", indicating the influence of the artist. The contents indicate that it was probably made for a woman, perhaps a mother:
The most important female characters in the Queen Mary Psalter are mothers, which may suggest that it was intended either for the use of a mother, or to emphasize the primary role of motherhood in the life of a woman.Comparisons to psalters that focus on women and were known to have been owned by women (such as the Isabella Psalter
Isabella Psalter
The Isabella Psalter , also called the Psalter of Queen Isabella or Psalter of Isabella of England, is a fourteenth-century psalter named for Isabella of France, who is herself depicted in it; it was likely a gift upon her betrothal or marriage...
, the Munich Psalter, and the Imola Psalter) are drawn. Especially the Isabella Psalter is similar in content and style to the Queen Mary Psalter, strengthening the case for identifying the original patron or owner as Isabella of France. Kathryn Smith argues that specifically the scenes depicting Joseph, if read in the proper historical context, suggest Isabella: "it [the Joseph cycle] functioned in two ways: as a commentary on royal policy and current events during the reign of Edward II, and as an "anti-model" of conjugal fidelity for his queen, Isabella of France."
Description
The Queen Mary Psalter is noted for its ornate, embroidered binding, executed on crimson velvet under Mary I; "on each side is a large conventional pomegranate-flower worked on fine linen in coloured silks and gold thread." Queen Mary used the pomegranatePomegranate
The pomegranate , Punica granatum, is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub or small tree growing between five and eight meters tall.Native to the area of modern day Iran, the pomegranate has been cultivated in the Caucasus since ancient times. From there it spread to Asian areas such as the Caucasus as...
as a memento for her mother, Catherine of Aragon
Catherine of Aragon
Catherine of Aragon , also known as Katherine or Katharine, was Queen consort of England as the first wife of King Henry VIII of England and Princess of Wales as the wife to Arthur, Prince of Wales...
, and the entire binding was probably done "by her own direction." The remaining clasp plates are engraved with images pertaining to the House of Tudor
Tudor dynasty
The Tudor dynasty or House of Tudor was a European royal house of Welsh origin that ruled the Kingdom of England and its realms, including the Lordship of Ireland, later the Kingdom of Ireland, from 1485 until 1603. Its first monarch was Henry Tudor, a descendant through his mother of a legitimised...
.
The manuscript is richly illustrated. The psalms
Psalms
The Book of Psalms , commonly referred to simply as Psalms, is a book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Bible...
(in Latin) are preceded by an Old Testament
Old Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
cycle containing 223 scenes, and are glossed in Anglo-Norman
Anglo-Norman language
Anglo-Norman is the name traditionally given to the kind of Old Norman used in England and to some extent elsewhere in the British Isles during the Anglo-Norman period....
by way of a caption placed above the image. The psalms are accompanied by over 800 illustrations, which fall into three categories: initials, many containing imagery related to David
David
David was the second king of the united Kingdom of Israel according to the Hebrew Bible and, according to the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, an ancestor of Jesus Christ through both Saint Joseph and Mary...
; large illuminations depicting the Life of Christ
Life of Christ
The Life of Christ as a narrative cycle in Christian art comprises a number of different subjects, which were often grouped in series or cycles of works in a variety of media, narrating the life of Jesus on earth, as distinguished from the many other subjects in art showing the eternal life of...
; and "delicate marginal drawings" at the bottom of every page. This last section contains six sequences, including a bestiary and the "lives of the martyred saints." According to Anne Rudloff Stanton, "the codex is an intricately designed and encyclopaedic masterpiece, presenting largely visual stories that span the courtly world as well as biblical history." Among the themes she identifies among the narratives, Stanton notes the "crucial nature of women's actions" and especially mothers protecting their children. The selection of women is broad. Included are women from the Old Testament characters, including Eve
Eve
Eve is the first woman created by God in the Book of Genesis.Eve may also refer to:-People:*Eve , a common given name and surname*Eve , American recording artist and actress-Places:...
, Sarah
Sarah
Sarah or Sara was the wife of Abraham and the mother of Isaac as described in the Hebrew Bible and the Quran. Her name was originally Sarai...
, and Bathsheba
Bathsheba
According to the Hebrew Bible, Bathsheba was the wife of Uriah the Hittite and later of David, king of the United Kingdom of Israel and Judah. She is most known for the Bible story in which King David seduced her....
; Stanton notes that four scenes of childbirth occur in the preface alone. Women from and associated with the New Testament include Mary
Mary (mother of Jesus)
Mary , commonly referred to as "Saint Mary", "Mother Mary", the "Virgin Mary", the "Blessed Virgin Mary", or "Mary, Mother of God", was a Jewish woman of Nazareth in Galilee...
and Saint Anne
Saint Anne
Saint Hanna of David's house and line, was the mother of the Virgin Mary and grandmother of Jesus Christ according to Christian and Islamic tradition. English Anne is derived from Greek rendering of her Hebrew name Hannah...
. A final group of images concerns saints, three of which are female (Catherine of Alexandria
Catherine of Alexandria
Saint Catherine of Alexandria, also known as Saint Catherine of the Wheel and The Great Martyr Saint Catherine is, according to tradition, a Christian saint and virgin, who was martyred in the early 4th century at the hands of the pagan emperor Maxentius...
, Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene was one of Jesus' most celebrated disciples, and the most important woman disciple in the movement of Jesus. Jesus cleansed her of "seven demons", conventionally interpreted as referring to complex illnesses...
, and Margaret the Virgin
Margaret the Virgin
Margaret the Virgin, also known as Margaret of Antioch , virgin and martyr, is celebrated as a saint by the Roman Catholic and Anglican Churches on July 20; and on July 17 in the Orthodox Church. Her historical existence has been questioned; she was declared apocryphal by Pope Gelasius I in 494,...
); in the case of two of the three male saints, Thomas Becket
Thomas Becket
Thomas Becket was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 until his murder in 1170. He is venerated as a saint and martyr by both the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion...
and Saint Nicholas
Saint Nicholas
Saint Nicholas , also called Nikolaos of Myra, was a historic 4th-century saint and Greek Bishop of Myra . Because of the many miracles attributed to his intercession, he is also known as Nikolaos the Wonderworker...
, special attention is paid to the saints' mothers.