Harley MS 603

Psalter, known as the 'Harley Psalter', imperfect. The illustration of the manuscript is copied from the Utrecht Psalter (Utrecht, Universiteitsbibliotheek, MS 32). The text is mostly the Roman version, except Psalms 100-105 which are Gallican (see Abbot Gasquet and Edmund Bishop, The Bosworth Psalter (London: Bell and Sons, 1908)).

Losses to text:After f. 28, Psalm 49:7 (tibi) to Psalm 51 (malitia)After f. 33, Psalm 62 to Psalm 64:1 (proficisci) After f. 45, Psalm 83:5 (laudabunt) to Psalm 89:14 (exultavimus)After f. 49, Psalm 98 to Psalm 99After f. 173, Psalm 143:8 to end

Decoration:

1 full-page drawing in colours of the Trinity in a mandorla, supported by four angels (f. 1r). 112 drawings in brown ink or with colours, on most pages, each preceding the Psalm illustrated. The cycle begins with a full page drawing on f. 1v. Large historiated initial in colours of an archbishop kneeling before Christ at the beginning of Psalm 1 (f. 2r). Initials in red, green, or blue with penwork decoration, some with decoration in another colour or with animal heads. Small initials and rubrics in red. Spaces left for drawings and initials (ff. 36r-49v).

The decoration was left unfinished and a sequence of coloured drawings was added in the 2nd quarter of the 12th century (ff. 29r-35r) see Noel, 'Harley Psalter' (2009).

The subjects of the images are as follows (the relevant psalm follows the image, often on the next page):

f. 1v: The blessed man holding an open book (left) and the ungodly man with soldiers (right); the tree beside the river, the personification of a river with an urn (below left) and the torments of hell (below right);

f. 2r: (upper image): Psalm 1: A historiated initial 'B'(eatus vir), with a figure of Christ in a mandorla; (lower image) Psalm 2: God ordering the destruction of the wicked (left), the Lord on Zion (centre) breaking a pot with a rod of iron and raising his left hand in warning to a group of people or kings (right);

f. 2v: (upper image) Psalm 3: The Lord on his holy hill blessing the Psalmist lying in bed (centre), an angel breaks the teeth of sinners with his staff (left) and martyrs with palms (right); (lower image) Psalm 4: The Psalmist standing in a tomb, addressing armed men, raising his hand to the Lord in heaven (left) and people bringing sacrifices of wine and beasts to the temple (right);

f. 3r: Psalm 5: The Psalmist entering a sanctuary (left), from which a winged demon is fleeing (centre), and above him an angel placing a wreath on a martyr's head; on the right, demons are prodding the wicked in a pit of fire;

f. 3v: Psalm 6: The Lord in the clouds of heaven (left) above two figures lying on beds (centre left), and below, demons tormenting the damned in a pit of serpents; on the right, wicked people are going away in shame;

f. 4r: Psalm 7: The Lord holding a sword, bow and arrows on a hill surrounded by crowds of people (centre), a man falling into a pit and next to him a female demon with triplets (below right) and on the left the Psalmist, attacked by men with spears and pointing to a lion who is tearing the flesh of a man;

f. 4v: Psalm 8: The Psalmist praying to Christ in a mandorla held up by four angels, the moon and stars on the right; sheep and oxen and other beasts of the earth beneath, in the centre, infants praising the Lord, to their right, enemies with long hair being driven into the pit and on the far right, the birds and fishes of the sea;

f. 5r: Psalm 9: The Lord holding scales and surrounded by angels (above), the Psalmist on a tower above a city filled with people, raising his hand to the Lord and in front of him, soldiers killing people with swords and spears; a lion in his den in the centre and on the right the wicked are punished and their cities destroyed;

f. 6r: Psalm 10: The Lord in his temple above, the Psalmist holding scales (centre left), the righteous and sons of men (left and centre), four men with spears attacking a temple and fire and brimstone raining down on the wicked (right);

f. 6v: Psalm 11: The Lord, stepping out of a mandorla, handing a spear to an angel, with the poor and needy below, some holding up their arms; wicked men walk around a circle on the ground and push a turnstile around (centre); on the right the Psalmist, holding a scroll, points to two smiths at a forge in front of a building, forging silver;

f. 7r: Psalm 12: The Lord sending down enlightenment to the Psalmist and an open tomb in front of him;

f. 7v: Psalm 13: The Lord in a mandorla, with scenes of men doing evil beneath: a king with a sword. in a canopy with serpents around the columns, looks at two soldiers holding severed heads, and a woman with four children kneels before him (left), soldiers commit violent acts (beneath) and captive women and children appeal to a soldier on a hill (right);

f. 8r: (upper image) Psalm 14: The Psalmist addressing the hand of God (above), two righteous men enter the tabernacle (left) and a man with scales is trampling an enemy and giving a bag of money to the poor and injured; (lower image) Psalm 15: the Lord and angels (above), with saints and the sorrowful in beds; beneath are three women approaching an angel guarding the tomb of Christ (centre) and the Lord raising Adam and Eve from their tombs (right);

f. 8v: Psalm 16: The Psalmist standing on a furnace holding up scales to the Lord, surrounded by enemies and the children of enemies feasting, and lions beneath, one in a cave;

f. 9r: Psalm 17: The Lord in a mandorla with the winds and two cherubim (centre), the Psalmist trampling on the enemy beneath, with a lighted lamp and channels of water on either side; a walled enclosure with a tabernacle containing an altar and a hanging lamp and soldiers outside (left) and deer on a hillside (right) with figures in a fiery pit containing the head of death beneath;

f. 10v: Psalm 18: Personifications of the sun and moon and below them figures with scrolls (above left); the Lord comes out of a tabernacle with two angels (right); two men, one with a spear and the other holding the law and beside him a table with vessels (left); a king in a mandorla (right);

f. 11r: Psalm 19: A warrior with spear and shield (left), appeals to the Lord, who extends a bow towards him (above centre); a king brings offerings of gold and animals to a priest at an altar before a tabernacle (below); on the right are those who have been brought down with their chariots and horses;

f. 11v: Psalm 20: The Lord in a mandorla with angels (above), blessing a king who is being crowned by an angel holding a scroll; the Psalmist (right) pointing to a group of enemies in front of a fiery oven with a cross on top (centre), who are being attacked by soldiers;

f. 12r: Psalm 21: The themes include (1) the lamentation of the Psalmist, who is shown holding two vials, and is attacked by bulls, dogs, lions, with a unicorn below (lower right), (2) prophetic images of Christ’s passion including an empty cross and two men dividing a garment (centre) and (3) praise to heaven, represented by the tabernacle with the meek eating at a circular table and seven women seated with babies (perhaps the seed of Israel);

f. 13: Psalm 22: The Psalmist seated beside a stream (right), holding a cup and looking up at the hand of God reaching down from heaven, while his head is anointed with oil by an angel, who gives him a staff; green pastures with goats, sheep and cattle grazing around a tabernacle (left); a table has been prepared (centre) and the enemies are present (lower right);

f. 13v: Psalm 23: The tabernacle on the hill of the Lord, with three men welcoming the Lord at the gate, and the hand of God flanked by five angels pointing down from Heaven (upper left); a stream with fish, boats and monsters flows past the tabernacle (lower right);

f. 14: Psalm 24: The Lord with a scroll showing the way to the Psalmist (above); enemies (left) and sinners and the meek (right) are below, and a man giving alms from an urn to the poor, injured, widows and orphans;

f. 14v: Psalm 25: The Psalmist standing on a fiery furnace in front of a tabernacle, asking the Lord to examine him (left); an aqueduct with a lion spouting water into a basin where children are washing their hands (centre); on the right are two churches (above), sinners beating their victims and with demons whispering into their ears and a fiery pit with the head of death inside (below);

f. 15: Psalm 26: The Lord, standing on the porch of a domed church, holding a torch and accompanied by four figures, grasps the hand of the Psalmist who is walking towards and altar with a sacrificial sheep beside it, while rays of light fall from the hand of God (above); the enemies are gathered (below) and a man and woman enter a building, leaving a child behind (upper left);

f. 15v: Psalm 27: The Lord with three angels (upper left) above a domed church with a king raising his hands and an angel holding an umbrella over his head;

f. 16r: Psalm 28: The Lord in a mandorla surrounded by six angels, above, with three personifications of the winds below and the unicorn, calf and hinds on the hills; the Psalmist points to the right, where a procession of young men are bringing sheep and lambs to the sanctuary;

f. 16v: Psalm 29: The Psalmist is helped out of a tomb by the Lord and dances on the hillside beneath the sun (left); saints sing praises and devils torment sinners;

f. 17r: Psalm 30: The righteous are sheltered in a tabernacle, a broken vessel lies on the ground at the feet of an angel who is rescuing the Psalmist and people watch acrobats and a dancing bear;

f. 17v: An angel rescues the Psalmist (marginal drawing);

f. 18r: Psalm 31: The Lord with the sun, moon and stars above, the blessed whose sin is covered, the Psalmist among the thorn bushes in the centre, surrounded by soldiers and three men controlling a horse and mule below, with the flood beneath them;

f. 18v: Psalm 32: People playing music and singing (left), a sea monster pouring water from an urn (centre), an angel distributes food from a table to women and children (below) and a giant attached to a rock by his ankles with an arrow in his back (lower right);

f. 19r: Psalm 33: The martyrdoms of Peter, Paul and Lawrence (below), with angels attacking evildoers (right) and the Psalmist talking to children (left);

f. 19v: Psalm 34: Soldiers and angels battle for the soul of the Psalmist (centre and right); the soldiers fall into a pit and people give thanks at a sanctuary (left);

f. 20v: Psalm 35: Men on the mountains and beasts below; five children of men in a portico with an angel (centre) and fountains with birds spouting water into goblets; wicked people are driven into a pit by an angel (left);

f. 21r: Psalm 36: The Psalmist at a lectern with a book and scales (centre), scenes of ploughing, sowing and reaping (centre), while a man falls from his high position in a tree (left);

f. 22r: Psalm 37: The Psalmist as a leper attacked and persecuted with a heavy burden, while his friends are far off and the enemy advances;

f. 22v: Psalm 38: The Psalmist confronts three demons, one holding a trident, one a measuring tape and one counting on his fingers (upper centre); a king supervising the gathering and storage of his treasures;

f. 23r: Psalm 39: The Psalmist on a platform attacked by three demons from behind while two women carrying palms approach; below, two men drag rams to sacrifice; a group of people prepare for a hunt with horses, hounds and a falcon (below); a king and queen talk (right);

f. 24r: Psalm 40: A landscape with an overturned bed at the bottom of a hill and Christ appears to two women (centre);

f. 24v: Psalm 41: A stag is pursued by dogs (right) and a spring gushing from a mountain (centre); a banquet with music and dancing (left);

f. 25r: (upper image) Psalm 42: A man, perhaps representing truth, confronts evil before a tabernacle; (lower image) Psalm 43: The Psalmist in a walled enclosure with his weapons lying useless before him; David’s people are slaughtered like sheep;

f. 26r: Psalm 44: A righteous king with his queen and daughters, with people offering gifts;

f. 26v: Psalm 45: Streams flow to the city of God and sea gods are on the rocks beneath, while a men burn a sword, bow and shield (right);

f. 27r: Psalm 46: The Psalmist inside a walled enclosure with worshippers inside and outside led by kings carrying palms;

f. 27v: Psalm 47: Daughters of Judah (?) dance in the city of Zion, while kings bring gifts, and a woman in labour is attended by three women (below left); ships are blown across the sea by the winds;

f. 28r: Psalm 48: The Psalmist addresses three men holding a harp, a rod and a flag; an open tomb with a body inside (centre), three horses represent beasts of burden and sheep fall into a pit (lower left);

f. 28v: Psalm 49: Fire falls from heaven and burns the hillsides; the crowned personification of the earth is seated on a throne with two rods (centre), with beasts and men on either side;

f. 29r: Psalm 52: A judge in a domed building talking to a winged devil while soldiers bring him victims’ heads (left); scenes of violence (below);

f. 29v: Psalm 53: A sheep is sacrificed at a burning altar, a priest stands before a tabernacle and the enemy are defeated (below);

f. 30r: Psalm 54: The Psalmist before a table laden with food; scenes of violence outside a city wall (below); a fiery pit of hell (lower right) and the sin of usury represented by a man with scales above the city wall;

f. 30v: Psalm 55: The bearded head of Death; the Psalmist attacked by enemies but helped by the Lord with a bannered cross-staff;

f. 31r: Psalm 56: The Lord attended by eleven men (above), while angels attack his enemies and the Psalmist is saved by an angel from falling into a pit; a lion and lioness are on either side of him;

f. 31v: Psalm 57: Judges (?) seated in a portico (left) with a serpent beneath, approached by a group of men; an angel breaks the teeth of a lion, while the righteous wash their hands (lower right); a candle burns in a large candlestick (centre right);

f. 32r: Psalm 58: Dogs in a walled city, with wicked men seated at a table (centre); and the Lord approaches to protect the Psalmist from his enemies;

f. 32v: Psalm 59: The Lord in a mandorla handing a pair of shoes to an angel; the defenders of the city of Edom (?) are facing the attacking soldiers;

f. 33r (upper image): Psalm 60: An angel on a tower gives a cloak to the Psalmist; a king in front of a palace (left) holds out his hands to the Lord; a tented tabernacle is on the right; (lower image): Psalm 61: The Psalmist holds up his hand to the Lord; the wicked kill each other (right) and sit around a table before a fiery pit (left) with a man lying inside with a serpent biting him;

f. 33v: Psalm 62: The Psalmist shows his soul thirsting, with an ox and a ram (centre) and the wicked men in the pit of hell (right) with foxes eating some of the bodies (lower right);

f. 34r: Psalm 65: Christ with a shield (above); the Psalmist driving animals to sacrifice (centre); trials by water, fire and whipping are shown below;

f. 50r: Psalm 101: The Psalmist before a table with bread, a cup and a ewer, looking up to the Lord and to his right, Earth creating people; a pelican, owl and sparrow on a roof (left); angels building Zion (right);

f. 51r: Psalm 102: Personifications of the sun and moon to the left and right of the heavens; a tree with an eagle behind the Psalmist (left) who is approached by an angel with a crown of mercy; below is a pit of hell with a huge head of Death inside; to the right are Moses and the children of Israel;

f. 51v: Psalm 103: The creations of the Lord: valleys and mountains (left) with springs where beasts and birds are drinking and a man ploughing with oxen a sea with ships on it and beasts in the water (centre); to the right are lions and other beasts among the rocks;

f. 52v: Psalm 104: The seed of Abraham and the children of Jacob surrounding the Psalmist; the Lord holds out his covenant towards Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (upper right); a domed building with a cross (lower right);

f. 53v: Psalm 105: The exodus of the Israelites from Egypt, with Moses holding his staff over the Red Sea and the Egyptians drowning (centre), with the Psalmist above pointing to other scenes showing the Israelites faithlessness;

f. 54r: Psalm 106: Elders and walled cities, the one on the left being built by men with hammers and stones; scenes of ploughing and cultivating vines (below) and men in prison and in stocks (lower right);

f. 55v: Psalm 107: Rays from the personified sun fall on the Psalmist who has a harp, lute and measuring rod; King David standing in a walled enclosure (centre), holding a pair of shoes and to his right are seated Gilead, Manasseh and Ephraim, while Moab, to their right, holds a cup;

f. 56r: Psalm 108: Below Christ in a mandorla with angels, a wicked man is seized by a demon (left) and the Psalmist with a locust, standing in oil from an oil-horn (right); the sinner is punished (lower left), his wife and children abandoned and his treasures taken from him;

f. 56v: Psalm 109: The saints, carrying torches, defeat their enemies with the help of the Lord and angels; a fully armed soldier holds out a bowl, perhaps Gideon at the brook (lower right);

f. 57r: Psalm 110: The Lord coming down with a scroll and a pair of scales to the Psalmist, while a group of people holding books and scrolls are talking beside a tabernacle;

f. 57v: Psalm 111: The house of a wealthy god-fearing man (behind) with a stag’s head mounted on the roof; the wealthy man, seated, gives alms to the poor and is blessed by the hand of God; other good men distribute food and money (lower right) while evil men are tormented in a pit (lower left);

f. 58r: (upper image): Psalm 112: Princes on a throne (right) and a woman with her children in a house beneath; an angel helps a poor man (centre) and people praise the Lord; (lower image): Psalm 113: Moses leading the Israelites across the Red Sea, which he has parted with his rod;

f. 58v: The Lord blesses the cup of salvation;

f. 59r: (upper image) Psalm 114: The Lord blesses his people and cares for his children; he rescues the Psalmist from devils; (lower image): Psalm 115: Saints martyred in front of a tabernacle; the Psalmist holds up the cup of salvation;

f. 60r: (upper image) Psalm 115: (above) Jerusalem with the cup of salvation blessed by the lord; (lower image): Psalm 116: the Lord holds out his hand towards a group of soldiers, who look up at him;

f. 60r: Psalm 117: The Psalmist with a spear, surrounded by enemies, is helped by the Lord and his angels;

f. 60v: Psalm 118: The Lord and angels above, and blessed people follow the law (below);

f. 64r: Psalm 119: A man building a city wall (left), the Psalmist being given weapons by the Lord, a warrior shooting sharp arrows and the burning broom bush (centre);

f. 64v (above): Psalm 120: The Psalmist lifts his eyes to the hills and the Lord watches over him, sleeping and awake; (below): Psalm 121: The tribes of the Lord enter the city of Jerusalem; the Psalmist and another man are inside;

f. 65r: Psalm 122: The female slave and her mistress (centre) and a master holds up a sword to two male slaves (left); on the right a devil tries to entrap the Psalmist, who is given a spear by the Lord, while the proud mock him (below);

f. 65v (upper image): Psalm 123: The Psalmist and a prophet are attacked by men with spears, but the Lord is on their side; (lower image): Psalm 124: The Lord’s people in the city of Jerusalem;

f. 66r: Psalm 125: People sowing and reaping outside the city, while the heathen attack Mount Zion with axes;

f. 66v: (upper image) Psalm 126: Building the city of Jerusalem, while the Lord watches; (lower image) Psalm 127: A man has his feet washed (left); a king and queen are served a meal at a round table (above) and a king gives alms to the poor (below);

f. 67r: (upper image) Psalm 128: A man in captivity (left), another man being branded on his back (centre), while one of his attackers is killed by an angel with a sword; (lower image) men holding spheres approach the Psalmist from both sides;

f. 67v: (upper image) Psalm 129: The Psalmist in a tomb and a group of people raising their hands to the lord and angels in heaven; (lower image) Psalm 130: The Psalmist receives rays of light from the hand of God, while four men cover their eyes (centre) and a ?mother gives her son a large ring (right);

f. 68r: Psalm 131: The city of Zion guarded by an angel (left), with worshippers on their knees approaching God in his tented tabernacle; David sits with his harp (lower right) with a woman and two soldiers standing on either side;

f. 68v: (upper image) Psalm 132: Aaron is anointed with oil and a group of people are seated together in a building, perhaps representing unity, one holding a bowl (right); (lower image) Psalm 133: People in the house of the Lord;

f. 69r: Psalm 134: The Lord unleashing the fury of the wind and rain and his angels with spears slaying kings and their armies;

f. 69v: Psalm 135: The Lord with the moon and stars, holding out his hand to four angels who have overcome his enemies; animals grazing below represent his bounty to Israel;

f. 70r: Psalm 136: A ?Babylonian commands the mourning Israelites, who are seated beside the rivers of Babylon with their musical instruments hanging in the willows;

f. 70v: (upper image) Psalm 137: People praising the Lord (left) and the Psalmist standing before a temple; (lower image) people in captivity hold up their hands (left) and a king is given gifts by the hand of the Lord (right);

f. 71r: Psalm 138: The Psalmist in a cave (or the womb) is blessed by the hand of the Lord (left); a child is brought to be blessed (centre) and three women are shown the way to a temple by an angel (right);

f. 71v: Psalm 139: The Psalmist is delivered from his evil captors who have serpents coming out of their mouths by the Lord, who pours oil on him and holds fire in his left hand; an angel spears a violent man who is in a pit with hot coals raining onto him;

f. 72r: Psalm 140: The Psalmist performing a sacrifice, his prayer rising as incense to the Lord (left); he is chastised by an angel (centre); people with detached limbs (?scattered bones) holding up a child for blessing; to the right is a hell-mouth with the devil inside attacking two sinners with a pitchfork;

f. 72v: Psalm 141: The Psalmist appeals to the Lord for help (left); he is delivered from a pit by an angel (centre); four of the righteous watch, while approaching a spring; (below) two men, ?laying snares for animals;

f. 73r: Psalm 142: The Psalmist in darkness attacked by devils (left), then rescued from a tomb by an angel (below right), with the Lord in a mandorla and angels above;

f. 73v: Psalm 143: David and Goliath, represented as a knight in chain mail with a helmet (upper right); David with his harp, standing on the backs of people (centre) prostrate before the Lord, who holds spears and other weapons in his right hand (left).