Rituale Romanum: Pauli V. Pont. Max. iussu editum

Catholic Church. Rituale Romanum: Pauli V. Pont. Max. iussu editum. Antwerp: Ex officina Plantiniana, apud Balthasarem & Ioannem Moretos, 1617.

The Rituale Romanum, or Roman Ritual is a Catholic handbook for the services carried out by a priest or a deacon. The pages of this book would have had to be printed twice: once to lay down the red ink which comprises the musical staff, and once more for the black ink of the words and notes. This process would have been both costly and time-consuming for early modern printers and required precise registration to get the red and black ink to align perfectly. The psalm at the bottom of page 168 and the top of page 169 can also be found in the binding of the book shown here.