The Digital Walters is a branch of The Walters Art Museum Manuscripts Department.
The Digital Walters is a branch of The Walters Art Museum Manuscripts Department.
This Book of Hours, ca. 1460, was completed for use of Rome and illuminated under the influence, if not the direct participation, of Willem Vrelant. There remain twenty-two extant marginal calendar illustrations, thirteen extant full-page miniatures (many of which are paired with opening suffrages, perhaps suggesting a certain amount of significance to the owner), and one historiated initial. The contemporary binding, signed Livinus Stuaert, is dated 1477 and is most likely of Bruges or Ghent origin. It is thought that the first owner was French due to the French headings throughout and prominent fleur-de-lis figurations decorating the binding. Further, the first owner was likely female, suggested by the ways in which the book was structured to facilitate legibility. This is evinced by the large size of the script and the lack of abbreviations. While much of the text is standard, there remains evidence of personal significance and preference. This is seen in the chosen illuminations for those sections that are most significant to the owner. Most illuminations are paired with the opening page of staple Hours; however, many are accompanied by individual suffrages, constituting a large portion of the beginning of the manuscript. Personal preference is also shown in those sections of text that stray from the standard. The devotional sequence of this manuscript is notable for its sheer length and diversity of prayers as well as its inclusion of a French prayer not of official liturgy (fols. 215r-219v). The first collection of three prayers is headed and written in French. The prayer is attributed to St. Augustine and is described to guarantee a transformation of tribulation into joy through Christ's mercy, but only if the suppliant recites the prayer for thirty consecutive days. While it is not uncommon for evidence of an owner's predilections to surface in a Book of Hours, the particularly divergent features of this book allow readers to glean an intimate view of the patron.
Written in textura
artist: Willem Vrelant circle
Principal cataloger: Randall, Lilian M.C.
Cataloger: Herbold, Rebekah
Editor: Herbert, Lynley
Contributor: Emery, Doug
Contributor: Noel, William
Contributor: Tabritha, Ariel
Contributor: Toth, Michael B.
Contributor: Valle, Chiara
Contributor: Wiegand, Kimber
Conservator: Owen, Linda
Conservator: Quandt, Abigail
De Ricci, Seymour, and W. J. Wilson. Census of Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts in the United States and Canada. Vol. 1. New York: H. W. Wilson Company, 1935; p. 797, cat. no. 259.
Randall, Lilian M. C. Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts in the Walters Art Gallery. Vol. 3. Belgium, 1250-1530. Baltimore and London: Johns Hopkins University Press in association with the Walters Art Gallery, 1989; pp. 251-262, cat. no. 250; figs. 481-484, 574, 590, pl. XXXVa.
Gathercole, Patricia M. Animals in Medieval French Manuscript Illumination. Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen Press, 1995; p. 89.
Bousmanne, Bernard. Item à Guillaume Wyelant aussi enlumineur: Willem Vrelant, un aspect de l'enluminure dans les Pays-Bas méridionaux sous le mécénat des ducs de Bourgogne Philippe le Bon et Charles le Téméraire. Bibliothèque Royale de Belgique. Turnhout, Belgium: Brepols, 1997; pp. 38-39, 43-44, 70, 78-81, 98, 109, 112, 117, 121, 165, 189, 216-217, 316, 349 (n. 5), 355 (n. 53), 377.
Meckelnborg, Christina. Mittelalterliche Handschriften im Landeshauptarchiv Koblenz, Band 1: Die nichtarchivischen Handschriften der Signaturengruppe Best. 701 Nr. 1-190, ergänzt durch die im Görres-Gymnasium Koblenz aufbewahrten Handschriften A, B und C. Wiesbaden : Harrassowitz, 1998; p. 478 (cat. no. HsC).
"Circle of Willem Backer von Vrelant, Annunciation, ca. 1470, Wellesley College." In Divine Mirrors: The Virgin Mary in Visual Art. Edited by Melissa R. Katz and Robert A. Orsi, New York: Oxford University Press, 2001, pp. 163-164; p. 164 (ref. under cat. no. 6).
Wieck, Roger S. "The Death Desired: Books of Hours and the Medieval Funeral." In Death and Dying in the Middle Ages. Edited by Edelgard E. DuBruck and Barbara I. Gusick, 431-476. New York: Peter Lang, 1999; pp. 440 (as fig. 25), 441 (as fig. 25), 447 (n. 24), 473 (fig. 25).
Cardon, Bert. "The Portfolio of a Bruges Miniaturist in the Mid-15th Century." In "Als Ich Can": Liber Amicorum in Memory of Professor Dr. Maurits Smeyers. Edited by Bert Cardon, Jan Van der Stock, and Dominique Vanwijnsberghe, 317-356, vol. 1. Leuven: Peeters Press, 2002; p. 321.
Kren, Thomas. “Willem Vrelant and Workshop: Arenberg.” In Illuminating the Renaissance: The Triumph of Flemish Painting in Europe. Edited by Thomas Kren and Scot McKendrick, 117-119. Los Angeles: The J. Paul Getty Museum, 2003; p. 119 (ref. under cat. no. 15).
Gathercole, Patricia M. The Depiction of Angels and Demons in Medieval French Manuscript Illumination. Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen Press, 2004; p. 63, pl. 23.
These are pages that we pulled aside that disrupted the flow of the manuscript reader. These may be bindings, inserts, bookmarks, and various other oddities.
Bruges
Ca. 1460
book
Original Binding
Belgium, Bruges or Ghent; signed Livinus Stuvaert, dated 1477; inscription in textura in central band: "livinus stuvaert me ligavit"; brown calf over wooden boards with slight exterior chamfer, tongue corners; rebacked nineteenth century; original sewing on six tawed bands; six pairs of deep cuts plus single cuts for kettles form stations; spine rebacked, naturally rounded parchment liner full-length (?), six raised bands; endbands of red, green, and white with decorative sewing; regilt edges; two brass catches and brass clasps, nineteenth century; motifs are bird with wings spread (roundels 1, 3, 5 from top), griffin (roundel 2), mermaid with mirror and comb (roundel 4); contemporary books of hours related to the same binder include GM Ludwig IX 7 (Plotzek 1982, pp. 115, 118, figs. 136-138); Vat. Lib. Barb. lat 4 )Morello 1988, p. 122)
The primary language in this manuscript is Latin. The secondary language of this manuscript is French, Middle (ca.1400-1600).
Completed in Bruges for use of Rome, ca. 1460; illuminated under the influence of and with possible participation by Willem Vrelant; first owner, probably female
J. Capron of Ypres, Brussels, April 6, 1875; added early in margin below Annunciation miniature: "Cy pres[entes]. . ."
Henry Walters, Baltimore; purchased between 1895 and 1931
Walters Art Museum, 1931, by Henry Walters' bequest
Bruges
Ca. 1460
book
The primary language in this manuscript is Latin. The secondary language of this manuscript is French, Middle (ca.1400-1600).
Completed in Bruges for use of Rome, ca. 1460; illuminated under the influence of and with possible participation by Willem Vrelant; first owner, probably female
J. Capron of Ypres, Brussels, April 6, 1875; added early in margin below Annunciation miniature: "Cy pres[entes]. . ."
Henry Walters, Baltimore; purchased between 1895 and 1931
Walters Art Museum, 1931, by Henry Walters' bequest
This Book of Hours, ca. 1460, was completed for use of Rome and illuminated under the influence, if not the direct participation, of Willem Vrelant. There remain twenty-two extant marginal calendar illustrations, thirteen extant full-page miniatures (many of which are paired with opening suffrages, perhaps suggesting a certain amount of significance to the owner), and one historiated initial. The contemporary binding, signed Livinus Stuaert, is dated 1477 and is most likely of Bruges or Ghent origin. It is thought that the first owner was French due to the French headings throughout and prominent fleur-de-lis figurations decorating the binding. Further, the first owner was likely female, suggested by the ways in which the book was structured to facilitate legibility. This is evinced by the large size of the script and the lack of abbreviations. While much of the text is standard, there remains evidence of personal significance and preference. This is seen in the chosen illuminations for those sections that are most significant to the owner. Most illuminations are paired with the opening page of staple Hours; however, many are accompanied by individual suffrages, constituting a large portion of the beginning of the manuscript. Personal preference is also shown in those sections of text that stray from the standard. The devotional sequence of this manuscript is notable for its sheer length and diversity of prayers as well as its inclusion of a French prayer not of official liturgy (fols. 215r-219v). The first collection of three prayers is headed and written in French. The prayer is attributed to St. Augustine and is described to guarantee a transformation of tribulation into joy through Christ's mercy, but only if the suppliant recites the prayer for thirty consecutive days. While it is not uncommon for evidence of an owner's predilections to surface in a Book of Hours, the particularly divergent features of this book allow readers to glean an intimate view of the patron.
Written in textura
artist: Willem Vrelant circle
Principal cataloger: Randall, Lilian M.C.
Cataloger: Herbold, Rebekah
Editor: Herbert, Lynley
Contributor: Emery, Doug
Contributor: Noel, William
Contributor: Tabritha, Ariel
Contributor: Toth, Michael B.
Contributor: Valle, Chiara
Contributor: Wiegand, Kimber
Conservator: Owen, Linda
Conservator: Quandt, Abigail
De Ricci, Seymour, and W. J. Wilson. Census of Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts in the United States and Canada. Vol. 1. New York: H. W. Wilson Company, 1935; p. 797, cat. no. 259.
Randall, Lilian M. C. Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts in the Walters Art Gallery. Vol. 3. Belgium, 1250-1530. Baltimore and London: Johns Hopkins University Press in association with the Walters Art Gallery, 1989; pp. 251-262, cat. no. 250; figs. 481-484, 574, 590, pl. XXXVa.
Gathercole, Patricia M. Animals in Medieval French Manuscript Illumination. Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen Press, 1995; p. 89.
Bousmanne, Bernard. Item à Guillaume Wyelant aussi enlumineur: Willem Vrelant, un aspect de l'enluminure dans les Pays-Bas méridionaux sous le mécénat des ducs de Bourgogne Philippe le Bon et Charles le Téméraire. Bibliothèque Royale de Belgique. Turnhout, Belgium: Brepols, 1997; pp. 38-39, 43-44, 70, 78-81, 98, 109, 112, 117, 121, 165, 189, 216-217, 316, 349 (n. 5), 355 (n. 53), 377.
Meckelnborg, Christina. Mittelalterliche Handschriften im Landeshauptarchiv Koblenz, Band 1: Die nichtarchivischen Handschriften der Signaturengruppe Best. 701 Nr. 1-190, ergänzt durch die im Görres-Gymnasium Koblenz aufbewahrten Handschriften A, B und C. Wiesbaden : Harrassowitz, 1998; p. 478 (cat. no. HsC).
"Circle of Willem Backer von Vrelant, Annunciation, ca. 1470, Wellesley College." In Divine Mirrors: The Virgin Mary in Visual Art. Edited by Melissa R. Katz and Robert A. Orsi, New York: Oxford University Press, 2001, pp. 163-164; p. 164 (ref. under cat. no. 6).
Wieck, Roger S. "The Death Desired: Books of Hours and the Medieval Funeral." In Death and Dying in the Middle Ages. Edited by Edelgard E. DuBruck and Barbara I. Gusick, 431-476. New York: Peter Lang, 1999; pp. 440 (as fig. 25), 441 (as fig. 25), 447 (n. 24), 473 (fig. 25).
Cardon, Bert. "The Portfolio of a Bruges Miniaturist in the Mid-15th Century." In "Als Ich Can": Liber Amicorum in Memory of Professor Dr. Maurits Smeyers. Edited by Bert Cardon, Jan Van der Stock, and Dominique Vanwijnsberghe, 317-356, vol. 1. Leuven: Peeters Press, 2002; p. 321.
Kren, Thomas. “Willem Vrelant and Workshop: Arenberg.” In Illuminating the Renaissance: The Triumph of Flemish Painting in Europe. Edited by Thomas Kren and Scot McKendrick, 117-119. Los Angeles: The J. Paul Getty Museum, 2003; p. 119 (ref. under cat. no. 15).
Gathercole, Patricia M. The Depiction of Angels and Demons in Medieval French Manuscript Illumination. Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen Press, 2004; p. 63, pl. 23.
These are pages that we pulled aside that disrupted the flow of the manuscript reader. These may be bindings, inserts, bookmarks, and various other oddities.
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