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Byzantine Musical Notation (Origin Unknown), Late 13th-14th Century

 Item — Box: Communal Collections 55
Identifier: MSP 136, Item 6

Scope and Contents

Byzantine musical notation written in black and red ink on paper. Greek is written in black and red ink under the musical notation. Three red decorated initials are present. Blind ruling is visible on the paper. 1 column, 11 lines on the verso and 12 lines on the recto, 140mmX203mm. This leaf contains hymns on the translation of relics of St John Chrysostom (feast day is January 27) and Gregory the Theologian (aka Gregory of Nazianzus), whose individual feast day is January 25. This must be a leaf out of a hymnographic collection on January (because the rubric John Chrysostom says "during the same month on the twenty-seventh [is] the translation of relics of our father among the saints John, archbishop of Constantinople, the Chrysostom (Gold-mouthed)" (Mavroudi). “The composition is dated c. late 13th-14th century and it is written in the Authentic Mode I. The Byzantine text begins with the incipit (English translation: "The Lyre of the Holy Spirit.") This is a famous sticheron (chant verse) celebrated on January 25th for the memory of Gregory the Theologian. The earliest example of this chant has been attributed to the hymnographer named Germanos from the 9th century. This name is not indicated in the example I reviewed but it was also quite common to have other later composers write their version with changes and additions to the original composition” (Touliatos). Special thanks to Dr. Diane Touliatos from the University of Missouri-St. Louis and Professor Maria Mavroudi from Berkeley for accurately identifying this leaf.

Dates

  • Late 13th-14th Century

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Extent

From the Collection: 0.50 Cubic Feet

Language of Materials

Greek, Ancient (to 1453)

Physical Storage Information

Repository Details

Repository Details

Part of the Purdue University Archives and Special Collections Repository

http://www.lib.purdue.edu/spcol
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