Stowe Psalter

The Stowe Psalter (British Library Stowe 2, also known as Spelman Psalter or King Alfred's Psalter) is a psalter from the "2nd or 3rd quarter of the 11th century", at the end of Anglo-Saxon art. The text includes the Gallican version of the Psalms, followed by the Canticles with an interlinear Old English gloss.

This Psalter is closely related to the Tiberius Psalter (British Library Cotton MS. Tiberius C.VI). Both Psalters have identical prayers added to the end of each psalm. The Psalters also each have large initial "B"s, Beatus initials, at the beginning of Psalm 1 which closely resemble each other in form. The Anglo-Saxon glosses appear to have been written at the same time as the Latin text.

There are 180 extant vellum folios. The folios are 220 by 180 mm, with the text being written in an area of 225 by 120 mm. In its current binding there are two vellum flyleaves that are not counted in the foliation of the manuscript. Two folios at the end of the Canticles have been cut away. The manuscript was re-bound in tooled leather during the 17th century.

The text is written in English half-uncials, while the titles of the Psalms are written in rustic capitals. The large decorated Beatus initial at the beginning of Psalm 1 (folio 1r), and smaller decorated initials at the beginning of Psalm 51 (folio 56r) and Psalm 101 (folio 111v), are the only major decorations in the manuscript, a common pattern in psalters. Other divisions in the text are marked by smaller colored initials. There are occasional marginal ritual directions and antiphons added in a 15th-century hand. There are also a few added marginal decorations.

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