Carmelite Missal. Brescia, 1490

[MISSAL, for Carmelite Use].
Brescia: Boninus Boninis de Ragusia,
14 August 1490. (06471)

Printed specifically for use in Carmelite monasteries, this Missal survives in only five copies; this is the only one preserved in America. As in two other copies, the gathering of paper leaves containing the Canon of the Mass in Bridwell Library’s copy was replaced with contemporary vellum leaves bearing the same text copied out in manuscript. Since the Canon is used daily for Communion, this important section was written on sturdier material. The leather knots attached to each vellum leaf allowed for easy turning during the celebration of the Mass. Exhibited is the transition from the Canon (manuscript on vellum) to the Easter services (printing on paper).

An early inscription inside the front cover indicates that the Missal originally belonged to the Carmelite monastery at Boppard on the Rhine. The blind-tooled calfskin binding reflects its German provenance, as does the handwritten addition of many German feast days in the liturgical calendar.