This work, written in German, contains the life of Thomas Aquinas written by William of Tocco (1240-1323). On f. 106v, there is also a note on the writer and on the possible patroness of the work: Dis buoch hat ze tùtsche bracht gemachet vnd geschriben pfaff Eberhard von Rapreswil kilcherr zu Jonen (addition anno 1418 by a 16th or 17th century hand). Dem sol Got vnsri frow sant Thoman der heilig lerer vnd die erwirdig frow die Stoeklerin ze Toess wol lonen. According to this entry, the 15th century hand goes back to Eberhard von Rapperswil, who was pastor in Jona in the canton of St. Gallen. The woman who commissioned the work is considered to be the nun Stöklerin from Töss (probably Elsbeth Stükler). This makes the work one of the few German translations of the life of Thomas Aquinas. Individual initials are not only highlighted in red, but are also decorated. The manuscript has a raspberry-red leather binding with clasps, which was restored in the 20th century. The detached pastedowns in the front and back are from a 13th century manuscript with neumes (probably a Kyriale). The manuscript contains two ownership notes: Dijs buoch ist erhart blarer von Wartensee zuo Kemten, guothsher zuo kemtem vnd zuo Werdeg (f. 106v) and Monasterij apud D.[ivam] Yddam in Visch.[ingen] (f. 1r). Accordingly, the manuscript belonged to Prince Abbot Johann Erhard Blarer von Wartensee in Kempten, who is documented to have been active from 1587 to 1594; subsequently the manuscript became the property of Fischingen Abbey. (glo)

This manuscript contains as its first part Isidore of Seville's commentary on the Old Testament Books Exodus (pp. 1−44), Deuteronomy (pp. 44−53), Joshua (pp. 53−62) and Judges (pp. 62−71). These commentaries are a part of his work Mysticorum expositiones sacramentorum seu quaestiones in vetus testamentum. The second part (pp. 73−135), written in a different, more accurate hand, contains a copy of the Book of Leviticus with a more extensive interlinear commentary that was planned from the outset. Between the two parts (p. 72) is the library stamp from the abbacy of Prince-Abbot Diethelm Blarer, in use between 1553 and 1564. (smu)

This small manuscript contains the Apocalypse commentary of Anselm of Laon, who died in 1117 (Stegmüller, Repertorium Biblicum, no. 1371). Except for a four-line red lombard at the begnning of the text, there is no decoration present. On p. 50 can be found the library stamp from the abbacy of Diethelm Blarer (1553–1564). (sno)

Pontifical-missal of the St. Gall Abbot Diethelm Blarer (1530-1564) – the finest 16th century manuscript in Switzerland. (smu)

This manuscript was written in a flowing fourteenth-century textualis and decorated with rubrics and red lombards. The same hand has numbered the quires in red ink, in the bottom-right corner at the beginning of each quire: II (p. 23) to XXXIX (p. 731). The pagination contains a significant error: 1–501, 511–742; pp. 614–615 are empty. The manuscript transmits the winter part of a breviary, namely (pp. 1-559) the Proprium de tempore from the first Sunday of Advent to Pentecost and Trinity, as well as (pp. 559–742) the Proprium de sanctis from the feast of Saint Andrew the Apostle (30 November) to the feast of Saint Pancras (12 May), including the feast of Saint Wiborada (pp. 716-725). The manuscript shows no traces of its users nor of any additions. On the final page (p. 742) appears the library stamp of Abbot Diethelm Blarer from 1553–1564. The binding, featuring wooden boards with a red leather cover, dates to the fourteenth or fifteenth century. (len)

This extensive parchment manuscript was written in the fourteenth century in textualis. Red and blue lombards, rubrics, and red abbreviations adorn the two-column text; occassional red and blue pen-flourished initials emphasize particularly important parts of the breviary and its feasts. The breviary begins (p. 1a) with Easter-eve vespers (that is, on Good Saturday) and ends (pp. 807a–817b) with the feast of Saint Conrad (26 November). There then follows (pp. 817b–819b), as additions, a lection In nocte sancte Anne and four lections In divisione apostolorum, written in the same hand as before (cf. p. 433b, p. 457b). Finally the added rubric Passio sancti Placidi martyris, sociorum eius 35 martyrum prima [?] lectio [?] is written in another, later-fifteenth-century hand. Among the saints feasts occur those of Gallus (p. 662a) and its octave (p. 708a) as well as of Otmar (p. 759b) and its octave (p. 789b). On p. 666 appears the library stamp of Abbot Diethelm Blarer from the period 1553–1564. The wooden-board binding dates to the fifteenth or sixteenth century. Its leather binding is adorned with scroll stamps. The original clasps and fittings are missing. On the inside of the front and back boards can be seen offsets from detached flyleaves, as well as from fragments with writing that were pasted in. Two paper leaves (pp. A-D) and one paper leaf (pp. Y-Z) have been inserted and bound in before and after the parchment book block, respectively. The pagination is faulty: A–D, 1–155, 155a, 156–433, 435–621, 623–819, Y–Z. (len)

This paper manuscript contains short readings (capitula), collects (collectae), prayers, hymns, antiphons, and responsories for the office throughout the year, including the common of Saints. Probably in the fourteenth century, this “extended collectar” was written in a flowing textualis and then rubricated. In many places, the manuscript shows heavy traces of use in the form of worn, browned margins. On p. 25 can be found the library stamp of Abbot Diethelm Blarer from 1553–1564. The wooden-board binding dates to the fourteenth or fifteenth century. On the inner boards can be seen offsets of Hebrew fragments. (len)

The pontifical vesperal of St. Gall Abbott Diethelm Blarer (1530–1564) contains the prayers, psalms with antiphones and responsories, as well as hymns for the high holidays of the church year. Except for the incipits of the antiphones of the Magnificat, which are written in German plainsong notation (“Hufnagelnotation”) on five lines, the manuscript contains no melodies. The scribe of this volume was Father Heinrich Keller (1518–1567), subprior of the Monastery of St. Gall. The book's decoration - 20 historiated initials and several richly decorated borders with pictures - is the work of an unknown artist from the region of Lake Constance, who also illuminated Cod. Sang. 357‬‬ and 442‬. (sno)

Ritual for the personal use of Prince-Abbot of St. Gall Diethelm Blarer (1530−1564; cf. his coat of arms on p. 8 and the stamp for his personal library on p. 7); written by the St. Gall monk Heinrich Keller (1518−1567) and illustrated around 1555 by an unknown illuminator from the area of Lake Constance. The St. Gall manuscripts Cod. Sang. 357 and Cod. Sang. 439 were illuminated by this same artist at the same time. The small-format volume contains liturgical texts on the administration of the sacrament of baptism (pp. 9-107), on the readmission of a woman into the circle of believers after giving birth (pp. 107-114), on marriage (pp. 114-141), as well as on the distribution of wine on October 16th, the feast day of Saint Gall, the founder of St. Gall (pp. 144a-154). (smu)

The book was written in 1541 by the St. Gall calligrapher and cathedral organist Fridolin Sicher (1490–1546). Organized according to the ecclesiastical calendar, this volume contains German-language instructions for the preparation of the altars and ceremonies of the St. Gallen Monastery on the individual Sundays and holidays. In addition, it offers an alphabetical listing of all the altars in the post-Reformation monastery district of St. Gall. At that time, the duties of a sacristan were in the hands of a lay brother, who cleaned the church, lit the candles and monitored them while they burned, and rang the church bells (hence the name "Läuterbuch"). (smu)

Meant for daily use in the chapter office, this volume was written in 1542/43 by the secular cleric Fridolin Sicher (1490−1546), born in Bischofszell, for St. Gall Prince-Abbot Diethelm Blarer (1530−1564; cf. his coat of arms on p. 5 and p. 8 as well as p. 268); later the volume came into the possession of the monastic community of St. Gall. Before as well as after the Reformation, Fridolin Sicher was cathedral organist and calligrapher for St. Gall Abbey. In the front of the volume there is a Latin copy of the Rule of Saint Benedict (pp. 5-72), followed in the later part by an abridged version, consolidated into a single draft, of the Martyrologium Romanum and a necrology related to St. Gall Abbey (pp. 83-267). Under Prince-Abbot Bernhard Müller (1594−1630), this chapter office book was replaced with a new necrology begun in 1611 (cf. Cod. Sang. 1442) that no longer contained the Rule of Saint Benedict. (smu)

An opulently illustrated large-format gradual containing four-part vocal pieces, from the Cloister of St. Gall, written and illuminated in the year 1562. By order of Prince-Bishop Diethelm Blarer, the Italian Manfred Barbarini Lupus from Correggio composed these challenging vocal pieces, Father Heinrich Keller (1518-1567) wrote the text, and the manuscript illustrator Kaspar Härtli from Lindau on the Bodensee illuminated the first pages with the important holy days of the church year. The volume has richly ornamented borders and numerous miniatures, among them five of full-page size, and contains the heraldic shields of St. Gall monks living at that time; the ornamented pages include many depictions of musical instruments of the period (some of which are no longer known). (smu)

Large-format antiphonary with chants in four parts, written and illuminated between 1562 and 1564. By order of Prince-Abbot Diethelm Blarer (1530-1564), the Italian Manfred Barbarini Lupus from Correggio composed the pieces for four voices - antiphons, responsories, hymns and psalms for the principal feast days of the liturgical year as well as passions according to Matthew, Mark and Luke. Father Heinrich Keller (1518-1567) wrote the text and the illuminator Kaspar Härtli from Lindau on Lake Constance created a full-page All Saints picture with Christ on the cross (f. IVr), as well as a donor portrait with the coats of arms of the then-living members of the St. Gall monastic community (f. 1r). (sno)

This Psalter contains the psalms in liturgical sequence with antiphons, followed by biblical canticles and a hymnal. The codex was written in 1545 (colophon f. 102v) by the organist and calligrapher Fridolin Sicher (1490-1546) by order of Prince Abbot Diethelm Blarer (1530-1564). Large parts were rewritten by numerous later hands, probably after the reform of the liturgy following the Council of Trent. The Psalter contains several figurative initials by an unknown illuminator. (sno)

This manuscript, decorated with fleuronné initials and occasional pen drawings, was written in Italy in the second half of the 13th century or at the latest at the beginning of the 14th century. It preserves the Codex Justinianus (Books 1–9), the Great Gloss of Accursius associated with it, as well as many more glosses in the margins. The manuscript came to the Abbey Library at the latest in the 16th century via the two St. Gall citizens Conrad Särri and Johannes Widembach († around 1456). (len)

The Summa de virtutibus et vitiis by Guilelmus Peraldus is the primary content of this volume (pp. 9a-290b). This principal text is in two-columns in very small textualis script (50 lines per side), with red, blue and red and blue pen-flourished initials as well as tendril extenders. A small collection of sermons was added on the empty leaves in the fourteenth century (pp. 291a-296b). There is a table of contents on pp. 5a-7b with some page numbers added later. The volume is designed for easy reference: red side-titles and red column numbers are original. At the beginning and end are alphabetical indices (pp. 3a-4b and 297a-298b) written by a hand likely from the fifteenth century. On p. 298 the St. Gallen library stamp 1553-1564 of Abbot Diethelm Blarer can be seen. Marginal titles and marginalia have been added by various hands. On the front pastedown (p. 2!) is the title Summa virtutum. The pasteboard binding is covered by brown leather. The endband is finished in red and green. (kun)

This massive manuscript, dated 1435, contains a series of texts listed on the table of contents (pp. 1a-3a). Almost entirely copied by a single hand, the texts are arranged in two columns and introduced by rubrics and simple red initials, except for the first initial, which is larger and executed in blue (p. 5). In addition to the Liber collationum sanctorum patrum (pp. 5a-185b), the Vitae patrum (pp. 186a-225a), and the Verba seniorum (pp. 581a-695a), it contains devotional texts, such as the Thomas a Kempis' De imitatione Christi (pp. 235b-279b) and the Liber de medela animae (pp. 364b-406b). The red leather binding dates from the fifteenth century. (rou)

This manuscript transmits sermons for the liturgical year and was copied by a regular hand in a thirteenth-century gothic minuscule. It is incomplete at the beginning and the end. The sermons, numbered in the upper margin, run from VII (Dominica iiii. in quadragesima) to LXXXVIII (In vigilia epiphanie domini). At the beginning of each sermon there is a simple two-line-high red initial and a rubricated title indicating the day on which the sermon was to be read. On the basis of the stamp of the Abbot Diethelm Blarer (p. 410), the manuscript was present in the library of St. Gall since at least the middle of the sixteenth century. The cardboard binding, covered in blank parchment and adorned with green-silk ribbons as clasps, dates from the eighteenth/nineteenth century. (rou)

This parchment manuscript contains Latin sermons by Berthold of Regensburg († 1272) in a copy from the second half of the thirteenth century or the first half of the fourteenth century. It begins with the feast of St. Stephen Protomartyr (26 December; p. 1a) and stretches to the feast of the Beheading of John the Baptist (29 August; p. 181b). There then follow additional sermons and other texts, including two that bear the titles De passione (p. 197a) and De resurrectione (p. 199b) respectively. On p. 209 the text breaks off at the end of the right column. Then follows on pp. 210a–215a in a larger script what are apparently sermons on the Conversio sancti Pauli (p. 210a) and on the Purificatio beatae Mariae (p. 213a), although both of these feasts already appear in the original part (p. 23b and 31b). In the fourteenth century, another hand wrote a German text in the right column of p. 215 (Wilt du wizzen wie …). According to the note on p. 216, in 1433, the chaplain Jodocus Maiger gave this book to Nicholaus Jeuchin or Jenchin, parish priest of St. Mangen (a church outside of the city of St. Gallen). Worthy of note are the decorative, four-color stitching with a zig-zag pattern on p. 111/112, the pen drawing on p. 150a, as well as the library stamp of Abbot Diethlem Blarer, from the period 1553–1563 on p. 216. The wooden binding probably comes from the fifteenth century. (len)

This manuscript primarily preserves a collection of sermons that were copied in the fifteenth century and were intended to serve as models for preachers. Into that pre-existing codex were inserted a number of texts stemming from the beginning of courses at the University of Paris copied in the middle of the fourteenth century. These are principial lectures (principia) to the Book of Sentences of Petrus Lombardus and the Sacred Scriptures, but not only. They were most likely bound into this manuscript because of their resemblance to sermons. Four of the texts copied here have appeared in modern critical editions, but without taking recourse to this manuscript because it was unknown to the editors. These are: pseudo-Methodius' Epistola de Antichristo; Pope Clement VI (Pierre Roger)'s Collatio ("Salomon sedebit") approving the election of Charles IV; Humbert de Preuilly's Principium in metaphysicam; the Principium "Omnium artifex docuit me sapientiam," which has been ascribed to Bonaventure. (met)