Liber Magistri

The Liber Magistri is a 12th century manuscript whose 900+ pages address topics ranging from history to paleography, liturgy, art, music, theater, miniature painting, the occult, medicine, and agriculture. Also known as Codex 65 in the Archivio Capitolare della Cattedrale in Piacenza, the liturgical section contains the entire repertoire of chants for celebrating Mass as well as the Hours of the Divine Office. The work was created for use by the religious community of Piacenza, a northern Italian city at the confluence of the Trebbia and Po rivers, where the manuscript remains to this day as a prized possession of the cathedral library. Piacenza’s geographical position made it a crossroads between northern and southern Europe and as such it was a medieval cultural melting pot. The encyclopedic wealth of knowledge contained in the large tome, which measures 51 x 34 cm, is beautifully adorned with historiated initials and miniatures. It is hand-bound with stamped leather wrapped around wooden boards and adorned with bronze fittings at the corners and in the center of the cover.