Abstract

The Venetian monastery of S. Giorgio Maggiore still houses a set of illuminated choir books, dating from the seventh to the eighth decade of the 15th century. These volumes were profoundly modified in the 17th century to adapt the choir books to the new breviary: the result of this work was a profound alteration of the volumes, from which numerous pages were removed and repositioned. This paper examines this crucial moment in the life of the choir books, reflecting on how historical contexts, the use of volumes and changes in liturgy shaped, and subsequently altered, one of the finest sets of 15th century choir books.