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Apsalter is a volume containing theBook of Psalms, often with other devotional material bound in as well, such as aliturgical calendar andlitany of the Saints. Until the emergence of thebook of hours in theLate Middle Ages, psalters were the books most widely owned by wealthy lay persons. They were commonly used for learning to read. Many psalters were richly illuminated, and they include some of the most spectacular surviving examples of medieval book art.
The English term (Old Englishpsaltere,saltere) derives fromChurch Latin. The source term isLatin:psalterium, which is simply the name of theBook of Psalms (in secular Latin, it is the term for a stringed instrument, fromAncient Greek:ψαλτήριονpsalterion).The Book of Psalms contains the bulk of theDivine Office of theRoman Catholic Church. The other books associated with it were theLectionary, theAntiphonary, andResponsoriale, and theHymnary.[1]In Late Modern English,psalter has mostly ceased to refer to the Book of Psalms (as the text of a book of the Bible) and mostly refers to the dedicated physical volumes containing this text.
Dedicated psalters, as distinct from copies of the Psalms in other formats, e.g. as part of a full edition of the Old Testament, were first developed in theLatin West in the 6th century inIreland and from about 700 on thecontinent.
The extensively illustratedUtrecht Psalter is one of the most important surviving Carolingian manuscripts and exercised a major influence on the later development ofAnglo-Saxon art.[2] In theMiddle Ages psalters were among the most popular types ofilluminated manuscripts, rivaled only by theGospel Books, from which they gradually took over as the type of manuscript chosen for lavish illumination. From the late 11th century onwards they became particularly widespread - Psalms were recited by the clergy at various points in theliturgy, so psalters were a key part of the liturgical equipment in major churches.
Various different schemes existed for the arrangement of the Psalms into groups (seeLatin Psalters). As well as the 150 Psalms, medieval psalters often included a calendar, a litany of saints,canticles from theOld andNew Testaments, and other devotional texts. The selection of saints mentioned in the calendar and litany varied greatly and can often give clues as to the original ownership of the manuscript, since monasteries and private patrons alike would choose those saints that had particular significance for them.
Many psalters were lavishly illuminated with full-page miniatures as well as decorated initials. Of the initials the most important is normally the so-called "Beatus initial", based on the "B" of the wordsBeatus vir... ("Blessed is the man...") at the start ofPsalm 1. This was usually given the most elaborate decoration in an illuminated psalter, often taking a whole page for the initial letter or first two words.Historiated initials or full-page illuminations were used to mark the beginnings of the major divisions of the Psalms, or the various daily readings, and may have helped users navigate to the relevant part of the text, as medieval books almost never had page numbers.
Many psalters, particularly from the 12th century onwards, included a richly decorated "prefatory cycle" &ndash. A series of full-page illuminations preceding the Psalms, usually illustrating the Passion story, though some also featured Old Testament narratives. Such images helped to enhance the book's status, and served as aids to contemplation in the practice of personal devotions.
The psalter is also a part of either theHorologion or thebreviary, used to say theLiturgy of the Hours in the Eastern and Western Christian worlds respectively.
Non-illuminated psalters written inCoptic include some of the earliest survivingcodices (bound books) altogether. The earliest Coptic psalter predates the earliest Western (Irish) one by more than a century.TheMudil Psalter, the oldest complete Coptic psalter, dates to the 5th century. It was found in the Al-Mudil Coptic cemetery in a small town nearBeni Suef,Egypt. The codex was in the grave of a young girl, open, with her head resting on it.[3] ScholarJohn Gee has argued that this represents a cultural continuation of theancient Egyptian tradition of placing theBook of the Dead in tombs andsarcophagi.[4]
ThePahlavi Psalter is a fragment of aMiddle Persian translation of aSyriac version of the Book of Psalms, dated to the 6th or 7th century.InOrthodox Christianity, the Book of Psalms for liturgical purposes is divided into 20kathismata or "sittings", for reading atVespers andMatins.Kathisma means sitting, since the people normally sit during the reading of the psalms. Each kathisma is divided into threestases, fromstasis, to stand, because each stasis ends withGlory to the Father..., at which everyone stands.
The reading of the kathismata are arranged so that the entire psalter is read through in the course of a week. DuringGreat Lent it is read through twice in a week. DuringBright Week (Easter Week) there is no reading from the Psalms. Orthodox psalters usually contain theBiblical canticles, which are read at thecanon of Matins during Great Lent.
The established Orthodox tradition ofChristian burial has included reading the Psalms in the church throughout thevigil, where the deceased remains the night before the funeral, a reflection of the vigil ofHoly Friday. Some Orthodox psalters also contain specialprayers for the departed for this purpose. While the full tradition is showing signs of diminishing in practice, the psalter is still sometimes used during awake.[5]
See alsoCategory:Illuminated psalters
See alsoCategory:Psalters
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