Book of Hours, Use of Rome
| Manuscript location | ||
|---|---|---|
| Place | ||
| Repository | State Library of Victoria | |
| Collection | ||
| Shelf mark | RARES 096 R66 HF | |
| Former shelf mark | ||
| Manuscript name | ||
| Name | Book of Hours, Use of Rome | |
| Contents | ||
| Summary | Fols 1r–12v. Full calendar in French; entries in red include SS Omer (8 June, 9 September), Eloy (25 June), Margaret (20 July), Louis (25 August) and Bertin (9 September); in black are SS. Amand (twice), Vaast, Winnoc, Willibrord and Medard. Fols 13r–21r. Hours of the Cross. Fols 21r–26v. Hours of the Holy Ghost. Fols 27r–86v. The Hours of the Virgin: matins (fols 27r-45r) contain hymn Quem terra ponthus (fol. 28v), ps. ant. Bendicta tu (fol. 29v), three lessons In omnibus requiem (fol. 33v), Et sic in syon (fol. 34r), Quasi cedrus (34v); lauds (fols 45r-56v) have capit. Viderunt eam (fol. 53r), hymn O gloriosa domina (fol. 53v), collect Deus qui de beate (fol. 55v); prime (fols 57r -61r) has ps. ant. Assumpta est (fol. 57v), capit. Que est ista (fol. 59v); terce (fols 61v-65v); sext (fols 66r-69v); none (fols 70r -73v) has ps. ant. Pulcra es (fol. 72r) and capit. In plateis (fol. 72r); vespers (fols 74r-81v); compline (fols 82r -86v). Fol. 87r- 93r. Incipit ordo dicendi officium beate marie virginis an adventu usque ad nativitatem domini. Fol. 94r. De saint gregoire .vii. oraisons. O domine ihesu christe adoro te… Fol. 96r. Memoriae of Anne (fol. 96r), Sebastian (fol. 97r), Anthony (fol. 98r). Fols 99r–110r. Penitential psalms. Fols 110v–120v. Litany. Fols 121r–152v. Commendations of souls. Fols 153r–198v. Office of the Dead. Fols 199r–265v. Additional prayers. Fol. 199r. Domine ihesu christe qui hanc sacratissimam carnem… Wilmart, p. 378n. Fol. 220v. Salve sancta facies… Chevalier, no. 18189; Walther, no. 17153. Fol. 202r. Deus qui nobis signatis lumen vultus… Fol. 202v. [Orationes beati Gregorii]. O domine ihesu christe adoro te… Fol. 204r. Domine ihesu christe fili dei vivi suscipe… Fol. 204r. O bone ihesu o piissime ihesu o dulcissime ihesu… [i] Fol. 206r. Domine deus omnipotens qui es trinus… Wilmart, pp. 99, 573-5. Fol. 208r. Deus pater et filius et spiritus sanctus… Fol. 211v. Passion according to John, opening abruptly in XIX, 18: Et cum illo alios duos hinc et hinc… Fol. 213r. Deus qui manus tuas et pedes tuum (sic)… Fol. 214r. [Beda, De septem uerbis Christi in cruce]. Domine ihesu christe qui septem verba… Migne, PL. Vol. XCIV, 561-2. Fol. 217v. Precor te piissime domine ighesu christe… Wilmart, p. 378n. Fol. 218v. Respice quesumus domine super familiam… Fol. 219r. Presta quesumus domine super familiam… Fol. 219r. Ave domine ihesu christe verbum patris… Chevalier, no. 1778; Wilmart, pp. 377n, 412. Fol. 220r. Ave verum corpus domini nostril ihesu Christi natum de maria… Chevalier, no. 2175; Wilmart, pp. 373-6. Fol. 220v. Ave caro Christi cara… Chevalier, no. 1710; Wilmart, pp. 366, 369, 379n. Fol. 221r. Anima Christi sanctifica me… Chevalier, no. 1090; Wilmart, p. 367. Fol. 221r. [Orationes beati Gregorii]. O domine ihesu christe adoro te… Fol. 224r. [Petrus de Luxemburgo, Oratio, here without attribution]. Deus pater qui creasti… Chevalier, no. 4477; Walther, no. 4320. Fol. 230v. Avete omnes anime fideles quarum corpora… Fol. 231r. Domine ihesu christe salus et liberatio… Fol. 232r. Deus cuius miseratione anime fidelium… Fol. 232v. Deus fidelium lumen animarum… Fol. 233r. Miserere mei domine et exaudi orationem meam… Fol. 234v. A cunctis nos domine quesumus mentis et corporis… Fol. 235r. Per omnium sanctorum angelorum… Fol. 236r. Suscipe sancta trinitas hanc orationem… Fol. 236v. Domine ihesu christe rex glorie qui uoluisti… Fol. 238r. Dulcissime domine ihesu christe verus deus… Fol. 244r. Christus rex vivit in pace… Fol. 245v. Benedicto dei patris omnipotentis cum angelis… Fol. 246r. Ecce ad te confugio virgo nostra saluatio… Chevalier , no. 5087. Fol. 248v. Ave mundi spes maria aue mitis ave pia… Chevalier, no. 1974; Walther, no. 9556. Fol. 250r. Repleta est spiritu sancto elyzabeth… Fol. 250v. Inviolata integra et casta es maria… Fol. 252r. Salve mater salvatoris que deorum deum patris… Chevalier, no. 33139. Fol. 255r. O intemerata (opening abruptly: Atque misteriis celestibus… Wilmart, pp. 474-504. Fol. 257r. Obsecro te… (fol. 259v), sum facturus locuturus… Fol. 261r. Salus regina misericordie vita dulcedo… Chevalier, no. 18150. Fol. 262v. Omnipotens sempiterne deus qui beate et gloriosissme virginis… Fol. 263r. Ave domina sancta maria mater dei regina celi porta paradisi (fol. 263v, breaks off; text continues at the top of fol. 264r and near the conclusion), christus est valeamus pervenire per christum dominum nostrum. Fol. 264v. Memoria.
Gaps occur in the text between fols 211-212 and fols 254–255. Three rubrics list indulgences for recitation of certain of the additional prayers at Mass (fols 211v, 221v, 222r). (Manion and Vines, p. 138). [i] Sinclair, 1969, p. 349, suggests for the text of the prayer to the Holy Name of Jesus is the concluding portion of the second Meditatio by Anselmus Cantuariensis, see J.P. Migne, Patrologiae Latinae, Vol. CLVIII.724-5; H.E. Allen, Writings ascribed to Richard Rolle, London, 1927, pp. 314-7 and V. Leroquais, 1927, Vol. 2, pp. 79ff, and Supplement aux Livres d’heures manuscrits, Mâcon, 1943. | |
| Physical description | ||
| Support | Parchment | |
| Dimensions | 146 x 110 mm | |
| Extent | i + ii (modern paper) + 265 folios. Folio iv is blank. | |
| Collation | 1-26, 38, 46, 5-158, 166, 17-218, 227 (wants 4), 237 (wants 4), 248, 257 (wants 5), 269 (wants 10, 2 added sheets replace 7, 8 excised), 278, 287 (wants 6), 29–328, 339 (wants 1), 347 (wants 1), 354. | |
| Catchwords | No catchwords. | |
| Signatures | No quire signatures. | |
| Foliation | Modern pencil foliation in arabic numerals. | |
| Condition | Quire 22 lacks its fourth sheet, quire 23, its fourth, quire 25, its fifth, quire 26, its last, quire 33, its first, all without loss of text. There are gaps in the text as a result of the removal of the sixth sheet from quire 28, and the first sheet from quire 34. | |
| Layout | Text space: 96 x 47-9 mm. Sixteen lines of text. Ruled in red ink with ruling unit of 5 mm. | |
| Scribes | Folios 12, 13, 34, 35 are by a second scribe in faded brown ink. | |
| Scripts | Fifteenth-century French lettre-bâtarde in black ink. | |
| Decoration | Throughout the book there are numerous one-line initials in gold or blue with black or red pen-work, many two-line decorated initials, and occasional three- and four-line initials in pink and white floral designs. The main divisions of the text are introduced by five- or six-line initials in blue or pink with white tracery on brown, buff, blue or pink rectangular grounds, with infills of naturalistic flowers and birds. All text pages have panel borders, mostly of naturalistic motifs on grounds of blue, green, pink, straw-yellow or dark grey, the colour changing at each quire. Quire IV has borders of acanthus design in semi-grisaille. Motifs are traced through from recto to verso. Rubrics are in red ink, calendar in black and red ink. The five-and six-line initials are associated with full borders composed of insects, birds, flowers, grotesques and stylized acanthus leaves strewn on coloured grounds, usually yellow; one is black (fols 13r, 21r, 27r, 45r, 57r, 61v, 66r, 70r, 74r, 82r, 99r, 121r, 153r). These decorated pages mark the main divisions of the Hours. Full borders also surround the five large miniatures and one historiated initial which introduce certain prayers. The borders of the calendar contain small zodiacal signs, and there are rectangular scenes of the labours of the month in the lower margins of the calendar recto pages.
Program of Decoration and Illustration Depictions of the labours of the months Fol. 1r. January, a man feasting. Fol. 2r. February, a man warming himself. Fol. 3r. March, a man digging. Fol. 4r. April, a man ploughing. Fol. 5r. May, two people in a tub. Fol. 6r. June, a man chopping trees. Fol. 7r. July, a man scything. Fol. 8r. August, a woman reaping. Fol. 9r. September, man treading grapes. Fol. 10r. October, a man gathering acorns. Fol. 11r. November, a man cutting wood. Fol. 12r. December, a man wielding an axe above kneeling ox.
Large miniatures and one eight-lined historiated initial introduce prayers as follows: Fol. 199r. A vision of the suffering Christ: Domine ihesu christe qui honc sacrotissimam carnem. Fol. 200v. St Veronica with the sudarium: Salve sancto facies …. Fol. 202v. The Crucifixion: O domine ihesu christe adoro te ... Fol. 208r. The Trinity, God the Father holding the crucified Christ, a dove above Deus pour et filius et spiritus sanctus. Fol. 214v. Christ displaying his wounded side (historiated initial): Domine ihesu christe qui septem verba. Fol. 264v. Mary Magdalen as a penitent hermit: Maria ergo unxit pedes… | |
| Musical notation | ||
| Binding | Old tooled calf over boards, metal clasp, catch missing. | |
| Seals | ||
| Accompanying material | ||
| History | ||
| Origin | Southern Netherlands, late fifteenth century. | |
| Provenance | The motto Disco Pati (“I learn to endure”) is written in black ink in the scrolls of the borders of fols 57r, 61r, 74r, 124r, 125r, 165r, 174r, 207r, 208r, 209r, 213r, 220r and 256r. Folio iir carries the stamp ‘Public Library of Victoria 11 Oct. 1926’. The book formerly belonged to J.T. Hackett and was acquired from his widow in 1926 by the State Library of Victoria. | |
| Acquisition | The book formerly belonged to J.T. Hackett and was acquired from his widow in 1926 by the State Library of Victoria. | |
| Bibliography | ||
| Bibliography list | J.P. Migne, Patrologiae cursus completus, series Latina, Paris, 1844-45, Vols XCIV.561-2; CLVIII.724-5.
V. Leroquais, Les livres d’heures manuscrits de la Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, 1927, Vol. 1 and 2.
V. Leroquais, Supplement aux Livres d’heures manuscrits, Mâcon, 1943.
A. Wilmart OSB, Auteurs spirituels et textes dévots du moyen âge latin, Paris, 1932.
K.V. Sinclair, Descriptive Catalogue of Medieval and Renaissance Western Manuscripts in Australia, Sydney, 1969, pp. 347–51.
M.M. Manion and V.F. Vines, Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts in Australian Collections, Melbourne, 1984, pp. 138- 9. | |
| Analysis | ||
| Commentary | This manuscript is a product of a modest atelier probably located in the region of St Omer. It reflects methods of book production in the late fifteenth century and knowledge of contemporary trends in naturalistic decoration in the southern Netherlands. After assembly into quires the leaves of text were decorated with panel borders, the ground colours of which change at each gathering. The full borders, which do not show the same variation in colour and are of slightly higher quality, seem to have been treated as a separate decorative unit. The small illustrations of the labours of the months are perfunctory renderings of conventional patterns, and the heavy mannered style of the main miniatures suggests a date of c. 1500.
The book, however, is not entirely conventional, since the program of illustration is associated with the additional prayers rather than with the main divisions of the Hours. References to indulgences, the large number of additional prayers, and the program of illustration itself may point to a client who required a book stressing the penitential aspects of devotion. This may also account for the actual subjects depicted.
Images of the suffering Christ and of St Veronica presenting the Holy Face were associated with indulgences in the late fifteenth century, when it was believed that prayers recited before such pictures were as efficacious as actual pilgrimages to the shrines where the relics were kept.[i]
Similar importance may have been attached to images of the penitent Mary Magdalen, exemplified on fol. 264v. Indeed, this depiction of the saint as a hermit attended by an angel, kneeling in front of a rocky cave in a landscape setting, is probably a reference to the Magdalen shrine in the grotto of La Sainte-Baume in Provence, where, according to legend, the saint withdrew after the Crucifixion to spend the last years of her life in seclusion. This medieval shrine was especially popular in France and the southern Netherlands at the time this manuscript was produced.[ii]
The miniature on fol. 199r, which presumably shows the patron kneeling before a vision of the suffering Christ, is in keeping with the general emphasis on penitential devotion. The seriousness of his intent is reflected in the motto Disco Pati, which occurs in thirteen borders of the manuscript. [i] A. Chastel, ‘La Véronique’ in Revue de l’Art, Vol. 40/41, 1978, pp.71–82, and C. Bertelli, ‘The Image of Pity in Santa Croce in Geruselemme’ in Essays in the History of Art Presented to R. Wittkower (eds), D. Fraser, H. Hibbard and M.J. Lewine, London, 1967, pp. 40–55, 461. [ii] M.D. Orth, ‘The Magdalene Shrine of La Sainte-Baume in 1516. A series of miniatures by Godefroy le Batave BnF MS. fr. 24.955’ in Gazette des Beaux-Arts, Dec. 1981, pp. 98, 193–214. A Book of Hours c. 1490, MS. J57 in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, provides an interesting parallel. It contains a range of Flemish border designs which mirror those in the Melbourne manuscript but are more delicately rendered. Its suffrages include a prayer to Mary Magdalen which is accompanied by a miniature on f.32v, closely related to the Melbourne version. The saint, a naked penitent, stands before a rocky cave in a landscape which contains in the background a prominent castle. This miniature provides added evidence for the contemporary popularity in Flanders of the Provençal Magdalen shrine. | |
| Description by | ||
| Acknowledgements | Digital imaging and research on this manuscript were supported by the Australian Research Council Linkage Grant, Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts in Australia:Researching and Relating Australia’s Manuscript Holdings to New Technologies and New Readers. Substantial donations from the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney, Catholic Church Insurance and the National Australia Bank are gratefully acknowledged. The Catholic Diocese of Ballarat, The Network for Early European Research, and Newman College, The University of Melbourne, have also generously contributed to the project. Chief Investigators (CIs) of the ARC project were Professor emeritus Margaret Manion (The University of Melbourne), Professor Bernard Muir (The University of Melbourne), and Dr Toby Burrows (The University of Western Australia). Graduate research assistants were Alexandra Ellem, Dr Hugh Hudson, Dr Elaine Shaw and postgraduate scholar Elizabeth Melzer (The University of Melbourne). Shane Carmody was the representative of the Chief Industry Partner (The State Library of Victoria). The following curators, conservators, photographers and computer specialists at The State Library of Victoria also contributed their expertise: Katrina Ben, Des Cowley, Ian Cox, Adrian Flint, Ross Genat, Jean Holland, Shelley Jamieson, Afsana Khan, Coralie McInnes, Monika McIntyre, Helen McPherson, Peter Mappin and Sarah Mason. Other contributors both in Australia and overseas are acknowledged in the relevant endnotes. These detailed entries draw on the information in earlier catalogues and also update it. In particular, they are based on the following: K.V. Sinclair, Descriptive Catalogue of Medieval and Renaissance Western Manuscripts in Australia, Sydney, 1969, M. M. Manion and V. F. Vines, Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts in Australian Collections, London, 1984, and B. Stocks and N. Morgan, eds, The Medieval Imagination: Illuminated Manuscripts from Cambridge, Australia and New Zealand, Melbourne, 2008. Our debt to these pioneering publications and dependence on them are acknowledged here. Margaret M.Manion, on behalf of the ARC team, October, 2013. | |
| Other descriptions | ||
| Digital copies | http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/206906 |