Devotion, Remembrance, and Identity. The Hagiographic Entries and Obituaries in a Parisian Thirteenth-Century Illuminated Psalter Made for Jakob Sunesen

Resumé

Marina Vidas: Devotion, Remembrance, and Identity: The Hagiographic Entries and Obituaries in a Parisian Thirteenth-Century Illuminated Psalter Made for Jakob Sunesen

The focus of the article is a handsomely illuminated Parisian thirteenth-century Psalter (London, British Library, MS Egerton 2652), which includes in the Calendar feasts of saints venerated in Denmark and, more specifically, in the diocese of Roskilde. A brief description of the manuscript is provided and the scholarly literature about the Psalter is discussed. Then a fresh look is taken at the significance of the hagiographic entries and obituaries in the Calendar. New reasons are provided for identifying the patron of MS Egerton 2652 as the Danish nobleman Jakob Sunesen (d. 1246) who had major landholdings on the island of Sjælland, and had family ties to Roskilde and Paris. The reception of the work after its completion is addressed and it is argued that the Parisian illuminated devotional manuscript might be understood as a symbol of Jakob Sunesen’s high status. It is suggested that Jakob Sunesen’s only surviving child, Ingerd, Countess of Regenstein (c.1200–1258), might have inherited the Psalter and had the obituaries added to the Calendar after her father’s death. The article also seeks to show that the obituaries may not only have served a commemorative purpose but they may have demonstrated and celebrated the manuscript owner’s noble lineage and connections.