The Digital Walters is a branch of The Walters Art Museum Manuscripts Department.
The Digital Walters is a branch of The Walters Art Museum Manuscripts Department.
Known today as the St. Francis Missal, this manuscript is traditionally believed to be the very book consulted by St. Francis and his companions in 1208. According to early accounts, St. Francis and two followers were debating what God’s plan for them might be. Unable to decide, they sought answers at the church of San Nicolò in Assisi, which Francis often attended. They opened the Missal, which sat on the altar, three times at random and in every case, the text on the page urged renouncing earthly goods. This pivotal moment laid the foundation for the Franciscan order. An inscription in the book on fol. 166r lends support to the legend that surrounds it, for it documents the Missal's creation for the church of San Nicolò, and also mentions the book's patron, Gerard of Ugo, who is documented in Assisi in the late 12th century. Due to its possible contact with the saint, Franciscans worldwide consider it to be a relic of touch, and every year many make pilgrimages to Baltimore to be in its presence, and to see the three places they believe Francis opened the manuscript to (fols. 119v-120r, 132v-133r, and 249v-250r). The manuscript underwent intensive conservation from 2017-2019, a special project made possible by the Mellon Foundation.
Written in a second hand
Principal cataloger: Herbert, Lynley
Cataloger: Herbert, Lynley
Cataloger: Walters Art Museum curatorial staff and researchers since 1934
Editor: Herbert, Lynley
Contributor: Damon, Elena
Contributor: Emery, Doug
Contributor: Herbert, Lynley
Conservator: Magee, Cathie
Conservator: Quandt, Abigail
Faloci-Pulignani, Michele. "Il messale consultato da S. Francesco quando si convertì," Miscellanea Francescana, 15 (1914): 33-43.
De Ricci, Seymour. Census of Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts in the United States and Canada. Vol. 1. New York: H. W. Wilson Company, 1935.
Brunacci, Aldo. "From These Pages," Messenger of St. Anthony (Padua, October, 1978): 16-19.
Perseghin, Gerard A. "Prime Candidate for Assisi Missal at Hand," The Catholic Review, December 25, 1981.
Porter, Vicki. "Brother Book?". 35 No. 2. The Walters Art Gallery Bulletin. March/April, 1982:1-2.
Voorvelt, G. C. P. and Van Leeuwen, B. P., “L'Evangéliaire de Baltimore: Étude critique sur le missel que saint Françoise aurait consulté,” Collectanea Franciscana 59 (1989): 261-321.
Niemier, Roch, O.F.M. Franciscan Life, Day One: 800 Years 1209-2009: Reflections on the Missal of San Nicolo. Franciscan Pilgrimage Programs, Inc., 2008.
Thompson, Augustine, O.P. Francis of Assisi: The Life. Cornell University Press, 2013, p. 26
Herbert, Lynley Anne. "A Curator’s Note: The Tarnished Reception of Remarkable Manuscripts," in Illuminating Metalwork: Metal, Object, and Image in Medieval Manuscripts, edited by Joseph Ackley and Shannon L. Wearing. De Gruyter, 2020.
These are pages that we pulled aside that disrupted the flow of the manuscript reader. These may be bindings, inserts, bookmarks, and various other oddities.
Umbria, Italy
Ca. 1200 CE
book
Non-original Binding
Rebound in fifteenth century in simple monastic style, with beech wood boards partially covered with leather; later infestation of wood-boring insects caused severe weakening that led to the eventual cracking of the boards; during 19th-century restoration, the old leather cover was replaced with one of a poor quality sheepskin leather, which rapidly deteriorated quickly; from 2016-2018 Mellon Fellow and book conservator Cathie Magee took the book completely apart to stabilize all components, injecting a modern stable adhesive into the insect holes and rebuilding losses in the boards with epoxy; thick deposits of glue were cleaned off the spine folds, and holes and tears in the parchment were mended with Asian paper Once this work was completed, Magee reassembled the gatherings (groups of pages) and sewed them onto four double linen cords using a traditional techniques and a sewing frame, as seen on the right. New linen end bands were sewn onto the text block, and the boards were reattached. Finally, the binding was covered with new goatskin leather, leaving much of the boards exposed as before.
The primary language in this manuscript is Latin.
Created for the Church of San Nicolò, Assisi, late twelfth or early thirteenth century, likely under the patronage of Gerard of Ugo
Joseph Baer, book dealer, Frankfurt, Germany; listed with photograph of fol. 166v in catalogs of 1905, 1912, and 1924
Gruel firm, Paris, ca. 1924
Henry Walters, Baltimore, acquired from Paul Gruel ca. 1924
Walters Art Museum, 1931, by Henry Walters' bequest
Umbria, Italy
Ca. 1200 CE
book
The primary language in this manuscript is Latin.
Created for the Church of San Nicolò, Assisi, late twelfth or early thirteenth century, likely under the patronage of Gerard of Ugo
Joseph Baer, book dealer, Frankfurt, Germany; listed with photograph of fol. 166v in catalogs of 1905, 1912, and 1924
Gruel firm, Paris, ca. 1924
Henry Walters, Baltimore, acquired from Paul Gruel ca. 1924
Walters Art Museum, 1931, by Henry Walters' bequest
Known today as the St. Francis Missal, this manuscript is traditionally believed to be the very book consulted by St. Francis and his companions in 1208. According to early accounts, St. Francis and two followers were debating what God’s plan for them might be. Unable to decide, they sought answers at the church of San Nicolò in Assisi, which Francis often attended. They opened the Missal, which sat on the altar, three times at random and in every case, the text on the page urged renouncing earthly goods. This pivotal moment laid the foundation for the Franciscan order. An inscription in the book on fol. 166r lends support to the legend that surrounds it, for it documents the Missal's creation for the church of San Nicolò, and also mentions the book's patron, Gerard of Ugo, who is documented in Assisi in the late 12th century. Due to its possible contact with the saint, Franciscans worldwide consider it to be a relic of touch, and every year many make pilgrimages to Baltimore to be in its presence, and to see the three places they believe Francis opened the manuscript to (fols. 119v-120r, 132v-133r, and 249v-250r). The manuscript underwent intensive conservation from 2017-2019, a special project made possible by the Mellon Foundation.
Written in a second hand
Principal cataloger: Herbert, Lynley
Cataloger: Herbert, Lynley
Cataloger: Walters Art Museum curatorial staff and researchers since 1934
Editor: Herbert, Lynley
Contributor: Damon, Elena
Contributor: Emery, Doug
Contributor: Herbert, Lynley
Conservator: Magee, Cathie
Conservator: Quandt, Abigail
Faloci-Pulignani, Michele. "Il messale consultato da S. Francesco quando si convertì," Miscellanea Francescana, 15 (1914): 33-43.
De Ricci, Seymour. Census of Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts in the United States and Canada. Vol. 1. New York: H. W. Wilson Company, 1935.
Brunacci, Aldo. "From These Pages," Messenger of St. Anthony (Padua, October, 1978): 16-19.
Perseghin, Gerard A. "Prime Candidate for Assisi Missal at Hand," The Catholic Review, December 25, 1981.
Porter, Vicki. "Brother Book?". 35 No. 2. The Walters Art Gallery Bulletin. March/April, 1982:1-2.
Voorvelt, G. C. P. and Van Leeuwen, B. P., “L'Evangéliaire de Baltimore: Étude critique sur le missel que saint Françoise aurait consulté,” Collectanea Franciscana 59 (1989): 261-321.
Niemier, Roch, O.F.M. Franciscan Life, Day One: 800 Years 1209-2009: Reflections on the Missal of San Nicolo. Franciscan Pilgrimage Programs, Inc., 2008.
Thompson, Augustine, O.P. Francis of Assisi: The Life. Cornell University Press, 2013, p. 26
Herbert, Lynley Anne. "A Curator’s Note: The Tarnished Reception of Remarkable Manuscripts," in Illuminating Metalwork: Metal, Object, and Image in Medieval Manuscripts, edited by Joseph Ackley and Shannon L. Wearing. De Gruyter, 2020.
These are pages that we pulled aside that disrupted the flow of the manuscript reader. These may be bindings, inserts, bookmarks, and various other oddities.
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