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Hours: MS 339

An image of Book of hours

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Object information

Current Location: In storage

Titles

Hours

Entities

Categories

Description

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Parchment, i parchment flyleaf + 140 fols. + i parchment flyleaf, 119 x 85 mm (66 x 54 mm), 15 long lines, ruled in plummet, catchwords

BINDING: Nineteenth century, red velvet over pasteboards.

CONTENTS:
fols. 1r-12v Calendar
fols. 13r-55v Hours of the Virgin
fols. 55v-62v Psalms for the Office of the Virgin on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and on Wednesdays and Saturdays
fols. 63r-70v Office of the Virgin for Advent and from Christmas to the Purification
fols. 71v-91v Penitential Psalms
fols. 93r-125r Office of the Dead
fols. 125v-126v Hymn to the Virgin in Italian, Ave de celi imperatrice sancta
fols. 127r-130v Hours of the Cross
fols. 131r-133v Office of St Catherine
fols. 134r-140v Prayer to the Virgin, Domina mea sancta Maria perpetua virgo

DECORATION: Eleven historiated initials on gold grounds with elaborate full or partial borders incorporating foliage coils, flowers, putti, human figures, some as busts, birds and gold balls: fol. 13r Hours of the Virgin, Matins, [D, 8 ll.] Seated Virgin and Child, the Child holding a bird, with a wide full border incorporating putti, birds, peacocks, a three-quarter length Annunciation, set in foliage coils of red, blue and green with gold balls; fol. 22r Lauds, [D, 6 ll.] Half-length saint holding a stone and a woman in a red robe; fol. 33r Prime, [D, 6 ll.] Bust of a prophet; fol. 37r Terce, [D, 6 ll.] Bust of a saint; fol. 40r Sext, [D, 6 ll.] Bust of a saint; fol. 43r None, [D, 6 ll.] Bust of a saint, with a half-length bishop and two half-length saints in the border; fol. 46r Vespers, [D, 6 ll.] Bust of a saint; fol. 52r Compline, [C, 6 ll.] Bearded man pointing upwards; fol. 71r Penitential Psalms, [D, 6 ll.] David kneeling in prayer in a landscape, with a very wide full border containing a bearded man praying, a fashionably dressed youth wearing a hat, the apostles at Pentecost, three half-length saints, the central one flanked by peacocks, and five small figures in medallions; fol. 93r Office of the Dead, [D, 6 ll.] Man lying on a bier, with a partial border, very wide at the bottom, containing a kneeling man in a brown habit watched by another man, behind whom stands an angel; fol. 127r, Hours of the Cross, [D, 6 ll.] Green cross on a green ground.

ORNAMENTATION: Foliage initial [C, 6 ll.] with a full acanthus and floral border for the Office of St Catherine (fol. 131r); alternate gold and blue initials [2 lll.] with violet or red pen flourishing.

Notes

History note: Alfred Aaron de Pass (1861-1952), who presented it to the Museum in 1933 in memory of his son, Crispin (Trinity Hall), who was killed in WWI in 1918 (bookplate inside upper cover).

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Given (1933) by Aaron de Pass, Alfred

Dating

15th Century, third quarter
Circa 1450 CE - Circa 1460 CE

People, subjects and objects depicted

Project

  • Cambridge Illuminated

Materials used in production

Gold

Components of the work

Support composed of parchment

Techniques used in production

Penwork
Illumination

Inscription or legends present

  • Text: omnes deos
  • Location: Fol. 14r
  • Type: Secundo folio

References and bibliographic entries

Related exhibitions

Identification numbers

Accession number: MS 339
Primary reference Number: 179713
Project ID: 3498
Stable URI

Audit data

Created: Saturday 6 August 2011 Updated: Tuesday 20 August 2024 Last processed: Thursday 14 August 2025

Associated departments & institutions

Owner or interested party: The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department: Manuscripts and Printed Books

Citation for print

This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:

The Fitzwilliam Museum (2025) "Hours" Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/179713 Accessed: 2025-12-05 13:42:47

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{{cite web|url=https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/179713 |title=Hours |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2025-12-05 13:42:47|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

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