Book of Hours, Use of Rouen

Book of Hours, Use of Rouen

French, ca. 1475

Images:
fols. 5v-6r: Text page from Hours of the Virgin
fols. 18v-19r: Visitation (Hours of the Virgin, Lauds)
fols. 30v-31r: David at Prayer (Penitential Psalms)
fols. 32v-33r: Text page (Penitential Psalms)
fols. 102v-103r: Obsecro te Domina

Language: Latin

parchment
height 16 cm
width 12.5 cm 

107 leaves, 8 Miniatures, velvet black binding, sewn over 4 raised bands.

Prior Publication: Lackaff, Dalene G., A descriptive catalogue of the manuscript books of hours in the collection of the Mount Angel Abbey Library, M.A. Thesis, University of Oregon, 1999, pp. 26-35

Mount Angel Abbey Library, Ms 28

Jeff Brown, Medieval Portland Research Assistant

This manuscript suffers from a shoddy and confused misbinding, missing pages, heavy-handed overpainting, and staining and liberal notations by its owner(s). It had been produced by competent professional artists, likely from a Rouen workshop of the late fifteenth century, based on the appearance of several Rouen saints and the illustrations’ resemblance to known comparanda, such as the Playfair Hours. As several pages of the manuscript are devoted to Saints John the Baptist and Catherine, Lackaff theorizes the original owners of the prayerbook may have shared these names.

Wilma Fitzgerald, PhD, SP - Quoted with permission from an unpublished study

Liber horarum, Saec. XV. France. 160 x 127 (85 x 60) mm., one column, 16 lines. Written in a Gothic text script in brownish-black ink. Miniatures: Nativity, Annunciation to the Shepherds, Visitation, David Penitent, Crucifixion, Pentecost, Circumcision, Coronation of the Virgin. Four-line initial in red, blue, white and gold on fol. 107. Three-line initials in red, blue white and gold on pages with miniatures. Many 2- and 1-line initials in red, blue, white and gold. Line endings in red, blue, white, and gold throughout. Modern binding (1964) of dark green leather with two brass clasps. The manuscript has been misbound. Purchased from T. Thorop (bookseller), England cat. #882.

Hours of the Virgin, Use of Rouen. Prayers to the Holy Spirit, Michael, John the Baptist, Nicholas, Catherine, All Saints and peace; Seven Penitential Psalms; Litany, and Prayers; Hours of the Cross; Hours of the Holy Spirit; Office of the Dead, Hours of the Virgin; Office of the Dead; Joys of John the Baptist; Joys of Catherine; Prayers to Anthony, Clarus, Lupus, Fiacre, Maurus, Lubin, and Romanus; Obsecro te; O intemerata.