Two Early Thirteenth-Century Fragments from Coimbra and Braga

Abstract

This article consists of a study of two fragments from Coimbra and Braga that once were part of nearly contemporary noted breviaries. The Coimbra fragment is part of the collection of the University of Coimbra General Library. The Braga fragment was once in the District Archive of Braga, but disappeared after 1997, around the time when this archive’s collections of parchment fragments were reorganised, and is nowadays only available in photographs. The parallel study of the two fragments provides insights into how to deal methodologically and critically with the difficulties in differentiating the uses of the Cathedrals of Braga and Coimbra. In order to determine their hypothetical dating, origin, and liturgical affiliation, the contents of each of the fragments—including the type and particularities of notation and script, choice of texts, and melodic traditions and idioms—are described and analysed by comparing them with a significant selection of sources mostly representing Aquitanian-Iberian, and Southern-, Central- and North-Eastern French liturgical and chant traditions.