Verona Orational
Encyclopedia
The Verona Orational, also known as the Libellus Orationum (Verona
, Cathedral, Biblioteca Capit. Cod. LXXXIX), is a late 7th or early 8th century Visigoth
ic prayer book. It is the only liturgical book
that was written before the Moorish invasion and is the only surviving Visigothic manuscript containing figural decoration. The manuscript has 127 folios that measure 330 mm by 260 mm. The text was written in Visigothic minuscule
. A marginal gloss indicated that the manuscript was produced in Tarragona
, at the church of Saint Fructuosus.
The orational contains antiphon
s and responsories
that are not neume
d; no music exists in the codex.
On folio 3r there is a drawing of the "Rose of the Winds", a precursor of the Compass rose
. The drawing depicts the twelve winds grouped around a central cross
. The twelve winds are represented by four heads with three faces each that have trumpets coming out of the mouth of each face. Each head is contained within a circle and the four circles are arranged in a cross pattern around the central cross. The entire drawing is enclosed within a double circle. Although the drawing has been Christianized by the addition of the central cross, the drawing is based a well known formula in Classical art, the Vultus trifons.
This manuscript is also important because it contains the first written sample of an early Italian language different from Late Latin
. It is written in northern-Italian cursive minuscule and is known as "Veronese riddle": "Se pareba boves, alba pratalia araba, albo versorio teneba, negro semen seminaba", which can be translated more or less as "In front of him (he) led oxen, White fields (he) plowed, A white plow (he) held , A black seed (he) sowed". This can be easily interpreted as a reprehesentation of the act of holding a pen and writing on a white sheet.
Verona
Verona ; German Bern, Dietrichsbern or Welschbern) is a city in the Veneto, northern Italy, with approx. 265,000 inhabitants and one of the seven chef-lieus of the region. It is the second largest city municipality in the region and the third of North-Eastern Italy. The metropolitan area of Verona...
, Cathedral, Biblioteca Capit. Cod. LXXXIX), is a late 7th or early 8th century Visigoth
Visigoth
The Visigoths were one of two main branches of the Goths, the Ostrogoths being the other. These tribes were among the Germans who spread through the late Roman Empire during the Migration Period...
ic prayer book. It is the only liturgical book
Liturgical book
A liturgical book is a book published by the authority of a church, that contains the text and directions for the liturgy of its official religious services.-Roman Catholic:...
that was written before the Moorish invasion and is the only surviving Visigothic manuscript containing figural decoration. The manuscript has 127 folios that measure 330 mm by 260 mm. The text was written in Visigothic minuscule
Visigothic script
Visigothic script was a type of medieval script that originated in the Visigothic kingdom in Hispania...
. A marginal gloss indicated that the manuscript was produced in Tarragona
Tarragona
Tarragona is a city located in the south of Catalonia on the north-east of Spain, by the Mediterranean. It is the capital of the Spanish province of the same name and the capital of the Catalan comarca Tarragonès. In the medieval and modern times it was the capital of the Vegueria of Tarragona...
, at the church of Saint Fructuosus.
The orational contains antiphon
Antiphon
An antiphon in Christian music and ritual, is a "responsory" by a choir or congregation, usually in Gregorian chant, to a psalm or other text in a religious service or musical work....
s and responsories
Responsory
-Definition:The most general of a responsory is any psalm, canticle, or other sacred musical work sung responsorially, that is, with a cantor or small group singing verses while the whole choir or congregation respond with a refrain. However, this article focuses on those chants of the western...
that are not neume
Neume
A neume is the basic element of Western and Eastern systems of musical notation prior to the invention of five-line staff notation. The word is a Middle English corruption of the ultimately Ancient Greek word for breath ....
d; no music exists in the codex.
On folio 3r there is a drawing of the "Rose of the Winds", a precursor of the Compass rose
Compass rose
A compass rose, sometimes called a windrose, is a figure on a compass, map, nautical chart or monument used to display the orientation of the cardinal directions — North, East, South and West - and their intermediate points. It is also the term for the graduated markings found on the traditional...
. The drawing depicts the twelve winds grouped around a central cross
Cross
A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two lines or bars perpendicular to each other, dividing one or two of the lines in half. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally; if they run obliquely, the design is technically termed a saltire, although the arms of a saltire need not meet...
. The twelve winds are represented by four heads with three faces each that have trumpets coming out of the mouth of each face. Each head is contained within a circle and the four circles are arranged in a cross pattern around the central cross. The entire drawing is enclosed within a double circle. Although the drawing has been Christianized by the addition of the central cross, the drawing is based a well known formula in Classical art, the Vultus trifons.
This manuscript is also important because it contains the first written sample of an early Italian language different from Late Latin
Late Latin
Late Latin is the scholarly name for the written Latin of Late Antiquity. The English dictionary definition of Late Latin dates this period from the 3rd to the 6th centuries AD extending in Spain to the 7th. This somewhat ambiguously defined period fits between Classical Latin and Medieval Latin...
. It is written in northern-Italian cursive minuscule and is known as "Veronese riddle": "Se pareba boves, alba pratalia araba, albo versorio teneba, negro semen seminaba", which can be translated more or less as "In front of him (he) led oxen, White fields (he) plowed, A white plow (he) held , A black seed (he) sowed". This can be easily interpreted as a reprehesentation of the act of holding a pen and writing on a white sheet.