A Book of Hours containing an opening prayer to Saint Veronica, a calendar, Hours of the Cross, Hours of the Holy Spirit, Hours of the Virgin starting with the Virgin enthroned, Lauds, a second series of Hours of the Virgin, a Litany which ends in French Saints, Office of the Dead, and Suffrages. Most sections open with full page miniatures of saints in gold-camaieu frames surrounded by achanthus flowers. At the beginning of the Hours of the Virgin, there is evidence of a possible diptych. The calendar includes the following saints in red: Saint Sandone and Saint Martin, likely indicating the book's use in Paris.
Purchased from James Gray Bookseller (633J) by Western Michigan University Special Collections in 2023.
uere? in terris per speculum in enigmate venerari et adorare te ipsum valeamus
Manuscripts, Latin (Medieval and modern)
Tightly rebound at a later date in red velvet over boards, spine with three raised bands. The velvet is significantly scuffed and worn exposing the raw fabric underneath. Holes on the upper and lower boards indicate presence of a clasp, now missing. Heavily trimmed. Parchment is stained. Significant rodent, worm and possibly ink-burn damage to some pages with loss of text.
Most sections open with a full-page miniature. The miniatures include: portrait of Christ, the Crucifixion, Madonna and Child, Angel holding staff and letter [Annunciation], Visit of a seraph, Solomon on his throne and slaughter of innocence, Flight out of Egypt, Monk in a Coffin, Saint Jerome with lion, Saint Anthony with a pig, Saint George slaying a dragon, and Saint Catherine and her wheel. Rubricated in red, some heavily faded. Four-line initials at the beginning of each section in gold with floral decoration. Two-line initials through alternating blue and gold with alternating blue and red frames and white penwork. One-line initials throughout in blue with red pen-florishes. Some one-line initials in gold with blue or black pen-florishes later in the manuscript. Offsets present.
Written in textualis formata (textus quadratus) script.
Manuscript 198, Western Michigan University Special Collection
SchoenbergInstitute. 2023. “Coffee with a Codex: Book of Hours (Western Michigan University MS 198).” YouTube. May 12, 2023. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0l-Pu-oZ7ec.
Digital reproduction published by Western Michigan University and made available for private study, scholarship or research use under applicable U.S. Law. Access to digital reproductions provided by Special Collections at Zhang Legacy Collections Center, Western Michigan University.