Calendar leaf Sept - Dec 1518 - St John Blessing the chalice

$0.00

Original leaf from a printed & hand-illuminated Book of Hours.  Thirty-four lines of ruled Latin text, printed in red & black on animal vellum.(178 x 115mm – 7 x 4 ½’’) 

Four illuminated two-line “KL” initials in gold alternating on a red-orange or deep blue ground.  Printed by Gilles Hardouyn & hand-painted in the workshop of Germain Hardouyn - brother of the printer & a highly skilled illuminator.  Paris (Use of Rome), c. 1518.

The miniature painting facing November & December depicts St. John the Evangelist blessing the poisoned chalice given him by a pagan priest of Ephesus to test him.  According the account by Jacobus de Voragine in his Golden Legend (1228-98) the poison escapes the chalice in the form of a small two-headed dragon.  Ephesus said: “If you want me to believe in your god, I will give you some poison to drink &, if it does not harm you, it means that your god is the true God”. This painting shows St. John making the gesture of blessing to neutralize the poison escaping from the chalice enabling him to drink the potion. In the Gospel of Mark Christ sends his apostles out into the world promising them protection against poison: “Faith will bring with it these miracles…if believers drink any deadly poison, they will come to no harm”.

Left are letters A - G called Dominical Letters (to 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 through the year (year + 1; divide by 19; remainder is Golden Number - if zero GN = 19). The 3 fixed points: Kalends (1st) Ides (middle) & Nones (9th day before Ides). Days between are counted backwards from these points.

Presented in an archival 14 x 11'' mat

  • Inventory# IM-11674
Sold Out