Collection ID: 0023 | Metadata type: TEI | TEI XML | Data

Title

Book of Hours, use of Paris

Other related names

• Egerton Master, active 1410, artist (http://viaf.org/viaf/11054779/#Egerton_Master,_active_1410)
• Master of the Mazarin Hours, artist
• Bedford Master, follower, artist
• Marguerite de Lorraine, former owner
• Boscher, Sebastienne, former owner
• Widener, Joseph E. (Joseph Early), 1872-1943, former owner (http://viaf.org/viaf/21158694/#Widener,_Joseph_E._(Joseph_Early),_1872-1943)

Funders

• Council on Library and Information Resources

Call number

Widener 6
(Philadelphia, United States, Free Library of Philadelphia, Widener Collection)

Alternate identifiers

• https://know.freelibrary.org/Record/1466040
• deRicci: 6
• Leaves-of-gold: 32

Publisher

Free Library of Philadelphia

Language

Latin; Middle French (ca. 1400-1600)

Origin

Place

France

Summary

This manuscript is an excellent example of a high-quality Book of Hours produced in early-fifteenth-century Paris. It contains a calendar (fols. 1r-12v), Gospel Lessons (fols. 13r-20r), O intemerata (fols. 20v-23v) and Obsecro te (fols. 24r-28v) prayers, the Hours of the Virgin of the Use of Paris (fols. 29r-112v), Penitential Psalms, Litany, and Prayers (fols. 114r-135r), Hours of the Cross (fols. 135v-147r), Hours of the Holy Spirit (147v-158r), Office of the Dead (fols. 158v-214v), Suffrages (fols. 215r-224v), Fifteen Joys of the Virgin (fols. 225r-231r), Prayer to the Five Wounds of Christ and preface to the Five Wounds of Christ (fols. 225r-232r), Seven Requests to Our Lord (fols. 232v-235v), and Votive Masses (fols. 236v-252r). The book contains forty-one large miniatures in total, which accompany most of the major textual divisions. The opening for Terce from the Hours of the Virgin is supplemented by a miniature of the Presentation in the Temple on the preceding page (fol. 78v), as well as an historiated initial showing angels singing (fol. 79r). The Hours of the Cross and Hours of the Holy Spirit have supplemental inset miniatures showing the Arrest of Christ (fol. 137r) and the Crucifixion (fol. 143v). The Suffrages are illustrated by eight miniatures, and miniatures likewise introduce the Fifteen Joys of the Virgin, Seven Requests to Our Lord, and Votive Masses. The miniatures showcase the combined efforts of at least four or five different illuminators, three of whom have been identified. The Noli Me Tangere (fol. 147v), Christ with the Three Marys (fol. 149r), Saint James the Greater (fol. 150v), Saints Peter and Andrew (fol. 152r), Saint Thomas (fol. 153v), and the Pentecost (fol. 155r) miniatures were painted by a follower of the Egerton Master. The miniatures of the four Evangelists (fols. 13r, 15r, 17r, and 19r), as well as the first miniature of the Virgin and Child (fol. 20v) and the miniature of God the Father are attributed to the Master of the Mazarin Hours, while the Nativity (fol. 71r), the Coronation of the Virgin (fol. 105v), and Saint Anthony (fol. 220v) are the work of an associate of the Bedford Master. In addition to elaborate, illuminated foliate borders on every page, many of the pages with miniatures feature borders decorated with acanthus leaves, some of which contain roundels inhabited with human figures and grotesques. Later ownership inscriptions in a sixteenth century hand appear on folios 232r and 252v, ascribing the book to Sebastienne Boscher, dame des Aulnays et de Bocquemar, respectively.

Notes

• Delicate binding, some gatherings loose
   

Extent

I+252+i; 220 x 155 mm bound to 225 x 160 mm

Foliation

Modern foliation in pencil, upper right recto

Collation

1 (12), 2-10 (8), 11 (8, -1), 12-13 (8), 14 (6), 15-17 (8), 18 (10), 19-23 (8), 24 (6), 25-27 (8), 28 (8, -6), 29-30 (8), 31 (12)

Support

Parchment

Catchwords

Horizontal catchwords, bottom right corner, at fols. 20v, 28v, 36v, 44v, 52v, 60v, 68v, 76v, 84v, 91v, 99v, 107v, 113v, 121v, 129v, 137v, 147v, 155v, 163v, 171v, 179v, 187v, 193v, 201v, 209v, 217v, 224v, 232v, 240v, 248v

Binding

Late-sixteenth-century, French, gold-tooled spine and boards stamped "Servire Deo" on the upper cover and "Regnare Est" on the lower cover, attributed to Marguerite de Lorraine, duchesse de Joyeuse

Layout

One column of thirteen lines, ruled in red ink; written area: 95 x 65 mm

Decoration

Forty-one large miniatures; one historiated initial; three-line decorated initials at major text divisions; smaller decorated initials and line-endings throughout; full foliate borders throughout, some with colored acanthus leaves, some containing roundels featuring grotesques and human figures; illuminated initials and line-endings throughout

Script

Gothic--textualis semi-quadrata

Provenance

• Marguerite de Lorraine (?), duchesse de Joyeuse, early sixteenth century (according to 1902 Belin catalogue); Sebastienne Boscher, dame des Aulnays et de Bocquemar (Beauce), sixteenth century (ownership inscriptions on fols. 232r and 252v); P. A. B. Widener, Philadelphia; Joseph E. Widener, Philadelphia, 1915; given by his children, Josephine Widener Wichfeld and Peter A. B. Widener, to the Free Library of Philadelphia in 1944, in memory of their father
   

Related resources

• Catalogue general des manuscripts des bibliothèques publiques de France, vol. 10 (Paris: E. Plon, Nourrit, 1889), pp. 338-339, no. 84.
• Catalogue de livres rares manuscrits avec miniatures, Théophile Belin, Paris, 1902, no. 2.
• Durrieu, Paul, "Les Heures du Maréchal de Boucicaut du Musée Jacquemart-André," Revue de l'art Chrétien, vol. 63 (1913), p. 308, and vol. 64 (1914), pp. 28-29 (mistakenly as "M.J. Pierpont Morgan").
• De Ricci, Seymour, with the assistance of W. J. Wilson, Census of Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts in the United States and Canada, vol. 2 (New York,: H. W. Wilson, 1935-40), p. 2116, no. 6.
• Supplement to the Census of Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts in the United States and Canada, originated by C. U. Faye, continued and edited by W. H. Bond (New York: The Bibliographical Society of America, 1962), p. 453.
• Pächt, Otto, "The Limbourgs and Pisanello," Gazette des Beaux-Arts, ser. 6, 62 (September 1963): pp. 116-118 (article pp. 110-122).
• Millard Meiss with Kathleen Morand and Edith W. Kirsch, French Painting in the Time of Jean de Berry: The Boucicaut Master, National Gallery of Art, Kress Foundation Studies in the History of European Art, no. 3, (London: Phaidon, 1968), pp. 140, 143, fn. 6.
• Millard Meiss, French Painting in the Time of Jean de Berry: The Late Fourteenth Century and the Patronage of the Duke, National Gallery of Art, Kress Foundation Studies in the History of European Art, no. 2, 2nd ed. (London: Phaidon, 1969), text. vol. p. 358.
• Millard Meiss, French Painting in the Time of Jean de Berry: The Limbourgs and their Contemporaries (New York: George Brazillier for The Pierpont Morgan Library, 1974), p. 388.
• Free Library of Philadelphia. Saints, Scribes, and Scholars: An Exhibition of Illuminated Manuscripts and Early Printed Books from the Collections of the Rare Book Department of the Free Library of Philadelphia. Compiled by Satoko I. Parker, Walter A. Frankel, and Marie E. Korey (Philadelphia: The Free Library of Philadelphia, 1988), p. 16.
• Edwin Wolf 2nd ed., Legacies of Genius: A Celebration of Philadelphia Libraries, a Selection of Books, Manuscripts, and Works of Art (Philadelphia: Philadelphia Area Consortium of Special Collections Libraries, 1988), p. 36, no. 3.
• Duclow, Donald F., "Dying Well: The Ars moriendi and the Dormition of the Virgin," in Death and Dying in the Middle Ages, ed. Edelgard E. DuBruck and Barbara I. Gusick, Studies in the Humanities: Literature-Politics-Society, vol. 45 (New York: Peter Lang, 1999), p. 393, figs. 22, 23.
• Bartz, Gabrielle, Der Boucicaut-Meister: Ein unbekanntes Stundenbuch, Illuminationen: Studien und Monographien, vol. 1 (Röthalmünster, Germany: Heribert Tenschert, Katalog 42, 1999), p. 123.
• Philadelphia Museum of Art, Leaves of Gold: Manuscript Illumination from Philadelphia Collections, edited by James R. Tanis (Philadelphia: Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2001), pp. 103-104, no. 32.
• Deuffic, Jean Luc, Philadelphia, Free Library, Widener 6. Des possesseurs bretons: Sébastienne Boscher et Christophe de Caradreux (http://blog.pecia.fr/post/2012/08/25/Philadelphia,-Free-Library,-Widener-6.-Les-possesseurs-bretons-%3A-S%C3%A9bastienne-Bosher-et-Christophe-de-Caradreux)

Keywords

• Book of Hours
• 15th century
• French
• Illumination
• France
• Devotion
• Notable binding

Licenses

• Text

  These images and the content of Free Library of Philadelphia Widener 6: Book of Hours, use of Paris are free of known copyright restrictions and in the public domain. See the Creative Commons Public Domain Mark page for usage details, http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/.

  URL

  http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

• Text

  To the extent possible under law, Free Library of Philadelphia, Special Collections has waived all copyright and related or neighboring rights to this metadata about Free Library of Philadelphia Widener 6: Book of Hours, use of Paris. This work is published from: United States. For a summary of CC0, see https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/. Legal code: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/legalcode.

  URL

  https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/legalcode

Table of contents

• fol. 1r — Calendar for the Use of Paris, in French
• fol. 13r — Gospel Lessons
• fol. 20v — O Intemerata
• fol. 24r — Obsecro te
• fol. 29r — Hours of the Virgin, Use of Paris
• fol. 114r — Penitential Psalms, Litany, and Prayers
• fol. 135v — Hours of the Cross
• fol. 147v — Hours of the Holy Spirit
• fol. 158v — Office of the Dead, Use of Paris
• fol. 215r — Suffrages
• fol. 225r — Fifteen Joys of the Virgin, in French, followed by preface to the Prayer to the Five Wounds of Christ, in French
• fol. 232r — Ownership inscription in later sixteenth century hand
• fol. 232v — Seven Requests to Our Lord, in French
• fol. 237r — Masses of the Virgin, the Holy Cross, the Holy Spirit, and for the Dead
• fol. 252v — Ownership inscription in later sixteenth century hand

Decorations

• Inside front cover — Bookplate, Joseph E. Widener
• fol. 13r — Large miniature, Saint John
• fol. 13r — Illuminated foliate border with acanthus leaves
• fol. 13r — Illuminated initial I
• fol. 15r — Large miniature, Saint Luke
• fol. 15r — Illuminated initial I
• fol. 17r — Large miniature, Saint Matthew
• fol. 17r — Illuminated foliate border with acanthus leaves
• fol. 17r — Illuminated initial I
• fol. 19r — Large miniature, Saint Mark
• fol. 19r — Illuminated initial I
• fol. 20v — Large miniature, Virgin and Child
• fol. 20v — Illuminated foliate border with acanthus leaves
• fol. 20v — Illuminated initial O
• fol. 24r — Illuminated initial O
• fol. 29r — Large miniature, Annunciation
• fol. 29r — Illuminated foliate border with blue and orange flowers
• fol. 57r — Large miniature, Visitation
• fol. 57r — Illuminated initial D
• fol. 71r — Large miniature, Nativity
• fol. 71r — Illuminated foliate border with acanthus leaves and birds
• fol. 71r — Illuminated initial D
• fol. 78v — Large miniature, Presentation in the Temple
• fol. 79r — Large miniature, Annunciation to the Shepherds
• fol. 79r — Large historiated initial D with angels and scroll with musical notation
• fol. 79r — Foliate border with acanthus leaves
• fol. 90r — Large miniature, Flight into Egypt
• fol. 90r — Illuminated foliate border with acanthus leaves
• fol. 90r — Illuminated initial D
• fol. 96r — Large miniature, Death of the Virgin
• fol. 96r — Foliate border with acanthus leaves
• fol. 96r — Illuminated initial D
• fol. 105v — Large miniature, Coronation of the Virgin
• fol. 105v — Illuminated foliate border with acanthus leaves
• fol. 105v — Illuminated initial C
• fol. 114r — Large miniature, God the Father with evangelist symbols
• fol. 114r — Illuminated initial D
• fol. 135v — Large miniature, Agony in the Garden
• fol. 135v — Foliate border with acanthus leaves
• fol. 135v — Illuminated initial D
• fol. 137r — Large miniature, Arrest of Christ
• fol. 137v — Large miniature, Christ before Pilate
• fol. 137v — Illuminated foliate border with acanthus leaves
• fol. 137v — Illuminated initial D
• fol. 139r — Large miniature, Flagellation
• fol. 139r — Illuminated initial D
• fol. 140v — Large miniature, Christ Carrying the Cross
• fol. 140v — Illuminated foliate border with acanthus leaves
• fol. 140v — Illuminated initial D
• fol. 142r — Large miniature, Christ Nailed to the Cross
• fol. 142r — Illuminated foliate border with acanthus leaves
• fol. 142r — Illuminated initial D
• fol. 143v — Large miniature, Crucifixion
• fol. 144r — Large miniature, Deposition
• fol. 144r — Illuminated initial D
• fol. 145v — Large miniature, Entombment
• fol. 145v — Illuminated foliate border with acanthus leaves
• fol. 145v — Illuminated initial C
• fol. 147v — Large miniature, Noli Me Tangere
• fol. 147v — Illuminated foliate border with acanthus leaves
• fol. 147v — Illuminated initial D
• fol. 149r — Large miniature, Christ with the Three Marys
• fol. 149r — Illuminated initial D
• fol. 150v — Large miniature, Saint James the Great Converting Hermogenes
• fol. 150v — Inhabited foliate border with acanthus leaves, grotesques and human figures in roundels
• fol. 150v — Illuminated initial D
• fol. 152r — Large miniature, Christ Calling Saints Peter and Andrew
• fol. 152r — Illuminated initial D
• fol. 153v — Large miniature, The Doubting of Thomas
• fol. 153v — Illuminated initial D
• fol. 155r — Large miniature, Pentecost
• fol. 155r — Illuminated initial D
• fol. 156v — Large miniature, Coronation of the Virgin
• fol. 156v — Illuminated initial C
• fol. 158v — Large miniature, Burial
• fol. 158v — Illuminated foliate border with acanthus leaves inhabited with prophets reading in lower roundels and a mourner and an angel in the roundels on the left side
• fol. 215r — Large miniature, Angels in Adoration of Jeweled Cross
• fol. 215r — Illuminated foliate border with acanthus leaves
• fol. 215r — Illuminated initial C
• fol. 217r — Large miniature, Saint John the Baptist
• fol. 217r — Illuminated foliate border with acanthus leaves
• fol. 217r — Illuminated initial H
• fol. 218r — Large miniature, Saint Sebastian
• fol. 218r — Illuminated foliate border with acanthus leaves
• fol. 218r — Illuminated initial O
• fol. 219v — Large miniature, Saint Nicholas
• fol. 219v — Illuminated foliate border with acanthus leaves
• fol. 219v — Illuminated initial B
• fol. 220v — Large miniature, Saint Anthony
• fol. 220v — Illuminated foliate border with acanthus leaves
• fol. 220v — Illuminated initial U
• fol. 222r — Large miniature, Saint Michael
• fol. 222r — Illuminated foliate border with acanthus leaves
• fol. 222r — Illuminated initial M
• fol. 223r — Large miniature, Saint Mary Magdalen
• fol. 223r — Illuminated foliate border with acanthus leaves
• fol. 223r — Illuminated initial O
• fol. 224r — Large miniature, Saint Catherine
• fol. 224r — Illuminated foliate border with acanthus leaves
• fol. 224r — Illuminated initial V
• fol. 225r — Large miniature, Virgin and Child
• fol. 225r — Foliate border with acanthus leaves
• fol. 225r — Illuminated initial D
• fol. 231v — Illuminated initial Q
• fol. 232v — Large miniature, Christ in Majesty
• fol. 232v — Illuminated initial D
• fol. 236v — Large miniature, Virgin and Child with Choir of Monks Singing