Hours: MS McClean 69

Titles

Hours

Maker(s)

Scribe: Clavario, Michael de Franchis de (Chivasso)

Entities

• Book of hours
• Use of Rome

Categories

• Illuminated manuscript
• Manuscript

Description

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Parchment, iii paper flyleaves + 141 fols. + vi paper flyleaves, 126 x 89 mm (70–74 x 48 mm), 14–15 long lines, ruled in brown ink, quire and leaf signatures, catchwords, leaves lost before fol. 1.

BINDING: Seventeenth century, dark brown leather over pasteboards, sewn on three supports, two leather straps with scallop-shell metal clasps on upper cover, two pins on lower cover, edges gilt and gauffered.

CONTENTS:
fols. 1r–69r Hours of the Virgin
fols. 69v–70v Prayer rubricated Oratio magne virtutis dicenda pro peste, inc. O dulcissima et clementissima virgo (later addition)
fols. 71r–110r Office of the Dead (with prayers added in the lower margins of fols. 109r, 109v and 110r)
fols. 110v–114r Short Hours of the Cross (with prayer added in the lower margin of fol. 114r)
fols. 114v–118r Hours of the Holy Spirit
fol. 118r–118v Prayer rubricated Oratio S. Raphaelis, inc. Pro Parentum defontorum (later addition)
fols. 119r–141r Penitential Psalms and Litany

DECORATION: Thirteen historiated initials in graded pink and acanthus on gold grounds, with full or one-sided floral and spraywork borders, the full ones containing animals, birds and putti: fol. 1r Hours of the Virgin, Matins, [D, 7 ll.] Virgin and Child, the Virgin swaddling the child, with full border including an unidentified shield of arms; fol. 13r Lauds, [D, 6 ll.] St John the Evangelist; fol. 26r Prime, [D, 6 ll.] The Virgin at prayer;
fol. 30v Terce, space left blank for initial (guide letter visible) ; fol. 34v Sext, [D, 6 ll.] Nimbed young man; fol. 38r None, [D, 6 ll.] Nimbed young man; fol. 41v Vespers, [D, 5 ll.] Nimbed older woman with book; fol. 49r Compline, [D, 3 ll.] Nimbed young man; fol. 52v Readings and psalms for Tuesday and Friday, [E, 4 ll.] Nimbed young man praying; fol. 71r Office of the Dead, [D, 6 ll.] Bearded man at prayer, with full border; fol. 110v Short Hours of the Cross, [D, 5 ll.] Christ as Man of Sorrows, with full border; fol. 114v Hours of the Holy Spirit, [D, 6 ll.] Pentecost, with full border; fol. 119r Penitential Psalms, [D, 6 ll.] David penitent, with full border.

ORNAMENTATION: Gold initials [2–3 ll.] on blue and dark pink grounds with delicate, white foliate motifs for lesser text divisions; alternate gold and blue one-line initials with blue or red pen flourishing; rubrics in gold for major text divisions.

Notes

History note: Unidentified arms in the border of fol. 1r, azure a flag or with cross gules supported by two lions or, dependent from a bar gules, in chief three fleur-de-lys or; Francesco Campolonghi, 1602 (ownership inscription, fol. 1r); purchased by Frank McClean (1837–1904) in Rome (James 1912a, 140); his bequest, 1904.