The repertory of MS MR8: A medieval Pauline antiphoner plus a portfolio of compositions. (Original compositions)

The nomadic tribesmen who were the forefathers of today's Hungarians entered the Carpathian basin at the end of the ninth century, and founded a new country. A century later, with the coronation of King Stephen, Hungary entered the commonwealth of Christianized western European nations. Stephen instituted the basic structure of Hungarian Christianity with the founding of several bishoprics. He invited the Benedictines to serve as missionaries in Hungary, and they were given the responsibility for developing the churches. Several other monastic orders established themselves in Hungary, and the production of hand-copied liturgical manuscripts was high. Unfortunately, few manuscripts survive, due to various devastations Hungary suffered, culminating in the Turkish invasion of 1564. Most of the extant manuscripts are found outside of Hungary.;Of the few religious orders founded in Hungary, the Order of St. Paul the first Hermit, or Paulines, is the most significant. Founded in 1215, the Pauline order spread widely in Hungary and neighboring lands within a century. The Paulines adhered strictly to the customs of the Esztergom See, in liturgy and notation, for several centuries. The manuscript under study in this document is the only surviving complete, one-volume Antiphoner of the Pauline order, and the only one to contain the Te Deum, with the music used in Medieval Hungary. This codex was created in Croatia in the late fifteenth century. When many of the monasteries were closed by Emperor Joseph II in the late eighteenth century, this Antiphoner found its way to the St. Nicholas church, a parish church in Krapina. In 1913 it was turned over to the Metropolitana Collection of the National Library, Zagreb, where it resides today with the call number MR8. This document describes the physical characteristics, the text, the notation, and the music of MR8. Following that are descriptions of the liturgical structure of the Temporale and Sanctorale. The appendices contain indices to the Antiphons, Invitatory Antiphons, Responsories and Versicles found in MR8, and a transcript of the incipits of the musical items found in MR8, in order.