Skip to main content

Initial from an Antiphoner: MS McClean 201.9d

An image of Cutting (manuscript)
View image details Mirador icon - view image Mirador deep zoom IIIF Manifest IIIF Manifest Slow looking

Terms of use

The low-resolution images published on this Website are made available under a Creative Commons Attribution licence (CC BY-NC-ND). For more details: Fitzwilliam Terms of Use

This licence does not include any images of works that are still in copyright. Artistic copyright extends from the life of the artist to 70 years from the end of the calendar year in which the artist died.

Download this image

For further information on use of images or to license a high resolution version, please contact our image library who can discuss terms and fees.

Alternative views

An image of Cutting (manuscript)
Current Location: In storage

Titles

Initial from an Antiphoner

Entities

Categories

Description

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Parchment, 226 x 174 mm, four musical staves ruled in red ink, four lines of fragmentary text ruled in plummet.

CONTENTS: On reverse, the antiphons for the psalms of the first nocturn at Matins for Easter Sunday, [Postulavi patrem meum alleluia de]dit michi gentes [alleluia in here]ditatem alleluia … Evovae. A[ntiphona] Ego dor[mivi et somnu]m cepi et resurre[xi]; the initial introduced the responsory to the first lesson at Matins for Easter Sunday (Angelus domini descendit de celo), and would have been on the verso of the original leaf.

DECORATION: Historiated initial, with staves formed of an elongated dragon and fish, and cross-bar formed of a stringed instrument, on a ground of solid gold with acanthus motifs extending to form border in margin: [A] The Resurrection, in the lower compartment, the angel appears to two Marys while the soldiers sleep, in the upper compartment, Christ stands triumphant in the empty tomb.

ORNAMENTATION: on reverse, one red initial with brown pen flourishing, height of width between staves.

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Bequeathed (1904) by McClean, Frank

Dating

14th Century, Mid
Production date: circa AD 1350

People, subjects and objects depicted

Project

  • Cambridge Illuminated

Materials used in production

Gold

Components of the work

Support composed of parchment

Techniques used in production

Penwork
Illumination

References and bibliographic entries

Identification numbers

Accession number: MS McClean 201.9d
Primary reference Number: 181388
Project ID: 1496

Audit data

Created: Saturday 6 August 2011 Updated: Tuesday 30 April 2024

Associated departments & institutions

Owner or interested party: The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department: Manuscripts and Printed Books

Citation for print

This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:

The Fitzwilliam Museum (2025) "Initial from an Antiphoner" Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/181388 Accessed: 2025-12-05 12:50:00

Citation for Wikipedia

To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:

{{cite web|url=https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/181388 |title=Initial from an Antiphoner |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2025-12-05 12:50:00|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

API call for this record

To call these data via our API (remember this needs to be authenticated) you can use this code snippet:

https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/api/v1/objects/object-181388

Bootstrap HTML code for reuse

To use this as a simple code embed, copy this string:

<div class="text-center">
    <figure class="figure">
        <img src="https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/portfolio/F25982D9_7CB9_CFFF_028E_8BBFC531887C/727/878/large_MS_McClean_201_9d_dc1.jpg"
        alt="Initial from an Antiphoner"
        class="img-fluid" />
        <figcaption class="figure-caption text-info">Initial from an Antiphoner</figcaption>
    </figure>
</div>

Sign up for updates

Updates about future exhibitions and displays, family activities, virtual events & news. You'll be the first to know...

University of Cambridge Museums logo
Cambridge City Council logo
Arts Council England Logo
Research England logo