Book of hours : undetermined use : in Latin and Dutch

Item Information

Title:
Book of hours : undetermined use : in Latin and Dutch
Title (uniform):
Book of hours
Creator:
Catholic Church
Former owner:
Minnis, Katherine
Former owner:
Maggs Bros.
Date:
[ca. 1450]
Format:
Manuscripts
Books
Genre:
Illuminations
Books of hours
Inscriptions
Bevelled edge boards
Manuscripts, Latin (Medieval and modern)--Netherlands
Manuscripts, Dutch--Netherlands
Manuscripts, Medieval--Netherlands
devotional calendars
Location:
Boston Public Library
Rare Books Department
Collection (local):
Medieval and Early Renaissance Manuscripts (Collection of Distinction)
Subjects:
Christian women--Prayers and devotions
Places:
Netherlands
Extent:
119 leaves : parchment, ill. ; 142 x 98 (98 x 75) mm bound to 15 cm, in box 18 cm
Permalink:
https://ark.digitalcommonwealth.org/ark:/50959/xg94qp19v
Terms of Use:
No Copyright - United States icon No Copyright - United States
No known copyright restrictions.
No known restrictions on use.
Place of origin:
[Netherlands]
Language:
Latin
Dutch
Table of Contents:
1. fol. 1-6v: calendar (in Dutch, approx. 1/3 filled)
2. fol. 7: blank.
3. fol. 7v: full-page miniature, The Crucifixion.
4. fol. 8-10v: Hours of the Cross (in Latin)
5. fol. 11: blank.
6. fol. 11v: full-page miniature, The Annunciation.
7. fol. 12-18v: Matins (Hours of the Virgin, in Latin, use undetermined, var. of Thérouanne)
8. fol. 18v-25: Lauds (Hours of the Virgin, in Latin, use undetermined, var. of Thérouanne)
9. fol. 25-28: Prime (Hours of the Virgin, in Latin, use undetermined, var. of Thérouanne)
10. fol. 28-30v: Terce (Hours of the Virgin, in Latin, use undetermined, var. of Thérouanne)
11. fol. 30v-32: Sext (Hours of the Virgin, in Latin, use undetermined, var. of Thérouanne)
12. fol. 32-34: Nones (Hours of the Virgin, in Latin, use undetermined, var. of Thérouanne)
13. fol. 34-37v: Vespers (Hours of the Virgin, in Latin, use undetermined, var. of Thérouanne)
14. fol. 38-41: Compline (Hours of the Virgin, in Latin, use undetermined, var. of Thérouanne)
15. fol. 41v: blank.
16. fol. 42-42v: 16th-century additions, in Dutch: Hier beghinnen de .v. ween van der maghet maria./ Ic annebede hu heleghe moeder gods.../...met den zone met den heleghen gheest./ Peter noster.
17. fol. 43: blank.
18. fol. 43v: full-page miniature, David at prayer.
19. fol. 44-54: Penitential Psalms and litany (in Latin)
20. fol. 55: blank.
21. fol. 55v: full-page miniature, Virgin and child.
22. fol. 56-58v: Obsecro te (in Latin, masculine use)
23. fol. 63-71v: 15 bliscepen van onser soeter vrouen (Dutch translation of the rhymed French prayer, Douce dame de misericorde, as in British Library, Harley 3828, fol. 56-63v)
24. fol. 63: blank.
25. fol. 63v: full-page miniature, Pentecost.
26. fol. 64-71v: Vrauwe vul van ghenadicheiden.../...Daer god die weerelt domen sal AMEN.
27. fol. 72: blank.
28. fol. 72v: full-page miniature, Virgin and child.
29. fol. 73-75: O maghet maria (Dit zijn de pardoenen van den lont so wat mensche die dit orisoen zeghet met goeder herte.../O maghet maria ic roupe tot hu.../...met deser bedijnghe moeti ons beraden Ende van allen zonden ontladen. Amen)
30. fol. 75-76v: 72 Names of the Virgin: Dit zijn de lxxii namen van maria.../O vrauwe rikelike maghet O scone bloeseme.../...O statt gods O marie ontfaermt ons Amen.
31. fol. 77: blank.
32. fol. 77v: full-page miniature, funeral service.
33. fol. 78-105: Office of the Dead (in Latin, use undetermined, var. of Thérouanne)
34. fol. 105v: full-page miniature, Kneeling Patrons before the Virgin.
35. fol. 106-110v: The 10 Os: Ic aerme bezondeghe creatuerr.../O den levende fonteine.../...met desen O scone maria state mij in staden Amen.
36. fol. 111: blank.
37. fol. 111v: full-page miniature, St. Katherine.
38. fol. 112-113: Suffrage to St. Katherine (in Dutch)
39. fol. 113v: originally blank, the final leaf of the original manuscript. Late 15th-century notes added by owner (see Provenance).
40. fol. 114: blank.
41. fol. 114v: full-page miniature, The Sacred Heart (added, late 15th century)
42. fol. 115-118: Hours of the Holy Spirit (in Latin, added, late 15th century)
43. fol. 118v: blank.
44. fol. 119-119v: On the Last Five Words of Christ (in Dutch): Dits de ghedinkenesse vanden .v. wonden ons heeren/ Ihesus xpristus was in grooter noot.../...Mijn zoete ziike daer naer myn ewich leiuen Amen.
Notes:
Ms. codex.
Bibliographic record created by BPL staff based primarily on description by Dr. Lisa Fagin Davis.
Origin: Written in the southern Netherlands in the mid-15th century. Use undetermined; while the standard and newer tests for localization of the Hours of the Virgin and the Office of the Dead are inconclusive, both offices are nearly identical with Thérouanne use, with only minor variation.
Notes (ownership):
Provenance: Male and female patron portraits on fol. 105v, the husband holding leg-irons, suggesting he may have recently been released from prison. Early ownership notation on fol. 113v, possibly original, naming one Katherine Minnis (that the only suffrage in the manuscript is to St. Katherine supports the identification of the original patron as a woman named Katherine): "Deise boek beoort toe Katheline minnis diese wint ende wend brinct hy zal ebben eene goudin penninc voor zijn loon ende...". Modern notes in pencil on front pastedown and flyleaf.
Notes (acquisition):
Immediate source of acquisition: Purchased by BPL from Maggs in 1957.
Notes (citation):
Bond, W.H. Supplement to the Census of medieval and Renaissance manuscripts in the United States and Canada, 218
Notes (object):
Collation: Parchment, fol. i (modern parchment) + i (medieval parchment) + 119 + i (medieval parchment) + i (modern parchment) ; 1⁶ 2⁸⁺² 3¹⁰ 4-5⁸ 6⁸⁺¹ 7¹²⁻¹ 8⁸⁺¹ 9⁸⁺² 10-13⁸ 14⁶, full-page miniatures at fol. 7, 11, 43, 63, 72 and 77 are tipped-in singletons. One folio cancelled after fol. 62 ; modern pencil arabic foliation, upper outer corner of each page.
Layout: Single column, 18 lines. Bounding and writing lines in light brown ink.
Script: Written in gothic textualis formata, in several hands, in black ink with red rubrics.
Decoration (primary): Nine full-page miniatures as follows: Crucifixion (fol. 7v, Hours of the Cross) -- Annunciation (fol. 11v, Hours of the Virgin) -- King David at prayer (fol. 43v, Penitential Psalms) -- Virgin Lactans (fol. 55v, Obsecro te) -- Pentecost. Virgin kneels in a crowd, Holy Spirit descending (fol. 63v, 15 bliscepen) -- Virgin and Child (fol. 72v, O maghet maria) -- funeral service (fol. 77v, Office of the Dead) -- patrons kneeling before the Virgin (fol. 105v, 10 Os) -- St. Katherine, crowned, sword in hand pointed toward King Maximus prone beneath her feet (fol. 111v, Suffrage to St. Katherine).
Decoration (secondary): Single-line initials throughout alternating red with purple filigree or blue with red; two- to four-line initials throughout in gold filled with red on blue with white filigree highlighting (four-line to begin each hour, with full floriate border); six-line initials throughout in blue with light blue filigree highlighting on gold background with floriate infill, with full floriate borders.
Binding: Early modern sheep over boards, deeply bevelled at edges to create raised corners, spine in compartments, title gilt-stamped on two brown leather spine labels in Latin and English: "Horae/ B.V.M" and "Latin & Dutch/ c. 1460-70"; vellum endleaves and conjugate pastedown. Housed in cloth-covered clamshell box.
Notes (bibliography):
Bibliography: Nancy Netzer, ed., Secular/Sacred 11th-16th Century Works from the Boston Public Library and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (Boston College, 2006), no. 47.
Notes (language):
In Latin and Dutch.
Identifier:
06_01_018705
Call #:
RARE BKS MS q Med.160
MS 1585 (no longer used)
Barcode:
39999092202066