Macclesfield Psalter Facsimile Edition

Created in the mid-fourteenth century, the lavishly illuminated Macclesfield Psalter represents the height of English Gothic illumination in East Anglia. Its pages are rich in marginal imagery that surrounds the sacred text of the psalms with irreverent and sometimes obscene imagery. No page is left without decoration, and few are without swathes of gleaming gold. The product of a workshop, the hands of several artists known from other works are evident here including the Anointing Master, the Macclesfield Master, and the Douai Psalter Assistant.

The manuscript is missing two folios, which likely featured full-page images of saints. Several historiated initials have been excised, including one that may have included a representation of the original owner (fol. 246r). Nevertheless, the Macclesfield Psalter is a masterpiece of Gothic art in its exquisite details and departure from strict adherence to style in favor of individual portraiture and emotional content.

Imaginative Blending of the Sacred and Secular

It may seem unusual that medieval artists decorated a sacred text meant for private devotion with images of everyday life and nature, often humorous or obscene. Medieval taste allowed for a sense of humor, especially concerning less-noble aspects of life. The lewd and demonic images in the psalter were often defaced, an injury done in later centuries by those with more puritanical standards for imagery thought appropriate for a religious context.

The English Gothic Workshops of East Anglia

East Anglia was an important production center for illuminated manuscripts in the fourteenth century. The Stowe Breviary, Gorleston Psalter, and Douai Psalter compare well to the Macclesfield Psalter in their overall design and individual hands. In this group can be seen an interest in naturalism, individuality, and the depiction of the human form in an Italianate manner.

A Book of Private Devotion

In the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, few individuals could afford the expense of a complete Bible. Instead, people would commission works containing only one section of the biblical text. Psalters contain the 150 psalms and often a calendar that records days of special importance to the owner and area. The text of the Macclesfield Psalter is the Gallican version of the psalms in Latin written in sixteen long lines in fine Gothic Textura Quadrata. It is ornamented throughout with line fillers, gold initials, and marginal decoration in rich colors.

Remained in England as a Result of Public Donations

The original owner of the Macclesfield Psalter is unknown; a strong candidate is John, the eighth Earl of Warenne, who was the probable patron of the associated Gorleston Psalter. The manuscript passed through several owners in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries before entering the library of the Earl of Macclesfield at Shirburn Castle, where it remained until it was sold at auction in 2004. There it was purchased by the Getty Museum. The Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art placed an export bar on the work to allow the Fitzwilliam Museum to raise the necessary £1.7 million in funds. In January 2005, the Fitzwilliam was able to purchase the manuscript after a public appeal for donations.