Virga Neume

This is a close-up detail of a single musical note, known as a virga, rendered in black ink against a white background. It consists of a vertical stem with a square or rectangular head at the top, resting on the second line of a four-line staff. The lines of the staff are horizontal and parallel, characteristic of medieval liturgical notation.

The virga is a foundational element of square notation used in Western plainchant, particularly Gregorian chant, to indicate a single pitch in a melodic line. It is central to the history of music transmission in Western liturgical contexts.