Sacred Leaves Manuscript Collection

The history of the book collection at USF illustrates broad concepts in the history of the Western book, beginning with the manuscript era and moving through the invention of the printing press, the mechanization of printing, and the development of the fine press and the artist’s book. This digital collection highlights illuminated manuscripts including individual leaves that illustrate different types of calligraphic hands and illumination, most dating from the medieval period. Items in this collection are only available online; we do not have physical copies of these items in the USF Library's Special Collections. The original items were returned to the donor.

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Hymnal (Saraknoc'), Cilician Kingdom, Sis, Part 6

Unknown

This Armenian manuscript is a Hyman, or Saraknoc. This Hymnal contains a colophon, which details the place of origin and the name of the scribe, artist, and sometimes patron. This particular Hymnal contains ten canons, all marked by an elaborately decorated headpiece, each rich with organic decoration and burnished on gold ground.
Leaves from a Psalter, England, Recto

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The leaves shown here provide a prime example of the portable Psalter. Measuring 13 x 9.5, its convenient size allowed the owner to carry it around easily. Psalm 118's 176 verses praise the Divine Law and are divided into twenty-two sections comprised of eight verses, each called strophes.
Leaves from a Psalter, England, Verso

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The leaves shown here provide a prime example of the portable Psalter. Measuring 13 x 9.5, its convenient size allowed the owner to carry it around easily. Psalm 118's 176 verses praise the Divine Law and are divided into twenty-two sections comprised of eight verses, each called strophes.
Leaf from the Middle of the Penitential Psalms, England or the Netherlands, Recto

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This leaf is the oldest in the exhibition. It contains verses 23-30 of Psalm 37. Typically, the Psalms are paired together in a sequence that composes the Penitential Psalms; these passages would have been the third and fourth sections.
Leaf from the Middle of the Penitential Psalms, England or the Netherlands, Verso

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This leaf is the oldest in the exhibition. It contains the opening of Psalm 50. Typically, the Psalms are paired together in a sequence that composes the Penitential Psalms; these passages would have been the third and fourth sections.
Bifolium from a Breviary, Use of Sarum, England, Verso A

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The Breviary is the principal service book for the celebration of the Divine Office. Taking place in the church choir, this service is organized around the eight canonical hours of the day. This bifolium from a portable Breviary is highly embellished with decoration. The six-line decorated initial S is surrounded by burnished gold leaf and fleshy acanthus leaves that extend through the length of the textbook. A few of the two-line initials also are embellished with gold leaf, further indicating that this Breviary was made for a wealthy cleric.
Bifolium from a Breviary, Use of Sarum, England, Verso B

Unknown

The Breviary is the principal service book for the celebration of the Divine Office. Taking place in the church choir, this service is organized around the eight canonical hours of the day. This bifolium from a portable Breviary is highly embellished with decoration. The six-line decorated initial S is surrounded by burnished gold leaf and fleshy acanthus leaves that extend through the length of the textbook. A few of the two-line initials also are embellished with gold leaf, further indicating that this Breviary was made for a wealthy cleric.
Leaf from a Psalter, Netherlands, Flanders, Recto

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During the thirteenth century, wealthy laity often commissioned Psalters with extensive decoration. This particular leaf from Flanders features several burnished gold leaf initials marking the beginning of each line of the Psalms.
Leaf from a Psalter, Netherlands, Flanders, Verso

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During the thirteenth century, wealthy laity often commissioned Psalters with extensive decoration. This particular leaf from Flanders features several burnished gold leaf initials marking the beginning of each line of the Psalms.
Bible A, Beginning of Galatians

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The Epistle of Paul to the Galatians begins with Paul shaming them for allowing themselves to be taught by a gospel of man and not that of Jesus Christ. The figure initial "P," which begins the incipit to Galatians, shows Paul seated and holding a sword, as a symbol of his martyrdom.
Bible A, Leaf with Obadiah and the Prologue to and Beginning of Jonas

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The Book of Obadiah is the shortest of the prophetic books, and consists of only twenty-one verses. It contains a denunciation of Judah's traditional enemies, the Edomites, who assisted in the overthrow of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar. Also included is the prologue and beginning of Jonas, the fifth book of the twelve Minor Prophets. The tale relates the events of Jonas' life as opposed to addressing mystical themes of prophesy.
Bible A, Leaf with Prologue to Beginning of II Corinthians

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I Corinthians and II Corinthians are two of the epistles of the apostle Paul.
Bible A, Leaf with the Beginning of Daniel

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The protagonist of this book, Daniel, is a young Jewish man who remained faithful to God even though Israel had fallen into the hands of the Babylonians and later the Persians. The first half of the book is historical narrative containing six stories, five about Daniel and one about his friends.
Bible A, Leaf with the Beginning of Hebrews, Recto

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The authorship of the Book of Hebrews was attributed to Paul at the end of the second century. Unlike the many Epistles of Paul, Hebrews contains no formal salutation, which indicates that the Book was originally intended as a homily or treatise written for believers everywhere, as opposed to being addressed to one particular group. The prologue begins with an illuminated "I." The historiated "M" depicts Paul, with the halo to the left, in discussion with a Hebrew to the right (in the pointed hat, worn by and symbolic of Jews in thirteenth century Europe).
Bible A, Leaf with the Beginning of Hebrews, Verso

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The authorship of the Book of Hebrews was attributed to Paul at the end of the second century. Unlike the many Epistles of Paul, Hebrews contains no formal salutation, which indicates that the Book was originally intended as a homily or treatise written for believers everywhere, as opposed to being addressed to one particular group.
Bible A, Leaf with the Beginning of Lamentations

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Lamentations is a collection of poems ascribed to the prophet Jeremiah and its first chapter explains how the city of Jerusalem became "unclean." Lamentations opens with a miniature which references Jeremiah's prediction of the destruction of Jerusalem. His face is taut with sadness and his head tilts downward. Next to him, the walls of the city of Jerusalem are pictured.
Bible A, Leaf with the Beginning of Philemon

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Philemon is addressed to the master of the slave Onesimus. Paul pleads with Philemon, his friend at Colosse, to take back Onesimus, not as his slave, but as his Christian brother. The epistle emphasizes the importance of Christian love as the primary director of human interaction as Paul begs Philemon to forgive and accept his fugitive slave as his friend and partner in the Gospel.
Bible A, Leaf with the Beginning of the Epistles of St. Paul to the Ephesians

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The Epistle of Paul to the Ephesians is commonly believed to have been written in approximately 59-61 AD, during Paul's imprisonment in Rome.
Bible A, Leaf with the Beginning of the First Epistle of Paul to Timothy

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While the Second Epistle of Paul to Thessalonians deals with the crises and problems of the post-Pauline Christian communities, the Epistole to Timothy presents Timothy, Paul's follower and disciple, as an ideal church leader in sharp contrast to the corrupt lives and words of the teachers of other schools in Ephesus.
Bible A, Leaf with the Beginning of the Gospel of John

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The Gospel of John describes the life of Jesus from the time of his baptism by John the Baptist to his passion and resurrection.
Bible A, Leaf with the end of Acts, and the Prologue to and Beginning of the Epistle of James, Recto

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The Epistle of James stresses that faith must be backed by action. The Epistle of James emphasizes the practicalities of exercising Christianity. A hybrid with an animal head, mouth open and ears pointed straight back, resides in the initial "A" that opens the prologue to the Epistle. James stands in front of a building in the shape of a tower in the opening initial "P." This historiated initial is one of the tallest among the Bible 'A' illustrations, stretching down 34 lines of text.
Bible A, Leaf with the end of Acts, and the Prologue to and Beginning of the Epistle of James, Verso

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The Epistle of James stresses that faith must be backed by action. The Epistle of James emphasizes the practicalities of exercising Christianity.
Bible A, Leaf with the End of Amos, the Prologue, and Obadiah

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This leaf contains the conclusion of the Book of Amos and part of the book of Obadiah. The Book of Amos, of which our collection contains chapter eight, exposes the callous ways of living among the nobility of ancient Samaria in the Northern Kingdom. The Book of Obadiah is the shortest of the prophetic books, and consists of only twenty-one verses. It contains a denunciation of Judah's traditional enemies, the Edomites, who assisted in the overthrow of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar.
Bible A, Leaf with the End of Baruch, Recto

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The Prophesy of Baruch is an epistle to the captives of Babylon teaching them that, though they are in the hands of the ones who have created an appearance of godliness, that power is false. The epistle teaches that the kings of Babylon are not to be worshipped nor feared.