Liturgical Codes

The Cathedral of Oristano holds among its treasures the richest and oldest collection of codices from medieval Sardinia, now preserved in the Diocesan Museum of Arborense. This collection consists of 13 liturgical manuscripts on parchment—lavishly illuminated—most of which date back to the period of the Giudicato of Arborea. The collection, of extraordinary paleographic value, also represents the most important gathering of medieval music on the island. The texts are written in Gothic minuscule script, known as textualis, while the melodies are noted using black square notation. The codices contain chants from both the Divine Office—psalms, hymns, antiphons, responsories—and parts of the Mass (particularly from the Proprium Missæ). Of special interest are the “guard leaves”: pages taken from older manuscripts, repurposed to protect the newer books; these are often valuable historical relics. Among the guard leaves—along with Bibles, Missals, and Homiliaries—stands out a Tuscan Breviary from the 12th/13th century. The six antiphonaries P. III-VIII—dating to 1280-90, during the time of Judge Mariano II—originating from central-northern Italy, contain a significant corpus of the Roman-Franciscan rite, which was spread throughout Christendom by Pope Nicholas III (1277-1280). Codex P. VI includes an addition from the late 13th century, with the psalms divided according to the Cursus Arborensis, reflecting a strong local ecclesiastical identity. The codices also preserve civil memories. In the Psalter-Hymnal P. XIII—a collection of hymns and psalms from the time of Eleonora d'Arborea—curses were added against the enemies of the Marquis of Oristano (hostes nostros: the Aragonese). The same manuscript records a dramatic event: on July 26, 1586, a lightning strike destroyed the bell tower and caused the death of several canons while they were singing the Divine Office; a young boy was nearly split in two (fere in duas partes). The Cathedral's codices shine as one of the highest expressions of religious and artistic sensibility from the medieval period of the Giudicato. They are a brilliant testimony to the deep spirituality of the Sardinians of Arborense, fully integrated into the centuries-old liturgical traditions of Christian Europe.