Book of Hours Calendar Leaf for August, c. 1470

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Original leaf from a medieval manuscript Book of Hours. 15 & 18 lines of text, ruled in red, written in Latin with dark brown ink on animal vellum. (102 x 74mm).

Major feast days in red (origin of term ‘red-letter day’). Large ''KL'' initials (for KALENDS) alternate in burnished gold and deep blue with delicate violet penwork & red penwork extending into margin.

Northern Italy (probably Ferrara), c. 1470.

The colorful initials are characteristic of Ferrarese illumination of the 1470’s – especially the work of Guglielmo Giraldi (Ref: Toniolo, La miniature a Ferrara (1998), pp. 214-223). The precise & elegant penwork flourishing is also represented in manuscripts of that workshop & similar to the ornamentation found in the pattern book of Guinfortus de Vicomercato (Ref: J. G. Alexander, The Painted Page, London 1994, p. 109).

Among the feasts listed are St. Lawrence (8th – Patron Saint of students & librarians), St. Clare (12th  - founder of the Franciscan Poor Clares), and St. Bartholomew (24th).

Left of the saints’ days are repeating letters A - G called Dominical Letters since they help find Sundays. Far left is a column of Roman numerals i - xix called Golden Numbers to indicate appearances of new moons, & counting ahead 14 days, full moons throughout the year (year + 1; divide by 19; remainder is Golden Number - if zero GN = 19). Finally: each month had 3 fixed points: Kalends (1st day) Ides (middle) & Nones (9th day before Ides). All days in between were counted backwards from these points.

Shipped in archival 14x11'' mat.

 

  • Inventory# IM-8139
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