{"id":5694,"date":"2015-10-22T01:50:22","date_gmt":"2015-10-22T01:50:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/manuscriptevidence.org\/wpme\/?p=5694"},"modified":"2016-05-05T05:24:10","modified_gmt":"2016-05-05T05:24:10","slug":"leaf-from-a-tiny-book-of-hours","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/manuscriptevidence.org\/wpme\/leaf-from-a-tiny-book-of-hours\/","title":{"rendered":"Leaf from a Tiny Book of Hours"},"content":{"rendered":"

Leaf Within the Hours of the Virgin
\nFrom an Unknown Manuscript<\/h2>\n

Detached Vellum Leaf
\nCirca 76 \u00d7<\/b> 54 mm < written area circa 40 \u00d7<\/b> 36 mm >
\nSingle column of 12 lines in Latin in Gothic rotunda script, with polychrome embellishments<\/p>\n

Budny Handlist 11<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Detail<\/a>In our series on Manuscript Studies<\/a>, Mildred Budny reports on items in the Illustrated Handlist<\/strong>, among other specimens. <\/em><\/p>\n

Usually those items have some evidence, internal and\/or contextual, which enable or imply the identifications of their places or regions of origin, the original manuscripts to which the dispersed fragment belongs, and\/or their routes of transmission to the current owner.\u00a0 Various of our blogposts in the series prove these possibilities.\u00a0 Not in this case.
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Here we focus on a fragment of a tiny Book of Hours which strayed into the group without any record of its provenance. We illustrate this fragment as an opportunity for recognition among its peers.
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

In Perspective<\/h3>\n

The scale of this leaf leaf comes into perspective when set among some of its companions in the Handlist.\u00a0 As in the set of Group Portraits, front and back. The Leaf had its debut among our Manuscript Groupies<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Within those collective Photo Opportunities, Views 1 and 2, this Leaf appears at bottom right, respectively with its Verso and Recto.<\/p>\n

\"6<\/a>

Group Portrait View 1<\/p><\/div>\n

\"6<\/a>

Group Portrait, View 2<\/p><\/div>\n

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 <\/p>\n

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Tiny, right?\u00a0 A lovely shape to clasp in the hand.\u00a0 The original manuscript must have been a joy to hold and to behold.<\/p>\n

Text and Context<\/h3>\n

\"The<\/a>The thin Leaf turns its yellowed hairside of the animal skin toward the recto, and the whitish fleshside to the verso.\u00a0 An unevenly undulating cut severed the leaf from its former conjoint stub or, more probably, conjoint leaf of a bifolium, with some traces remaining along the inner margin of marks for the former stitching of the volume.\u00a0 The marks of dirt accumulated along the upper, lower, and outer edges attest to a period of storage as a closed volume.<\/p>\n

The smudged, darkened stain aligned about midway down the outer edge probably derives from contact with a metal clasp oxidized over time.\u00a0 Such a closure would have helped to embrace firmly a small, fat volume of the sort which a full Book of Hours in such a compact layout would have required.<\/p>\n

At present, the leaf measures circa 76 \u00d7<\/b> 54 mm, with a written area of circa 40 \u00d7<\/b> 36 mm.\u00a0 The single column of 12 lines is written in Latin in Gothic rotunda script, with embellishments.\u00a0 Although somewhat perfunctory in the execution, the embellishments and their colorful materials add an element of luxury.<\/p>\n

\"Recto<\/a>

Recto<\/p><\/div>\n

The embellishments include rubricated titles, in-line initials with pen-flourishes, and enlarged polychrome initials with ornamental frames.\u00a0 On the recto, the 1-line initials for sections beginning within the lines are alternately blue and gold respectively with red or purple penline extensions comprised mainly of undulating lines resembling pulled sugar ripples.<\/p>\n

\"Recto<\/a>

Verso<\/p><\/div>\n

On the verso, the polychrome decorated initials either stand alongside the column on the verso (6-line-high I<\/em> for In<\/em> of the Capitulum<\/em>, that is, ‘Reading’, from the Old Testament Book of Ecclesiasticus) or occupy a position inset within it (2-line-high F<\/em> for Famulorum<\/em> of the Oratio <\/em>or ‘Prayer’).\u00a0 For these enlarged initials, the letter itself is rendered in gold leaf, with bulbous tips, against an asymmetrical background frame with toothed or cusped edges and extended tips.\u00a0 Each frame, filled with sections of rusty reddish and blue pigments, has an inset inner contour of white pigment.\u00a0 Within the F<\/em>, the 2 enclosed counters above and below its tongue have a surcharged pattern of white dots.<\/p>\n

The Text<\/h3>\n

The text on the leaf both starts and ends mid-phrase.\u00a0 It extends from within:<\/p>\n

Psalm 127:3 ([la<\/em>-\/]teribus . . . Israel<\/em>)<\/p>\n

to within:<\/p>\n

Prayer: Famulorum tuorum . . . ut<\/em> [\/ qui<\/em>] .<\/p>\n

The text corresponds mostly to a portion of the Hours of the Virgin represented in a paragdigm online here<\/a> (with an English translation), where the assigned location within the Hours (in that case, for the Use of Rome) is None<\/em>, that is, the mid-afternoon prayer within the canonical periods<\/a> for daily prayer.\u00a0 Expanding the abbreviations in the text, the transcription here of the Leaf provides points of orientation as well as indications of its divergences from the paragdigm.<\/p>\n

The preceding leaf apparently ended within Psalm 127<\/strong><\/span>:3<\/p>\n

[3 Uxor tua sicut uitis abundans. in la-\/]<\/p>\n

[RECTO]<\/p>\n

teribus domus tue Fi[-]
\nlii tui sicut nouclle [? sic <\/em>for germina<\/em>] oli[-]
\narum in circuitu men[-]
\nse tue [4] Ecce sicut benedice[-]
\ntur homo [<uiro] qui timet do[-]
\nminum [5] Benedicat tibi
\ndominus ex syon et uideas bo[-]
\nna iherusalem omnibus diebus ui[-]
\nte tue [6] Et uideas filios
\nfiliorum tuorum pacem super is[-]
\nrael Gloria A<\/span>[ntiphon<\/span>] pulcra es et de[-]
\ncora filia iherusalem terribi[-]<\/p>\n

[RECTO] \/ [VERSO]<\/p>\n

lis ut castrorum acies or[-]
\ndinata. Capittlu[<\/span>m]<\/span><\/span> [sic; = Ecclesiasticus 24<\/span><\/strong>:19\u201320].
\nIn plateis sicut cynamo[-]
\nmum et balsamum arom[-]
\ntizans odorem dedi quasi
\nmirra decta electi dedi suaui[-]
\natem odoris. deo gratias. V[<\/span>ersiculus]<\/span><\/span>
\npost partum uirgo. et. kyrie eleison
\nchriste eleison. kyrie eleison. domine exaudi
\net clamor. oremus Or[<\/span>ati]<\/span>o.<\/span>
\nFamulorum tuorum quos
\ndomine delictis ignosce. ut<\/p>\n

[VERSO] \/ [qui tibi pacu . . . ]<\/p>\n

The next leaf would have picked up from there.<\/p>\n

Such a span of text occurs within various Books of Hours, and for various points within the Hours. The use of the Antiphon Pulchra es et decora filia Jerusalem terribilis ut castrorum acies ordinata<\/a> is recorded in a variety of sources for several occasions within the liturgical year.<\/p>\n

Therefore, without fuller knowledge about the other parts of the original manuscript and its specific approaches, it seems difficult to determine to which place within the Hours the portion represented by this leaf would have specifically corresponded.<\/p>\n

Without better evidence, we resist a temptation to assign this very reading in this specific manuscript to a particular part of the Office of the Virgin.<\/p>\n

About that Manuscript<\/h3>\n

Haven’t identified it yet.<\/p>\n

You may remember that some of our blogposts in the series on Manuscript Studies have identified fragments from manuscripts dispersed by Otto F. Ege<\/a> (among others). So far, these have addressed ‘Ege Manuscripts’ 8<\/a>, 14<\/a>, 41<\/a>, and 61<\/a>.\u00a0 So the nature of his dispersals and the resources for identifying some of them have become familiar.\u00a0 You can find descriptions and references in those posts.<\/p>\n

Scott Gwara’s Handlist<\/em> (2013) of ‘Manuscripts Collected or Sold by Otto F. Ege’ does not apparently include any volume which corresponds neatly to the characteristics of this leaf. We were hopeful.<\/p>\n

A somewhat similar manuscript, fragmented and dispersed, is represented in Ege’s Portfolio of Fifty Original Leaves from Medieval Manuscripts<\/strong>, Number 36<\/a>, a mid-15th-century French Book of Hours with a (not identical) comparable style, layout, and decoration.\u00a0 But it has 13 lines per column, rather than the 12 on this Leaf, and includes some other approaches to decoration, such as interlace patterns and the use of double (rather than single) white outlines inside the frames for initials.<\/p>\n

Date and Origin?<\/h3>\n

Wish we knew.\u00a0 Suffice, perhaps, for now, to say that the rotunda script indicates an ‘Italianate’ element.\u00a0 Not that this means that it is Italian script, or the work of an Italian scribe.\u00a0 Just an element, important to register.<\/p>\n

However, the style of the initials seems French instead.<\/p>\n

Interesting combination of influences.<\/p>\n

So, perhaps, this leaf and its original manuscript (if fully consistent) might have originated in Southern France, Italy, or (say) Spain, circa 1400 or later.<\/p>\n

Transmission?\u00a0 Forget It!<\/h3>\n

The owner reports, in responses to questions repeated over years, that this leaf was acquired at an unknown date, unframed, and from an unremembered source.\u00a0 He confirms that the single-line inscription in ink on the envelope is his own handwriting.<\/p>\n

It was probably a gift, but not sufficiently memorable as such, unlike another leaf from a different Book of Hours (Handlist 12<\/strong><\/span>) acquired as a wedding present.\u00a0 It was presumably a gift, he observes, because its purchase is neither remembered nor recorded among the available papers.<\/p>\n

So much for continuity.<\/p>\n

Shucks<\/h3>\n

On a personal note.\u00a0 Usually I am reluctant to say such.<\/p>\n

Collectors Gonna Do Whatever.\u00a0 Right.\u00a0 They can.<\/p>\n

But this situation makes me wonder.\u00a0 I remember vividly, clearly, precisely, the gifts, and their circumstances, which ever I have received.\u00a0 When I see \u2014 of course, because I place them in view \u2014 any gift, you know, I smile with recognition of the person, place and time of presentation (by whatever means, near or far), and even I the recall of the light or sunlight of the reception.\u00a0 That is how I think, and remember.\u00a0 Sensitive Creature, that’s me.<\/p>\n

\"Detail<\/a>And so, this occasion with the necessity to encounter forgetfulness, amounting apparently to negligence or indifference (same difference), makes me wonder differently, and with increased appreciation, about the merits of Eastern habits of stamping materials in the stages of successive ownership and appreciation.\u00a0 It seems a method worth considering for Western Stuff.<\/p>\n

Seems more respectful.\u00a0 I aim to label gifts to me even more precisely than before.<\/p>\n

P. S.\u00a0 You hear that?\u00a0 I am the sort of person who appreciates gifts.<\/p>\n

Hint?\u00a0 You think?<\/p>\n

Over to You<\/h3>\n

Do you know of any other leaves from this tiny book?\u00a0 They could be anywhere.<\/p>\n

******<\/p>\n

We thank the owner of the leaf for permission to photograph, research, and publish it.\u00a0 It is a pleasure also to record thanks to Adelaide Bennett, Gregory Clark, and James Marrow for their expert advice about the leaf.<\/p>\n

*****<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Leaf Within the Hours of the Virgin From an Unknown Manuscript Detached Vellum Leaf Circa 76 \u00d7 54 mm < written area circa 40 \u00d7 36 mm > Single column of 12 lines in Latin in Gothic rotunda script, with polychrome embellishments Budny Handlist 11 In our series on Manuscript Studies, Mildred Budny reports on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5714,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[678,115],"tags":[446,711,489],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/manuscriptevidence.org\/wpme\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5694"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/manuscriptevidence.org\/wpme\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/manuscriptevidence.org\/wpme\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/manuscriptevidence.org\/wpme\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/manuscriptevidence.org\/wpme\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5694"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/manuscriptevidence.org\/wpme\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5694\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5729,"href":"https:\/\/manuscriptevidence.org\/wpme\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5694\/revisions\/5729"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/manuscriptevidence.org\/wpme\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5714"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/manuscriptevidence.org\/wpme\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5694"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/manuscriptevidence.org\/wpme\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5694"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/manuscriptevidence.org\/wpme\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5694"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}