Spanish Antiphonary Leaf for the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary
ca. 16th century CE, Catedral de la Asunción, Jaén, Kingdom of Spain (present-day Spain)
Parchment
This enormous leaf originally came from an antiphonary, or a book containing short chants sung as a refrain during a Christian mass. This particular page contains an antiphon sung for the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary (or Candlemas, February 2). The large size of the parchment reveals its use—it must have been visible from a short distance to a choir consisting of many singers. Parchment, made from animal skin, was the most expensive part of making a medieval or Renaissance manuscript. A typical antiphonary book like this would require skins from approximately fifty animals, or an entire flock.
Joseph R. Kopta & MeiLi Carling
Digitized manuscript at Temple Digital Collections
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