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Beatus vir (Ecclesiastical Latin:[beˈatusˈvir]; "Blessed is the man ...")[a] are the first words in the LatinVulgate Bible of bothPsalm 1 andPsalm 112 (in the general modern numbering; it is Psalm 111 in the GreekSeptuagint and the Vulgate[b]). In each case, the words are used to refer to frequent and significant uses of these psalms in art, although the two psalms are prominent in different fields, art in the case of Psalm 1 and music in the case of Psalm 112. Inpsalter manuscripts, theinitial letter B of Beatus is often rendered prominently as aBeatus initial.
Altogether the phrase occurs 14 times in the Vulgate text, eight times in theBook of Psalms, and four times in the rest of theOld Testament, but no uses in theNew Testament.[1]
Psalm 1 naturally begins the text of theBook of Psalms. Inilluminated manuscriptpsalters this start was traditionally marked by a large Beatus initial for the B of Beatus, and the two opening words are often much larger than the rest of the text. Between them these often take up a whole page. Beatus initials have been significant in the development of manuscript painting, as the location of several developments in the use ofinitials as the focus of painting. As the "initialpar excellence it stimulated the ornamentalizing impulse of the medieval artist to ever-increasing heights of fantasy".[2] The 10th-century Anglo-SaxonRamsey Psalter initial illustrated here is the first known to use the "lion mask" on the bar of the "B".[3]
In psalters of the Early and High Middle Ages there were often similarly large initials at the start ofPsalm 52 ("Q" for "Quid gloriaris") andPsalm 102 ("D" for "Domine"),[c] marking traditional groupings of the psalms. Other divisions of text produced different groupings, of eight or ten groups, but all had a group beginning at Psalm 1.[4] Often these initials were the only major illumination in the manuscript, as in theStowe Psalter. In bibles the first letter of each book was also enlarged and illuminated in grand manuscripts, producing more beatus initials.
KingDavid was regarded as the author of the psalms, and many initials included depictions of him, so serving also asauthor portraits;[5] the rounded compartments of the letter "B" often allowed two scenes to be shown. Greatly enlarged beatus initials go back as least as far as theCorbie Psalter, made atCorbie Abbey soon after 800. There were probablyInsular examples but none have survived.[6] The Corbie example contains two large figures within a letter shape filled with geometric motifs, mostlyinterlace, but for some centuries after it is ornament that dominates, with largeplant scrolls taking over from geometric ornament. Figures returned during the 11th century.[7] In some elaborate later initials more scenes were shown, allowingtypological comparisons between the Old and New Testaments.[8] In some psalters after about 1200, especially English ones including both theGorleston Psalter (illustrated) andWindmill Psalter, very large "B"s allowed room for aTree of Jesse, which included David.[9]
Psalm 112 has been included in various places in WesternChristian liturgy, especially in the context ofvespers, and has been popular for musical settings, which are generally known by their opening words,Beatus vir. A database of psalm settings by Italian composers of the 17th and 18th centuries lists 81 settings of Psalm 112.[12]
Today probably the best known isClaudio Monteverdi's setting of 1640, SV 268, from hisSelva morale e spirituale, also known as the Vespers of 1640. This piece is still often performed by itself, and has been described as "one of the most attractive and inspired settings of theSelva morale and one of the few sacred works of Monteverdi’s later years that has become widely known."[13]
Other examples include:
Other settings include those byGiammateo Asola,[17]Marc-Antoine Charpentier, 6 settings 1670 - 1690 (H.175, H.154, H.199, H.208, H.221, H.224),Michel-Richard Delalande,[18]Charles-Hubert Gervais andJohann Adolf Hasse.[19]
Psalm 1 has been given many settings, though none are now well-known.Beatus Vir (Gorecki), Opus 38, subtitled Psalm for baritone, large mixed chorus and grand orchestra, is a setting of texts from various psalms byHenryk Górecki from 1979, commissioned byPope John Paul II.[22] Neither Psalm 1 nor 112 are used, and the title comes from part ofPsalm 33.
Pieces called Beatus vir are catalogued byMarc-Antoine Charpentier (6 settings: H.175, H.154, H.199, H.208, H.221, H.224 (Ps. 112), 376 (different text),Stanislao Mattei,Félicien David and many others.
Verses from Psalms 1-3 (compiled together under the title 'Blessed is the man') form part of the OrthodoxAll-Night Vigil, and as such settings of these verses are found in settings of the service, including those byPyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky andSergei Rachmaninov.
