Original calendar leaf from a manuscript Book of Hours. 17 lines of text on animal vellum, ruled in red, & written in French with brown ink in Gothic script. (155x113mm).
Large illuminated burnished gold ''KL'' header initials (abbreviation for KALENDS) on grounds of blue & red with delicate white tracery.
Northern France, c. 1450-75.
Major feast days are in red (origin of the term ‘red-letter day’). Among the saints listed are: St. Dionysius or Denis (9th), St. Luke theEvangelist (18th – patron saint of surgeons) and Sts. Simon & Jude (28th – Apostles).
To the left of the list of saints’ days are repeating series of letters A - G called Dominical Letters since they help find Sundays (after many appropriate calculations). At the far left is an odd 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 (i.e. Valentine’s Day was not Feb. 14th, but xvi Kalens Martii, or 16th day before the Kalends of March).
Shipped in archival 14x11'' mat.
