Practical Music

The page exhibits significant 'foxing'—rusty brown spots caused by the oxidation of minerals in the paper or fungal growth—and visible moisture stains, particularly around the edges, which testify to the manuscript's age and the environmental conditions it has survived.

original: "Hic liber ē Abbatię florentinę S. 67." This inscription identifies the manuscript as part of the collection of the Badia Fiorentina, the ancient Benedictine Abbey of Florence. In the original Latin, "ē" is a common shorthand for "est" (is). The letter "S." stands for "Signatura," or shelfmark, which acted like a modern call number to help the monks locate the book on their library shelves.

Abbatia florentina: Known in Italian as the Badia Fiorentina, this was one of the most important religious and intellectual centers in Florence during the Middle Ages and Renaissance.
Provenance: The history of ownership of a valued object, such as this manuscript.
Shelfmark: A notation used by libraries to indicate the specific shelf and position where a book is stored.