Book of Hours (use of Rheims), in Latin with some French thumbnail 1
Book of Hours (use of Rheims), in Latin with some French thumbnail 2
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Book of Hours (use of Rheims), in Latin with some French

Manuscript
ca. 1280-1290 (made)
Place of origin
France (made)
Rheims? (made)

Foliation: parchment. i-ii (19th-century paper, contemporary with binding), iii (19th-century parchment) + 229 (f.229 perhaps a fly-leaf from a late medieval binding) + iv (19th-century parchment), v-vi (19th-century paper) ff.

Number of lines: 15 lines.

Language: Latin with some French.

Script: irregular Gothic Textura bookhand.

Textual content:
ff. 1r-12v: Calendar, in French.
ff. 13r-21v: Full-page miniatures.
ff. 22r-63r: Hours of the Virgin, Use of Reims, with rubrics in Latin. Use of Rheims is indicated by antiphon "O admirabile" and capitulum "Hec est Virgo" at Prime, and the antiphon "Ecce Maria" and capitulum "Felix namque" at None.
ff. 63v-78r: Penitential Psalms with litany (ff. 73r-77v).
ff. 79r-102v: Hours of the Trinity (lacking some leaves).
ff. 103r-118v: Hours of the Holy Spirit.
ff. 119r-150v: Hours of the Passion.
ff. 150v-190r: Office of the Dead, Use of Reims.
ff. 190r-197v: Commendation of Souls.
ff. 197r-208v: Fifteen Gradual Psalms, followed by invocations to the Virgin.
ff. 209r-215v: Devotional sequence.
ff. 215v-228v: Series of prayers in French.
ff. 228v-229v: Devotional text in French, added in a barely legible 16th-century Secretary script.

Decoration: 12 Calendar illustrations, each in a roundel within a square (ff. 1r-12r); small medallions with gold grounds inside square coloured frames.
9 full page miniatures on gold grounds in coloured rectangular frames:
f. 13v: Flagellation of Christ.
f. 14r: Crucifixion.
f. 15v: St John the Baptist.
f. 16r: St Stephen.
f. 17v: St Katherine.
f. 18r: St Nicholas.
f. 19v: St Christopher.
f. 20r: Noli me tangere.
f. 21v: Coronation of the Virgin.
33 half-page miniatures (historiated initials) on gold grounds, with stiff bar, and foliage borders, many containing grotesque figures, birds and animals (ff. 22r, 31v, 40v, 45r, 48r, 51r, 54r, 59v, 63v, 79r, 86r, 89v, 92r, 94r, 96v, 100r, 103r, 109r, 110v, 112r, 113v, 115r, 117r, 119r, 128v, 131r, 135r, 139r, 144r, 147v, 150v, 190r, 197r).

Binding: 19th century, England. Dark brown stamped morocco by F. Bedford, signed on first fly-leaf. Gilt and gauffered edges.


Object details

Categories
National Art Library
Books
Manuscripts
Medieval and Renaissance
Books of Hours
Object type
Manuscript
TitleBook of Hours (use of Rheims), in Latin with some French
Materials and techniques
Ink, pigments and gold on parchment. Leather binding.
Parchment
Ink
Pigment
Gold
Morocco Leather
Illumination
Brief description
Manuscript, Book of Hours, France (Reims?), ca. 1280-1290.
Physical description
Foliation: parchment. i-ii (19th-century paper, contemporary with binding), iii (19th-century parchment) + 229 (f.229 perhaps a fly-leaf from a late medieval binding) + iv (19th-century parchment), v-vi (19th-century paper) ff.

Number of lines: 15 lines.

Language: Latin with some French.

Script: irregular Gothic Textura bookhand.

Textual content:
ff. 1r-12v: Calendar, in French.
ff. 13r-21v: Full-page miniatures.
ff. 22r-63r: Hours of the Virgin, Use of Reims, with rubrics in Latin. Use of Rheims is indicated by antiphon "O admirabile" and capitulum "Hec est Virgo" at Prime, and the antiphon "Ecce Maria" and capitulum "Felix namque" at None.
ff. 63v-78r: Penitential Psalms with litany (ff. 73r-77v).
ff. 79r-102v: Hours of the Trinity (lacking some leaves).
ff. 103r-118v: Hours of the Holy Spirit.
ff. 119r-150v: Hours of the Passion.
ff. 150v-190r: Office of the Dead, Use of Reims.
ff. 190r-197v: Commendation of Souls.
ff. 197r-208v: Fifteen Gradual Psalms, followed by invocations to the Virgin.
ff. 209r-215v: Devotional sequence.
ff. 215v-228v: Series of prayers in French.
ff. 228v-229v: Devotional text in French, added in a barely legible 16th-century Secretary script.

Decoration: 12 Calendar illustrations, each in a roundel within a square (ff. 1r-12r); small medallions with gold grounds inside square coloured frames.
9 full page miniatures on gold grounds in coloured rectangular frames:
f. 13v: Flagellation of Christ.
f. 14r: Crucifixion.
f. 15v: St John the Baptist.
f. 16r: St Stephen.
f. 17v: St Katherine.
f. 18r: St Nicholas.
f. 19v: St Christopher.
f. 20r: Noli me tangere.
f. 21v: Coronation of the Virgin.
33 half-page miniatures (historiated initials) on gold grounds, with stiff bar, and foliage borders, many containing grotesque figures, birds and animals (ff. 22r, 31v, 40v, 45r, 48r, 51r, 54r, 59v, 63v, 79r, 86r, 89v, 92r, 94r, 96v, 100r, 103r, 109r, 110v, 112r, 113v, 115r, 117r, 119r, 128v, 131r, 135r, 139r, 144r, 147v, 150v, 190r, 197r).

Binding: 19th century, England. Dark brown stamped morocco by F. Bedford, signed on first fly-leaf. Gilt and gauffered edges.
Dimensions
  • Height: 135mm
  • Width: 100mm
  • Calendar text block height: 93mm
  • Calendar text block width: 75mm
  • Text block height: 80mm
  • Text block height: 60mm
Production typeUnique
Credit line
Bequeathed by George Reid in 1903.
Object history
(1) Inscribed in a 16th-century hand 'Voire et soufrire / Valentine de Boulongue [sic]' (f. 152v). A Valentine de Boulogne, daughter of Claude and Magdalen d'Aubermont, married Jean-Philippe de Sastres, at an unspecified date - see Dictionnaire de la noblesse, 3rd edn, III, Paris, 1863 (reprint Kraus, 1969, p. 727). A Valentin de Boulogne, painter and glassworker at Coulommers sur Brie (Seine et Marne) was father of a painter of the same name, 1591-1632 (Dictionary of Art 1996 ed.).
(2) John Ruskin (1819-1900): given as a present by Ruskin to Laurence Hilliard on 3 December 1878. Inscribed 'Laurence Hilliard with John Ruskin's Love, 3 Dec. 1878'.
(3) Laurence Hilliard (1855-1887): received as a present from Ruskin in December 1878 (see inscription quoted above).
(4) George Reid (1845-1918): his note 'bought from Hilliard's representatives' on the inside of the back cover.
(4) Bequeathed by George Reid to the V&A in 1903.
Bibliographic references
  • Wilmart, A. 'Prière à sainte Marie et à Jean l'Évangéliste'. La Vie et les arts liturgiques, 10, no. 108, 1923, pp. 49-53.
  • Wilmart, A. Auteurs spirituels et textes dévots du moyen âge latin. Paris, 1932. p. 23, no. 3, 491.
  • Barré, H. Prières anciennes à la mère du Sauveur des origines à saint Anselme. Paris, 1963, p. 214, no. 24.
  • Ker, N.R. Medieval Manuscripts in British Libraries I. Oxford: 1967. p. 385
  • Dearden, J.S. 'John Ruskin, the collector, with a catalogue of the illuminated and other manuscripts formerly in his collection'. The Library, 5th series, 21, no.2, 1966, pp. 124-154. p. 139, no. 30
  • Pfaff, R. 'the English devotion of St Gregory's Trental'. Speculum, 49, 1974, p. 86.
  • Bennett, A. 'Christ's five wounds in the Aves of the Vita Christi in a Book of Hours about 1300'. In J.F. Hamburger and Anne S. Korteweg (eds.), Tributes in honour of James H. Marrow. Studies in painting and manuscript illumination of the Late Middle Ages and Renaissance. London and Turnhout, 2006, pp. 80, no. 5, 82, n. 11.
  • Oliver, J. 'Te Matrem Laudamus: the many roles of Mary in Liège Psalter-Hours'. In S. Panayotova (ed.), The Cambridge illuminations. The conference papers. London and Turnhout, 2007, p. 160, no. 9.
  • Watson, R. Illuminated manuscripts and their makers. An account based on the collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum. London, 2003. pp. 44, 47, 49, 84-85
  • Townsend, E. Art and death, Europe 1200-1500. London, 2009, p. 60.
  • Stones, A. Manuscripts illuminated in France. Gothic manuscripts 1260-1320. London, 2013, cat. no. III-87.
  • Watson, R. Western Illuminated Manuscripts.Victoria and Albert Museum. A catalogue of works in the National Art Library from the eleventh to the early twentieth century, with a complete account of the George Reid Collection. London, 2011. vol. 1, pp. 114-121, cat. 18
Other numbers
  • KRP.C.16 - NAL Pressmark
  • 83 - Reid Gift
Collection
National Art Library
Library number
MSL/1903/2074 (Reid 83)

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Record createdFebruary 25, 2017
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1385506/book-of-hours-use-of-manuscript/
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