Adv. MS 18.5.19

IIIF Manifest

TitleThe Rosslyn Missal

CollectionNational Library of Scotland

LocationEdinburgh, Scotland

ShelfmarkAdv. MS 18.5.19

LanguagesLatin; Irish; French; ga; la; fr

Date created1200-1299; 1300-1399

Paginationii + 135 folios, as well as 4 modern paper flyleaves to the front and 4 modern paper flyleaves to the rear.

SubjectReligious Tract

ProvenanceThe place of writing was probably Downpatrick. It has been suggested by Lawlor that the work was brought to Scotland by followers of Edward Bruce after his invasion of Ireland in 1316. The manuscript was in the possession of the Sinclair family of Roslin by 1582 at the latest. There is an ownership inscription on folio 112v attributed to Sir William Sinclair of Roslin. For identification of the particular signatures of the three Sir William Sinclairs see Lawlor (1897-98). The Roslin library was dispersed around 1630 and the missal was next in the collection of Sir James Balfour of Denmilne. Balfour's device is present on folio 135v and volume was given Denmilne number 50, present on the recto of folio i. The volume was bought by the Library of the Factuly of Advocates from Sir James Balfour’s sale in 1698. There are ownership inscriptions for the Library on the recto of folios ii and folio 2. The library also probably added a flyleaf inscription which reads: 'Liturgia Sanctie Columbani Abatis'. The previous shelfmark assigned to the manuscript by the Library is on the recto of folio i: 'A.6.12', since superseded. Presented, 1925, by the Library of the Faculty of Advocates to the nation on the foundation of the National Library of Scotland.

MaterialVellum

BindingsThe binding is of modern red morocco leather with two clasps. The volume was bound in 1907 by W. H. Smith and Sons. The front board has a blind-tooled Library stamp in the centre, and both the front and back boards have blind-tooled leaf decoration of the shoulder joints. The spine has raised bands and a gold-tooled title which reads 'THE ROSSLYN MISSAL'. The three edges of the leaves are coloured with red. Lawlor reports that the missal was not bound until it came into Sir James Balfour’s collection in around 1630. The clasps incorporated into the modern binding came from the 17th-century binding. The top clasp was previously lost prior to rebinding, but has since been replaced.

Dimensions13.5cm x 18.5cm x 4.4cm

Online since2024

RightsCopyright National Library of Scotland; Copyright image source Irish Script on Screen, School of Celtic Studies, DIAS.

ReferencesBorland, C. R. 'Catalogue of Mediaeval Manuscripts in the Library of the Faculty of Advocates at Edinburgh', 4 Volumes. (Unpublished manuscript, Edinburgh, 1906-1908). Volume I, folios 97-100. NLS Reference: FR.198a/1. ;'Celtica Catalogue: Catalogue No. 6, National Library of Scotland' (Edinburgh, 1967), page 28, number 106. ;'Folio Catalogue of Manuscripts: Miscellaneous Manuscripts' (Unpublished manuscript, Edinburgh [after 1837]), folio 10. NLS Reference: FR.195. ;Frere, W. H. 'Bibliotheca Musico-Liturgica: A Descriptive Hand List of the Musical and Latin-Liturgical MSS. of the Middle Ages Preserved in the Libraries of Great Britain and Ireland', Volume II (London, 1932), page 52. ;Henry, F. and G. L. Marsh-Micheli, 'A Century of Irish Illumination (1070-1170)', in 'Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy', Section C, Volume 62 (1962), pages 101-166. ;Holmes, S. M. 'Catalogue of Liturgical Books and Fragments in Scotland before 1560', Innes Review, Volume 62, Number 2 (Autumn 2011), pages 127-212, number 31. ;Laurie, A. P. 'The Pigments used in Painting “The Rosslyn Missal” in the Advocates’ Library, and the Celtic Psalter, D. p. 111, 8 in the Library of the University of Edinburgh', in 'Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland', Volume 57 (1923), pages 41-45. ;Lawlor, H. J. 'Notes on the Library of the Sinclairs of Rosslyn', Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, Volume VIII, Third Series (1897-98), pages 90-120. ;Lawlor, H. J. (ed.) 'The Rosslyn Missal: An Irish Manuscript in the Advocates’ Library Edinburgh' (London, 1899). ;McRoberts, D. 'Catalogue of Scottish Medieval Liturgical Books and Fragments' (Glasgow, 1953), page 6, number 19. ;Schenkl, H. 'Bibliotheca Patrum Latinorum Britannica: Zweites Bandes dritte Abtheilung, die schottischen Bibliotheken (Wien, 1896), page 7. ;'Scottish Exhibition of National History, Art and Industry, Glasgow (1911): Palace of History Catalogue of Exhibits' (Glasgow, Edinburgh, and London, 1911), page 463, number 6; page 1051, number 3c. ;'Summary Catalogue of the Advocates' Manuscripts' (Edinburgh, 1971), page 93, number 1166; page 104, number 1331. ;'Treasures from Scottish Libraries: Catalogue of an Exhibition held in the Library of Trinity College Dublin, 3 July – 1 August 1964' (Edinburgh, 1964), pages 6-7, number 17. ;Warren, F. E. (ed.) 'The Manuscript Irish Missal Belonging to the President and Fellows of Corpus Christi College Oxford' (London, 1879).

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© Catalogue record by National Library of Scotland

Adv. MS 18.5.19

The Rosslyn Missal

Manuscript written in Ireland, probably for Down Cathedral in Downpatrick. Lawlor has dated the work as probably of the 13th or early 14th century based on palaeographic evidence. Henry and Marsh-Micheli have suggested the work could also be attributed to the 12th century based on the decoration.

This manuscript is a missal of the English (pre-Sarum) type introduced into Ireland from the later 12th century, with a few archaic, possibly local, features. The missal appears to have been copied from an Irish exemplar as suggested by scribal misinterpretations of the characteristic Insular abbreviations for 'autem' and 'enim'.

The text is incomplete and not bound in its original order. The manuscript is written in a later Irish insular minuscule hand. Lawlor notes that there is a difference in the character of the script between the Sanctorale and the Canon, but that this is perhaps not sufficient to suggest a change of hand. The work is divided into four distinct parts, and the number of lines of writing varies in each part.

The contents are as follows:

1r - 76v . Temporale, folios.

77r - 112v . Sanctorale, folios.

113r - 117v . Canon, folios.

118r - 135v . Missae Votivae, folios.

Lawlor suspects that this missal is an excerpt from a larger book, due to lacunae at the beginning of the Temporale and at the end of the volume. The Common of the Saints is also not present despite many implied references to it throughout the rest of the work.

Lawlor concludes that the original order may have been:

(i) Canon

(ii) Missae Votivae

(iii) [Common of Saints - missing]

(iv) Temporale

(v) Sanctorale

The decoration consists of initials of the ribbon and wire type, some ending in animal heads or delicate foliage patterns. The ribbon capitals occasionally include a beast-and-snake motif. The colours used are mauve purple, orange red, yellow, and light blue.

There are frequent annotations and inscriptions by later hands from the 14th to the 17th centuries throughout the work, most notably on the following folios: 9r, 20v, 28v, 31r, 37v, 38v, 41v, 39v, 40r, 55v (James Henrie), 56r (Maister James S Sym[on?] chalmer[s?] is my name James chalm[ers?]), 62v (Symond Chalmer, Henr[ie] [ar?]not), 63r, 63v, 70r, 84v, 85r, 92r, 104v, 111v, 112v (D[ominus] SINCLAIR OF ROISLING), 132r.

Quire signatures are occasionally visible in the form of lower case letters in the upper or lower corners of the rectos. Most have, however, been cropped.

The foliation of the is probably of the late 16th or early 17th century.