Royal misattribution: monograms in the León Antiphoner

A new terminus ante quem date of approximately 960 for the León Antiphoner (León, Cathedral Library, MS 8), the most complete manuscript of Old Hispanic chant, has been established through a reassessment of royal monograms on fol. 4v. This challenges previous hypotheses that placed its compilation between the first third of the tenth century and the eleventh century. The study examines the use of monograms and signa in the Visigothic written world, particularly focusing on royal insignia, to support this revised dating. It also proposes a new hypothesis regarding the role of the León Antiphoner as a potential royal insignia, shedding light on its historical significance.

De Luca, E. (2015). Royal misattribution: monograms in the León Antiphoner. Journal of Medieval Iberian Studies, 9(1), 25–51. https://doi.org/10.1080/17546559.2015.1101521