Book of Hours, written in France in the 15th century, bearing the signature of Mary of Guise., Late 15th century.
Scope and Contents
A Book of Hours written and illuminated in France. Library foliation in pencil: i, 184, ii-iii folios. After the calendar, the text block measures ca. ca. 8 x 5.5 cm and usually comprises 15 lines of text with generous margins all round. The pages are ruled in red, also on the blank folios.
Written by one main scribe, with another contemporary or near-contemporary hand adding text at the end of a quire at folios 21v-22v and from folio 167 onwards.
Decorated with red and blue initials, rubrication and pen-flourishes in black at the top of many pages. A number of larger initials, three lines in height, are decorated in gold and a floral design. Where these appear, mainly with the Psalms, they are accompanied by a filigree floral side border with colours and gold. The absence of the beginnings of most of the parts in the book suggests that these initial pages were more elaborately decorated and therefore removed by a collector.
Contains the following parts:
Calendar. Folios 1r-12v.
Extracts from the Gospels, wanting the beginning, followed (on folio 21v) by a prayer in a different hand beginning 'O bone Ih[es]u per tuam piissima[m] misericordiam'. Folios 13-22v.
Hours of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Little Office), wanting the beginning. Folios 23r-82r.
Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary and prayers. Folios 82v-85v.
Folio 86 is blank.
Penitential Psalms, wanting the beginning. Folios 87r-98v.
Litany of the the Saints. Folios 98v-108v.
Folio 109 is blank.
Hours of the Cross. Folios 110r-113r.
Folio 113v is blank.
Hours of the Holy Spirit, wanting the beginning. Folios 114r-116r.
Folios 116v-119v are blank.
Office of the Dead, wanting the beginning. Folios 120r-166v.
Devotions to the Blessed Virgin Mary, added by a different near-contemporary hand, wanting the beginning. Including, on folios 176r-178r, the 'Stabat mater'. Folios 167r-179r.
A devotion beginning 'O domine ih[es]u chr[ist]e adoro te i[n] cruce pendentem'. Folios 179v-180v.
Folio 181 is blank.
A prayer headed 'Oracio ad sancta[m] trinitate[m]'. Folios 182r-183v.
Folio 184 is blank.
Dates
- Creation: Late 15th century.
Creator
- Mary, of Guise, Queen Consort of James V, King of Scots, 1515-1560 (Former owner, Person)
- St Benedict's Abbey, Fort Augustus (Former owner, Organization)
- Saumaire, Guillaume (Former owner, Person)
- Kerr, Ralph Drury, Lord (Former owner, Person)
Conditions Governing Access
Normal access conditions apply.
Conditions Governing Use
Normal reproduction conditions apply, subject to any copyright restrictions.
Extent
1 Volumes ; 13.5 x 10 x 4.5 cm.
Language of Materials
Latin
Custodial History
The inscription "A Guillaume Saumaire", late 15th- or early 16th-century, is found on folios 72v, 108v and 126v. At the bottom of folio 1r is the signature of Mary of Guise, "Marie R".
The inside front paste-down has a small round label reading "Seton 102". The volume was presented to Fort Augustus Abbey by Lord Ralph Drury Kerr, third son of John William Robert Kerr, 7th Marquess of Lothian (1837-1916), in the early 20th century. Its shelfmark in the library of Fort Augustus Abbey was MS A.2.
Deposited in the Library in 1995, and bought in 2000 from the Trustees of St Benedict`s Abbey, Fort Augustus.
Bibliography
Ker, N. 'Medieval manuscripts in British libraries', vol. 2 (Oxford 1977), pp.850-851.
Physical Description
In a binding of vellum over cardboard, possibly 20th-century, decorated with blind double fillets along the edges of the boards and the panels of the spine. The second panel bears a modern ink inscription of the title, "Horae Beatae Mariae Virginis". The binding has become detached at the front.
Written on vellum. Inside the front cover is pasted an image of the Five Wounds of Christ, printed and hand-coloured and possibly dating from the 17th century.
Dimensions
13.5 x 10 x 4.5 cm. Leaf size: 18 x 9 cm.
Genre / Form
Repository Details
Part of the National Library of Scotland Archives and Manuscripts Division Repository
Archives and Manuscript Division
National Library of Scotland
George IV Bridge
Edinburgh EH1 1EJ
0131 623 3700
manuscripts@nls.uk