Title
Cassiodorus Super Psalmos
Generic classification
Manuscripts and illuminationsObject
ManuscriptDate
ca. 949Century
Mid 10th c.Cultural context / style
VisigothicDimensions
18,3 x 13,5 inIconography / Theme
SalmosProvenance
San Pedro de Cardeña Monastery (Castrillo del Val, Burgos, Spain)Current location
John Rylands Library (Mánchester, United Kingdom)Inventory Number in Current Collection
Latin MS 89Object history
The manuscript known as Cassiodorus Super Psalmos was compiled by the scribes Sebastián and Endura. This is stated by Berganza (1719) in Antigüedades de España (Antiquities of Spain ) when he notes that "During the time of Abbot Don Estevan Primero Endura Presbytero, and Sebastián Diacono wrote the exposition that Cassiodorus made of the Psalms." Berganza mentions that the volume was located in the Monastery of San Pedro de Cardeña (Burgos), a provenance that has been confirmed by researchers such as Tyson (1932) and Shailor (1979).
The codex contains a colophon that refers to the year in which it was completed: "Explicitus est Liber iste à Notario Sebastiano Diacono notum praefixionis diem, quartodecirno Kalendas Februarii, Era DCCCC LXXX VII. Regnante Serenissimo Rege Ramiro in Legione, et egregio Comite Fredinando Gundisalvi in Castella, atque Pontificaturn gerente Basilio Episcopo Sedis Munnioni Castelli." Thus, the manuscript is considered to have been produced in the mid-10th century.
Although its origin has not been disputed, it is difficult to know how and when it left the monastery. In the 18th century, Berganza (1719) still placed the volume inCardeña, so it is likely that it disappeared after the confiscation around 1835. James (1921) indicates that it became part of Guglielmo Libri's personal collection and was later sold in 1864 along with a large part of the items in his collection at Sotheby's: "Formerly in the possession of Libri: sold in 1864 at Sotheby's." However, the manuscript does not appear in the auction catalog, so we cannot corroborate this.
Thomas Bateman, archaeologist and collector, acquired the volume in the mid-19th century. Following his sudden death in 1861, his collection was inherited by his son, Thomas William Bateman. He did not share his father's interest in art and, after experiencing financial difficulties, decided to auction the collection at Sotheby's in 1893. The manuscript, listed as lot 553, was purchased by James Ludovic Lindsay for a total of £200 (Shailor, 1979). In 1901, the Earl of Crawford put his personal library up for sale for £155,000 (West, 2000; Gow, 2023). Enriqueta Rylands, who wanted to open a public library in memory of her husband, acquired the nobleman's collection (Farnie, 1898). She later bequeathed the manuscript to the John Rylands Library (Manchester) in 1908, where it remains today.
Description
This manuscript consists of 396 folios, each with two columns written by the copyists Endura and Sebastián. The codex contains the workSuper Psalmos, written by Cassiodorus, who based it on Enarrationes in Psalmos by Saint Augustine of Hippo. The representations that appear in the volume—zoomorphic figures, plant elements, and geometric drawings—do not correspond to its content (Sancho, 2025).
Locations
ca. 949
1861
private collection
Thomas Bateman, Matlock (United Kingdom) *
1861 - 1893
private collection
Thomas William Bateman, Matlock (United Kingdom) *
ca. 1893
auction house
Sotheby's, Nueva York / Londres
1893 - 1901
private collection
James Ludovic Lindsay, Wigan (United Kingdom) *
1901 - 1908
private collection
Enriqueta Rylands, Mánchester (United Kingdom) *
1908 - present
Bibliography
- BERGANZA, Francisco de (1719): Antiguedades de España, Francisco del Hierro, Madrid, p. 211.
- CLARK, Charles Upson (1920): Collectanea Hispana, Libraire Ancienne Honoré Champion Édouard Champion, París.
- FARNIE, Douglas A. (1898): "Enriqueta Augustina Rylands, (1843-1908), Founder of the John Rylands Library", vol. 71, nº 2, Bulletin of John Rylands University Library Manchester.
- GOW, Elizabeth (2023): Enriqueta Rylands: the public and private collecting of a Nonconformist bibliophile, 1889-1908, University of Manchester, Mánchester.
- JAMES, Montague Rhodes (1921): A Descriptive Catalogue of the Latin Manuscripts in the John Rylands University Library at Manchester, Universiry Press Longmans, Green & Company, Mánchester, pp. 161-165.
- MILLARES CARLO, Agustín (1999): Corpus de códices visigóticos, UNED, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, p. 147.
- SANCHO, Laura (2025): Ad marginem: los márgenes en los libros de la alta edad media, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, p. 14.
- SERNA SERNA, Sonia (2023): "El Pasionario del monasterio de San Pedro de Cardeña (British Library, Add. Ms. 25600): nuevas aportaciones sobre su datación y autoría", vol. 41, nº 1, Studia Historica. Historia Medieval, p. 211.
- SHAILOR, Barbara (1979): "The Scriptorium of San Pedro de Cardeña", vol. 61, nº 2, Bulletin of the John Rylands University Library of Manchester.
- TYSON, Moses (1932): "The Spanish Manuscripts in the John Rylands Library", vol. 16, The Bulletin of the John Rylands Library.
- WEST, Susie (2000): "Rare Books and Rare Women: Gender and Private Libraries 1660-1830", en Gendering Library History, editado por Evelyn Kerslake y Nickianne Moody, Liverpool John Moores University Press, Liverpool.
Record manager
Isabel Escalera FernándezCitation:
Isabel Escalera Fernández, "Cassiodorus Super Psalmos" in Nostra et Mundi. Cultural Heritage from Castile and Leon around the world, Fundación Castilla y León, 2025. https://inventario.nostraetmundi.com/en/work/493
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