Byron Reed Manuscript Research Project
Advisor Information
Martina Saltamacchia
Location
Dr. C.C. and Mabel L. Criss Library
Presentation Type
Poster
Start Date
4-3-2016 12:45 PM
End Date
4-3-2016 2:15 PM
Abstract
In the Durham Museums Byron Reed collection there exists a manuscript of hazy origin. The museum had little information available to date the manuscript and the provenance was collected from the mostly apocryphal details provided in the manuscripts auction description. The aim of the research was threefold, discovering the order responsible for the creation of the manuscript, providing a more exact date of creation, and discerning the area the manuscript originated in. The previous research identified the manuscript as a gradual, a book containing the details of the mass and information on saint’s feasts. Examination of the techniques used in the binding of the book, adjustments to the mass, and details of the feasts provided a more exact dating of the manuscript. This date proved almost two centuries earlier than previously believed. Additionally the images and seals embossed onto the cover provided direction to the religious order responsible for the texts creation. The presence of the Agnus Dei and the context of the gradual show it follows the Latin Rite. This sits at odds with its supposed origin in the city of Milan, which is predominantly Ambrosian Rite. The Saints present on the cover, Benedict and the martyred Pope Clement, lead to its creators being an order following the Benedictine rule, quite possibly the Cistercians or Olivetans.
Byron Reed Manuscript Research Project
Dr. C.C. and Mabel L. Criss Library
In the Durham Museums Byron Reed collection there exists a manuscript of hazy origin. The museum had little information available to date the manuscript and the provenance was collected from the mostly apocryphal details provided in the manuscripts auction description. The aim of the research was threefold, discovering the order responsible for the creation of the manuscript, providing a more exact date of creation, and discerning the area the manuscript originated in. The previous research identified the manuscript as a gradual, a book containing the details of the mass and information on saint’s feasts. Examination of the techniques used in the binding of the book, adjustments to the mass, and details of the feasts provided a more exact dating of the manuscript. This date proved almost two centuries earlier than previously believed. Additionally the images and seals embossed onto the cover provided direction to the religious order responsible for the texts creation. The presence of the Agnus Dei and the context of the gradual show it follows the Latin Rite. This sits at odds with its supposed origin in the city of Milan, which is predominantly Ambrosian Rite. The Saints present on the cover, Benedict and the martyred Pope Clement, lead to its creators being an order following the Benedictine rule, quite possibly the Cistercians or Olivetans.