Western Manuscripts and Miniatures

Large, lovely decorated text leaves, one English, one French.

(i) A leaf from a manuscript of canon law, in French, illuminated manuscript on parchment [France, c. 1375-1400]

210 x 140 mm. Single leaf, ruled in light brown for two columns of 54 lines (written space: 148 x 93 mm), with two lines added in the upper and lower border, written in black ink in a formal gothic bookhand, capitals touched with yellow, rubrics in red, paragraphs marks alternately in red and blue, two-line initials either in burnished gold on blue penwork or in blue on red penwork, extending into the margin, and accompanied with a gold bar border along the height of the column decorated with gold and blue brackets, ONE THREE-LINE ILLUMINATED INITIAL in blue with white tracery on burnished gold ground, in-filled with red and blue flowers, extending into a full-height bar-border terminating with blue scrolls of gold and red ivyleaves and two gold disks (slight browning at edges, two tape saints in the inner margin of the verso, remnant of taped paper in the upper right corner, else in good condition).

This leaf comes from an as-yet unidentified manuscript of canon law. Its rich illumination associates penwork initials, running titles and chapter numbers, with brightly burnished gold two-line initials extending into gold bar borders, associated with gold and blue motifs on the full height of the column. These features demonstrate the luxurious nature of the commission, that is further confirmed by the extension of the burnished gold three-line initials into narrow bar borders, spreading at top and bottom into scrolls of ivyleaves to enclose half the text of the column. The dorsal motifs penned alongside the initials and at the termination of the gold borders are characteristic of manuscripts illuminated in late-fourteenth century France.
 
(ii) A leaf from a Breviary, in Latin, illuminated manuscript on parchment [England, c. 1375-1425]


294 x 201 mm. Single leaf, ruled in light brown for two columns of 26 lines (written space: 199 x 131 mm), written in brown ink in a formal gothic bookhand, capitals touched with yellow, rubrics in red, one-line initials alternately in blue on red penwork and burnished gold on blue penwork, TWO-LINE ILLUMINATED INITIALS in burnished gold on alternately red and blue ground with white tracery, including one extending into the margins in three hairline stems terminated with green dots and two burnished gold ivyleaves (one parchment hole in lower border, four tapes remaining on the corners of the verso, else in very good condition).

This large leaf comes from the Sanctoral of an as-yet unidentified English missal. It reads from the feast of Saints Cyriacus and Julitta (June 16), beginning imperfectly on the recto, followed with the feast of Saints Mark and Marcellian, Martyrs (June 18), continued on the verso with the feast of Saints Gervasius and Protasius (June 19), the Translation of Saint Edward, King and Martyr (20 June), and the feast of St. Alban (June 22), ending imperfectly.

The two last feasts, devoted to the relics of king and saint Edward the Confessor (r. 1042-1066) and to St. Alban, the first-recorded British martyr, are quintessential to the English liturgy and suggest that the parent manuscript was written in England for local use. This is confirmed by the decoration of the leaf, which includes features typical of late-fourteenth and early-fifteenth century English illumination such as the refined penwork decoration of the one-line initials and the hairline stems with green leaves in the margins of the feast of St. Gervasius and Protasius.

Provenance
Private collection, California, USA, MSS 266, 278.

Freeman’s | Hindman thank Senior Consultant Sandra Hindman and Elliott Adam for their assistance in preparing this sale.