Stowe Missal
The Stowe Missal , also known as the Lorrha Missal , is a sacramentary from Ireland that was written around AD 750. It is written in Latin , but at the end also contains a three-page text in Gaelic . The missal is the only surviving example of the liturgy of the Celtic Church . It was kept in a cum roof , which is one of the few reliquaries of this type that has survived.
The manuscript
history
The Stowe Missal was named after the Stowe Manuscripts Collection , which was founded by George Nugent-Temple-Grenville, 1st Marquess of Buckingham in Stowe House . In 1883 this collection was bought by the state and given to the Royal Irish Academy in Dublin (signature MS D II 3).
In the middle of the 11th century, the manuscript in Lorrha Monastery ( County Tipperary ) was supplemented with text additions and some pages were rewritten. That is why it is also called the Lorrha Missal .
content
Illustration of John the Baptist, sheet 11 verso
First page of the second part with initial of Peccavimus Domine , sheet 12 recto
The manuscript consists of 67 folios (dimensions 14 × 11 cm) and contains two different parts that were apparently only bound together because of the same size of the leaves. The binding consists of parchment-covered oak boards with red-colored goatskin on the edge.
The first Latin part consists of eleven leaves and contains excerpts from the Gospel according to John . It was written in italic minuscule , a signature by the scribe Sonid can be found on the last sheet in Ogam script. The first page of the Gospel is decorated with an initial and a decorative strip with patterns and an animal head, a pink and yellow image of John the Baptist is at the end of the section.
The second part comprises 56 leaves and contains the actual missal . It was written in five different manuscripts in square capitals , a short part in italic handwriting is signed by a certain Moél Caích , who apparently acted as the reviser of the missal. The initial of the first prayer Peccavimus Domine is decorated and framed with a yellow-pink frame, otherwise the second part is without decoration. The Latin part contains the ordinarium and the mass canon (apparently transferred from an older manuscript) as well as ordines for baptism , communion for the newly baptized, visiting the sick and last unction . The sequence of the antiphons and hallelujahs in the ordines for giving communion and visiting the sick are similar to those in the Book of Dimma .
The last three folios, in Gaelic, contain a treatise on the celebration of Mass , liturgical instructions and, on the last page, magic spells against eye injuries, thorn stings and problems with urination. This last-mentioned passage of 35 words was only translated in 2012 by the Viennese celtologist David Stifter.
The Cumdach
history
The back of the cum roof , the book's protective container, is made of oak with silver fittings around 1042 to 1052, the front around 1375. Further additions and repairs were always necessary.
According to Margaret Stokes, the Cumdach is said to have been found in Austria in 1784 by the then employee of the British mission, John Crace. The exact location, whether monastery or library, is unknown as Crace died without leaving any notice. It later came into the possession of the Duke of Buckingham and then the Earl of Ashburnham , until it was finally also in the museum of the Royal Irish Academy (catalog no. 1883, 614a). The path from Ireland to Austria can no longer be traced.
In an old tradition, however, it is reported that the manuscript and container came from the island to the continent after 1375 and reappeared in the 18th century in the walls of Lackeen Castle , 2 km from the place of the Lorrha monastery. However, like the Stokes report, this tradition cannot currently be substantiated by sources.
Of the ten known Cumdachs, that of the Stowe Missal is one of the five oldest surviving such objects.
description
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The core of the Cumdach consists of a box made of two wooden blocks and the four side parts, of which the two long parts are later additions. Originally the box was covered with simple bronze plates. The separately attached back cover and the narrow sides have the oldest decorations, while the front cover, the youngest part, may contain elements that were attached long after its creation in the 14th century.
Back cover
The back cover consists of bronze strips covered with silver, the raised edge and the central cross are attached with bronze nails. There are square depressions in the corners and semicircular depressions at the ends containing embossed bronze plates. Between the arms of the cross and the edge there is openwork silver foil, the breaks of which create patterns of triangles and squares. A circumferential Gaelic inscription is attached to the wide edge, which was used to date the section. It is:
| inscription | translation |
|---|---|
| BENDACHT DE AR CECH ANMAIN AS A HARILLIUTH OCUS DO MACCRAITH HU DONDCHADA DO RIG CASSIL |
The blessings of God for every soul according to its merit And for Mac Craith Ua Donnchadh, king of Cashel |
Donnchadh Mac Briain was the son of the High King Brian Boru and raised a claim to this title from around 1042 until he died in 1064, Mac Craith Ua Donnchadh was king of Cashel until his death in 1052 . The back part of the cum roof and the side parts are dated from 1042 to 1052.
There were other inscriptions on the cross, only partially preserved, which were removed around the 14th century when space was made for a silver fitting that contained a stone that was no longer in existence. The arches of the fitting, designed in Gothic dimensions , were inserted into the lid on a leather pad.
Side panels
The side parts are decorated with gold-plated bronze fittings and gold foil, over which openwork silver-plated bronze plates are placed. In the middle of each of the two narrow sides there is a medallion that shows an angel with outspread wings and an animal with spiral-like hip joints that grabs the angel's head with its mouth.
The long sides attached later contain gold-plated bronze plates. One of these plates is unusually applied to a layer of leather embossed with a braided pattern, on which there is a bearded figure with a sword flanked by two dogs. The other plate on this side is underlaid with parchment and depicts a warrior with a shield and a spear. On the other side is a central plate on which a figure playing lyre is flanked by two clergymen and towered over by an angel. One clergyman holds a bell, similar to the Saint Patrick's Bell , the other a crook . The other surviving plate on this side shows a stag attacked by two dogs.
Front cover
The front of the Cumdach, which dates from the 14th century, has a gold-plated silver cross, which is decorated with rock crystals and an ivory bead that was probably only attached in modern times . The arches around the crystal in the middle of the cross are made in Gothic dimensions, as in the older part, and are filled with red and blue enamel . The four fields between the arms of the cross and the edge consist of gilded silver plates on which the crucifixion of Jesus , the mourning John, Mary with the child and a bishop are depicted. On the edges there are plates made of gilded silver, which, like the edges of the older lid, have inscriptions that were used for dating:
| inscription | translation |
|---|---|
| OR DO PILIB DO RIG URMU [MAND] ... [C] UMDAIGED IN MINDSA 7 DO AINI DO MNAI |
A prayer for Pilib, King of Ormond ... (who) covered this reliquary, and for Aine his wife |
Pilib Ua Cennetig became king of Ormond in 1371 , his wife Aine died in the same year as he in 1381. Giolla Ruadhan was abbot of the Augustinian monastery Beatae Mariae Fontis Vivi at that time . The front cover of the Cumdach is therefore dated to around 1375.
literature
- Margaret Stokes: Early Christian Art in Ireland , London 1894 (reprinted by Kessinger Publishing 2004 ISBN 0766186768 ).
- George F. Warner: The Stowe Missal: MS. D. II. 3 in the Library of the Royal Irish Academy, Dublin , The Henry Bradshaw Society, 1906.
- Brigid Dolan: Stowe Missal . In: Hansgeorg Stiegeler, Hansgerd Hellenkemper (ed.): Irish art from three millennia - Thesaurus Hiberniae . Zabern, Mainz 1983. ISBN 3-8053-0736-5 , p. 134.
- Raghnall Ó Floinn: Reliquary for the Stowe Missal . In: Hansgeorg Stiegeler, Hansgerd Hellenkemper (ed.): Irish art from three millennia - Thesaurus Hiberniae . Zabern, Mainz 1983. ISBN 3-8053-0736-5 , pp. 163-165.
Web links
- The Stowe Missal , Royal Irish Academy.
- Picture from Cumdach (older version)
Individual evidence
- ↑ George F. Warner: The Stowe Missal , p. Xi and Fig. IX.
- ↑ a b Brigid Dolan: Stowe Missale .
- ↑ George F. Warner: The Stowe Missal , pp. Viii-ix.
- ↑ Kurier report of February 3, 2012 (accessed on February 4, 2012)
- ^ A b Margaret Stokes: Early Christian Art in Ireland , 1887, p. 94 f.
- ↑ George F. Warner: The Stowe Missal , pp. Lvii-lviii.
- ^ A b Translation after Raghnall Ó Floinn: Reliquary for the Stowe Missal