May calendar leaf from a medieval manuscript Book of Hours. 17 lines of red ruled text on animal vellum; written in French. (175x114mm)
Major feast days are in red (origin of term ‘red-letter day’). Large illuminated ''KL'' initials (abbreviation for KALENDS) are in gold on red and blue ground with white tracery.
Northern France, c. 1470.
The succession of saints indicates use of Paris, perhaps written at Tours. Some of the Feast days highlighted are Saints & Apostles Philip and James (1 May), St. Helena (mother of Constantine the Great – 1st Christian Emperor), John the Apostle (6 May), St. Nicholas (8 May)
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.
Shipped in archival 14x11'' mat.
