Original leaf from a medieval manuscript Breviary. 31 lines written in Latin in double columns with dark brown and red ink on animal vellum.(183 x 135mm – 7 3/8 x 5 ¼’’)
Fifteen two-line illuminated initials alternating in red and white or blue and white, with a floral interior - all on a burnished gold ground, with eight extending into the margin with a delicate rinceaux border in red, blue, green, yellow burnished gold. France, c. 1475.
The two-line illuminated “E” begins Jeremiah 1:18-19: “Ego quippe…” (For behold I have made thee this day a fortified city, and a pillar of iron and a wall of brass, over all the land, to the kings of Juda, to the princes thereof, and to the priests, and to the people of the land. And they shall fight against thee, and shall not prevail: for I am with thee, saith the Lord, to deliver thee).
The two-line illuminated “E” begins Jeremiah 2:1-3: “Et factum…” (And the word of the Lord came to me saying: Go, and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying: Thus saith the Lord: I have remembered thee, pitying thy youth, and the love of thy espousals, when thou followedst me in the desert, in the land that is not sown. Israel is holy to the Lord, the first-fruits of his increase).
The two-line illuminated “N” begins: “Nostra tibi…” (May our fasts be acceptable to Thee, O Lord, and expiate our sins; may they make us worthy of Thy grace, and lead us unto life everlasting).
The two-line illuminated “D” begins: “Da nobis…” (Grant us, we beseech Thee, O Lord, a preserving obedience to Thy will, that in our days the people who serve Thee may increase both in merit and number).
Excellent condition - prick marks for ruling guide are still evident in the outer margin !
Presented in an archival 14 x 11'' mat
