This codex, written in the 13th century, contains a lectionary for Matins for the saints’ days and an antiphonary for the entire liturgical year. The antiphonary bears the title In nomine domini incipiunt antiphone secundum morem Marbacensis ecclesie. Nevertheless, this is probably not a manuscript from the reformed monastery of Marbach in Alsace. Based on the offices, which indicate a connection with St. Gall, it must rather be assumed that the manuscript originated in the monastery of the Canons Regular of St. Lawrence in Ittingen, which belonged to the monastery of St. Gall, but which followed the Consuetudines of Marbach. The fly leaf (p. 2/1) contains a large part of the Office of St. Gallus, probably from a manuscript from the 10th/11th century. Readings as well as chants (the latter ones with neumes) are recorded. The order of the responses and antiphons does not match that of the Hartker antiphonary, Cod. Sang. 391. (sno)

Online Since: 12/20/2012

This manuscript probably was written at the behest of St. Gall Abbot Ulrich Rösch (1463-1491). The manuscript’s principal part consists of a Psalter with the Psalms in biblical order, as well as several liturgical rubrics, antiphons (partly only with the Initium), and hymns, followed by the Pater noster, the Credo, biblical Cantica, the Te Deum, a litany und more Cantica. The final part, from fol. 135v, consists of a hymnal, which also contains a Sequence (Cantemus cuncti melodum). Antiphons and hymns have melodies in German plainsong notation("Hufnagelnotation") on 4 or 5 lines. Numerous erasures and additions, as well as other signs of usage, attest to intensive use of the manuscript. Several pages have book decorations in the form of initials with vine scrolls; a figure initial can be found on fol. 1v (a man fighting a dragon and a bird of prey). (sno)

Online Since: 10/07/2013

The pontifical vesperal of St. Gall Abbott Diethelm Blarer (1530–1564) contains the prayers, psalms with antiphones and responsories, as well as hymns for the high holidays of the church year. Except for the incipits of the antiphones of the Magnificat, which are written in German plainsong notation (“Hufnagelnotation”) on five lines, the manuscript contains no melodies. The scribe of this volume was Father Heinrich Keller (1518–1567), subprior of the Monastery of St. Gall. The book’s decoration - 20 historiated initials and several richly decorated borders with pictures - is the work of an unknown artist from the region of Lake Constance, who also illuminated Cod. Sang. 357‬‬ and 442‬. (sno)

Online Since: 06/25/2015

This manuscript was written at the behest of St. Gall Abbot Ulrich Rösch (1463-1491) (dating on f. 227r: 1467). Its content corresponds substantially to that of Cod. Sang. 438: a Psalter with the Psalms in biblical order, as well as several liturgical rubrics, antiphons (partly only with the Initium) and hymns are followed from f. 148v by Cantica, and from f. 172v by a hymnal. Antiphons and hymns have melodies in German plainsong notation ("Hufnagelnotation") on 4 or 5 lines. Numerous erasures (sometimes extending over several pages) and additions, as well as other signs of usage, attest to intensive use of the manuscript. Several pages have book decorations in the form of initials with vine scrolls; a figure initial can be found on f. 104v (David with a harp). (sno)

Online Since: 10/07/2013

Ritual for the personal use of Prince-Abbot of St. Gall Diethelm Blarer (1530−1564; cf. his coat of arms on p. 8 and the stamp for his personal library on p. 7); written by the St. Gall monk Heinrich Keller (1518−1567) and illustrated around 1555 by an unknown illuminator from the area of Lake Constance. The St. Gall manuscripts Cod. Sang. 357 and Cod. Sang. 439 were illuminated by this same artist at the same time. The small-format volume contains liturgical texts on the administration of the sacrament of baptism (pp. 9-107), on the readmission of a woman into the circle of believers after giving birth (pp. 107-114), on marriage (pp. 114-141), as well as on the distribution of wine on October 16th, the feast day of Saint Gall, the founder of St. Gall (pp. 144a-154). (smu)

Online Since: 09/23/2014

This manuscript consists of two-parts bound together; the first part (pp. 3-26) contains a 15th century ritual with instructions for visits to the sick, for spiritual care for the dying, and for burial (this is cut off in the prayer at the coffin on p. 26). The second part (pp. 27-86) consists of two discourses in defense of polyphonic music, composed by St. Gall monk Mauritius Enck († 1575) at the behest of Abbot Diethelm Blarer (1530-1564). These discourses are meant as prefaces to Manfred Barbarini Lupus’ compositions for several voices in Cod. Sang. 542 and 543. Enck defends polyphonic music against widespread criticism, for example for its presumed lascivia (wantonness), and postulates an ideal for church music consisting of a combination with a chorale as the foundation and figural music as embellishment. Thus he describes precisely the compositions of Barbarini Lupus. At the end of the first discourse (pp. 47-48), Enck names the artists who contributed to Cod. Sang. 542 and 543 as well as the time period of their work on the manuscripts (from 1561 to 1563). (sno)

Online Since: 09/23/2014

The book was written in 1541 by the St. Gall calligrapher and cathedral organist Fridolin Sicher (1490–1546). Organized according to the ecclesiastical calendar, this volume contains German-language instructions for the preparation of the altars and ceremonies of the St. Gallen Monastery on the individual Sundays and holidays. In addition, it offers an alphabetical listing of all the altars in the post-Reformation monastery district of St. Gall. At that time, the duties of a sacristan were in the hands of a lay brother, who cleaned the church, lit the candles and monitored them while they burned, and rang the church bells (hence the name "Läuterbuch"). (smu)

Online Since: 10/07/2013

Manuscript compilation consisting mainly of works of liturgical and pastoral character, produced between 845 and 870 in the monastery of St. Gall. It contains, among other items, a liturgical study by Abbot Walahfrid Strabo of Reichenau (808/09-849) Liber de exordiis et incrementis quarundam in observationibus ecclesiasticis rerum, the first western European reference work on liturgical history, the so called Ordines Romani, a liturgical study by Amalar of Trier, the first Capitular of Bishop Theodulf of Orléans, two treatises about baptism and the mass attributed to Alcuin as well as the Capitular documents (diocesan legislative documents) of Haito, Bishop of Basel and Abbot of Reichenau. (smu)

Online Since: 12/09/2008

This order of service was probably prepared around 1440 for St. Gall Abbey. It documents the liturgical rite of the reformed Benedictine Monastery of Kastl in the Upper Palatinate (cf. the title on p. 3: Breviarium de divinis officiis et consuetudinibus ecclesiasticis per circulum anni monasterii sancti Petri in Castello ordinis sancti Benedicti), whose monastic impulse of renewal must have been taken up in St. Gall in the late 1430s under Abbot Eglolf Blarer. The determination of the text for St. Gall is the result of adaptation to the veneration of the saints of St. Gall Abbey (e.g., p. 222 annotation regarding the patron saint Wiborada, p. 240 consideration of St. Constantius, venerated in St. Gall on July 3rd). (zue)

Online Since: 09/26/2017

Liber Ordinarius from the second quarter of the 15th century with liturgical instructions for the mass of the monks of St. Gall during the presence of reformist monks from the monastery ofHersfeld between 1430 and 1439. The Liber Ordinarius, dated 1432 (p. 36), seems to have been made for the monastery ofSt. Gall following a model from Hersfeld (in the northeast of Hesse); however, some parts are not yet adapted for the monastery ofSt. Gall. The calendar at the beginning of the manuscript can be unambiguously located in St. Gall. Between the various parts of the manuscript, repeatedly there are empty pages. (smu)

Online Since: 12/20/2012

A composite manuscript consisting mainly of calendars and texts with chronological content, produced in the second half of the 10th century and at the beginning of the 11th century, for the most part not at the abbey of St. Gall. The main items are a calendar, possibly of northern Italian origin, and excerpts from the work De temporum ratione by the Venerable Bede († 735). (smu)

Online Since: 12/21/2009

A martyrology by the Venerable Bede († 735) in Anglo-Saxon script, produced in the 9th century. This partial surviving copy (including the beginning of January through July 25th) is distinguished in this collection as a surviving direct copy from the original text composed by Bede. (Note: a martyrology is a collection of longer or shorter life histories of the saints in calendar date order.) (smu)

Online Since: 12/09/2008

Meant for daily use in the chapter office, this volume was written in 1542/43 by the secular cleric Fridolin Sicher (1490−1546), born in Bischofszell, for St. Gall Prince-Abbot Diethelm Blarer (1530−1564; cf. his coat of arms on p. 5 and p. 8 as well as p. 268); later the volume came into the possession of the monastic community of St. Gall. Before as well as after the Reformation, Fridolin Sicher was cathedral organist and calligrapher for St. Gall Abbey. In the front of the volume there is a Latin copy of the Rule of Saint Benedict (pp. 5-72), followed in the later part by an abridged version, consolidated into a single draft, of the Martyrologium Romanum and a necrology related to St. Gall Abbey (pp. 83-267). Under Prince-Abbot Bernhard Müller (1594−1630), this chapter office book was replaced with a new necrology begun in 1611 (cf. Cod. Sang. 1442) that no longer contained the Rule of Saint Benedict. (smu)

Online Since: 09/23/2014

The second-oldest surviving chapter office book of the Abbey of St. Gall, begun in the 12th century and maintained, with the addition of many entries, until early modernity. This volume contains, among other things, lists of the bishops of Constance (736-1318) and the abbots of the cloisters at Reichenau (724-1343) and St. Gall (719-1329), records of brothers who became members of the Abbey of St. Gall, readings and homilies for Sundays and holy days in the chapter assembly of the monchs, a copy of the Rule of St. Benedict, a martyrology complete with death records, tables and explanations for figuring the dates for Easter, and a copy, with continuation, of the St. Gall Annals found in Cod. Sang. 915. At the very back: two printed lists of St. St. Gall monks from 1757 and 1798. (smu)

Online Since: 06/22/2010

A copy of the martyrology of Ado of Vienne († 875). As an appendix the manuscript also contains vitae of ancient saints, possibly written by Notker Balbulus himself around 880/890. (smu)

Online Since: 12/12/2006

Martyrologium by Ado of Vienne († 875), the main part of which probably was not written in St. Gall, although the manuscript was kept there since the 11th century (supplements to the patron saints of St. Gall). At the end of the volume, there are annals-style notes about the comet of 1264, calendar dates, notes regarding the construction of the cities of Milan and Alexandria, the founding of the Cistercian Monastery of Wettingen, the discord between Emperor Frederick II and his son Henry VII around 1236 as well as the latter’s imprisonment, and hexameters regarding the correct preparation of eucharistic bread (p. 601-602). (dor)

Online Since: 12/13/2013

The sole surviving copy of the Martyrologium by the St. St. Gall monk Notker Balbulus (d. 912), a work written in about 900 and following. This particular copy from the first half of the 10th century is incomplete: a martyrology includes short biographies of the saints according to their given days in the calendar year, but information about saints for dates from June 13-17, July 3-6, August 19-26, October 27 and December 31 is missing. It is very likely that Notker Balbulus never completed the ambitious project of writing the original Martyrologium. (smu)

Online Since: 07/31/2009

A martyrology by Hrabanus Maurus, possibly written in Mainz or Fulda, produced shortly after 843. This codex is very likely the presentation copy given to Abbot Grimald of St. Gall (841-872); however, the presentation dedication is missing from the front matter. (smu)

Online Since: 12/09/2008

A martyrology by Hrabanus Maurus, composed shortly after 843. The codex contains a copy of Cod. Sang. 457, under the auspices of the St. Gall monk Notker Balbulus shortly after 875. It also includes the presentation dedication, missing from the presentation copy (Cod. Sang. 457), addressed to Abbot Ratleik of Seligenstadt and Abbot Grimald of St. Gall (841-872). (smu)

Online Since: 12/09/2008

Computational/scientific compilation manuscript with numerous tables, schematics, and texts about calendar computation, produced in the monastery of St. Gall around the end of the 9th century and beginning ot the 10th. The volume also includes a St. Gallen calendar and the Annales Sangallenses brevissimi (a short history of St. Gall). Two early medieval maps of the world (terrae orbis or T-O maps) precede the work De temporum ratione by the Venerable Bede. (smu)

Online Since: 12/09/2008