Renaissance Psalter/Prayerbook Leaf, c. 1524

Original leaf from a richly illuminated manuscript Psalter-Prayer-book. 19-21 lines of Latin text. Written in unusual gothic cursive script on animal vellum. (For sister leaves see The Blackburn Collection of Manuscript Illuminations, The Cleveland Museum of Art). This leaf is from North Germany, possibly Hildesheim and is dated around 1524. Four three-line illuminated initials in gold or silver on blue, red or rust ground with gold or silver tracery. Sixteen one-line initials in gold or silver on blue, red or rust ground. Elaborate panel borders with full gold ground, strewn with diverse floral motifs-plus putto holding a bouquet of flowers and a bird (young European roller)balancing on the stem of a flower. The illuminated I” opens Psalm 85: ” Inclina… ( Incline thy ear, O Lord, and hear me…) This highly personalized prayer-book was written and illuminated, as evidenced by the painted Arms of Mansfeld ( a prominent North German family) on a leaf, and the incluson of St. Godehard (d.1038), bishop of Hildesheim, portrayed as a miniature on another leaf. The date 1524 occurs in two locations in the prayer-book.

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