Book of Hours: MS 87

Titles

Book of Hours

Entities

• Book of hours
• Use of Rome

Categories

• Illuminated manuscript
• Manuscript

Description

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Parchment, iii paper flyleaves + 113 fols. + iii paper flyleaves, 190 x 132 (107 x 80) mm, 19 long lines, ruled in pink ink.

BINDING: 19th century, gold-tooled red leather over pasteboard, identical with binding of Fitzwilliam Museum, MS 84.

CONTENTS: fols. 1v – 3v Ten Commandments, Creed, prayers in French (addition); fols. 4r – 9v Calendar; fols. 10r – 15v Hours of the Cross; fols. 16r – 19v Hours of the Holy Spirit; fols. 20r – 65v Hours of the Virgin; fols. 66r – 77v Penitential Psalms and Litany; fols. 78r – 107r Office of the Dead; fols. fols. 107r – 109r Eight Verses of St Bernard and prayers; fols. 109r – 113r Suffrages (fols. 112v – 113r additional suffrage to St Anne).

DECORATION: Twelve large miniatures [13 ll.] with arched gold frames and full acanthus and floral borders at major text divisions: fol. 10r Hours of the Cross, Agony in the Garden; fol. 16r Hours of the Holy Spirit, Pentecost; fol. 20r Hours of the Virgin, Matins, Annunciation; fol. 28r Lauds, Visitation; fol. 37r Prime, Adoration of the Child; fol. 41r Terce, Annunciation to the Shepherds; fol. 45r Sext, Adoration of the Magi; fol. 48r None, Presentation in the Temple, Simeon holding circumcision knife; fol. 51r Vespers, Flight into Egypt; fol. 57r Compline, Massacre of the Innocents; fol. 66r Penitential Psalms, Last Judgement, Christ holding olive branch and sword; fol. 78r Office of the Dead, Raising of Lazarus in graveyard with grave mark depicting Crucifixion with Virgin and St John.

Thirteen small framed miniatures [6 – 7 ll.] at lesser text divisions: fol. 11r Hours of the Cross, Prime, Christ before Pilate; fol. 11v Terce, Christ crowned with thorns; fol. 12v Sext, Crucifixion; fol. 13r None, Crucifixion, Longinus piercing Christ’ side with lance; fol. 13v Vespers, Deposition; fol. 14v Compline, Entombment; fol. 61r Obsecro te, Virgin and Child; fol. 65r Suffrages, St Barbara with open book and tower; fol. 109r St Nicholas with three boys in tub and three maidens; fol. 109v St Anthony with open book and pig; fol. 110r Martyrdom of St Sebastian; fol. 111r St Adrian with sword and anvil, lion at feet; fol. 111v St Catherine with book, sword, wheel, and Maxentius defeated.

ORNAMENTATION: Blue initials [4 ll.] with foliage infill on gold grounds beneath large miniatures at major text divisions; gold initials [1 – 2 ll.] on red and blue grounds; red and blue line-fillers with gold balls; alternate red and blue paragraph signs (fols. 1v – 3v); capitals highlighted in yellow or red (fols. 1v – 9v).

Notes

History note: Richard, seventh viscount Fitzwilliam of Merrion (1745 – 1816), acquired in 1814; his bequest, 1816.