Keywords: devotional book of hours bookofhours flemish historiated initial historiatedinitial ornament christian book codex illumination manuscript miniature walters art museum waltersartmuseum flanders 15th century 15thcentury devotion photo border picture frame This book was created ca. 1460-70 CE in Bruges by the workshop of Willem Vrelant for an English patron, as suggested by the many English saints included in the calendar. The manuscript is heavily illuminated and contains thirty historiated initials, some with unusual themes, such as Christ's wounds (fols. 68r-70r) and the Murder of St. Thomas Becket (fol. 16v). There is also an unfinished historiated initial on fol. 55r. While the number of illuminations is large, their execution is fairly standard. The Hours of the Virgin cycle is expanded at Lauds with an inserted Hours of the Cross section, which results in a complex quire structure. All manuscript images and descriptions were created and are provided through Preservation and Access grants awarded to the Walters Art Museum by the National Endowment for the Humanities, 2008-2015. Access a complete set of high-resolution archival images of this manuscript for free on The Digital Walters (www.thedigitalwalters.org/01_ACCESS_WALTERS_MANUSCRIPTS.html). For a digital “turning the pages” presentation of the manuscripts and downloadable PDFs, visit the Walters Art Museum’s Website (art.thewalters.org/browse/category/manuscript-and-rare-bo...). This book was created ca. 1460-70 CE in Bruges by the workshop of Willem Vrelant for an English patron, as suggested by the many English saints included in the calendar. The manuscript is heavily illuminated and contains thirty historiated initials, some with unusual themes, such as Christ's wounds (fols. 68r-70r) and the Murder of St. Thomas Becket (fol. 16v). There is also an unfinished historiated initial on fol. 55r. While the number of illuminations is large, their execution is fairly standard. The Hours of the Virgin cycle is expanded at Lauds with an inserted Hours of the Cross section, which results in a complex quire structure. All manuscript images and descriptions were created and are provided through Preservation and Access grants awarded to the Walters Art Museum by the National Endowment for the Humanities, 2008-2015. Access a complete set of high-resolution archival images of this manuscript for free on The Digital Walters (www.thedigitalwalters.org/01_ACCESS_WALTERS_MANUSCRIPTS.html). For a digital “turning the pages” presentation of the manuscripts and downloadable PDFs, visit the Walters Art Museum’s Website (art.thewalters.org/browse/category/manuscript-and-rare-bo...). |