Manuscript Page with Psalm

£ 250.00

A beautifully decorated leaf from a late Medieval Book of Hours. It contains one single column of 29 lines, ruled in red, of written text in Latin. The text is a fine example of the popular Medieval script, used extensively for French vernacular books, known as lettre bâtarde. The leaf is executed in red, green and blue tempera, gold and liquid gold on both sides. Initials are beautifully and colourfully painted on a liquid gold ground, and further enriched by floral and foliate motifs. The text is bordered with a finely rendered frame. The recto text opens with one highly illuminated initial (A), highlighting the beginning of Psalm 101:6, ‘A Voce Gemitus Mei’.

Date: Circa 15th century AD
Condition: Extremely fine. The leaf has been mounted on a custom made frame, ideal for display.

SOLD

Product Code: MS-07
Category: Tags: , , , ,

The Book of Hours is a book of Christian devotion, which evolved from the psalter. It gained popularity during the Middle Ages, and typically consisted of psalms, prayers, and other devotional texts. It is the most common surviving type of manuscript, but each copy was unique – whether on account of a different selection of texts, or different decoration. As a result, books of this type offer some of the most interesting examples of medieval calligraphy and decorative practice.

To learn more about Medieval manuscripts, please visit our relevant blog post: A Brief History of Manuscripts.

Dimensions L 15 x W 7.5 cm
Region

Western Europe

Material

Vellum

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