est Non est vestrum scire tempora, quæ Pater posuit in sua potestate.'"1

DOUCE, 59, BODLEIAN LIBRARY, OXFORD.

Among the MSS. of the Athanasian Creed belonging to the beginning of the tenth or the end of the ninth century, this very beautiful volume requires to be noticed. Mr. Coxe, the learned Librarian of the Bodleian, assigns it to that epoch with certainty, as he has kindly informed me; Mr. Macray, in his 'Annals of the Bodleian Library,' describes it as the work probably of the ninth century, and he adds, respecting its former history, that it came from the old Royal Library of France.2 It is one of the treasures with which the Oxford Library was enriched by the bequest of Francis Douce. It is a Psalter, written in golden minuscules on purple vellum, with large, and in places highly ornamented, initial letters. The Psalms are preceded by a few pages of preliminary matter; and are followed by the "Pusillus eram," and the usual Old Testament Canticles. Then come successively the Te Deum, entitled, "Hymnum in Die Dominica;" the Benedicite, entitled, "Benedictio trium puerorum;" the Benedictus; the Magnificat; the Nunc dimittis; the Gloria in excelsis, entitled, Hymnum angelicum ad missam;" the Lord's Prayer; the Apostles' Creed, entitled, "Symbolum;" the Athanasian Creed, entitled, "Fides Catholica Athanasii episcopi ;" and with this the volume concludes. The collations of the text of the Quicunque will be 2 Page 249.

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1 'De Civitate Dei,' xxii. 5.

found in Appendix, Note I. In this Psalter there is no prefatory explanation to each Psalm, nor succeeding prayer nor collect, as is sometimes the case. Psalm li., or lii. in our version, and Psalm ci., or cii. A. V., are each preceded by a pictorial illustration; and I was struck by the resemblance in character which the first of these bears to the illustrations of the same Psalm in the Utrecht Psalter, and in the Psalter of Count Henry at Troyes. The details are somewhat varied, probably to suit the size and shape of the pictures; but there is a sameness of idea and style in all three-the same central figure of the Psalmist, or righteous man, appealing to heaven before the enthroned king, or "tyrant," who is addressed in the first verse, and bearing in his right hand the same peculiar half-moon-shaped instrument, doubtless intended for the "sharp razor" mentioned in the third verse, and the same representation of the green olive tree" of the ninth verse. In all three the artists appear to have had for their model the same original or copies of it. The illustrations in the Oxford and Troyes Psalters are coloured; this is not the case with the drawings in the Utrecht Psalter.

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PSALTER OF COUNT HENRY AT TROYES.

This is assigned to the ninth century. Before the French Revolution at the close of the last century, it belonged to the Collegiate Church of St. Stephen, at that time the principal church of Troyes next to the cathedral. It is mentioned by Martene, in his

'Voyage Littéraire,"

among the valuables of that church, which were inspected by him at his visit to Troyes, and he describes the character of the writing as dating back more than eight hundred years. At the Revolution, when the hand of the plunderer and destroyer fell so heavily upon the French Church and her property, this volume narrowly escaped destruction, was much injured and stripped of the silver gilt tablets in which it was bound. Some time after, it was found in a damp chamber in the Prefecture of Aube, with other débris from the treasures of St. Stephen's and the cathedral at Troyes; and the whole of these precious relics were saved from further injury by the loving care of the prefect, who presented them to the latter church, than which no more fitting asylum could be found for their reception. The Psalter is now exhibited among the treasures of the cathedral, in a closed glass case, being laid open at the illustration of the 52nd Psalm, previously referred to. I was informed that it contains other similar illustrative pictures; but am unable to give any account of them or of the contents of the MS. upon my own authority, having been unsuccessful in my attempts to obtain permission to examine it. This, however, is immaterial, as an account of it is given in the Catalogue des Manuscrits des Bibliothèques. Publiques.' It is written throughout in letters of gold and in minuscules, like the Douce Psalter, with large painted and decorated capitals for the initial

1 Première Partie,' p. 90.

2 Tom. ii. pp. 1012-1014. Paris, 1855.

letters. The catalogue gives a description of the illustration of the 52nd Psalm, but makes no mention of any other; so that my information that that is not the only one, may be wrong. The volume appears to have been executed for one of the Counts of Champagne; but it could not have been written for Count Henry, who lived two centuries after the date. assigned to it. It was by this count that the Collegiate Church of St. Stephen at Troyes, to which it belonged previous to the Revolution, was founded; and hence it is very probable that it originally came into possession of that body through his munificence, and was therefore called "Count Henry's Psalter." The initiatory leaves have been torn away, and the first page at present commences with the latter verses of the ninth Psalm. Respecting the contents, the description of the catalogue states: "On a ajouté à la fin les cantiques qu'on chante aux Matines, le Te Deum, l'Oraison dominicale, le Symbole des Apôtres et celui de Saint Athanase, qui termine le volume."

I cannot help thinking that this Psalter is very similar to the Douce Psalter at Oxford, and that they might be compared with advantage. To the best of my recollection, the two volumes correspond in size and shape; they resemble one they resemble one another in the character of the writing and of the illustrations; and from the account of the catalogue the contents appear to be the same--at least, both terminate with the Athanasian Creed.

PARIS BIBLIOTHÈQUE NATIONALE, 13,388.

This MS. belonged formerly to the Abbey of St. Germain des Près, as appears from the memorandum at the commencement: "St. Germani a Pratis." It is a small quarto of 107 leaves, written in Caroline minuscules, with the titles in uncials enclosed in a decorated border, and is assigned by the catalogue to the ninth century. It is a manual of devotion; and the following list of contents is written on the fly-leaf by a modern hand :-"Confessio cujusdam monachi. Confessio S. Fulgentii 'Episcopi ad pœnitentiam dandam. Variæ orationes pœnitentium et cantica. Litaniæ sanctorum antiquæ. Versus a Beda collecti."

It is to the last of these documents that I wish to draw attention. It commences on the verso side of folio 81, with the title written in uncials and surrounded with a large and ornamented border, thus occupying the whole page. The title is as follows:"Incipiunt versi venerabilis Bedæ presbiteri collecti de singulis psalmis orationibus convenientes cotidianis." It should be observed, as perhaps investing the document with special dignity, that on the recto side of the same leaf there is a drawing, in blue ink, of our Blessed Lord upon the cross-the head encircled by a radiated nimbus, the body vested from the waist to the knees, the feet separate, each pierced with a nail. The work itself is an abbreviated Psalter, consisting of verses selected from the Psalms, but with no indication by number of the Psalms from which they were