About the Library Company Gallican Psalter

Scenes from the Life of King David
Gallican Psalter with Canticles, by Nikolaus Bertschi

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Germany, Augsburg, c. 1520
The Library Company of Philadelphia, MS 4, fol. 1

This is an opening page from a Psalter (pronounced saul-ter), or a book of psalms, that was made around 1520. This Psalter contains events from the life of David, the Old Testament king. King David is considered the author of most of the 150 psalms. This page begins with Psalm 1 and is illustrated with images.

It differs from the last manuscript (the Thirteenth Century Bible) in a number of ways. The writing and the spaces are bigger. The text is in the center of the page instead of the miniature painting. There are red letters in the margins. Red letters are called rubrics (from a Latin word, rubrica, meaning red). Rubrics are used as titles, chapter headings, or instructions.

There is a picture of King David playing a musical instrument inside the initial B. The initial B is called a historiated initial, a letter that tells a story, often by showing an identifiable person. The margins are also historiated.

The story of David as a boy before the giant Goliath is illustrated in the upper margin. David is wearing a pink doublet with blue stockings. The giant Goliath is wearing a suit of armor.

The story of the death of David's son Absalom is illustrated in the lower margin. Absalom met his death in battle against his father's troops, when his long hair was caught in the branches of a tree. Although David was angry at his son for rebelling against him, he was very sad when he learned that his son had died. This story is told in the Old Testament (2 Samuel, Chapter 18).

The psalms (derived from the Greek word psalmos, meaning song) are short lyrical passages. In the Middle Ages, psalms were sung and recited by all members of society. Children learned to read from Psalters because they were written in Latin and easy to understand and they provided prayers that they might call upon throughout their lives. This manuscript page shows the text of Psalm 1 in Latin. Compare the written text in the manuscript page with the way we would write it today. You can see that they used decorated initials instead of verse numbers. In some cases the letter s is written like our modern f. Their letter u sometimes looks like our letter v. And they often left letters out of words, especially the letter m, putting a line across the top of the letter before the missing ones. [View manuscript page in new window]

Psalm 1 in Latin

1 beatus vir qui non abiit in consilio impiorum et in via peccatorum non stetit in cathedra pestilentiae non sedit 2 sed in lege Domini voluntas eius et in lege eius meditabitur die ac nocte 3 et erit tamquam lignum transplantatum iuxta rivulos aquarum quod fructum suum dabit in tempore suo et folium eius non defluet et omne quod fecerit prosperabitur 4 non sic impii sed tamquam pulvis quem proicit ventus 5 propterea non resurgent impii in iudicio neque peccatores in congregatione iustorum 6 quoniam novit Dominus viam iustorum et iter impiorum peribit

Psalm 1 in English

1 Blessed is the man who hath not walked in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stood in the way of sinners, nor sat in the chair of pestilence. 2 But his will is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he shall meditate day and night. 3 And he shall be like a tree which is planted near the running waters, which shall bring forth its fruit, in due season. And his leaf shall not fall off: and all whosoever he shall do shall prosper. 4 Not so the wicked, not so: but like the dust, which the wind driveth from the face of the earth. 5 Therefore the wicked shall not rise again in judgment: nor sinners in the council of the just. 6 For the Lord knoweth the way of the just: and the way of the wicked shall perish.

Vellum, 152 fols.
Folio: 9-11/16 x 7-7/16 inches (250 x 190 mm)
Text: 6-1/4 x 4-5/8 inches (158 x 115 mm)
Latin, imitative of Roman font

Leaves of Gold catalog entry #15

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