3.  THE PSALTERS

PSALTERIUM BENEDICTINUM cum canticis et hymnis. [Mainz]: Johann Fust & Peter Schoeffer, 29 August 1459. Fragment of one leaf (folio 43), printed on vellum. 350 x 220 mm.

The Latin Psalters printed by Fust and Schoeffer in 1457 and 1459 rank among the finest and most important of all early printed books. The 1457 Psalter was the first book printed with two sizes of type and large initials, the first to be printed throughout in multiple colors, and the earliest printed book to bear a colophon that states the names of its makers and the date of its production. Printed exclusively on vellum, the Psalter introduced two extremely well designed type fonts, the larger serving for the psalms and the smaller for the hymns and rubrics.

The most innovative feature of the Psalters of 1457 and 1459 was their elaborate decorative initials, printed in red and blue ink. Separable from their interlocking ornament blocks, the initials were inked in one color while their ornaments were inked in the other. Reassembled in place, they were printed with the black letters in one pull of the press. The design of these initials, certainly the work of a trained calligrapher, has been counted among Schoeffer’s greatest achievements, although Gutenberg likely played a technical role in their development.

The 1459 Psalter, the second firmly dated book printed in Europe, was the first edition of the Psalter for Benedictine Use. It was commissioned by the Benedictines of St. James in Mainz for use in the monasteries of the Bursfeld Congregation, a rapidly growing reform movement within the Benedictine Order. Thus, the Psalter dated 1459 is by no means a “second edition” of the 1457 Psalter, which was designed with the psalms in an entirely different order for use within the diocese of Mainz. The 1459 Psalter is also an Imperial folio format book, originally measuring 19 inches in height, as opposed to the Royal folio Psalter of 1457 (about 16 inches). This immense size illustrates the Psalter’s function in communal reading within German monasteries, as opposed to the later tendency to produce portable Psalters for personal reading. Bridwell Library’s rare single leaf, purchased in 2007, owes its survival to its re-use as a liner inside a later book binding. This recycling is indicative of the sudden disregard for the Latin (Catholic) liturgical books in Reformation Germany.

The text printed on the Bridwell leaf is Psalm 69, sung during Quadrigesima, the first Sunday in Lent: “Save me, O God, for the waters are come in unto my soul...” The musical notation was added by hand. When Schoeffer reprinted the Benedictine Psalter in 1490 (link to Bridwell Library 1490 Psalter leaf), he was able to add music printed with wood blocks. In this later Psalter, the aging Schoeffer printed the two-colored initials in separate pulls of the press that introduced slightly faulty registration.

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