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Book of hours for Dominican use.

Information About This Item

Creator

Catholic Church.

Title

Book of hours for Dominican use.

Date

approximately 1450

Description

Example of the sort of Book of Hours that would have been familiar to most bourgeois 15th century Frenchmen and women in its original state. Perhaps intended for the Dominican convent of Le Mans as several locally revered siants, Sebastian, Eutropius, Serenicus, Fiacrew and Aventinus appear in the litany.
The volume comprises the Seven Penitential Psalms (fol.1r); a Litany (fol.12v) followed by prayers to various saints; the Hours of the Cross (fol.20v); the Hours of the Holy Spirit (fol.23v); Memorials to the saints (fol.26r); the Office of the Dead (fol.31r); prayers for use at Mass (fol.63v), the hymn Ave verum corpus (fol.66r) and the Obsecro te (fol.67r).
Collation: i-ii⁸, iii⁶, iv-viii⁸, ix⁹, lacking final blank.
14 lines in single column on parchment. Written in brown ink, text ruled in red, initials in red or blue and rubricated throughout. Numerous large initials gilded, some with elongated marginal pen-work in red, others on coloured grounds, one incroporating a coat of arms depicting two white fleur-de-lys on a red background, two cantons in upper inner hatchment. One leaf with amateur marginial portrait (probably later), two leaves with large spaces for miniatures, left blank.
Binding: Blind stamped calf over wooden boards, roll tooled panels and borders, raised bands, remains of clasps.
MU: Provenance: mid-16th century, owned by François Pinnard whose autograph appears on two leaves; 18th century, Lenormand de Coudray from Orléans with his paraphe at the head of the title page; 19th century, lower margin of title page contains two autographs: Chanonie Hitzler and John Rolls, 1824. 20th century, Mrs. June O'Donnell (d.1979) bought at Sotheby's 5 July 1965; J. Pope purchase at Sotheby's 25 June 1985; 21st century: Ellis Library Centennial Purchase (purchased from Sokol Books, March 2016).

Identifier

BX2080 .A2 1450

Coverage

Le Mans?, France.