Book of Hours: MS 141

Titles

Book of Hours

Maker(s)

Artists: Masters of Zweder van Culemborg
Author: Grote, Geert

Entities

• Book of hours

Categories

• Illuminated manuscript
• Manuscript

Description

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Parchment, ii contemporary parchment flyleaves + 237 fols., 162 x 112 (84 x 53) mm, 15 long lines, ruled in purple ink, catchwords, leaf lost before fol. 142.

BINDING: fifteenth century, blind-tooled dark red calf over wooden boards, sewn on 5supports, two leather straps with brass clasps on lower cover, two catchplates on upper cover, edges gilt.

CONTENTS: fols. 1r – 12v Calendar; fols. 14r – 81r Hours of the Virgin; fols. 82r – 149v Short Offices for the Days of the Week; fols. 150r – 173r Suffrages and prayers; fols. 174r – 197v Penitential Psalms and Litany; fols. 198r – 235r Office of the Dead.

DECORATION: Twenty-four historiated initials in blue or pink shaded with white floral designs against pink or blue white-patterned grounds, with one-sided bar-borders, thin gold-leaf bars in upper and lower margins, and full or three-sided borders of foliage tendrils and figures, at major text divisions: fol. 14r Hours of the Virgin, Matins, [O, 11 ll.] Annunciation, woman dressed in black praying in border; fol. 43r Prime, [G, 11 ll.] Visitation; fol. 49r Terce, [G, 11 ll.] Nativity, Joseph warming cloth for the Christ Child by fire; fol. 54r Sext, [G, 11 ll.] Annunciation to the Shepherds; fol. 59r None, [G, 11 ll.] Circumcision; fol. 64r Vespers, [G, 11 ll.] Adoration of the Magi; fol. 74r Compline, [B, 11 ll.] Presentation in the Temple; fol. 82r Sunday Office of the Trinity, [H, 11 ll.] Throne of Mercy Trinity; fol. 96r Monday Office of All Souls, [O, 11 ll.] demons dragging souls into Hell-Mouth, one pouring fire or blood over woman’s soul; fol. 109r Tuesday Office of the Baptism of Christ, [O, 11 ll.] Baptism of Christ; fol. 117r Wednesday Office of the Betrayal, [O, 11 ll.] Judas receives purse from high priest; fol. 125r Thursday Office of the Holy Sacrament, [H, 11 ll.] Last Supper; fol. 132r Friday Office of the Passion, [O, 11 ll.] Carrying of the Cross; fol. 150r Suffrages, [O, 11 ll.] St Paul; fol. 152r [O, 11 ll.] St George defeating dragon; fol. 153v [O, 11 ll.] St Anthony with open book and stick, flames at feet, pig and little lion; fol. 155r [O, 11 ll.] St Jerome as cardinal, with book and lion; fol. 156v [O, 11 ll.] St Mary Magdalene with ointment jar and palm; fol. 158r [O, 11 ll.] St Catherine sword, wheel, and defeated Maxentius; fol. 159v [O, 11 ll.] St Barbara with palm and tower; fol. 161r [G, 11 ll.] St Agnes with book, palm, and lamb; fol. 162v [O, 11 ll.] Man and woman praying to Host in monstrance on altar; fol. 174r Penitential Psalms, [H, 11 ll.] Last Judgement; fol. 198r Office of the Dead, [M, 11 ll.] Funeral service.

ORNAMENTATION: Gold initials [2 – 4 ll.] on dark pink and blue grounds with one-sided bar borders and spraywork extension; alternate gold and blue one-line initials with purple or red pen-flourished infill and extensions; capitals highlighted in red.

Notes

History note: Made for the woman depicted at prayer beside the Annunciation (fol. 14v) and probably also with a man at prayer in the initial for the Adoration of the Host (fol. 162v); 16th and 17th century inscriptions (fols. 48v, 151v, 157r, 157v, 160r, 161r), including mottoes, emblems and the names of Pol Bastart de Lavere (fol. 48v), Sonder Arch de Zwal (fol. 160r), and Vinan de Cruyninghen (fol. 161r); Richard, seventh viscount Fitzwilliam of Merrion (1745 – 1816), acquired in 1810; his bequest, 1816.