Book of Hours Leaf

This is an original leaf from a medieval Book of Hours. The text consists of 18 lines, written in Latin with dark brown ink on animal vellum. There is one two-line initial in gold on blue and red ground with white tracery; and twelve one-line initials alternating in gold and blue with red or blue pen work tracery. Rubrics are in red. The one-line initial F” begins Psalm 129:2-8: “Fiant?” (Let thy ears be attentive to the voice of my supplication?). The two-line gold “D” begins Psalm 142:1-5 “Domine exaudi?” (Hear, O Lord, my prayer; give ear to my supplication in thy truth?).Book of Hours are personal prayerbooks of a devout and status-conscious society and are not only works of art, but cultural documents of their time. They reveal a unique combination of sacred and secular imagery – made of the finest materials, by the best craftsmen, for a small audience that could both appreciate and afford them.

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