[Rosarium psalter[Rosarium psalter

A Rosary psalter, so named because each of the fifteen prayers of the Rosary is followed by a recitation of ten Ave Marias, giving a total of 150, the same number as there are Psalms. Illuminated by the Flemish artist Simon Bening (1483-1561), who worked on numerous known and attributed manuscripts in Bruges and in Antwerp. He is known to have produced four Rosary psalters, all of which were produced for Spanish patrons. This Rosary was in all likelihood commissioned for Joan I ("the Mad") of Castile (Rodriguez and Treviño, preface). The script has been said to be that of Antonius van Damme, a known Bening collaborator, although that attribution has not been universally accepted (see Gay, p. 519 and Arnould/Messing, cat. 29). No record exists of the extent of this manuscript in its original state, so the number of original leaves is unknown.