A psalter is a volume containing the Book of Psalms , often with other devotional material bound in as well, such as a liturgical calendar and litany of the Saints . Until the emergence of the book of hours in the Late Middle Ages , psalters were the books most widely owned by wealthy lay persons. They were commonly used for learning to read. Many psalters were richly illuminated, and they include some of the most spectacular surviving examples of medieval book art.
19-691: The Ainsworth Psalter was written by English Separatist clergyman Henry Ainsworth and was brought to America by the Pilgrims in 1620. It was published in Holland in 1612. It is a parallel translation, including a literal rendering of the Psalms and an accompanying metrical Psalms. This article about a book related to Christianity is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Psalter The English term ( Old English psaltere , saltere ) derives from Church Latin . The source term
38-514: A sundial , clepsydra , or other timekeeping device . (The same roots are used in horology , the scientific study of time .) In Byzantine Greek , the word was repurposed to also denote the Eastern books of hours , records of the hymns and prayers to be offered at the proper times of each day. The plural form of both the Latin and Greek forms of the word is horologia . In English, the horologion
57-623: A century. The Mudil Psalter , the oldest complete Coptic psalter, dates to the 5th century. It was found in the Al-Mudil Coptic cemetery in a small town near Beni Suef , Egypt . The codex was in the grave of a young girl, open, with her head resting on it. Scholar John Gee has argued that this represents a cultural continuation of the ancient Egyptian tradition of placing the Book of the Dead in tombs and sarcophagi . The Pahlavi Psalter
76-766: Is Latin : psalterium , which is simply the name of the Book of Psalms (in secular Latin, it is the term for a stringed instrument, from Ancient Greek : ψαλτήριον psalterion ). The Book of Psalms contains the bulk of the Divine Office of the Roman Catholic Church . The other books associated with it were the Lectionary , the Antiphonary , and Responsoriale , and the Hymnary . In Late Modern English, psalter has mostly ceased to refer to
95-538: Is a fragment of a Middle Persian translation of a Syriac version of the Book of Psalms, dated to the 6th or 7th century. In Orthodox Christianity , the Book of Psalms for liturgical purposes is divided into 20 kathismata or "sittings", for reading at Vespers and Matins . Kathisma means sitting, since the people normally sit during the reading of the psalms. Each kathisma is divided into three stases , from stasis , to stand, because each stasis ends with Glory to
114-724: Is also sometimes known as the Book of Hours or the Orthodox book of hours, from the nearest Roman Catholic equivalent . The book is known as the Chasoslov ( Часocлoвъ ) in Church Slavonic and as the Orologhion or Ceaslov in Romanian . The horologion is primarily a book for the use of the reader and chanters . The Euchologion is used by the priest and deacon instead. Several varieties of horologia exist,
133-581: Is one of the most important surviving Carolingian manuscripts and exercised a major influence on the later development of Anglo-Saxon art . In the Middle Ages psalters were among the most popular types of illuminated manuscripts , rivaled only by the Gospel Books , from which they gradually took over as the type of manuscript chosen for lavish illumination. From the late 11th century onwards they became particularly widespread - Psalms were recited by
152-796: Is the book of hours for the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches . It provides the acolouthia ( ἀκολουθίαι , akolouthíai ), the fixed portions of the Divine Service used every day at certain canonical hours . Additional parts of the service are changed daily, mostly according to the Menologium . Horologium is the latinized version of the Greek hōrológion ( ὡρολόγιον ), from hṓra ( ὥρα , "time period, hour "), lógos ( λόγος , " writing , recording ") + -ion ( -ιον ), together originally meaning
171-517: The Inter-Hours , Typica , and the prayers before meals). The parts for the reader and chanters are given in full, while the priest and deacon's parts are abbreviated. Great Horologia also contain a list of the saints commemorated throughout the year with their troparia and kontakia ; selected propers for Sundays ; moveable feasts from the Menaion , Triodion , and Pentecostarion ; and
190-428: The "B" of the words Beatus vir... ("Blessed is the man...") at the start of Psalm 1 . This was usually given the most elaborate decoration in an illuminated psalter, often taking a whole page for the initial letter or first two words. Historiated initials or full-page illuminations were used to mark the beginnings of the major divisions of the Psalms, or the various daily readings, and may have helped users navigate to
209-646: The Book of Psalms (as the text of a book of the Bible) and mostly refers to the dedicated physical volumes containing this text. Dedicated psalters, as distinct from copies of the Psalms in other formats, e.g. as part of a full edition of the Old Testament, were first developed in the Latin West in the 6th century in Ireland and from about 700 on the continent . The extensively illustrated Utrecht Psalter
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#1732781150953228-592: The Father... , at which everyone stands. The reading of the kathismata are arranged so that the entire psalter is read through in the course of a week. During Great Lent it is read through twice in a week. During Bright Week (Easter Week) there is no reading from the Psalms. Orthodox psalters usually contain the Biblical canticles , which are read at the canon of Matins during Great Lent. The established Orthodox tradition of Christian burial has included reading
247-794: The Psalms in the church throughout the vigil , where the deceased remains the night before the funeral, a reflection of the vigil of Holy Friday . Some Orthodox psalters also contain special prayers for the departed for this purpose. While the full tradition is showing signs of diminishing in practice, the psalter is still sometimes used during a wake . See also Category:Illuminated psalters See also Category:Psalters Horologion Autocephaly recognized by some autocephalous Churches de jure : Autocephaly and canonicity recognized by Constantinople and 3 other autocephalous Churches: Spiritual independence recognized by Georgian Orthodox Church: Semi-Autonomous: The horologion or horologium ( pl. horologia ), also known by other names ,
266-413: The calendar and litany varied greatly and can often give clues as to the original ownership of the manuscript, since monasteries and private patrons alike would choose those saints that had particular significance for them. Many psalters were lavishly illuminated with full-page miniatures as well as decorated initials. Of the initials the most important is normally the so-called " Beatus initial ", based on
285-537: The clergy at various points in the liturgy , so psalters were a key part of the liturgical equipment in major churches. Various different schemes existed for the arrangement of the Psalms into groups (see Latin Psalters ). As well as the 150 Psalms, medieval psalters often included a calendar, a litany of saints, canticles from the Old and New Testaments , and other devotional texts. The selection of saints mentioned in
304-650: The most complete of which is the Great Horologion or Horologium ( ‹See Tfd› Greek : Ὡρολόγιον τò μέγα , Hōrológion tò méga ; Church Slavonic : Великий Часословъ , Velikij Chasoslov ; Romanian : Ceaslovul Mare , Orologhionul Mare ). It contains the fixed portions of the Daily Office ( Vespers , Greater and Lesser Compline , the Midnight Office , Matins , the Little Hours ,
323-628: The practice of personal devotions. The psalter is also a part of either the Horologion or the breviary , used to say the Liturgy of the Hours in the Eastern and Western Christian worlds respectively. Non-illuminated psalters written in Coptic include some of the earliest surviving codices (bound books) altogether. The earliest Coptic psalter predates the earliest Western (Irish) one by more than
342-492: The relevant part of the text, as medieval books almost never had page numbers. Many psalters, particularly from the 12th century onwards, included a richly decorated "prefatory cycle" &ndash. A series of full-page illuminations preceding the Psalms, usually illustrating the Passion story, though some also featured Old Testament narratives. Such images helped to enhance the book's status, and served as aids to contemplation in
361-477: The various canons and other devotional services. The Great Horologion is most commonly used in Greek -speaking churches. Other editions of the horologion are usually shorter. They still give the fixed portions of the Daily Office in full, but other texts are much more abbreviated since they are found in full in other liturgical books . In addition, such texts also often contain morning and evening prayers,
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