1 Leaf Illuminated Latin Book Of Hours Vellum Manuscript Dating To 15th Century
Item History & Price
| Reference Number: Avaluer:7273460 | Topic: Prayerbooks |
| Subject: Religion & Spirituality | Binding: Manuscript/Unbound |
This auction is for a beautiful illuminated manuscript animal-skinvellum (not paper) Book of Hours leaf (Use of Rome). Its provenanceis Italy, probably Tuscany. It dates from the 15th century, about1450-1470 A.D. This particular manuscript leaf has thirteen (13) coloredinitials, made with either blue or red ink. It also has two (2) long, ornate filagrees (see the scannedimages). This leaf has the following words: "stretch out, "; "humble"; "...rescue"; "judge"; "redeem"; "judgment"; "sinners"; "sayings"; "testimony"; "guard"; "commandments"; "prince"; "truth"; "eternity"; "glory"; "prayer"; "savior"; "redeemer"; and "of the world." Thesize is about 2 1/2 in. x 4 3/4 in. This is an amazinglybeautiful handwritten text on vellum, which is made from a calf skin, a lambskin, or a kid skin. Most of what I work with is paper, soit is very nice to feel a sheet of real vellum--with the smooth and slick sidewhich is the "skin side" and the other side which is rougher and youcan see the small black marks where the hair follicles were on the "hairside."
We need to put into context thework of Christian scribes during the 1, 400 years before Gutenberg’s 1455 inventionof printing with movable type. During these centuries scribes developedtwo kinds of abbreviations in the manuscripts that were copied andre-copied. The first kind of abbreviation was the shortening orabbreviation of very common words, so that it was easier and quicker to writesuch frequently occurring words. These do not concern us here. Thesecond kind of abbreviation was for the words held sacred by Christians. In the Latin tradition, and especially in Jerome’s Latin Vulgate text, thesewere called “Nomina Sacra” meaning “Holy Names.” To Christians writingthe New Testament the word “Lord” usually referred to “The Lord Jesus Christ.” This leaf has the Nomina Sacra or Holy Name for the word “Lord, ” in which theLatin word “Domine” is abbreviated to “dne”and a line is placed above the “n” to indicate that this is a Nomina Sacra (see the 4th scanned image, line 6 from the top).The winner will receive notonly the original Book of Hours leaf, but also a xerox copy with all theseitems marked by a scholar who has a Ph.D. in New Testament Studies, received from the University of Birmingham, in Birmingham, England (seethe last scanned image, with highlighted words). This is an originalmanuscript leaf made from animal skin or vellum, not a modernreproduction.Guarantee ofAuthenticity. All of the leaves we sell (whetherhandwritten manuscripts or printed texts) are ORIGINALS. We guaranteeeverything we sell to be original and authentic. Due to their age, someimperfections can be expected, so please read our descriptions and view ourscanned images carefully. We stand behind our inventory and want to make surethat all of our clients are completely satisfied with their purchases.
00075
We need to put into context thework of Christian scribes during the 1, 400 years before Gutenberg’s 1455 inventionof printing with movable type. During these centuries scribes developedtwo kinds of abbreviations in the manuscripts that were copied andre-copied. The first kind of abbreviation was the shortening orabbreviation of very common words, so that it was easier and quicker to writesuch frequently occurring words. These do not concern us here. Thesecond kind of abbreviation was for the words held sacred by Christians. In the Latin tradition, and especially in Jerome’s Latin Vulgate text, thesewere called “Nomina Sacra” meaning “Holy Names.” To Christians writingthe New Testament the word “Lord” usually referred to “The Lord Jesus Christ.” This leaf has the Nomina Sacra or Holy Name for the word “Lord, ” in which theLatin word “Domine” is abbreviated to “dne”and a line is placed above the “n” to indicate that this is a Nomina Sacra (see the 4th scanned image, line 6 from the top).The winner will receive notonly the original Book of Hours leaf, but also a xerox copy with all theseitems marked by a scholar who has a Ph.D. in New Testament Studies, received from the University of Birmingham, in Birmingham, England (seethe last scanned image, with highlighted words). This is an originalmanuscript leaf made from animal skin or vellum, not a modernreproduction.Guarantee ofAuthenticity. All of the leaves we sell (whetherhandwritten manuscripts or printed texts) are ORIGINALS. We guaranteeeverything we sell to be original and authentic. Due to their age, someimperfections can be expected, so please read our descriptions and view ourscanned images carefully. We stand behind our inventory and want to make surethat all of our clients are completely satisfied with their purchases.
00075
