The Ricemarch Psalter is an 11th century Welsh

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

 illuminated

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...

 psalter

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...

, in a late Insular

Insular art

Insular art, also known as Hiberno-Saxon art, is the style of art produced in the post-Roman history of Ireland and Great Britain. The term derives from insula, the Latin term for "island"; in this period Britain and Ireland shared a largely common style different from that of the rest of Europe...

 style, that has been described as "Hiberno-Danish", instead of the usual "Hiberno-Saxon", as it reflects Viking

Viking

The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...

 influence. Its 159 pages are vellum

Vellum

Vellum is mammal skin prepared for writing or printing on, to produce single pages, scrolls, codices or books. It is generally smooth and durable, although there are great variations depending on preparation, the quality of the skin and the type of animal used...

, and include the following sections: Letter of St. Jerome to Chromatius

Chromatius

Saint Chromatius was a bishop of Aquileia. He was probably born at Aquileia, and in any case grew up there. His father had died when Chromatius was an infant. He was raised by his mother and large family of older siblings....

 and Elidorus

Heliodorus of Altino

Saint Heliodorus was the first bishop of Altinum in the 4th century. He was born at Dalmatia. Like Chromatius, he was a disciple of Valerianus, the bishop of Aquileia....

; Breviarius Apostolorum; Martyrologium Hieronymianum, and Various Tables. It is one of two surviving manuscripts from the scriptorium at Llanbadarn Fawr

Llanbadarn Fawr

Llanbadarn Fawr is an urbanised village and community in Ceredigion, Wales. It is located on the outskirts of Aberystwyth situated next to Penparcau and Southgate. It forms the eastern part of the continually built-up area of Aberystwyth...

 in Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

, established by the father of the scribe and the first owner. The other is a manuscript of St. Augustine

St. Augustine

-People:* Augustine of Hippo or Augustine of Hippo , father of the Latin church* Augustine of Canterbury , first Archbishop of Canterbury* Augustine Webster, an English Catholic martyr.-Places:*St. Augustine, Florida, United States...

's De Trinitate in Cambridge, by the same scribe. The psalter is now at Trinity College, Dublin

Trinity College, Dublin

Trinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...

 as MS 50.

History

The Psalter was presented between 1064 and 1082 by a scribe named Ithael to his brother Rhygyfarch (anglicized as Ricemarch), who was a resident of the school at St. David's.
Their father, Sulien (Latinized as Sulgenus), who would eventually become the Bishop of St. David's in 1072, had previously lived in Ireland for 13 years for the purpose of study; the decoration is heavily influenced by contemporary Irish styles.

Style

It is possible that Rhygyfarch penned a few sections of the manuscript himself, as the hand is not always consistent. He certain composed several verses himself, even if he did not scribe those sections of manuscript. Hugh Jackson Lawlor is of the opinion that the psalter was not written primarily by Rhygyfarch himself, as mentioned above, unlike other scholars. The large initials in the beginning lines of the manuscript pages are typical of other illuminated manuscripts of the time, with colorful Celtic interlace

Interlace (visual arts)

In the visual arts, interlace is a decorative element found in medieval art. In interlace, bands or portions of other motifs are looped, braided, and knotted in complex geometric patterns, often to fill a space. Islamic interlace patterns and Celtic knotwork share similar patterns, suggesting a...

 with animals. It is likely that Ithael wrote the text, while John provided the large initials and miniatures

Miniature (illuminated manuscript)

The word miniature, derived from the Latin minium, red lead, is a picture in an ancient or medieval illuminated manuscript; the simple decoration of the early codices having been miniated or delineated with that pigment...

. The designs, while limited in variety, are highly regarded by scholars of illuminated manuscripts.

Other Insular illuminated manuscripts from Wales may include the Lichfield Gospels

Lichfield Gospels

The Lichfield Gospels is an eighth century Insular Gospel Book housed in Lichfield Cathedral. There are 236 surviving folios, eight of which are illuminated. Another four contain framed text...

 and the Hereford Gospels

Hereford Gospels

The Hereford Gospels is an 8th century illuminated manuscript Gospel Book in insular script minuscule script, with large illuminated initials in the Insular style....

.