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Historiated initial from Choir Books
MS Marlay Cutting Fr. 16a
One of two historiated initials
This cutting is a historiated initial ‘S’ from a large choir book depicting Louis XII, in his coronation robe, healing sufferers of scrofula. French and English kings were thought to be able to cure this particular ailment through their Royal Touch. The practice served to further justify their rule as lawful and divinely ordained.
Cuttings, that is, fragments from medieval manuscripts, were easier to sell than entire books. It therefore became common practice to cut out folios or details from pages and sell them as individual, miniature works of art. The size of this initial suggests that the parent manuscript from which it was cut was on a very large, imposing scale.
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Parchment, 168 x 183 mm, reverse obscured by paper mount, with letter forms and red four-line musical staves partially visible.
DECORATION:
Historiated initials in blue, ornamented in white, on gold ground with blue, orange and green scrolling vine motifs in the four corners: S, Louis XII, dressed in his coronation robe, accompanied by a bishop and cardinal, extends his healing touch to people suffering from scrofula.
History note: Commissioned by King Louis XII of France (1498-1515) and his consort, Anne of Brittany (1477-1514); Charles Brinsley Marlay (1831-1912); his bequest, 1912.
Bequeathed by Charles Brinsley Marlay
Method of acquisition: Bequeathed (1912) by Marlay, Charles Brinsley
16th Century
Production date:
circa
AD 1500
Support
composed of
parchment
Leaf
Height 168 mm
Width 183 mm
Accession number: Marlay cutting Fr. 16a
Primary reference Number: 209504
Project ID: 1358
Stable URI
Owner or interested party:
The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department:
Manuscripts and Printed Books
This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:
The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024) "Historiated initial from Choir Books" Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/209504 Accessed: 2024-12-26 09:07:37
To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:
{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/209504
|title=Historiated initial from Choir Books
|author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-12-26 09:07:37|publisher=The
University of Cambridge}}
To call these data via our API (remember this needs to be authenticated) you can use this code snippet:
https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/api/v1/objects/object-209504
To use this as a simple code embed, copy this string:
<div class="text-center">
<figure class="figure">
<img src="https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/msspb/msspb17/Marlay_20cutting_20Fr_16a_201106_mfj22_mas.jpg"
alt="Historiated initial from Choir Books"
class="img-fluid" />
<figcaption class="figure-caption text-info">Historiated initial from Choir Books</figcaption>
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