On this page, you can learn more about the various medieval manuscripts in St John’s College Library relating to music and liturgy. The liturgy is the texts and practices that constitute public worship. You may also be interested in the Music and Liturgy section of our western post-1500 manuscripts collection.
MS 47
MS 47 is a Manual for the Use of York. This manuscript was produced in England in the fifteenth century. Major divisions in the manuscript, such as the opening shown here, are decorated with borders.
MS 60
MS 60 is a Hymnal for Sarum use, produced in England at the beginning of the sixteenth century. Most pages contain alternating lines of text and music, as you can see here. This manuscript was once owned by Robert King (d.1558), the last abbot of Osney and the first bishop of Oxford.
MS 150
MS 150 comprises two originally separate manuscripts, one produced in southern France at the turn of the twelfth century and the other in England in the thirteenth century. Included here are texts on music by Guido de Arezzo and Bede.
MS 167
MS 167 is a Bridgettine processional produced in England at the turn of the sixteenth century. This manuscript was formerly a Syon Abbey book, and features their characteristic finding tabs. It was used by a pair of nuns, Mary Newell and Thomasina Grove.
MS 179
MS 179 is a Breviary for Sarum Use. This manuscript was produced in England in the fifteenth century. The illumination shown here includes the holy monogram and Christ’s wounds.
MS 265
MS 265 is a Breviary for Premonstatensian Use. The beginning of the section containing Psalms 1-108 is shown here, decorated with a penwork ‘vinet’ (border). This manuscript was produced in Belgium at the end of the fifteenth century.
MS 344
MS 344 is a processional apparently connected with St Amand-les-Eaux (OSB). This manuscript was produced in France in the fifteenth century. It survives in a seventeenth century binding with stamped decoration, shown here.