Morgan Library M.14 is another Italian Book of Hours, this one is from the 1490s, from Florence and was owned by the Franceschi-Pitti family, their arms are in it. The calendar is very unusual, in layout, in decoration and in population. Each month has 3 sides, with an illustration of the sign of the Zodiac in the sky at the start (see f.1r below). The short Egyptian verses are in the outer margin, in a smaller hand, and there is no KL for Kalends, only the first letter of the month in gold on a jewel-tone background. The feasts are graded in gold and blue, with blue the most important ones. The saints are a mishmash of unusual Italian and French saints, many of them heretofore unrepresented in the DB. With a few minor exceptions, a wrap-around error on King Sigismund (listed on April 30) being the most obvious, the saints are accurate. There are 2 missing days in the calendar, July 1 and November 12, but the scribe managed to catch Nov. 12 and inserted at least the dominical 'a' interlinearly in blue. No indication exists that the missing July 1 was noticed.
(DB Id: 164)
Comments