The Gradual of Santa Cecilia in Trastevere

Rome (Italy), 1071
Minuscula romanesca, with rubrics in Capitalis rustica

Bibliotheca Bodmeriana, Coligny (Switzerland)
Cod. Bodner. 74

Date of Publication of the Facsimile: 1987
Publisher: Foundation Martin Bodmer, Coligny-Genève (Switzerland)
Printer: Roto-Sadag, Geneva (Switzerland)

This facsimile of a manuscript which had long been in private hands finally gave music historians easy access to an important witness to the early Roman liturgy. This is the earliest surviving liturgical book from the city of Rome. The musical notation consists of neumes in Beneventan style, organised with respect to a yellow c-line and a red F-line, quite a novelty at the time.

In the display we see the beginning of the Introitus song for Easter Sunday, which starts with the word Resurrexi -- "I have risen." The artist appears to have been so anxious to create a fittingly magnificent ornamented capital R, that he did not leave himself enough space for all the letters: the left-hand leaf (79 verso) contains the word Rrrexi -- one could, no doubt, safely assume that any self-respecting choirmaster would know what was missing....

fol. 11v (104K)

fol. 79v (112K)

fol. 80r (72K)

Gradual

Engelberg Codex 314