Recto: 17 lines of text in Latin written on vellum in an accomplished gothic bookhand, Ruled in red and rubrics in red. Capitals touched in yellow. One two-line illuminated initial ‘E’ in raised and burnished gold on a blue and salmon ground outlined in black and finished with fine white penwork. Three decorative one-line initials in blue enclosed by fine red penwork and one one-line illuminated initial in raised and burnished gold enclosed by black penwork. Two of the initials have coloured pen embellishments radiating into the margin.
Verso: Two two-line illuminated initials 'D' and 'P' in raised and burnished gold on coloured grounds finished with penwork
Origin: Flanders/Northern France.
Date: c.1475.
Content: The text is from the Hours of the Virgin I at Terce. The illuminated initial 'E' begins the Second Lesson (Ecclesiasticus 24):
Et sic in Sion firmata sum, et in civitate sanctificata similiter requiem: et in Hierusalem potestas mea. (And so in Sion was I established, and in the sanctified city likewise I rested: and my power was in Jerusalem.)
It is followed by the versicles and responses:
R: Deo gratias. (Thanks be to God.)
V: Diffusa est gratia in labiis tuis. (Grace is poured out in thy lips.)
R: Propterea benedixit te Deus in aeternum. Kyrie eleison. Christe eleison. Kyrie eleison.
(Therefore God hath blessed thee for ever. Lord have mercy upon us. Christ have mercy upon us. Lord have mercy upon us.)
Condition: The leaf is in very good/excellent condition. The edges of the vellum have darkened over the centuries and there is an old repair in the bottom margin, but the text and colours remain bright and the high quality gilding shines. The leaf is unconditionally guaranteed genuine.
Size: Leaf: approx. 190x130 mm. Please note that shipping is invoiced separately.
Notes: Books of Hours were prayer books designed for the laity who wished to emulate the cycle of daily devotions followed by the clergy but without taking actual vows. The contents grew out of the psalter but included a mixed variety of other types of material - hymns, lessons, biblical readings, calendars, litanies etc. Its central text is the Hours of the Virgin.
The heart of every Book of Hours is the series of prayers called the Hours of the Virgin, also called the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Each Hour is composed of psalms, hymns, biblical readings, and short phrases (antiphons, versicles, and responses). The Hours of the Virgin date back to at least the ninth century. By the late twelfth century, the Hours appeared in Psalters, prayer books popular with laypeople. With a rising economy and the growth of the merchant class, the thirteenth century saw an increase in lay literacy. By the middle of the century, the Hours of the Virgin "spun off" from the Psalter and formed the core of the lay-people's prayer book, the Book of Hours.
The Virgin Mary is, of course, not mentioned in the numerous psalms of the Old Testament that comprise much of the Hours. Framing the psalms, however, are prayers that offer a mystical interpretation of the psalms and reveal the role played by the Virgin in mankind's salvation.
The eight "Hours" (times for prayer) are
Matins and Lauds at night or upon rising
Prime (first Hour) at 6:00 a.m.
Terce (third Hour) at 9:00 a.m.
Sext (sixth Hour) at noon
Nones (ninth Hour) at 3:00 p.m.
Vespers (evensong) in the early evening
Compline before retiring.
Item No: MBH202
