The Mansfield Psalter (MS 1069)

Latin, with some English additions and glosses, late 13th century. 133 ff

The Mansfield Psalter is understood to have been owned by Dame Cecilia (or Cecily) Flogan, who gave land and money in Mansfield for a chantry in her will in 1521. Her property was transferred to the Queen Elizabeth’s Endowed School Trust charity by Letters Patent of Queen Elizabeth I in 1561. The Trust is believed to have owned the Psalter from this time.

In 1983 the scholar N.R. Ker described the Psalter in his Medieval manuscripts in British libraries, vol. III, and identified it as having been written in France in the late 13th century (c.1275-1300). Its 133 pages are highly decorated, with capital letters and page decorations in red, blue, white and gold leaf. Some of the decorations show beasts such as eagles and dragons. The volume was rebound in the late 20th or early 21st century in modern wood and leather materials.

Contained within the volume are the texts of Psalms, six ferial canticles, a litany of saints, and various prayers. It is clear that the Psalter was used and studied over the years. There are corrections and additional punctuation in 15th century English hands, and notes in a 19th century hand drawing attention to the start of some psalms and the loss of others. Unfortunately, previous users have also cut out some areas, and even whole leaves, where we can imagine there used to be splendid illuminated miniatures or richly-decorated capital letters.

View the catalogue record (MS 1069)