Place of production suggested by the inclusion of local Rhenish saints, as well as special veneration of saints specific to Mainz, such as Saint Martin, bishop of Mainz--depicted in the only historiated initial in the ms.--and Saint Bilhildis. Decorated initials executed in a style found in books written and printed in Mainz. Possible date suggested by striking similarity of script and large initials, especially the scrolled infill and the grotesques, with the Psalter and Missal printed by Gutenberg, Fust, and Schoeffer, who at that time were undertaking a project to provide books for the reform of the liturgy of the Bursfeld Congregation. The Collectarium ms. might have been a model for a similar project, planned... Original portion of text in dark brown ink in a large formal gothic liturgical hand; 17 lines per page; alternating red and blue 2-line initials throughout, some with pen flourishes, and one 3-line blue initial "D" pen-flourished in red; chapter titles, section headings, and headlines in red; capitals touched in red. Includes five 8-line or 5-line historiated and/or decorated initials, divided into red and blue sections, and all but one enclosing figures of dragons, calves [?] and griffins with goat feet, and human figures, male and female, also with goat feet; one letter contains two logs sprouting trefoils, another a Germanic helm with horns and long acanthus scrolls; all decorated with some type of red... Leaves have been assembled and changed at different times; make-up of certain quires has shifted; leaves [1]-[4], [15]-[16], [123]-[133], and [145]-[150] added during the early 17th century, as evidenced by scribal addition "Anno 1607 ... renovavit D.P.P.C.A." on recto of leaf [145]; single partial leaves tipped in after leaves [47], [79], and [92]; and 4 small leaves tipped in after leaf... In a modern full pale brown morocco clamshell box by Sangorski & Sutcliffe of London. Acquired by Maggs Bros. at Sotheby's (London) auction of June 18, 1962, lot 134. Ownership inscription in pencil on back pastedown: M. Lansburgh, Santa Barbara. Forms part of the Howard Mayer Brown Collection at the Newberry Library. For additional information, consult the Special Collections Info File.
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