Original leaf from a French medieval illuminated manuscript Book of Hours. 17 lines of hand-ruled text written in Latin with black ink in fine bold gothic textura script on animal vellum.
Thirty-one one-line illuminated initials and thirty-one line extenders alternating in burnished gold with blue penwork and blue with red penwork – many extending into the margins.
Origin: Paris, France circa 1425-1450 Size : 6.1 x 4.5 inches, (155 x 114mm)
The one-line illuminated “S” continues the Litany of the Saints (first prescribed by Pope Gregory in 590 for a public thanksgiving following a plague that ravaged Rome): Names of saints are listed with each invocation followed by the abbreviation for “ora pro nobis” (Pray for us). Among the saints listed are: Archangel Michael, Archangel Gabriel (patron of messengers), Archangel Raphael (patron of travelers), St John the Baptist, St. Peter, St. Paul, St. Andrew, St. James, St. John, St. Thomas, St. Matthew, Simon, and St. Luke).
Provenance: Written for the Use of Paris – Rare inclusion of St. Bruno in the Litany indicates possible ownership by a monk of the Carthusian Monastery of Vauvert (Order of St Bruno), Paris (established 1257, dissolved 1792).
Shipped unmatted
