A large Antiphonal palimpsest leaf possibly Eastern Europe C15th and C18th on parchment

Leaf from a palimpsest Antiphonary, manuscript in Latin on parchment

The leaf c. 530 × 365 mm, written with six lines of text and music on four-line red staves in formal rounded gothic script, the musical in square notation, comprising the antiphon “Alleluia. O zelator fidei persecutor hereticorum … Regno beatorum.”, with title in red “S[anctus] ioa[nnes] a cap[istra]no”, a large initial with reserved designs and decorative penwork in red ink, folio number “207” in the outer margin of the verso. The under-text is a choir Psalter written in two columns, including parts of Psalms 34:18–35:2: each bifolium has been opened-out and then cropped to create a single leaf of the much larger Antiphonary.

St John of Capistrano died in 1456, and although he was beatified by Pope Leo X (d. 1521) he was not canonised until the late 17th or early 18th century; the upper text on the present leaf therefore cannot be earlier than this, as the heading refers to him as “S[anctus]” not Beatus. The text appears to be very rare, but can be found in a source from Poland.