Panel 5
THE SOUND OF PRAYER
Music for Saint Trudo
The Office of Saint Trudo
A early 12th-century score produced at Sint-Truiden Abbey (Liège University Library, MS 12)
This 12th-century manuscript from Sint-Truiden Abbey contains hagiographies, but it is particularly precious because it also preserves Gregorian chants for the feasts of Saint Trudo and Saint Eucherius. The texts recount the life and miracles of Saint Trudo and were used during the abbey's liturgy.
The manuscript was produced by two important abbots: Theodoric (1099–1107), author of a Life of Saint Trudo, and Rodulphus (1108–1138), recognized as a scholar, choirmaster, and reformer. The latter set Theodoric's text to music.
According to the abbey chronicle, Rodulphus taught the monks the innovative musical method of Guido of Arezzo. The codex contains one of the oldest examples in Northwestern Europe of Gregorian music noted on a staff. Thanks to this innovative notation, the melodies can still be read and performed today, nearly nine centuries after being recorded in Sint-Truiden.
Sounds for heaven
In the medieval abbey, musical manuscripts played a crucial role. Monastic life revolved around the daily hours of prayer and the Mass. Songbooks such as antiphonaries and graduals contained the appropriate texts and melodies for each specific day and feast.
By committing the chants to writing, the entire community of monks could sing together impeccably. The transmission of the same melodies reinforced unity within the abbey as well as between different monasteries, while allowing monks to memorize certain texts more easily.
For the monks, singing was a form of prayer, meditation, and a deeply spiritual experience. Music was not merely a means of delivering a message; it was also considered a way to honor God and soothe the soul.
Although polyphonic music was very popular in the Late Middle Ages, monophonic Gregorian chant was preserved in many abbeys. For the monks, this centuries-old chant did not belong to the past, but constituted a living tradition.
Music was perceived as one of the highest forms of prayer. Beautifully illuminated and meticulously copied musical manuscripts bear witness to this, like the splendid "Gradual" displayed here.
GRADUAL OF SINT-TRUIDEN ABBEY
under Abbot Joris Sarens (1532–1558)
Despite the advent of printing, Sint-Truiden Abbey remained a major center for the production of luxurious liturgical manuscripts in the 16th century. Under the rule of Abbot Joris Sarens (1533–1558), this tradition even experienced a final peak. After the fire of 1538, which destroyed the abbey's library and refectory among other things, Sarens implemented a vast restoration program. He invested in the liturgy and the intellectual standing of his community. It was in this context that the monumental Gradual of Sint-Truiden (1540–1542) came to be—one of the most important illuminated manuscripts created for the abbey in the 16th century.
The gradual was copied by Dirk (Theodoricus) van Breedzip, prior of the abbey and one of the last great scribes of the Sint-Truiden scriptorium. He completed the manuscript in 1540, and the decoration was finished by 1542. The gradual contains one large miniature, nineteen historiated initials, over one hundred and fifty decorated initials, and over a thousand filigree initials. Its large format allowed the entire choir to sing from a single book during the liturgy.
A gradual gathers the chants performed by the choir during Mass. The manuscript covers nearly the entire liturgical year. Its content offers a faithful overview of daily religious life within the abbey.
The Illustrations
Some illustrations are particularly original, such as a child sitting on a skull—a visual reference to the text Circumdederunt me gemitus mortis ("The groans of death surrounded me"). This representation emphasizes that human beings are confronted with death from birth.
Equally remarkable is the representation of the Trinitas trifrons, a head with three faces intended to depict the three persons of the Holy Trinity. Such iconography appears only sporadically and testifies to an elaborate theological visual language.
The Opening Folio
The most famous page of the manuscript is without a doubt its opening folio. The large letter A houses the Tree of Jesse, crowned by the Virgin and Child in radiant glory. The lavish use of gold leaf makes this page particularly impressive. At the bottom, William of Brussels, predecessor of Sarens, is depicted kneeling, while behind him stands Joris Sarens accompanied by his patron saint, Saint George. Their coats of arms complete the margins. Dirk van Breedzip also immortalized himself through his initials and coat of arms. Furthermore, an early example of the city of Sint-Truiden’s coat of arms appears. Consequently, this opening page carries not only religious, but also political and institutional significance.
THE JOURNEY OF A CHOIR BOOK
The manuscript was copied by Prior Dirk van Breedzip under Abbot Joris Sarens (in 1540) at Sint-Truiden Abbey.
Probable disappearance: In July 1794, Abbot Eucherius Knapen fled to Germany with some monks, taking part of the library with them. It is possible the book was abandoned at that time or sold during the stay in Germany (given that it was not among the books seized by the government in 1814).
The book ended up in the private collection of the Duke of Arenberg in Brussels (the exact manner in which it arrived there remains unknown).
Hidden? After World War I, the Duke's property (as a German citizen) was seized, but the precious books could not be found. The collection remained hidden in an unknown location for many years.
New York (1952–1961): After World War II, the collection reappeared in the United States. In 1952, the manuscript was auctioned in New York at Jacques Seligmann. It then ended up with the New York antiquarian bookseller Lathrop C. Harper.
Hasselt (from January 4, 1962): The provincial administration of Limburg acquired the manuscript from Harper, after which it arrived on January 4, 1962.
Today, it is expertly preserved at the Bibliotheek Hasselt Limburg.