Inchcolm Antiphoner

This is a page from an Antiphoner, a book of anthems. It was probably made for the Augustinian Priory of Inchcolm, located on an island in the Firth of Forth just north of Edinburgh. It is a rare example of Celtic plainchant that would have been sung in monasteries around Scotland. The text is in Latin and contains parts of church services, including sections relating to St Columba. The musical notation is an early form of the notation we use today. There are only four lines instead of five as in modern notation and the notes are black squares, which is why this is called square notation.

University of Edinburgh, Special Collections: MS 211, IV, f.2r