Psalterium alias Laudatorium
Psalterium alias Laudatorium Papae Benedicto XIII dedicatum
A verified public-domain excerpt for this text is still being set. The folio is catalogued and linked below; an original Sub Rosa rendering will follow.
What it is
A collection of 344 contemplative prayers in Latin composed by Eiximenis between 1404 and 1408 and dedicated to the Aragonese-born Pope Benedict XIII (Pedro de Luna), who was the principal ecclesiastical patron of the late Aragonese court. The three-cycle structure moves from praise of the Creator, through meditation on the Redeemer's life, to instruction on the Christian life in the world. Eiximenis first dedicated early prayers in the collection to Berenguer de Ribalta on his appointment as Bishop of Tarazona in 1404, anchoring the text firmly within Crown of Aragon ecclesiastical networks. A Catalan translation, the Psaltiri devotíssim, extracted 100 of the 344 prayers and was among the largest incunabulum print runs in medieval Catalan literature (2,000 copies), attesting to wide lay use.
Why it still matters
The Psaltiri devotíssim's 100 Catalan prayers — drawn from the full Latin collection — offer an accessible set of structured meditations on the Creator, Christ, and the Christian life still suitable for daily private prayer. The Brepols critical edition (2002) is the standard scholarly text.
Kept alongside
Psalter and Book of Hours of Alfonso V the Magnanimous
Psalterium et Horae Alfonsi V Regis Aragonum (British Library Add. MS 28962)
One of the most important illuminated devotional manuscripts commissioned by the Aragonese crown, this Psalter and Book of Hours was made in Valencia c.1436–1443 for Alfonso V ('the Magnanimous') with illumination by Lleonard Crespi in the International Gothic style. The manuscript — following Dominican use, reflecting Cardinal Joan de Casanova's influence — contains the complete Psalms, the Hours of the Virgin, the Office of the Dead, the Hours of the Passion, and special prayers for the king's protection, liberation from danger, and recovery of health. Now held at the British Library (Add. MS 28962), it was sent to Alfonso at Naples and used by him as an instrument of royal piety and political authority.
Breviary of Martin I of Aragon
Breviarium Martini I Regis Aragonum
Commissioned by Martin I ('the Humane') of Aragon around 1398 and created at the royal Cistercian monastery of Santa Maria de Poblet — the royal pantheon of the House of Barcelona — this lavishly illuminated breviary is the most sumptuous manuscript produced in the International Gothic style in the Crown of Aragon. The manuscript begins with a calendar and Psalms, followed by the full two-cycle divine office for the liturgical year. Three letters from the king are included in the codex, and entries record the death anniversaries of his family. After Martin's death it passed to Alfonso V ('the Magnanimous'), who had its illumination completed at Naples between 1420 and 1430. It is now held at the Bibliothèque nationale de France (MSS Rothschild 2529).
Scala Dei (Stairway to God / Tractat de contemplació)
Scala Dei
Dedicated by the Franciscan reformer Francesc Eiximenis to Maria de Luna, Queen of Aragon and wife of Martin I, who likely requested two personal copies (c.1397 and 1404), this devotional prayer book combines an instruction on the Ten Commandments, essays on the virtues of queenship and femininity, treatment of the seven deadly sins, a treatise on penance, and a contemplative ascent to God. Eiximenis used it as the vehicle to promote Observant Franciscan reform at the Aragonese court. Under the reigns of Maria de Luna and her fifteenth-century successors, the Scala Dei and the companion Llibre de les dones became the defining templates of female virtue and royal piety at the court of Aragon.