farfel_n02_069_088

88
May 78'
Paris $26.09 120F
Book of Hours - France 15th C.
Single manuscript leaf - written on vellium in a gothic hand
15 lines to the page. 4 1/4" x 6 1/4" 3 illuminated initials -
Ure, Gratiam, Ecclesiam.

Illumination 1) Initials - decorative - ornament
- historiated - small picture
2) Miniature
3) Borders - ivy leaf (14 + early 15th C)
Calender - important Church festivals - written in gold on red
lesser festivals + saints days in black
local saints to a restricted cult may also appear in
gold, red or blue.
-the occasional appearance of tstrawberries indicates that the
illumination was done by a Benedictine monk (mid XV C)
other border flowers - ivy leaf, holly, daisy, thistle, cornbottle
+ ivied stock.
Book of Hours - a personal prayer book for the laity which
did not come under clerical supervision - prior to
this, all Bibles or copies of the Divine Office required
Rome's approval
served medicinal as well as spiritual purposes. In a general
sense every example might be therapeutic for a particular
saint would be invoked against a specific malady or ailment
in a particular part of the body.