St Luke writing, miniature from a Book of Hours, [France, mid-15th century]

St Luke writing

a miniature on a leaf from a Book of Hours in Latin, illuminated manuscript on vellum. [France, mid-15th century]

One leaf, c.175×125mm, written in gothic script with 16 lines (c.100×60mm), the text comprising the end of the gospel extract from John, the prayer that often follows it, and the beginning of the extract from Luke, ILLUMINATED WITH A MINIATURE AND THREE-SIDED BORDER of stylised and semi-naturalistic foliage and flowers; the leaf lightly cockled and the miniature with some small losses of pigment. In a card mount.

Luke is shown as a grey-bearded old man, in an interior, writing on a scroll on his lap, his symbol the winged ox next to him. The prayer ‘Protector in te sperancium …’ present here is commonly found between the gospel extracts from John and Luke near the beginning of Books of Hours.