Manuscript on parchment of a Book of Hours with full calendar, Fifteen Joys of the Virgin, Seven Requests, and a sonnet, all in French. The volume was misbound, with many folios out of order; it was corrected by N. R. Ker in 1971
Description:
In Latin., Script: Written in gothic script of two sizes, verging on batarde, by one person., Two miniatures (ff. 84r and 131r) of poor quality remain. The location of the other miniatures can no longer be determined due to rebinding. On f. 84r Pentecost, in an arched frame; miniature and text in a 3/4 bar border, gold with flowers, attached to an historiated initial (Dove) and a full acanthus border (blue and beige acanthus, flowers, birds, and gold dots) with four scenes inserted in corners, clockwise from lower right: Christ on the road to Emmaus, Christ appearing to Mary Magdelen, Noli me tangere, and the Ascension; the entirety within a blue bounding line. On f. 131r the Virgin and Child enthroned, with two angels in a thick brown arched frame; miniatures and text in a 3/4 border, a twig with branches lopped off, in blue with white highlights, attached to an historiated initial (Joseph) and a full acanthus border, as above, with a green bounding line. 6-line historiated initial in the same style on f. 139v, with St. Dionysius and his companions, Rusticus and Eleutherius. On all other pages, outer margin, traced border as above, with green bounding line, except ff. 23-29 (quire III), in red. 2-line initials, blue or pink with white highlights on gold ground, filled with flowers, fruit, or ivy. 1-line initials and line-endings, gold on pink and blue grounds, with white highlights. KL monograms in Calendar, as 2-line initials; names of months, dates, and important feasts in gold; other feasts alternately in red and blue., Water damage on ff. 2 and 3; portion of border on f. 35 cut out; last folio damaged by moisture and acid., and Binding: 1976. Dark brown calf over wooden boards, blind-tooled. Bound in Yale Library Conservation Studio. Previous French binding, 19th century, boxed with the codex.
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut and New Haven.
Subject (Name):
Catholic Church
Subject (Topic):
Books of hours, Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, and Manuscripts, Medieval
Manuscript on parchment of a Book of Hours, with Calendar and prayers to the Virgin in French
Description:
In Latin and French., Script: Two hands can be distinguished: ff. 1r-6v and 15r-63r are written in a small, even batarde; ff. 7r-14v in a rounded gothic script showing some batarde characteristics. Folios 7-14 may have been added later, judging by the difference in the style and color of the miniatures and their placement on the page. Prayers added on ff. 63v-64v in batarde, early 16th century., Sixteen camaieu-gris miniatures by three artists, in tondo format, with gold frames inscribed in white capitals. The miniatures on ff. 15v and 19v are by the leading artist; the remainder are by a competent assistant (with the exception of ff. 7v, 8r, 9r, and 10r, which are of inferior quality). 4-, 3-, 2-, and 1-line initials, grey with gold highlights, on a black ground, some with leaves and dots in gold. On ff. 7r-14v the letters are composed of leaf forms. Ribbon line-fillers, geometric and leaf forms, gold, grey, and white on black. Rubrics in pale red. Calendar has KL monogram as 2-line initials, month and dates in red; feasts in blue, major feasts in red., The black ink of the initials has run on many pages, and has sometimes adhered to the opposite pages., and Binding: 18th-19th centuries. Brown goatskin gold-tooled, silver fastenings. On the spine, flowers and the words "Heur en Latin. MSS. S. Velin en Min."
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut and New Haven.
Subject (Name):
Catholic Church
Subject (Topic):
Books of hours, Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, and Manuscripts, Medieval
In Latin., Script: Written by a single scribe in Southern Gothica Textualis Libraria (Rotunda), especially marked by the use of two forms of d (Uncial and Half-Uncial)., Headings in red. The decoration consists of (1) alternately gold and blue flourished initials, 1 line, within the text and in the Litany; the penwork is mauve with the gold initials, red with the blue ones; (2) dentelle initials, 2 lines, also used for "KL" in the Calendar; (3) decorated foliate initials, 5 lines, with full "Ferrarese" borders, painted at the beginning of the Hours from Lauds to Compline in the Hours of the Virgin; (4) large historiated initials, mostly 7 lines, at the opening of the various sections: f. 13r (Hours of the Virgin), Virgin with Child, full border with in its lower section a shield held by two putti; f. 93r (Penitential Psalms), King David in prayer, full border; f. 117v (Hours of the Cross), the Cross on a hill, two-margins border; f. 122r (Hours of the Holy Spirit), the Holy Spirit as a dove, two-margins border; f. 126r (Mass of the Virgin), a lily, full border., and Binding: Eighteenth century (?). Parchment checkered with green-gold motifs. On the spine red title-label with gold-tooled inscription "Manuscrit du XIIIe siecle".
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut and New Haven.
Subject (Name):
Catholic Church
Subject (Topic):
Books of hours, Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, and Manuscripts, Medieval
Manuscript on parchment of Book of Hours, with Full calendar in French
Description:
In Latin and French., Script: Written in elegant batarde., Fourteen full-page miniatures in elaborate architectural frames, gold, with marbelized columns on plinths capped with a lintel or arched, scalloped or triangular pediments, with swags and putti. Twenty-five small miniatures, 13- or 12-line, in black and gold frames, one, f. 106v in a gold and magenta arched frame. Calendar with twenty-four small miniatures in upright rectangular brown and gold frames in outer margin; occupations of the months on rectos, signs of zodiac on versos. 6-line initials with full-page miniatures, blue curling scrolls filled with red, blue and green flowers against gold or gold flowers against red; red and gold grounds with gold filigree. 3- to 1-line initials, gold, against red or blue grounds. Line-fillers and KL monograms in the same manner. Feasts alternate red and blue, with important feasts in gold. Rubrics throughout., and Binding: 18th-19th centuries. Brown calf, gold-tooled, in a reddish-brown gold-tooled box lined with a paste paper. Traces of two fastenings.
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut and New Haven.
Subject (Name):
Catholic Church
Subject (Topic):
Books of hours, Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, and Manuscripts, Medieval
Manuscript on parchment a Book of Hours, use of Rome, notable for its elaborate cycle of illumination; with a full calendar in French
Description:
In Latin and French., Script: Written in a gothic book hand by a single scribe., Large miniatures, facing text pages, and Calendar pages are in architectural frames, gold with red and blue panels; the frames of the miniatures are inscribed with the opening words of the text along the lower edge. A few small miniatures (14- to 6-line) are inserted in the text. Historiated borders in outer and lower margins, framed by red and gold columns and/or a red and gold bounding line; upper border, a thin panel, either pink with gold filigree and gold foliage, or flowers and acanthus on gold and parchment grounds., The series of 12 Sibyls on ff. 51v-61v are accompanied by texts on scrolls in the lower border (except f. 56v), most of which correspond to the set used in the painted decoration of the Roman palace of Cardinal Giordano Orsini (d. 1438). The texts in MS 411 are often garbled and misspelled. On the page facing each Sibyl, or on the same page (f. 56v and f. 61v) are border scenes from the life of Christ, to which the prophecies are supposed to refer, and appropriate biblical passages on a scroll in the lower border., and Binding: Twentieth century. Dark blue velvet case. Bound by J. Greenfield in the Yale Conservation Studio, 1984-85.
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut and New Haven.
Subject (Name):
Catholic Church
Subject (Topic):
Books of hours, Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, and Manuscripts, Medieval
Manuscript on parchment (extremely fine; trimmed).
Description:
In Latin., Script: Written in round gothic script by one scribe., Miniatures, borders, and initials of very high quality, executed by an artist of the Ghent-Bruges school. In the calendar, 24 miniatures, painted so that the written space appears to be superimposed on a full-page picture; the sign of the zodiac for each month is set in a small gold or grey oval above the second page for each month. Each calendar page enclosed in a gold and brown frame., Six miniatures with full borders, in frames. The manuscript almost certainly contained 16 more full-page miniatures that are now missing (see MS 287A). Twelve illuminated initials, 5-line, letters formed of curling acanthus on pink and/or blue, brown and green, or blue and green grounds; borders of flowers or architectural elements. Border decoration on every page without a full border: one bird, flower, grotesque, piece of jewelry, insect, or, occasionally, a household utensil, in each of the three outer margins, traced and painted on the following verso. 2- and 1-line initials in the same style as 5-line initials, with blue or pink grounds. Ribbon line fillers in the same style. Rubrication in pale crimson: in calendar, for months, dates, and important feasts., Water has caused ink to run in the upper left of f. 151r; no loss of text., and Binding: Nineteenth century (?). Gilt, gauffered edges. Previously bound in brick colored velvet, over wooden boards; remains of velvet on turn-ins. An elaborate clasp with round blue sapphire and the initials "V. M." joined by a love knot on the inner side. Rebacked.
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut and New Haven.
Subject (Name):
Catholic Church
Subject (Topic):
Books of hours, Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, and Manuscripts, Medieval
Manuscript on parchment of a Book of Hours with Calendar (rather empty) and headings in French
Description:
In Latin., Script: Written in formal batarde script; ff. 238r-241v in a different hand than the preceding folios, but probably almost contemporary., Thirteen undistinguished historiated initials (6-, 4-, and 3-line), ca. 1460-70, blue or pink with white highlights on brown grounds with gold highlights. Six other initials (ff. 13r, 17r, 27r, 107r, 155r, and 195r) enclose carefully studied flowers. Scatter and compartmentalized borders of average quality added later, ca. 1480-1500, for the most part to pages with historiated or flower initials, similar to borders in manuscripts of the "Ghent Associates"; the majority with acanthus branches, flowers, and birds, or flowers alone scattered on backgrounds of pink, bright blue, slate blue, gold and/or black, or flowers set within a lattice of twigs, the diamonds so formed alternately pink and blue (f. 123r) or green, pink and blue (f. 238r). Three borders (ff. 27v, 69v, and 136v) with thistles, brown and blue or brown and green, touched with gold, arranged in a wallpaper-like pattern over grounds of slate-blue or red cross-hatched with lines in a darker shade of the same color. In the border on f. 107r, a grotesque with the torso of a man and the hind legs of a large cat; on f. 185r the same, holding a bow., 2-line initials in gold on pink and blue with white highlights, except on ff. 238r-241v, gold on blue and brown with white highlights. 1-line initials in blue with red penwork, or gold with black penwork, or black with a red stroke; a few spaces for such initials have not been filled. In the text, headings and marks for antiphons in red; in the calendar, headings for months, dates, and important feasts also in red. Line-fillers: two oblique lines, blue or gold, with dots attached., and Binding: Eighteenth century. Brown calf. Paste-decorated edges. Rebacked. Spine stamped with gold leaves and the words "GETEY BOEK".
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut and New Haven.
Subject (Name):
Catholic Church
Subject (Topic):
Books of hours, Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, and Manuscripts, Medieval
In Latin., Written in round gothic script, by one scribe., Twelve full-page miniatures on the verso of tipped-in leaves (blank on recto), rather routine and careless. Each miniature facing a 6-line initial, black, with white highlights, on a gold ground, filled with blue and black trilobe leaves. Ten historiated initials, in the same style as the illuminated ones, illustrating the suffrages. Each initial with a border, as above. 2-line initials, gold on red and blue grounds with white highlights; some (on rectos) with black ink hair-spray with blue and gold flowers. 1-line initials, blue, with red penwork or gold, with black penwork. Rubrication for headings and to mark antiphons, verses etc.; also for dates and major feasts in calendar., and Binding: Sixteenth century. The backs of the quires are cut in on either side of the sewing supports and at the kettle stitches. Original sewing on five supports attached to wooden boards. Edges gilt and gauffered. Covered in dark brown calf with a panel stamp of two sets of horizontal inhabited vines within text borders, divided by a line of fleurs-de-lis and flowers in diamonds. The four panels are enclosed by the inscription: "Ora pro nobis sancta dei genitrix ut digni efficiamur promissione Christi". Spine lining, endbands and silver (?) clasps and catches added when the book was rebacked. One joint cracked.
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut and New Haven.
Subject (Name):
Catholic Church
Subject (Topic):
Books of hours, Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, and Manuscripts, Medieval
Manuscript on parchment (trimmed) of a Book of Hours, with Calendar and prayers in Flemish
Description:
In Latin and Flemish., Script: Written in liturgical gothic bookhand by one scribe., Three full-page miniatures of mediocre quality. Each miniature set in a narrow frame of gold, black, pink, and white; full border of blue and gold acanthus leaves, red, pink, and blue flowers and strawberries, and black pen flecks. One 7-line historiated initial on f. 216r (Flemish Prayers): Pieta, pink with white highlights on gold; full border as above; text separated from border by a narrow band attached to initial of gold and pink, edged in black. Illuminated 5-line initials with full borders (eg. ff. 13r, 18r, 28r), pink or blue with white highlights on gold, filled with blue or pink trilobe leaves. 2-line initials, gold on pink and blue with white highlights, one on f. 92r (Advent Office) with a band attached, as above, and small sections of border, as above; one 3-line initial on f. 179r (Obsecro te) in similar manner. 1-line initials, blue with red penwork and gold with black penwork; initials within text washed in yellow. KL monograms as 2-line initials; Latin names of months and important feasts in red. Line fillers: oblique lines with dots attached, stylized plant motifs, dots, etc., in blue or gold. Rubrics in faded red., and Binding: Nineteenth century. Brown, originally black, sheepskin; stamped in gold on the spine: "Psaterium." Red edges.
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut and New Haven.
Subject (Name):
Catholic Church
Subject (Topic):
Books of hours, Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, and Manuscripts, Medieval