Guide To Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts in the Huntington Library

HM 1172

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BOOK OF HOURS, use of St. Quentin
France, s. XV2
1. ff. 1-6v: Calendar in French, alternating red and blue entries with major feasts in gold; included are the feasts of Quentin (3 January), Regulus (30 March), Quentin (2 May), Bernardinus (13 May), Medard (8 June, in gold), Separation of the Apostles (15 July), Transfiguration (27 July), “aragonne” (for Radegundis? 13 August), “genebault” (4 September), “gaoud” (19 October), Quentin (31 October, in gold). 2. ff. 7-32v: Hours of the Virgin; antiphon and capitulum at prime and at none are: O admirabile; Hec est virgo; Germinavit radix; Per te dei; the antiphon to the Nunc dimittis at compline is Ecce completa sunt omnia, while the other antiphon at compline is Cum iocunditate (cf. breviary of the use of St. Quentin, as identified by a rubric, pr. ca. 1520; copy in Brussels, Roy. Lib., Van Hulthem 658). 3. ff. 33-35: Short hours of the Cross. 4. ff. 35v-38v: Short hours of the Holy Spirit; suffrages of Anthony abbot and Sebastian. 5. ff. 39-48v: Penitential psalms and litany, including Quentin, Denis, Nicasius, Maurice, Eustachius, Lucianus, Lambert, Firmin, Hippolytus and Eutropius among the martyrs; Remigius, Fursey, Vedast, Amand, Bertin, Germanus, Aegidius, Eligius, Medard and Gildard among the confessors; Cilinia, Ursula, Genevieve, Godeberta, Clare, Radegundis and Bathildis among the virgins. 6. ff. 49-63v: Office of the Dead; 3 lessons at matins. 7. ff. 64-69: Prayers as follow: Ave cuius conceptio…[RH 1744] with versicle, response and prayer, Deus qui nos conceptionis nativitatis…; S’ensieut les vii ioyes de la vierge marie, Gaude flore virginali Que honore speciali…, with the prayer, Dulcissime domine ihesu christe qui beatissimam genitricem tuam…[HE, 64-65]; Stabat mater dolorosa…[RH 19416], and the prayer, Domine ihesu christe per illam amaritudinem quam pro me sustinuisti in cruce…; suffrages of Anne, Michael, Quentin (Ave martir egregie patrone viromandie…) and Adrian. 8. ff. 69-70v, and by tie mark to f. 74r-v: [a long prayer of confession and repentance added in a different hand] [O] Dieu Creteur [sic] du ciel et de la terre Roy des Roys seigneur des seigneurs qui m’avez daigne faire et creer a vostre samblance et ymage… 9. f. 71r-v: [added by a third hand] [O] Vierge Marie tres saincte Royne du ciel et de la terre comme Dieu le pere selon la divine puissance de sa magnificence vous a en son tres glorieulx trosne…; [O] Glorieuse vierge mere de nostre seigneur Ihesucrist plene de tous biens… 10. ff. 72-76: [added by a fourth hand] Obsecro te…et michi famulo tuo impetres…[Leroquais, LH 2:346]; f. 74r-v, continuation of the prayer of confession which began on f. 69; O intemerata…orbis terrarum. Inclina mater…[Wilmart, 488-90]; f. 76v, ruled but blank. 11. f. 77r-v: [added by a fifth hand] [O] Tres digne princesse dame de pitie fontaine de misericorde comme le benoist sainct esprit vous a acousee et versee en toute vostre tres noble et tres piteuse ame…; f. 78r-v, ruled but blank. Parchment, ff. ii (paper) + i (parchment) + 78 + ii (paper); 190 × 137 (110 × 75) mm. 16 2-98(through f. 70) 10 (ff. 71-78, of uncertain structure: stitching between ff. 74-75; ff. 75-76 constitute a bifolium; f. 77v bears the offset of a full border of black ivy spray which evidently included some blue acanthus). No catchwords or signatures visible. 22 long lines, ruled in pale red ink, except for ff. 75-76v, ruled in purple ink; pricking visible in all 3 outer margins. Written in a bâtarde script in 2 sizes, according to liturgical function. Thirteen large miniatures above 8 lines of text, all with a pinkish hue to the coloring; in some, the faces have been outlined in black ink at a later date; compartmentalized borders infilled with blue and gold acanthus, flowers and grotesques, or of flat painted gold with multicolored acanthus, flowers, berries and grotesques. The miniatures are: f. 7 (Hours of the Virgin), by a different artist from the other illuminations in the book, Annunciation, with God the Father sending the Dove to Mary; the room is defined by gold pillars at the sides and gold tracery pendant arches at the top; f. 12v (Lauds), 6-line, in a jeweled frame, Visitation, with 2 angels behind Mary; f. 18 (Prime), in a jeweled frame, Nativity, in which the Infant wears a string of coral beads; f. 21 (Terce), Annunciation to 2 shepherds and a shepherdess; f. 23 (Sext), Adoration of the Magi, with the baby holding a gold flower in a scene set directly outside city walls, while rays from a spoked circle of gold pour down; f. 25 (None), in a brown jeweled frame, Presentation in the temple, with the baby holding a rosary; f. 27 (Vespers), in a brown jeweled frame, Flight into Egypt, with the miracle of the cornfield in the background, while an angel offers fruit to Mary; the Baby wears a coral necklace and holds a flower; f. 30v (Compline), Coronation of the Virgin by 2 angels who fly above her, while God the Father, wearing a papal tiara, blesses; f. 33 (Hours of the Cross), above 5 lines of text, the Crucifixion, with Mary Magdalene at the foot of the cross, Mary and John to Christ’s right, the soldiers to his left, and the 2 thieves on crosses behind him; f. 35v (Hours of the Holy Spirit), above 6 lines of text, Pentecost: Mary kneels at a prie-dieu, her book open before her, and her hand raised, while the apostles kneel before her; f. 39 (Penitential psalms), above 6 lines of text, David in prayer inside a room with columns at the sides and an arch forming the top; f. 49 (Office of the Dead), above 7 lines of text, Raising of Lazarus, with columns at the sides. Seven smaller miniatures: f. 37v, 11-line, Anthony abbot sitting with a book open on his knees, staring into the fire, with the pig behind him; f. 38, 11-line, Sebastian; f. 64v (the 7 Joys), 10-line, Mary and Child with angels at either side; f. 68, 10-line, Quentin with iron spikes in his shoulders; f. 68v, 12-line, Adrian wearing armor, standing on a lion, holding the anvil and sword; f. 72 (Obsecro te), 7-line, Pietà, by a different artist; f. 75 (O Intemerata), 7-line, the Virgin and Child, by the same artist as on f. 72. Major initials, 6- and 5-line, as white shaded ribbons, enclosing naturalistic flowers on a gold ground, the outer ground of brick red decorated in gold. On the miniature pages, where the major initials occur, 2- and 1-line initials and line fillers often in painted gold on brick red or blue grounds; this style also for the 3-line initials on ff. 72 and 75. 4-, 2- and 1-line initials in burnished gold on alternating blue or dark pink grounds with infilling of the other color; initials within the text touched in yellow. Full traced borders of blue and gold acanthus, flowers, berries, and gold motifs on all pages, including the calendar; each page with a number of grotesques: unicorns, half-humans, hunters, mermaids, etc.; the text space and the border space outlined in pale red. Rubrics occasionally in blue or gold through f. 14; thereafter only in pale red. Bound in modern dark red velvet with an earlier silver-gilt fore edge clasp; red silk endpapers; gilt edges. Written in France, probably for use in St. Quentin, in the second half of the fifteenth century. Belonged to E. Dwight Church (1835-1908); in his Catalogue…of English Literature (1909) vol. 1, n. 405, with plate of f. 35v. Acquired by Henry E. Huntington with the Church collection in 1911. Bibliography: De Ricci, 102.
Church: Catalogue…of English Literature
De Ricci
Leroquais, LH

Electronic version encoded by Sharon K, Goetz, 2003.