Book of Hours Leaf

Description: 

Book of Hours Leaf
Italian (Bologna), ca. 1500-1510

Language: Latin

vellum
height 18 cm
width 13 cm

Portland State University Library Special Collections, Mss. 32

 

Marcia Lim, Medieval Portland Capstone Student, 2008
MS 32 from the Portland State University Special Collections is a leaf from an Italian Book of Hours, dated to approximately 1500. This is a relatively late date for a manuscript, as printed books became widely available by the end of the fifteenth century. However, manuscript production did not die out entirely. Although manuscripts had always been expensive items, by the late fifteenth century and continuing into the next centuries, illuminated manuscripts became "increasingly specialized and confined primarily to the production of luxury goods for the wealthiest class of patrons."[1] For these affluent patrons, manuscripts remained important status symbols of their wealth. Some books were even produced both in printed editions as well as in manuscript form, with the manuscript destined for a high-status person, such as the pope.[2] The quality of the decoration of this leaf, along with the quantity of the gold leaf and ink, certainly fits the profile of a manuscript produced for a wealthy patron.

The manuscript is beautifully decorated with good quality borders and decorated initials in vibrant colors, primarily red, blue, green, and gold. For example, the recto side has a decorated initial 'O' in the first line. The style of the initial is similar to that of a manuscript leaf found in The Painted Page, which dates to the late fifteenth century or early sixteenth century.[3] To the left of the decorated initial, foliate decoration extends from the 'O' into the left margin. The decoration in the margin extends from nearly the top of the page to the end of the text, about three-quarters down the length of the page. It is not a full border that is typical of many illuminated manuscripts of the time period. However, I did find examples of other manuscripts with similar marginal decoration, such as a manuscript leaf from Florence dating to the late fifteenth century.[4]

The verso side is more elaborately decorated than the recto side. Twelve of the seventeen lines of text are written primarily in gold ink, with the exception of the red rubric Protestatio in the seventh line. The text begins with a historiated initial 'O' which has a cross in the middle. The cross sits atop a pink hill. A sign with writing is found at the top. A bloody crown of thorns sits on the neck of the cross. On each arm of the cross is a bloody nail. The 'O' itself is primarily green, with red and blue accents. There are two other decorated initials on this page in the same style as on the recto side.

In the left margin, extending from all three decorated initials, an inhabited foliate decoration runs the length of the margin. At the top of the margin sits a grey peacock. Although the coloring of the bird is not entirely naturalistic, it is identifiable as a peacock by its crest of feathers on the head and the long train of feathers with eye-shaped markings. The bird in this manuscript has its tail feathers down, rather than fanned out and erect. According to Brunsdon Yapp's study of birds in medieval manuscripts, peacocks were most commonly depicted this way. Although peacocks first appear in medieval manuscripts around AD 700, perhaps in the Lindisfarne Gospel[5], they enjoyed their heyday in manuscript illumination from the 13th to 15th centuries. Although the peacock is sometimes said to represent the resurrection, it can also be purely decorative.[6] However, since I was unable to find a complete translation of the accompanying text, I was unable to determine whether the peacock has a symbolic meaning in this context.

The foliate decoration is somewhat unique. It bears some general resemblance to other fifteenth-century Italian manuscripts.[7] The colors are similar, and the swirling shapes of the decoration resemble each other. The forms also evoke the foliate borders of fifteenth-century French and Flemish manuscripts.[8] However, these are simply broad similarities. I did not find any examples where the style of decoration was an excellent match to the style of this manuscript. The best stylistic match was the late fifteenth-century Florentine example mentioned earlier.[9] The dealer's catalog entry for this leaf also commented on the decoration style, calling it "very uncommon, making localization difficult."[10]

The text is written in Latin, in an Italian Gothic Book Script, littera gothica textualis rotunda italiana. This is similar to Gothic textualis semi-quadrata, but it is less compressed. For example, the top curve of the letter 'a' is nicely rounded and broad in the textualis rotunda italiana. In textualis semi-quadrata, the top curve of the 'a' is angled and more compact. The treatment of the minims in the text varies from rounded off, straight vertical, and minims with applied feet. This variation is consistent with textualis rotunda italiana script.[11] This type of script was first used beginning in the thirteenth century.[12] Although the humanistic script developed in Italy in the fifteenth century became widespread by the end of that century, the older Gothic scripts continued to be used into the eighteenth century, particularly for religious texts.[13] Therefore, it is not surprising that, despite the late date, a gothic script was used for a manuscript copy of such a highly popular religious text as a book of hours.

The transcription of the text is as follows:

Recto:
Omnipote[n]s Oremus
sempiterne deus qui
nos omnium sancto
rum tuorum merita X
sub una tribuisti celebritate vene-
rari: que sumus ut desideratas no-
bis tue propiciationis abunda[n]
tiam multiplicatis intercesssori-
bus largiaris. Per dominu[m] no-
strum iesum christum filiu[m] tuum
Qui tecum vivit [et] regnat in unita-
te spiritus sancti deus Per omnia
secula seculorum. Amen.

This text is part of the missal for the Feast of All Saints on November 1st and is part of the Collect. I identified the text through an online source, which had the Latin along with an English translation, taken from the traditional or Tridentine missal.[14] The translation is:

Almighty and everlasting God, who hast given us in one feast to venerate the merits of all Thy saints; we beseech Thee through the multitude of intercessors to grant the desired abundance of Thy mercy. Through our Lord Jesus Christ Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee in unity with the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.[15]

The New Saint Andrew Bible Missal gives the prayer in English as follows:

O Almighty and eternal God, through your grace we honor the merits of all your saints in the one solemn feast of today. Through this army of heavenly intercessors, grant us the abundant mercy we desire. Through Jesus Christ.[16]

Verso:
O crux
Ave spes unica
hoc passionis
tempore: Auge
py//s iustitiam
Reisque dona<br>veniam Protestatio
domine Jesu Christe
Ego promitto et pro-
testo coram nobilis-
sima maiestate tua-
___ori et Vivere semper in tua
sancta Fide catholica Amen.
Salva nos Antiphona:
domine vigilantes custodi
nos dormientes: ut vigilem[us]
cum christo et requies eamus in pace.

The verso side is not a continuous text. The first seven lines, up to the decorated bar, is a version of the sixth verse from the hymn Vexilla Regis. A Carthusian website reproduces the Latin exactly as it appears in the manuscript. It is identified as a hymnus ad primas vesperas.[17] The Choral Public Domain Library provides an English translation of the text as follows:

"O cross, our only hope in this time of suffering, grant justice to the faithful and mercy to those awaiting judgment.”[18]

I could not identify the text in lines eight to thirteen. The text from lines fourteen to seventeen, the Antiphona, is one of the antiphons that are part of the hymn at Compline.[19] No English translation was given, and I was unable to find an English translation elsewhere. This manuscript leaf seems to be a somewhat unique example of an early sixteenth-century Book of Hours. Since the style of decoration is distinctive, perhaps further research could shed more light on the place of origin.

Suggestions for further reading: 

J. J.G. Alexander, ed. The Painted Page: Italian Renaissance Book Illumination, 1450-1500.

Chirstopher De Hamel. A History of Illuminated Manuscripts. London, England: Phaidon Press Limited, 1994

Notes:
[1] Pia Palladino, "Manuscript Illumination in Italy, 1400•1600". Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000. (October 2003). 02 July 2008 http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/iman/hd_iman.htm
[2] J. J. G. Alexander, ed., The Painted Page: Italian Renaissance Book Illumination, 1450-1500, (New York: Prestel, 1994), p. 19.
[3] Ibid., p. 25, fig. 15.
[4] Laura Light, Catalogue of Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts in the Houghton Library, Harvard University. Vol. 1. (Binghamton, NY: Center for Medieval and Early Renaissance Studies, 1995), Plate 57, MS Lat 176, f. 30.
[5] Brunsdon Yapp, Birds in Medieval Manuscripts. (London, England: British Library, 1981), p. 21, fig. 8
[6] Ibid., p. 20-22
[7] J. J. G. Alexander, Italian Renaissance Illuminations, (New York, NY: George Braziller, 1977), Plates 19 and 20; also figures VI and VII.
[8] See Light, Catalogue of Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts, Plates 21 & 22.
[9] Ibid., Plate 57, MS Lat 176, f. 30.
[10] Phillip J. Pirages Catalogue 47, items 83-85.
[11] Michelle P. Brown, A Guide to Western Historical Scripts from Antiquity to 1600. (Toronto, Canada: University of Toronto Press, 1990), p. 122.
[12] Ibid., p. 117.
[13] Alexander, The Painted Page, p. 15.
[14] see Paul S., "no subject" (re: All Saints' Proper - need copy!). Online posting. 31 Oct 2004. 13 July 2008.
[15] Ibid.
[16] New Saint Andrew Bible Missal, (New York: Benziger Brothers. 1966), p. 1418
[17] Antiphonarium Diurnum Ordinis Cartusiensis, (Domo Cartusiae, 1998. 13 July 2008), http://www.chartreux.org/textes/liturgie/Vesperale_cartusiense.pdf
[18]"O crux ave spes unica." Choral Public Domain Library. 24 Sept 2007. 13 July 2008. http://www.cpdl.org/wiki/index.php?title=O_crux_ave_spes_unica&oldid=81953
[19] "Vespers and Compline." Catholic Traditional Resources. 13 July 2008. http://www.geocities.com/Vienna/Strasse/5816/vesper.html

 

Study Guide: Rachel R. Correll, Sophomore Inquiry Mentor Session Project, Spring 2012

The Object
The Book of Hours was used in Christian private devotion throughout the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, with this specific Italian example from 1500-1510 CE. The manuscript is essentially a devotional prayer book with prayers in Latin related to feast days, prayer services such as vespers, and prayers to saints and the Virgin Mary to act on the behalf of the owner in communicating to Christ. The actual contents of each Book of Hours differed, partially based on the requests of the patron as each manuscript was handmade. These were very popular books in the thirteenth through the sixteenth centuries and used in countries throughout Europe. They are full of prayers that were thought to have protective powers over the individual and thus Books of Hours tend to be small enough to carry around on one's person. This Italian example likely belonged to a wealthy individual seen through the use of expensive materials such as gold and delicate, intricate ornamentation. A scribe would have written the text for the manuscript while another, the illuminator, would have added the ornamentation and illuminations, or images.

The Text
The script is written in an Italianate Gothic book hand and is written in 17 lines with the sepia rule lines still visible. There are red section headings (or rubrics) in the text. On the recto, or front side, of the leaf, or page, is text related to the Feast of All Saints' Day on November 1st. It would have likely been read on that day every year and the prayer is directed to God, asking him for mercy, and mentioning Christ and many others as intercessors for the request. On the verso, or the back, of the leaf is the text beginning one of the Hours of the Cross and starts with a stanza from an ancient Roman hymn which beseeches the cross to grant justice and mercy. The Hours of the Cross, which were likely interspersed throughout this Italian manuscript when it was made, refer to the story of Christ's Passion, focusing on his suffering and the sacrifice he made for the sinners of the world. The first two sections of text on this side are executed in gold ink, an indicator of the patron's high status.

The Ornamentation
The most luxurious ornamentation on this leaf is the initial "O" on the verso with Christ's cross in its center. The crown of thorns and the two nails on the cross refer to Christ's crucifixion and emphasize his absence from the scene which is a symbol of his resurrection. The ornamentation that protrudes from the initial into the left margin is rendered with a foliate, or leaflike, design, commonly found in Italian and French Books of Hours. Among the foliate border is a peacock, another reference to Christ's resurrection as early Christians adopted the belief by ancient people that the flesh of the peacock did not rot after death. There are two smaller initials on this page as well, the """ for Domine and the "S" for Salve. On the recto, the initial ""O"" is decorated with a partial foliate border extending from its base. Extra decorations are found after Amen in the last line of text and in two lines below. These are called line-fillers and appear in alternating blue and red ink with gold decoration.

Source:
Katherine Bass, "Italian Book of Hours leaf," The Gift of the Word, catalog, Spring 2012 exhibition, Portland State University Millar Library Special Collections.

Inquiry
What are the references to death depicted in the images and decorations in the leaf? What are the benefits of having a Book of Hours that can be carried around at all times? Why do you think there is such a focus on the idea of Christ's resurrection in a text meant to promote the owner's own salvation? Note the very fine details in the ornamentation including the presence of red blood on the cross and white, black, and gold accents on the foliate designs. What are some possible reasons why the patron of a Book of Hours would want it exquisitely decorated using expensive materials such as gold leaf?