Results tagged “Use of Sarum”

After another 2 day visit to the Morgan Library, I am once again bulk-loading data.  The first three books from this trip are:

  • M.487 - An English MS from the 1490s, probably made for a small child as there are many more educational texts than usual.  Saints are quite British, including David, Cedde, Richard and Cuthbert.  Unusually St. Edward, King, on March 18 is in red. (DB Id: 233)
  • M.116 - A French MS from Cambrai, made in the 1490s.   It contains a fair selection of feasts unique to Cambrai, including Translation of St. Barbara on Feb 12, St. Waltrude on April 9 and St. Salvius (in red) on June 26th.  It also contains both the feast, on August 11, and the Octave, on August 18 of St. Gaugericus of Cambrai. (DB Id: 229)
  • M.1089 - An Italian MS, probably made in the Veneto around 1425-1450.  The calendar is misbound, ff. 6-7 are first, then ff. 1-5 and 10-14, no folios are numbered 8-9.  The calendar is sparsely populated, only 116 entries, and very red, more than 50% of the entries.  There are a few entries that might indicate a Fransiscan influence and one unusual one, St. Daniel the Prophet listed on July 24, though his feast is July 21.  This is unique, so far, in the corpus. (DB Id: 106)

(Taking a break from the Morgan Library)  Houghton Library Richardson 34 is an English book, use of Sarum, from the late 15th century.  The calendar has some interestingly English saints, like Swithun and Oswald, and the usual Reformation edits, all of the "pape" notations and reference to Thomas Becket were erased and then re-added in a much later hand.  St. Evaristus, who was a pope in the first century, and St. Hyginius (See f.1r below), pope in the second, were also added in that same later hand, though there's no evidence they there earlier.  Otherwise the calendar is exceedingly accurate and has many saints added alongside the larger feasts, such as St. Hillary alongside the Epiphany on January 6 (see f.1r below)

(DB ID: 190)

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Morgan Library - M.700

Taking a break from the Italian books, Morgan Library M.700, the Du Bois Hours, is a massive british Book of Hours, use of Sarum, dated to 1325-1330.  It starts with a couple of full page illuminations, including a last-judgement, and then the calendar starts on f.5r, one side per month.  It has most of the usual english saints and a couple of later additions in a regular, though difficult to parse, secretary hand.  Oddly there is no title material for the months, no KL, no verses, not even the name of the month -- apart from it next to the Kalends for the 1st.

(DB ID: 79)

British Library Royal MS 2 A XVIII is a lovely Sarum use book, and the most entertainingly Tudor book possible.  In addition to all of the relevant English saints, Edward the Confessor, Cuthbert and Etheldreda, there is the erasure of ALL references to Thomas Becket (see his Octave on f.28r) and even the title 'pape' has been removed where possible.  The margins are filled with later notes about the goings-on with the royal household: "her decessed queene katerine", and "this day king harry the viith wedded the queen Elisabeth..."

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The Hastings Hours, or MS Add 54782, is a Use of Sarum book held by the British Library.  Though the calendar is somewhat undistinguished, some attribute the decoration scheme to Alexander Bening, father of the great 16th Century painter Simon.  Though use of Sarum for th British market, it was made in Flanders and the calendar has not yet been localized.  The Mass of St. Gregory, with it's illusionistic borders and halucinatory arma christi, from f.18v is reproduced below

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