Murray State University
Grade Level at Time of Presentation
Junior
Major
BA Music
Minor
Spanish
Institution 24-25
Murray State University
KY House District #
5
KY Senate District #
1
Faculty Advisor/ Mentor
Dr. Robert Fritz
Department
Dept. of Global Languages and Theatre Arts
Abstract
A 17th-century Latin sanctorale held in the collection of the Saint Meinrad Archabbey features marginalia written in Spanish, but its place of origin and past ownership is otherwise unknown. Drawing on clues derived from a paleographical analysis of marginalia and a hymn pasted into the back cover, I have gathered evidence suggesting that the sanctorale originated in or was formerly owned by one of the religious orders in the Spanish city of Alcalá de Henares. A key piece of evidence is handwriting that adapts one of the chants to praise Saints Justus and Pastor, the patron saints of Alcalá. This is significant in that there is precedent for religious communities to adapt chants to feature saints that have a special significance to them and to repurpose music originally intended for other feasts. This appears to be the case here. In addition, the hymn pasted into the back of the sanctorale is titled "Himno a Nuestra Señora del Carmen" (Hymn to Our Lady of Carmen), suggesting that the text was acquired and adapted for use by the Carmelite Order, which has a strong presence in Alcalá de Henares. My current work focuses on using the Global Cantus Database, Cantus Index, and Cantus Database, to identify and index other chants in the sanctorale that would aid in determining its provenance.
Implementing a Paleographical Analysis to Provenance a Spanish Sanctorale
A 17th-century Latin sanctorale held in the collection of the Saint Meinrad Archabbey features marginalia written in Spanish, but its place of origin and past ownership is otherwise unknown. Drawing on clues derived from a paleographical analysis of marginalia and a hymn pasted into the back cover, I have gathered evidence suggesting that the sanctorale originated in or was formerly owned by one of the religious orders in the Spanish city of Alcalá de Henares. A key piece of evidence is handwriting that adapts one of the chants to praise Saints Justus and Pastor, the patron saints of Alcalá. This is significant in that there is precedent for religious communities to adapt chants to feature saints that have a special significance to them and to repurpose music originally intended for other feasts. This appears to be the case here. In addition, the hymn pasted into the back of the sanctorale is titled "Himno a Nuestra Señora del Carmen" (Hymn to Our Lady of Carmen), suggesting that the text was acquired and adapted for use by the Carmelite Order, which has a strong presence in Alcalá de Henares. My current work focuses on using the Global Cantus Database, Cantus Index, and Cantus Database, to identify and index other chants in the sanctorale that would aid in determining its provenance.