Medieval Manuscripts in Flemish Collections · Vlaamse Erfgoedbibliotheken

Manuscript description

Manuscript ID

mmfc-50032

Title

Book of Hours

Sobriquet

The Loys van Boghem Hours

Collection

Brugge, Archief Grootseminarie

Shelfmark

Brugge, Archief Grootseminarie, Ms. 66/35

Manuscript Category

religion

Notes

Textual content

On the first unnumbered page at least two owners' marks are removed by scratching the parchment. One anonymous damnation for a dishonest finder is still present: Quiconque le retrouve et ne le rende: sera suivy par l'Infernale bende.

Provenance

Owner

Loys van Boghem

Date

1526

Evidence type

Owner's initials (fol. 1r, 5r, 31bis v, 36v, 39v, 44v, 45r, 64bis r, 70r, Middle French)

Description

The owner's initials LVB, and sometimes the initials L A and L A F are found throughout the manuscript.

Owner

Abbey of the Dunes

Date

17th century

Evidence type

Stamp (fol. 1r, fol. 164r)

Transcription

On fol. i r. a written ex-libris says: Ad usum omnium Dunensium / Fac necessitate virtutem / Per aspera montem / 12 Decembris 1635.

Description

Stamp of the so-called "Dunes cross"

Owner

Loys van Boghem

Date

1526

Evidence type

Owner's motto (fol. 10r, 21r, 64bis v, Middle French)

Transcription

Iusque a la fin.

Owner

Loys van Boghem

Date

1526

Evidence type

Owner's heraldry (fol. 21v, 29v, 36v, 79v, 102v)

Description

The coat of arms of Loys van Boghem.

Acquisition

This manuscript was purchased by Franciscus Boussen, bishop of Bruges, for the library of the Grootseminarie Brugge from the heirs of Nicolaas de Roover, the last surviving monk of the abbey of the Dunes, in or shortly after 1833.

References

Other online data sources

BNM-I (manuscripts)

BALaT

Jonas (manuscripts)

Bibliography

Rivière Ciavaldini, Laurence, ‘De la pierre au parchemin: le livre d’heures de Lodewijk van Boghem et le monastère royal de Brou’, in Re-Inventing Traditions: On the Transmission of Artistic Patterns in Late Medieval Manuscript Illumination (Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, 2015), pp. 303–19

Binding

UNIT ID

mmfc-50233

Leaf count

i + 2 + 154 + iv (Two unnumbered folio's at the beginning of the book, the first containing owner's inscriptions and the second containing a full-page miniature on the verso side.)

Dicta probatoria

secundo folio (fol. 2r (calendar)) : KL Aprilis a xxx iours

secundo folio (fol. 7r (text)) : envers dieu

final leaf (fol. 154r) : des hommes.

Endpapers

parchment, equalized

Readers’ annotation

Inscriptions

Notes

General

While the decoration on the binding is missing, the original binding still contains the holes were the corner pieces, bosses and clasps were attached. At the inner side of the back board of the binding is a compartment cut out for storing reading glasses.

Binding

Binding type

Wooden boards

Date

Original binding

Cover material

Leather

Decoration

Blind tooling, Edge-gilded

Dimensions

h: 176 mm x w: 124 mm x d: 34 mm

Book Block

UNIT ID

mmfc-50234

Page range

fol. ii, fol. 1-154

Form

Codex

Integrity

Complete

Language

Middle French (main)

Quires

Regular quires (4 bifolia per quire)

Quire markings

Catchwords

Origin

Dated or datable manuscript

Dated, Localised

Date

1526

Evidence

Fol. 54r contains the date of production in the border decoration.

Alternative localisation

Rivière (2006) points to Lyon as the city where the production of this manuscript has taken place. This assumption is based on the (possible) presence of van Boghem in this region in the year 1526 (construction of the St. Nicolas of Tolentino church in Brou for which van Boghem was the architect) and the presence of 10 saints in the calendar that are exclusive to the diocese of Lyon.
Lyon , France (Rivière (2006))

Support

Material

Parchment

Number of leaves

Foliation

Modern foliation

Page dimensions

h: 169 mm x w: 115 mm (fol. 13r)

Layout

Section 1

fol. 1r-5r (fol. 1r)

Description

Layout of the calendar section: triple graded calendar in two columns

Columns

Lines

24; lines ruled: 25 (written below top line)

Layout formula

|||T|||T|

Ruling

Full ruling, Ink ruling

Prickings

no prickings visible in outer margin

Text dimensions

h: 116 mm x w: 32 mm

Margins

Top margin: 18 mm, inner margin: 14 mm

Intercolumnar space

0 mm

Section 2

fol. 6r-154r (fol. 9r)

Description

Layout of the text section.

Columns

Lines

24; lines ruled: 25 (written below top line)

Layout formula

|T|

Ruling

Full ruling, Ink ruling

Prickings

no prickings visible in outer margin

Text dimensions

h: 115 mm x w: 69 mm

Margins

Top margin: 19 mm, inner margin: 15 mm

Writing

Script

Gothica cursiva (Gothica cursiva formata )

Decoration

Type

illuminated, drolleries, heraldry, miniatures, border decoration, floral border, border (three-margins-left), border (three-margins-outer), border (three-margins), border (four-margins), ornamental initials, foliate initials, paraphs, line fillers, rubrics, rubrics red

Technique

Pen drawings

Description

Highly decorated book of hours with 17 full-page miniatures, one small square miniature (with a height of six lines), numerous decorated borders, various types of heraldry, and illuminated initials present on almost every decoration (incl. every initial). Each of the miniatures is placed within a gothic or renaissance style frame "gilded" with gold paint. Most of the border decoration is executed in a renaissance style and is very ornate with a wide variation in subjects, going from vine leaf borders with snails to borders made out of architect or construction tools. A number of borders hint to a more traditional 15th century floral border style or to a bastard Ghent-Bruges style with trompe-l'oeil effects and camaieu effects. The ornamental initials are gothic style initials reminiscent of champ initials, but against a single-colored red or blue background that is decorated with fine gold decoration for the larger initials. The "gilding" of the initials is, as with the miniatures and the borders, executed in gold paint. Some of the pages have small pen drawings of an acanthus leaf or a face extending from certain letters on the last line.

1. Calendar (use of Lyon)

UNIT ID

mmfc-50235

Page range

fol. 1r-5r

Title

Calendar (use of Lyon)

Language

Middle French (main)

Notes

Language

Middle French (main)

Notes

Textual content

This part starts with a antiphons and prayers to the Holy Trinity, followed by prayers concerning the "Five Joys of the Blessed Virgin" and various prayers to saints, angels, the Blessed Virgin, ...

10. Pseudo-Birgitta Suecica, Quindecim collectae seu orationes, Middle Dutch translation

UNIT ID

mmfc-50569

Page range

fol. 149v - 154r

Title

Pseudo-Birgitta Suecica, Quindecim collectae seu orationes, Middle Dutch translation

Quindecim collectae seu orationes

Contributors

Birgitta Suecica (attributed author)

Language

Middle Dutch (main)