Book of Hours Calendar Leaf for December - c 1450-75

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Original leaf from a manuscript Book of Hours. 17 lines of red ruled text written in French on animal vellum. (168 x 125mm – 6 5/8  x 4 7/8’’) 

The panel borders contain a highly decorative floral design with flowers, berries and acanthus leaves in blue, red, green, pink, and burnished gold. Major feast days are in gold, blue or red (origin of term ‘red-letter day’). Large “KL” initials (for KALENDS) are in blue with white tracery on a burnished gold ground with floral interior.   

France , c. 1450-75.

The miniature, recto, depicts the Labor of the Month – Baking.  The miniature, verso,  depicts the Zodiac symbol of Capricorn (according to the fifteenth century calendar).

Among the feasts days listed are:  St. Eligius (1st – Patron Saint of Farmers and Horses), St. Nicholas of Myra (6th – Patron Saint of Children and Lawyers), St. Thomas the Apostle (21st – Patron Saint of Architects and Builders), St. Thomas Becket – Archbishop of Canterbury (29th – The Most Famous English Churchman).

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.

Presented in an archival 14 x 11'' mat

  • Inventory# IM-12764
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