diff --git a/lily/instrument-name-engraver.cc b/lily/instrument-name-engraver.cc
index d280913..e2db516 100644
--- a/lily/instrument-name-engraver.cc
+++ b/lily/instrument-name-engraver.cc
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 
   source file of the GNU LilyPond music typesetter
 
-  (c) 2000--2007 Han-Wen Nienhuys <hanwen@xs4all.nl>
+  (c) 2000--2008 Han-Wen Nienhuys <hanwen@xs4all.nl>
 */
 
 #include "engraver.hh"
@@ -13,7 +13,12 @@
 #include "align-interface.hh"
 #include "text-interface.hh"
 #include "system.hh"
-
+#include "output-def.hh"
+#include "music.hh"
+#include "score.hh"
+#include "global-context.hh"
+#include "music-output.hh"
+#include "paper-score.hh"
 #include "translator.icc"
 
 class Instrument_name_engraver : public Engraver
@@ -23,7 +28,7 @@ public:
 
 protected:
   Spanner *text_spanner_;
-
+  bool incipit_done_;
   SCM long_text_;
   SCM short_text_;
 
@@ -32,6 +37,7 @@ protected:
   virtual void finalize ();
   DECLARE_ACKNOWLEDGER (axis_group);
   void process_music ();
+  void start_incipit_spanner ();
   void start_spanner ();
   void consider_start_spanner ();
   void stop_spanner ();
@@ -39,6 +45,7 @@ protected:
 
 Instrument_name_engraver::Instrument_name_engraver ()
 {
+  incipit_done_ = false;
   text_spanner_ = 0;
 
   long_text_ = SCM_EOL;
@@ -48,7 +55,87 @@ Instrument_name_engraver::Instrument_name_engraver ()
 void
 Instrument_name_engraver::process_music ()
 {
-  consider_start_spanner ();
+  if (!incipit_done_)
+    {
+      start_incipit_spanner ();
+      incipit_done_ = true;
+    }
+  else
+    consider_start_spanner ();
+}
+
+void
+Instrument_name_engraver::start_incipit_spanner ()
+{
+  SCM music = get_property ("incipitMusic");
+  if (unsmob_music (music))
+    {
+      SCM incipit_width = get_property ("incipitWidth");
+      SCM incipit_staff_type = get_property ("incipitStaffType");
+      SCM long_text = get_property ("instrumentName");
+      SCM short_text = get_property ("shortInstrumentName");
+      if (!(Text_interface::is_markup (long_text)
+	    || Text_interface::is_markup (short_text)))
+	{
+	  long_text = get_property ("vocalName");
+	  short_text = get_property ("shortVocalName");
+	}
+      long_text_ = long_text;
+      short_text_ = short_text;
+      
+      /* layout output definition used to process the incipit score. */
+      Output_def *layout =  get_output_def ()->clone ();
+      Output_def *paper = get_global_context ()->get_output_def ()->parent_;
+      layout->parent_ = paper;
+      layout->set_variable (ly_symbol2scm ("indent"), scm_double2num (0.0));
+      layout->set_variable (ly_symbol2scm ("line-width"), incipit_width);
+      layout->set_variable (ly_symbol2scm ("ragged-right"), ly_bool2scm (false));
+      layout->unprotect ();
+      
+      /* Incipit music	*/
+      Music *pset = make_music_by_name (ly_symbol2scm ("PropertySet"));
+      pset->set_property ("symbol", ly_symbol2scm ("instrumentName"));
+      pset->set_property ("value", long_text);
+      pset->unprotect ();
+      Music *cmus = make_music_by_name (ly_symbol2scm ("ContextSpeccedMusic"));
+      cmus->set_property ("context-type", incipit_staff_type);
+      cmus->set_property ("property-operations", SCM_EOL);
+      cmus->set_property ("element", pset->self_scm ());
+      cmus->unprotect ();
+      Music *incipit = make_music_by_name (ly_symbol2scm ("SequentialMusic"));
+      incipit->set_property ("elements", scm_list_n (cmus->self_scm (),
+						     music,
+						     SCM_UNDEFINED));
+      incipit->unprotect ();
+
+      /* Process the incipit score */
+      SCM context = ly_run_translator (incipit->self_scm (),
+				       layout->self_scm ());
+      Paper_score *pscore = unsmob_paper_score (ly_format_output (context));
+      SCM psystems = pscore->get_paper_systems ();
+      SCM psystem = scm_c_vector_ref (psystems, 0);
+      Prob *prob = unsmob_prob (psystem);
+
+      /* Make an Incipit grob, which text is the incipit paper system stencil */
+      text_spanner_ = make_spanner ("Incipit", SCM_EOL);
+      if (prob)
+	text_spanner_->set_property ("long-text",
+				     scm_list_n (ly_lily_module_constant ("stencil-markup"),
+						 prob->get_property ("stencil"),
+						 SCM_UNDEFINED));
+      else
+	text_spanner_->set_property ("long-text", long_text);
+      
+      Grob *col = unsmob_grob (get_property ("currentCommandColumn"));
+      text_spanner_->set_bound (LEFT, col);
+      Grob *system = unsmob_grob (get_property ("rootSystem"));
+      if (system)
+	Axis_group_interface::add_element (system, text_spanner_);
+      else
+	text_spanner_->programming_error ("cannot find root system");
+    }
+  else
+    consider_start_spanner ();
 }
 
 void
@@ -151,7 +238,8 @@ ADD_TRANSLATOR (Instrument_name_engraver,
 		"Creates a system start text for instrument or vocal names.",
 		
 		/* create */
-		"InstrumentName ",
+		"InstrumentName "
+		"Incipit ",
 		
 		/* read */
 		"currentCommandColumn "
@@ -159,6 +247,8 @@ ADD_TRANSLATOR (Instrument_name_engraver,
 		"instrumentName "
 		"shortVocalName "
 		"vocalName "
-		,
+		"incipitMusic "
+		"incipitWidth "
+		"incipitStaffType ",
 
 		/* write */ "");
diff --git a/ly/engraver-init.ly b/ly/engraver-init.ly
index d8ffe89..139050a 100644
--- a/ly/engraver-init.ly
+++ b/ly/engraver-init.ly
@@ -68,6 +68,11 @@
 
   instrumentName = #'()
   shortInstrumentName = #'()
+
+  incipitWidth = 20
+  incipitStaffType = #'MensuralStaff
+  \override Incipit #'Y-offset = #4
+  \override Incipit #'self-alignment-Y = #UP
   
   \defaultchild "Voice"
   \accepts "Voice"
diff --git a/ly/music-functions-init.ly b/ly/music-functions-init.ly
index c887598..077b115 100644
--- a/ly/music-functions-init.ly
+++ b/ly/music-functions-init.ly
@@ -253,6 +253,9 @@ addInstrumentDefinition =
 
    (make-music 'SequentialMusic 'void #t))
 
+incipit =
+#(define-music-function (parser location music) (ly:music?)
+  #{ \set Staff.incipitMusic = #$music #})
 
 instrumentSwitch =
 #(define-music-function
diff --git a/scm/define-context-properties.scm b/scm/define-context-properties.scm
index 528bce0..56c223a 100644
--- a/scm/define-context-properties.scm
+++ b/scm/define-context-properties.scm
@@ -248,6 +248,9 @@ string selector for tablature notation.")
 printed as numbers, but only as extender lines.")
      (implicitTimeSignatureVisibility ,vector? "break visibility for
 the default time signature.")
+     (incipitMusic ,ly:music? "Incipit music.")
+     (incipitWidth ,number? "Width of the incipit.")
+     (incipitStaffType ,symbol? "Staff type to use for incipit.")
      (instrumentCueName ,markup? "The name to print if another
 instrument is to be taken.")
      (instrumentName ,markup? "The name to print left of a staff.  The
diff --git a/scm/define-grobs.scm b/scm/define-grobs.scm
index 800362e..d67bbc9 100644
--- a/scm/define-grobs.scm
+++ b/scm/define-grobs.scm
@@ -811,6 +811,17 @@
 				side-position-interface
 				line-interface
 				spanner-interface))))))
+    (Incipit
+     . (
+	(padding . 0.3)
+	(stencil . ,ly:system-start-text::print)
+	(X-offset . ,ly:side-position-interface::x-aligned-side)
+	(direction . ,LEFT)
+	(self-alignment-Y . ,CENTER)
+	(meta . ((class . Spanner)
+		 (interfaces . (system-start-text-interface
+				side-position-interface
+				font-interface))))))
     (InstrumentName
      . (
 	(padding . 0.3)
