Summer part of an antiphonary that was originally set up in two volumes and later, when it was bound, was divided into four volumes. The antiphonary, whose other parts are preserved in Cod. Sang. 1762, 1763 and 1795, was written and probably also decorated by Fr. Dominikus Feustlin (1713–1782). His style is characterized by vividly colored frames made up of thousands of small rods surrounding initials and title cartouches. Title page with the coats-of-arms of St. Gall, St. John, the Toggenburg and Abbot Cölestin Gugger von Staudach (1740–1767) on p. III. More decorated title cartouches on p. 1, 36, 43, 122, 202 and 241. The summer part includes the Proprium de tempore from Pentecost until the 16th Sunday after Pentecost (pp. 1–121), the Proprium de sanctis from June to August (pp. 122–240), the Commune sanctorum (pp. 241–269), Offices for the consecration of the church (pp. 270–273), in honor of St. Benedict (on Tuesdays, pp. 274–279) and the Virgin Mary (on Saturdays, pp. 280-285), Suffragia sanctorum (pp. 286–289) and antiphons for weekdays (pp. 290–297). The melodies are written in German plainsong notation (“Hufnagelnotation”) on five lines. (sno)

Online Since: 12/12/2019

Graduale de tempore, commissioned by Prince-Abbot Franz Gaisberg (1504–1529, coat of arms p. 1) and illuminated by the book illustrator Nikolaus Bertschi from Augsburg (initials, miniatures and borders with vine scrolls and animals). The banderole on p. 55, which ends with etc. 156, may give a (false) indication regarding the dating (1506 or 1516?). The chants for the Mass are written in German plainsong notation (“Hufnagelnotation”) on a five line staff. This codex is the largest of the St. Gall Abbey library’s manuscripts. Originally it was even larger; for re-binding, the pages were severely trimmed, as can be discerned from the folded lower margin on p. 1 or from the trimmed border on p. 444. Binding with heavy fittings on a red velvet background. (sno)

Online Since: 06/22/2017

Winter part of a large-format antiphonary, written and decorated by Fr. David Schaller (1581–1636). The summer part is contained in Cod. Sang. 1769. In the beginning there is a calendar for January to April and for December (pp. 4-8), followed by the Proprium de tempore (pp. 9–285), the Proprium de sanctis (pp. 291–377) and the Commune sanctorum (pp. 387–451). The title page consists of a full-page miniature, which represents the Lactatio sancti Bernardi in the upper third, and in the lower third it shows Gallus and Otmar flanking the coat-of-arms of the Princely Abbey of St. Gall under Abbot Bernhard Müller (1594–1630). There are several large initials in gold leaf on colorful backgrounds decorated with vine scrolls and with borders in the margins (p. 9, 63, 109, 244, 291, 345 and 387). The melodies are written in German plainsong notation (“Hufnagelnotation”) on five lines. (sno)

Online Since: 12/12/2019

Summer part of a large-format antiphonary, written by Fr. David Schaller (1581–1636). The winter part is contained in Cod. Sang. 1768. In the beginning there is a calendar for April to November (pp. A-6), followed by the Proprium de tempore (pp. 7–191), the Proprium de sanctis (pp. 195–425), the Commune sanctorum (pp. 429–495), and antiphons for Compline (pp. 497–499). There are two responsories (pp. 501, 503) on attached leaves of paper. The decoration is limited to ornate Lombard initials. The melodies are written in German plainsong notation (“Hufnagelnotation”) on five lines. (sno)

Online Since: 12/12/2019

Autumn part of an antiphonary that was originally set up in two volumes and later, when it was bound, was divided into four volumes. The antiphonary, whose other parts are preserved in Cod. Sang. 1762, 1763 and 1764, was written and probably also decorated by Fr. Dominikus Feustlin (1713–1782). His style is characterized by vividly colored frames made up of thousands of small rods surrounding initials and title cartouches. More decorated title cartouches on p. 1, 36, 73, 118, 151, 203 and 266. The end page on p. 360 has a chronogram (1762). The autumn part includes the Proprium de tempore for Saturdays from the end of August and for the 11th to the 24th Sunday after Pentecost, (pp. 1–30), antiphons for the 3rd to the 6th Sunday after Epiphany (pp. 31–36), the Proprium de sanctis for September to November (pp. 36–265), the Commune sanctorum (pp. 266–305), Offices for the consecration of the church (pp. 306–311), in honor of St. Benedict (on Tuesdays, pp. 312–319) and the Virgin Mary (on Saturdays, pp. 319–326), Suffragia sanctorum (pp. 326–331) and antiphons for weekdays (pp. 332–359). The end page is followed by the Feast of the Archangel Raphael (pp. 361–365). The melodies are written in German plainsong notation (“Hufnagelnotation”) on five lines. (sno)

Online Since: 12/12/2019

This small-format volume contains two written works by the hand of Mathias Jansen, as attested by a 1774 colophon on p. 201. On pp. 7-39, Jansen gives a kind of inventory of the paintings of St. Gallen Cathedral, describing each vault and field. Page 20 contains a report on the improvement of a painting representing St. Otmar and other saints.The second work, on pp. 40-201, collects historical reports about the life, the afterlife and the cult of St. Otmar, which take the form of log entries recording decisions as well as preparations for and the process of actions related to the cult of the saint, such as the elevation of the remains of St. Otmar in 1773/1774. On p. 99, there is a drawing of a decorated altar. Pages 202-207 contain later additions from 1823 or shortly thereafter. On p. 39 and p. 202 there are sporadic entries (after 1823) about the bas-reliefs by the sculptor Johann Christian Wentzinger, on p. 39 also about the new paintings by the artist Antonio Moretto in the choir. Pages 1-6 and 208-236 are blank. According to a note on the inside of the front cover, this book, originally from the Notkersegg Convent of Capuchin nuns, became the property of St. Gall Bishop Greith probably around 1852. Since 1930 it has been held in the Abbey Library as a deposit of the episcopal library. (nie)

Online Since: 06/13/2019

Beginning with a Dominican calendar from Strasbourg, this volume contains, among others, several texts by the Italian theologian and philosopher Bonaventura (1221-1274), the Regula monachorum ad Eustochium by the church father Jerome, excerpts from the ascetic-mystical treatise Stimulus amoris, the instructions for a monastic life by the Franciscan Heinrich Vigilis of Weissenburg, and David of Augsburg’s work De compositione exterioris et interioris hominis, all in German. The volume, declared the Franciscan "Encheiridion asceticum" by Kurt Ruh, probably came to the Dominican cloister Wil in 1590 along with other Strasbourg manuscripts (Codd. Sang. 1904, 1915 and perhaps 1866). (smu)

Online Since: 10/07/2013

Composite manuscript with sermons and spiritual instructions, written around 1487 in the Dominican cloister St. Katharinen in St. Gall by the prioress Angela Varnbüeler. Among others, the volume contains a detailed sermon about Saint Clare of Assisi, into which is incorporated her vita; an open letter from a father to his spiritual children, attributed to a Franciscan monk; a sermon about suffering, death and the sacraments (an interpretation of John 16,21); and a meditation Von der Maß des gaistlichen Crutz, falsely attributed to Anselm of Canterbury. (smu)

Online Since: 10/07/2013

A copy of the so-called Engelberger Predigten. Homilies in German for a variety of occasions during the church year, written in about 1400 in a Dominican cloister, possibly at St. Katharinental near Diessenhofen, where the manuscript was held for several centuries. (smu)

Online Since: 06/22/2010

Psalter/Breviary for a Dominican women’s convent. On pp. 1-12 it contains a calendar of saints with many female saints and several rare saints. The presence of saints from St. Gall and Constance suggests that the volume was created in the Diocese of Constance. On pp. 390-393 there are instructions for prayer in German. Noteworthy are thirteen miniatures and initials in gold leaf. This volume is from the convent of Dominican nuns of St. Katharina auf dem Nollenberg near Wuppenau (Thurgau); according to a note of ownership, it was the property of the convent at least since the 16th century. Since 1930 it has been a deposit of the episcopal library of St. Gall at the Abbey Library. (sno)

Online Since: 12/14/2018

Dominican breviary for nuns, probably written in Southern Germany. The script and decoration follow 14th century models, but the presence of the saints St. Vincent Ferrer (canonized 1453/54) and St. Catherine of Siena (canonized 1461) suggest an origin not before the second half of the 15th century. Numerous initials with gold leaf and scroll ornamentation, illuminated borders on p. 21 and 168 (two dogs, misericordia and Justicia, hunting a stag, Verbum patris). This volume is from the convent of Dominican nuns of St. Katharina auf dem Nollenberg near Wuppenau (Thurgau); according to a note of ownership, it was the property of the convent at least since the 17th century. Since 1930 it has been a deposit of the episcopal library of St. Gall at the Abbey Library. (sno)

Online Since: 12/14/2018

This manuscript contains the 14 so-called Hermetschwiler Predigten on pp. 1-140; it is a 13th century cycle of sermons in High Alemannic, for which this manuscript is the only textual witness. The text is defective in the beginning and at the end. This is followed on pp. 141-214 by the German-language treatise on Corpus Christi by the “Mönch von Heilsbronn”, a monk from the Cistercian Heilsbronn Abbey located between Nuremberg and Ansbach, who probably lived in the 14th century. Pp. 214-252 contain more spiritual speeches. At least from the 19th century on, the volume was at the Benedictine Convent Hermetschwil (Aargau). Since 1930 it has been a deposit of the episcopal library of St. Gall at the Abbey Library. (sno)

Online Since: 12/14/2018

An important copy, in terms of textual history, of the Reformatio Prediger Ordens by the Dominican Johannes Meyer (1422-1482) of Basel. This copy originated in the Dominican cloister of St. Katharina in St. Gall, written in 1483 by Sister Elisabeth Muntprat (1459-1531). This work, which was copied from a model belonging to the cloister of St. Katherine in Nurnberg, is a valuable source for the history of the Dominican order in the German speaking world. (smu)

Online Since: 12/19/2011

Compilation of mystical treatises, referred to as the Greith’scher Traktat for the first editor Carl Greith (1807 -1882, Bishop of St. Gall from 1862). The primary sources for the German text are Meister Eckhart, Johannes Tauler and Henry Suso. The manuscript, which is defective at the end, is from the Convent of Dominican nuns of St. Katharina in St. Gall (later Wil), where it was probably written as well. Even the text itself may have been compiled by a scribe from the convent, based on a collection of texts. Since 1930 it has been a depositof the episcopal library of St. Gall at the Abbey Library. (sno)

Online Since: 12/14/2018

A collection of religious writings from the Dominican cloister of St. Katherina in St. Gall, written in the second half of the 15th century by the hand of an experienced woman scribe. The volume transmits a great number of sermon texts in versions important to textual history. It contains, among other things, seven so-called Engelberger Predigten, the oldest copy of Version B of the work De Nabuchodonosor by Marquard of Lindau († 1392), ten sermons by Johannes Tauler († 1361), an account of the life, works, and miracles of St. Dominic taken from the work Der Heiligen Leben, a tract attributed to Meister Eckhart: Vom klösterlichen Leben, and religious epigrams. (smu)

Online Since: 12/19/2011

German Psalter, complete except for one missing leaf at the end: Psalms (pp. 1-164), canticles (pp. 164-178). With few figured initials (dog p. 1, fish p. 141, p. 153 and p. 157). The volume is from the St. Katharinen Convent of Dominican nuns in St. Gall; whether it was written there cannot be determined for certain. Since 1930 it has been in the Abbey Library as a deposit of the episcopal library of St. Gall. (sno)

Online Since: 10/08/2015

This library catalogue from a Carthusian monastery is probably from Ittingen. Such an attribution is supported by indicators such as a structure almost identical to that of the younger Ittingen catalogue of 1717 (Fribourg, Cantonal and University Library, Ms. L 558), extensive content-related similarities between the two catalogues, and entries such as collectore Patre nostro Guigone Ittingae Professo (fol. 154v). The collection is divided into 19 sections (subject areas). Section XIX (Manuscripta) contains only manuscripts, the other sections contain both prints and manuscripts. Individual entries include author and title, sometimes also further details such as place and year of publication, number of volumes, number of copies available, etc. The catalogue was acquired on the antiquarian market in 1976 by Peter Ochsenbein, who later became librarian of the Abbey of St. Gall; subsequently it became the property of the Abbey Library. (sno)

Online Since: 06/18/2020

These two parchment double leaves were found in 1895 by state archivist Paul Schweizer in book bindings in the State Archives of Zurich; they were held there under the shelfmark C VI 1 II 8a until 2006. As conclusion to the long-term dispute about cultural assets between St. Gall and Zurich, the Canton of Zurich donated these fragments to the Abbey Library of St. Gall on 27 April 2006. The leaves are from a passionary; they contain eleven partially fragmentary chapters of the oldest version of the life of St. Gall (Vita sancti Galli vetustissima) as well as the beginnings of the Passions of the evangelist Luke and the apostles Simon and Judas. The latter text (for October 28th) has the number 80, suggesting that the passionary once comprised more than 90 texts. (sno)

Online Since: 09/23/2014

Late medieval prayer book. The first part contains an incomplete Office of the Virgin (fol. 1r-45v) with variants for Advent and for the time period between Christmas and Candlemas (fol. 46r-51v), Absolutions, Benedictions, Orations and other short prayers (fol. 51v-68r). The Office of the Dead (fol. 69r-98v), including Vespers, Vigil, and prayers for the anniversaries of the deaths of priests, abbots and other deceased persons, is followed by prayers of indulgence (fol. 99r-111v). The beginning of the Office of the Virgin as well as possibly a calendar preceding it have been lost. The fact that the patron saints of St. Gall, St. Gall and St. Othmar (fol. 56r-56v; fol. 58r-58v), are the only saints mentioned other than Mary and St. Benedict suggests a provenience from the Monastery of St. Gall. The manuscript is written in Gothic script; it is decorated with numerous initials executed in gold leaf and with colorful vine scrolls in the margins of individual pages. The beginning of the Office of the Dead (fol. 69r) is adorned with a small miniature of a catafalque bordered by two Benedictine monks, one of which is holding a prayer book in his hands. The cut leather binding with the monogram S, created by a master whose name is unknown, is particularly noteworthy. The covers show the two Princes of the Apostles, Peter (front cover, with book and key) and Paul (back cover, with book and sword), surrounded by rich vine scroll ornamentation. The Abbey Library of St. Gall was able to acquire this manuscript in June 2006 at a Christie’s auction in New York from the collection of the American brewer Cornelius J. Hauck (1893−1967) from Cincinnati (Ex Libris on the inside front cover). (smu)

Online Since: 09/23/2014

This vesperal in a distinguished binding was commissioned by Prince-Abbot Beda Angehrn (1767−1796); it was written in 1774 by Joseph Adam Bürke (chronogram with the name of the scribe on p. 92), an alumnus of the Gymnasium (preparatory school) of Neu St. Johann that was led by St. Gall monks, and richly illustrated by Father Notker Grögle (1740−1816). The volume contains the incipits of the chants for Vespers (antiphons and hymns), written in German plainsong notation (“Hufnagelnotation”) on five lines, for the feasts of Jesus Christ and of the saints for the entire liturgical year. It is divided into the parts Proprium de tempore (pp. 1−36), Proprium sanctorum (pp. 37−80) and Commune sanctorum (pp. 81−92). This manuscript was held in the choir library of St. Gallen Cathedral until 1989. Then it was transferred to the archives of the cathedral parish of St. Gall, and in 2014 it came to the Abbey Library of St. Gall. The volume, which consisted of 96 pages in 1774, was certainly used for the liturgy in the Cathedral of St. Gall until the 1930s. The mostly handwritten additions and supplements (after p. 97) date from the 19th century. Also glued and bound into the volume are texts from unspecified printed liturgical publications of the 19th and early 20th century. Noteworthy among the illustrations is the oldest pictorial depiction to date of the newly built “Gallusmünster”, today the Cathedral of St. Gall (p. 72). On the flyleaf is the finely drawn coat of arms of Prince-Abbot Beda Angehrn. (smu)

Online Since: 09/26/2017