Book of Hours: MS 137

Titles

Book of Hours

Maker(s)

Author: Grote, Geert
Artist: Master of Catharina van Doornik and other artists

Entities

• Book of hours

Categories

• Illuminated manuscript
• Manuscript

Description

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Parchment, iii paper flyleaves + ii contemporary parchment flyleaves + 273 fols. + i paper flyleaf, 145 x 94 (89 x 58) mm, 15 long lines, ruled in purple ink, leaves lost between fols. 72 – 73, 138 – 139, 265 – 266.

BINDING: 17th century, inlaid and richly tooled red, green and brown leather over pasteboards, sewn on 5 supports, red and green endbands, edges gilt an gauffered; modern spine repair.

CONTENTS: fols. 1r – 12v Calendar; fols. 15r – 72v Hours of the Virgin; fols. 73r – 98v Hours of the Holy Spirit; fols. 100r – 136v Hours of the Cross; fol. 139r – 167v Hours of the Eternal Wisdom (begins imperfectly); fols. 167v – 169v Communion prayer; fols. 171r – 200v Penitential Psalms and Litany; fols. 202r – 245r Office of the Dead; fols. 256r – 263r Prayers at Mass; fols. 263r – 272v Suffrages.

DECORATION: Six full-page framed miniatures with full floral borders on plain parchment grounds, some including motifs related to the miniature:
fol. 14v Hours of the Virgin, Matins, Annunciation, in border pot with lilies, Daernik arms, and initials H and D; fol. 99v Hours of the Cross, Crucifixion, in border half-length angels with Instruments of the Passion; fol. 138v Hours of the Eternal Wisdom, Coronation of the Virgin; fol. 170v Penitential Psalms, David penitent; fol. 201v Office of the Dead, Angel carrying a blessed soul to heaven, souls of damned burning in Hell-Mouth, in border devils carrying souls in wheelbarrow; fol. 269v Suffrages, St Barbara reading in front of walled garden with tower.

ORNAMENTATION: Blue or pink white-patterned initials [9 ll.] with foliage infill on gold grounds and three-sided floral borders on plain parchment grounds at major text divisions; blue white-patterned initials [3 – 4 ll.] with floral infill on gold grounds and partial spraywork borders with flowers and gold leaves at lesser text divisions; alternate blue and red penwork initials [2 – 4 ll.] with red or purple pen flourish; alternate red and blue one-line penwork initials; capitals highlighted in red.

Notes

History note: Made for Deliana van Doornik (d.1520), who married Herman van Doornik, Secretary of Nijmegen (c.1466 – 1497) in 1459 (arms and initials H and D, fol. 14v); their daughter Katherina van Doornick (16th century ownership inscription on first parchment flyleaf); Elisabeth van Hooren (17th century ownership inscription, fol. 273r); Richard, seventh viscount Fitzwilliam of Merrion (1745 – 1816), acquired in 1808; his bequest, 1816.