RARE UNIQUE - 1630 Italian Monastery Antiphonary St Ursula Gregorian Chant OFFER For Sale

ORIGINAL 17TH-CENTURY ITALIAN GREGORIAN CHANT MANUSCRIPT LEAF 27” x 21.25”
A beautiful and historically fascinating original Gregorian chant manuscript leaf handwritten on lambskin parchment, identified as originating from a monastery in Northern Italy, circa 1630–1650.
This is an original manuscript approximately 375–400 years old — NOT a reproduction or modern print.
St. Ursula & the Eleven Thousand Virgins
The Latin text on this manuscript has been identified as including the chant “Lauda deum deum tuum devota Colonia,” an antiphon associated with the traditional Feast of St. Ursula and the Eleven Thousand Virgins.
St. Ursula is one of the best-known figures of medieval Christian tradition. According to the legend, Ursula and her companions were Christian virgins who were martyred at Cologne. Their story became widely celebrated throughout medieval Europe and inspired churches, artwork and liturgical music.
The chant represented on this leaf praises Cologne and refers to the company of virgins traditionally associated with the story.
About the Manuscript
The leaf features striking Latin Gothic script accompanied by square-note Gregorian musical notation on red four-line staves.
Large manuscript choir books of this type were used during religious services, with the oversized writing and musical notation allowing multiple members of a monastic or church choir to sing from the same book.
Beautiful decorative initials in red and blue remain clearly visible.
The framed identification plaque reads:
Gregorian Chant
Lambskin Parchment
Monastery, Northern Italy
c. 1630–1650
Details
* Original 17th-century manuscript — NOT a reproduction
* Circa 1630–1650
* Attributed to a Northern Italian monastery
* Handwritten on lambskin parchment
* Gregorian chant / liturgical music
* Antiphonary / choir-book leaf
* Latin Gothic script
* Square-note musical notation
* Red four-line musical staves
* Decorative red and blue initials
* Chant associated with St. Ursula and the Eleven Thousand Virgins
* Professionally matted and framed
* Identification plaque included
* Exact item shown in photographs
The parchment exhibits natural waviness and other signs of age expected from an animal-skin manuscript approaching four centuries old. Please examine the photographs carefully as they form an important part of the condition description.
This is a wonderful surviving piece of 17th-century European religious and musical history and would make an impressive display for a collector of ancient manuscripts, early music, Christian history, Gregorian chant, Italian antiquities or medieval/early-modern religious art.
You will receive the exact framed original manuscript shown.