Psalterium glossatum

University Library, MS Add. 8477, f. 79v
France, mid-twelfth century
Vellum, 287 x 193 mm (182 x 155 mm), II + 185 + I ff.
(Binski Zutshi 298)

Psalters were used for private devotion. The 150 psalms were divided according to various different schemes, but often by an eight-fold division separating the psalms to be read on the seven days of the week, and an eighth group to be read every day at vespers. In this manuscript, gloss and text are both in Latin, but it was not unusual for a gloss to be written in French, or even English. Decorated initials mark the beginning of a new section, as here, where we see a large coloured initial with geometric features.