Hours: MS McClean 89

Titles

Hours

Entities

• Book of hours
• Use of Sarum

Categories

• Illuminated manuscript
• Manuscript

Description

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Parchment, ii modern paper flyleaves (first one glued onto blue silk) + iii contemporary parchment flyleaves (foliated ii – iv) + 134 fols. + ii modern paper flyleaves (second one glued onto blue silk), 201 x 142 (134 x 95) mm, 22 long lines, ruled in pink ink.

BINDING: nineteenth century, gold-tooled red leather over wooden boards, centre and corner design consisting of a cross and four floral motifs painted on parchment, edges gilt and guaffered, metal plate on upper cover, clasp and catchplate on lower cover lost, traces of two fastening devices from earlier binding of fol. i (former pastedown); covers from fifteenth-century binding pasted inside upper and lower covers: brown leather, four blind-stamped panels on each cover containing stamps of dragon, ape and foliate motifs surrounded by inscription Adoramus te Christe et benedicimus tibi quia per sanctam crucem tuam redemisti mundum.

CONTENTS: fols. 2r – 3r Suffrage for the Holy Trinity, Domine deus omnipotens pater et filius et spiritus sanctus; fols. 4r – 8v Fifteen Oes; fols. 10r – 11v Bede’s prayer on the Seven Last Words; fol. 12r-v Indulgenced prayer at the Elevation of the Host, Domine Ihesu Christi qui hanc sacratissimam carnem, and two prayers on the Sacrament, Anima Christi and Ave verum corpus; fols. 13r – 25v Suffrages; fols. 27r – 32v Calendar ; fols. 34r – 64r Hours of the Virgin, with memoriae at Lauds; fols. 65r – 68r Salutations to the Virgin; fols. 69r – 73v Penitential Psalms; fols. 73v – 75r Gradual Psalms; fols. 75r – 81r Litany with collects; fols. 82r – 97r Office of the Dead; fols. 98r – 107r Commendation of the Souls; fols. 108r – 111r Psalms of the Passion; fols. 111v – 121r Psalter of St Jerome; fols. 122r – 123v Obsecro te; fols. 124r – 125r O intemerata; fols. 126r – 128r Prayers on the Five Wounds and the Passion; fols. 128r – 129v Records of Skipwith family (addition); fols. 130v – 132r Medical recipe, ‘makyng of a Soveraygn water’ according to ‘Doctor Steven physycon & great connyng man’ (addition); fol. 134r Records of debts (addition).

DECORATION: Sixteen full-page framed miniatures with full acanthus and floral spraywork borders at main text divisions: fol. 1v Suffrage for the Holy Trinity, Throne of Mercy Trinity with angels, without dove of the Holy Spirit; fol. 3v Fifteen Oes, Crucifixion with Virgin, St John and Thieves; fol. 9v Bede’s prayer on the Seven Last Words, St Bede shown with staff-cross and papal tiara; fol. 33v Hours of the Virgin, Matins, Annunciation; fol. 39r Lauds, Visitation; fol. 49r Prime, Adoration of the Child; fol. 52v Terce, Adoration of the Magi; fol. 54v Sext, Flight into Egypt; fol. 56v None, Resurrection, Christ stepping from tomb, soldiers watching; fol. 58v Vespers, Assumption of the Virgin; fol. 60v Compline, Coronation of the Virgin; fol. 68v Penitential Psalms, Last Judgement, Christ between sword and lily, Virgin and St John interceding; fol. 81v Office of the Dead, Funeral service; fol. 97v Commendation of the Souls, Soul borne to heaven, Christ blessing between angels; fol. 107v Psalms of the Passion, Man of Sorrows with full Instruments of the Passion; fol. 112v Psalter of St Jerome, St Jerome standing beside lectern with open book, lion at his feet; fol. 125v Prayers on the Five Wounds, Mass of St Gregory.

Sixteen historiated initials in white-patterned blue on pink grounds or in gold on pink and blue white-patterned grounds (fol. 124r), with partial acanthus and floral spraywork borders, at lesser text divisions: fol. 12r Indulgenced prayer at the Elevation of the Host, [D, 8 ll.] Elevation of the Host before suppliant woman with book; fol. 13r Suffrages, [G, 8 ll.] St John the Baptist; fol. 14r [G, 8 ll.] St George; fol. 15r [O, 8 ll.] St Christopher; fol. 16r [O, 8 ll.] St Anthony; fol. 17r [O, 8 ll.] Martyrdom of St Erasmus; fol. 18r [O, 8 ll.] St Nicholas blessing youths in tub; fol. 19r [L, 8 ll.] St Giles; fol. 20r [G, 8 ll.] St Catherine; fol. 21r [G, 8 ll.] St Margaret; fol. 22r [G, 8 ll.] St Barbara; fol. 23r [G, 8 ll.] St Mary Magdalene; fol. 24r [V, 8 ll.] St Ursula; fol. 25r [G, 8 ll.] St Anne teaching the Virgin to read; fol. 65r Salutations of the Virgin, [S, 6 ll.] Virgin between angel and altar; fol. 124r O intemerata,[O, 7 ll.] Virgin and Child with angel.

ORNAMENTATION: Blue or pink white-patterned initials [6 ll.] with foliate infill on gold grounds; gold initials [2 ll.] on pink and blue white-patterned grounds; alternate gold and blue one-line initials with black or red pen-flourishing; blue and gold geometric line-fillers.

Notes

History note: Skipwith family, South Ormsby, Lincolnshire: Margaret Skipwith’s name and motto Nec temere nec timide (fol. iii recto), birthdays of William Skipwith’s children entered by him with dates between 1587 and 1594 (fol. 128r-v), birthdays of Henry Skipwith’s children entered by him with dates between 1613 and 1623 (fol. 129r-v), birthdays of children of earlier William Skipwith with dates between 1510 and 1529 and of Lyon Skipwith’s children with dates between 1555 and 1573 added in Calendar; Lord Strafford’s sale, Christie’s, London, 28 July 1885, lot 51; Frank McClean (1837 – 1904); his bequest 1904.