Stokes — Co)icernmg Marsh's Library. 419 



and York, together with the Latin hymns in daily use in these churches. 

 Now these ancient English Psalters require a word of explanation. 

 They are no longer in use either in this country or on the Continent, 

 having been superseded by changes in the service books made by the 

 Pope subsequent to the Council of Trent. They are not what are 

 now called Psalters in the Church of England. Maskell defines them 

 as "books in which the Psalms are contained, divided into certain 

 portions for matins and the hours, so as to be gone through in the 

 course of a week." The Sarum and York Psalters were simply the 

 Prayer Books of the educated laity in the year 1500; and as such 

 they are generally like modern Prayer Books, convenient in size, 

 either small octavos, or else smaller still. Maskell states that there are 

 three of these Sarum and York Psalteries, or Prayer Books, in the 

 Museum Library; one printed at Paris in 1516, for much of English 

 printing was then done at Paris and at Bouen ; another printed at 

 Antwerp in 1 524 ; and athird, dated in 1 529, without any colophon. But 

 not one of these Sarum and York Prayer Boohs ivas printed in Enyland. 

 j^ow the very first book I took down from Bishop Stearne's collection 

 was this unique volume, " A. Psaltery and Hymnery according to the 

 use of Sarum and York," dated in the year 1524, and 2>rinted in the 

 city of London. All the Sarum Prayer Books in the British Museum 

 mentioned by Mr. Maskell were printed alroad, while this one in 

 "Marsh" was printed in London. But this was not the only curious 

 and interesting point about it. The colophon, or imprint, of this book 

 was, as usual in that age, at the end of the book, and on the very last 

 page, instead of on the title-page, as is the present custom. This 

 colophon ran as follows: "Explicit Psalterium cum Antiphonis do- 

 minicalibus et ferialibus, suis locis insertis, una cum hymnis Ecclesiae 

 Sarum. et Eboracen. deservientibus. Impressum in civitate London, 

 per Bichardum Pynson regis impressorem Anno Domini MDXXIIII." 

 Now let me give you a brief description of this unique Prayer 

 Book. It is an octavo volume in the original binding of embossed 

 sheepskin. The title-page consists simply of the words " Psalterium 

 cum Hymnis," underneath which are the letters B. P., being the 

 initials or device of the printer, Bichard Pynson. The contents 

 of the book 1 need scarcely refer to, as they are too strictly theo- 

 logical for this Academy. There are some points, however, of general 

 interest to which I may briefly refer. The Calendar prefixed to the book 

 is an interesting specimen of the method of computing time in the early 

 sixteenth century, which has, indeed, in more ways than one left its 

 impress upon modern life and practice. The number of days is 

 appended to the name of each month, and the length of the nights in 



