A rare example of late thirteenth-century Gothic pen-and-ink illumination, featuring a monumental Crucifixion at the opening of the Canon of the Mass.

267 x 216 mm. Single leaf on parchment, written in two columns in formal Gothic textualis in dark brown ink, ruled for thirty lines in light brown ink, rubrics in red, intertextual signa crucis in red, incipit in large Gothic display majuscules, the initial ‘T’ embellished with white penwork and surmounted by a decorative signum crucis, two-line initials in red outlined in blue and heightened with simple white penwork, one large four-line initial in red and blue with white scalloped ornament, outlined in blue penwork and enclosing scrolling foliate infill in red and blue, one large pen-and-ink drawing of the Crucifixion occupying approximately three-quarters of the recto, executed in bold, assured outlines with faint washes of red ink accentuating Christ’s wounds, enclosed within a simple double-ruled frame. (Discoloration, staining, abrasion, and foxing to the recto, particularly in the upper margins, leaf trimmed, with later inscriptions along the lower margin of the recto, verso with substantial abrasion and fading of the text, rendering portions illegible, adhesive staining and tape residue at the corners and along the margins.)

Provenance:

1) An early devotional inscription in the lower margin of the recto, partially lost through trimming, preserves a prayer invoking the Arma Christi (Instruments of the Passion) by an early owner/user, suggesting continued devotional engagement with the image beyond its original liturgical function.

2) Traces of adhesive and associated loss of text on the verso indicate that the leaf was subsequently reused as a pastedown in the binding of another volume.

3) Private American Collection.

Content: Canon of the Mass, beginning Te igitur, clementissime Pater..., (“Therefore, most merciful Father”), the opening prayer of the Roman Canon, preceding the elevation of the consecrated Host, and continuing to verso (much abraded).

Illumination: The Crucifixion is rendered in a bold, economical pen-and-ink drawing, distinguishing it from many contemporary examples of Gothic manuscript illumination. Eschewing the saturated pigments, gold grounds, and elaborate architectural framing frequently associated with illuminated missals of the period, the artist relies almost entirely upon the expressive possibilities of line. The elongated proportions of Christ, sharply inclined head, linear articulation of the anatomy, and schematic treatment of the drapery are consistent with northern French Gothic drawing of the later thirteenth century. The composition is emphatically devotional in character, its monumental scale and absence of subsidiary figures directing the viewer’s attention exclusively toward the suffering body of Christ. The pronounced S-shaped curve of Christ’s body and the single nail piercing both feet reflect the growing emphasis on Christ’s humanity and physical suffering that characterized thirteenth-century affective piety, particularly as promoted by the Franciscan movement. The austere visual language of the drawing may further suggest a mendicant or monastic context in which simplicity and contemplative devotion were especially valued, although such an origin cannot be established on stylistic grounds alone.

Medieval missals commonly marked the beginning of the Canon of the Mass with an image of the Crucifixion, establishing a direct visual and theological relationship between Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross and its sacramental commemoration in the Eucharist. Such images could take the form of independent full-page miniatures, historiated initials, or, as here, monumental drawings incorporated directly into the written page. The present leaf offers a particularly compelling expression of this relationship between image and text, with the Crucifixion occupying the upper portion of the page and mirroring the opening letter ‘T’ of the incipit, Te igitur, arranged immediately to the right. An early devotional inscription in the lower margin, now partially lost through trimming, preserves prayers associated with the Arma Christi, or Instruments of the Passion. Its juxtaposition with the Crucifixion and Eucharistic text reinforces the leaf’s devotional significance, suggesting that the image continued to serve as a focus of meditation on Christ’s suffering beyond its original liturgical context.

We thank Peter Bovenmyer for his consultation on this entry.