Book of Hours, Use of Rouen during the English Occupation, in Latin and French [France (Rouen), c.1430-40]

162x119mm, vellum, i+108+i, complete (foliation skipping single leaves after ff.14 and 29), 14 quires of 8 leaves except vii8+1 (f.51 singleton), ix2, and x8+1 (f.66 singleton), 16 lines, 98x62mm, 4 LARGE AND 2 FULL-PAGE MINIATURES with full borders, several large illuminated initials with three-sided borders, in two places with full borders, small illuminated initials and line-fillers; in a 16th-century hand, 'Marguerite ...' in the calendar (4 June); the outer margin of f.15 replaced, the extreme upper corners of ff.77-79, 85-93 lacking, the full borders slightly cropped, some wear and smudging; 19th-century blind-stamped brown leather binding, spine repaired, metal fittings, gilt edges

provenance

The woman for whom the book was made is depicted in the miniature in adoration of the Virgin and Child (f.99v). The style of illumination, the miniature of St Romanus, bishop of Rouen (who also appears in red in the calendar), and the Use of the Hours of the Virgin, all point to the book’s origin in Rouen. The Office of the Dead is essentially the same as the text of the (English) Use of Sarum, but has minor variants, as used in Rouen during the Occupation by the English during the Hundred Years War (1419-49); English influence also explains the placement of the suffrages between Lauds and Prime, and the presence of St Cuthbert (4 Sept.) and Laurence of Dublin (14 Nov.) in the calendar. In light of the full-page miniature of St Eustace, the original patron may have lived in or near St-Eustache-la-Forêt, about 35 miles west of Rouen (for a very similar composition, painted by a Rouen illuminator, see the second plate illustrating Sotheby's, 14 July 1981, lot 118).

text and illumination

Calendar in French (f.1r); Gospel extracts (f.13r); Hours of the Virgin, Use of Rouen, with Matins (f.16r), Lauds (f.25r), suffrages (f.32r), Prime (f.37r), Terce (f.40v), Sext (f.42v), None (f.44v), Vespers (f.46v), Compline (f.48r); Penitential Psalms (f.52r), litany (f.60v), petitions and 2 collects; Office of the Dead, Use of Rouen during the English Occupation (f.67r); Hours of the Cross (f.90r) and of the Holy Spirit (f.92r); prayers in French, the 15 Joys of the Virgin (f.94r) and the 5 Wounds of Our Lord (f.97v), and in Latin, ‘Obsecro te’ (f.99v), ‘O intemerata’ (f.102v), and 'Les sept [actually 8] vers saint Bernard' (f.105r).

The FASTOLF MASTER is named after a manuscript, dated 1450, containing the Livre des quatre vertus and Epître d’Othéa (Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS. Laud Misc. 570) made for Sir John Fastolf (d.1459). After starting work in Paris, he moved around 1420 to Rouen, the centre of English administration at the end of the Hundred Years' War. Popular among his English clients, he left Rouen before the surrender in 1449 and settled in London. His compositions have a linear clarity. The reinforced outlines emphasize the surface. Figures, interiors, and landscapes are stylized and resemble decorative patterns. While in Rouen a number of other artists emulated his style, including the Hoo Master (named after the Hours of Lord Hoo, of Hastings; Dublin, Royal Irish Academy, MS 12R31), and the Talbot Master (named after manuscripts produced for John Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury); the
present manuscript belongs to this group.

The subjects of the integral large miniatures are:
(1) f.16r, the Annunciation;
(2) f.34r, Eustace (f.34r);
(3) f.35r, Romanus;
(4) f.99v, Female Patron kneeling before the Virgin and Child.

The subjects of the inserted full-page miniatures are:
(5) f.50v, the Last Judgment;
(6) f.66v, a Funeral service.