Antiphonal: Common of the Saints by Neri da Rimini

The Rimini Antiphonal is one of the State Library’s greatest musical treasures. It was produced in 1328 in Northern Italy. The bound vellum manuscript features miniatures by Neri da Rimini – one of the most significant of the 14th century Italian miniaturists. The music is chants for the Common of the Saints, probably originally written by Franciscan friar, Bonfantino da Bologna, but then scraped back and rewritten in the 16th century. These later rewrites indicate that the manuscript was well used over a period of at least 250 years.

The antiphonal is part of the Nelson Moore Richardson Collection of Bibles and Early printed works. This collection of rare and valuable printed books and manuscripts was donated to the Library in 1926 by Nelson Moore Richardson of Weymouth, England, in appreciation of the sacrifices made for England by Australian soldiers in the First World War.

 > View the complete Rimini Antiphonal online via the State Library's catalogue

 > Find more items from the Richardson collection in the Library's catalogue