Add MS 39641

PARHAM MS. LIX. FRAGMENT of a Book of Hours, another considerable fragment (34 leaves and 4 separate miniatures) of which was formerly in the collections of J. J. de Bure (1832-1853) and A. Firmin Didot (1853-1884), see J. J. de Bure sale-cat., Paris, 1853, lot 45, and A. Firmin Didot sale-cat., 1884, lot 24 (two facsimiles in the illustrated edition). The contents of the present fragment are :-

(1) The Seven Penitential Psalms, each psalm followed by three prayers and the whole preceded by the following four prayers (a) "Suscipere digneris domine ";- (b) " Deus pie et exaudibilis " ;-

(c) "Suscipe domine " ;- (d) " Domine Ihesu Christe." A Litany with French saints follows. The rubric to this article is on the

last page of the Firmin Didot fragment : " Sequuntur orationes dicende ante psalmos penitentiales," with the catchword " Suscipere dig." f. 1 b ;-

(2) Vigils of the Dead. f. 20 ;-

(3) " Obsecro te." f. 36;-

(4) " O intemerata." f. 39;-

(5) " De sancto Iohanne baptista." Rubric only, the two following articles being on a detached leaf from the same MS. The memorial of St. John, of which this is the rubric, is one of the separate leaves in the Firmin Didot MS. f. 40 b;

(6) The last four lines of a hymn in six-line stanzas. The fragment beg. "Quem dolorem meruit." f.41;-

(7) "Incipiunt septem gaudia beate Marie virginis. Primum gaudium." Rubric only, the miniature for the joys following overleaf. ib. Vellum; ff. v + 41. 8 1/8 in. x 5 in. Early XVI cent. Gatherings of 8 leaves (signatures H-M and one loose leaf). Executed in France. Six miniatures and many initials, large and small, in dull gold and colours. Detached panels with foliage-scrolls and flowers on dull gold grounds in the margins. The miniatures are enclosed in Renaissance porticos of dull gold, and each miniature with the opposing page of text has a frame composed of branches of trees in dull gold from which depend rosaries, flower-sprays, shields of arms, etc. The subjects of the miniatures, which are fairly good examples of the late Tours school, are :-(1) The Last Judgement. f. 1 ;-

(2) David and Nathan. f. 3 b;-

(3) Raising of Lazarus. f. 19 b;-

(4) Assumption of the Virgin. f. 35 b;-

(5) Virgin and Child. f. 38 b ;-

(6) Virgin and risen Christ. f. 41 b.

At the base of each miniature is a shield of arms, gules, a chevron or betw. three roses arg. This coat appears in a Tours Missal formerly in the Firmin Didot collection (sale-cat., 1879, lot 18). According to the catalogue these arms were borne by the following French families: Estang of Normandy, Antras of Gascony and Lalemant of Berry. None of these seem probable owners. On the miniature on f. 3 b the initial R and a figure [see p.118 in text] occur repeatedly. Skulls and skeletons appear in all the miniatures, often in association with putti, in one case (f. 19 b) accompanied by the motto " Timor mortis con[tu]rbat me." In the Firmin Didot portion the motto "La ou ie doy " occurs on a miniature of St. Pierre de Luxembourg. The MS. was acquired by Curzon in 1832 (see f. v). At f. iii is a letter from William Boone, the bookseller, to R. Curzon, 27 Dec. 1853, stating that he has lost lot 45 at the de Bure sale to Didot for 1,500 fr. On the back of this Curzon has written the following note in 1867: " Heures du Cardinal de Meudon. This beautifull French MS. has at some time been broken up, the largest half is the book described on the other side, which sold for £63. It is the finest illuminated french book of any that were shown in the great Exposition at Paris in 1867. One illumination now added to the

present portion [f. 41] was in the possession of the Honble. John Ashley [Q.C., 4th son of the 6th Earl of Shaftesbury, d. 1 Jan. 1867], who died this year. His widow [Julia] kindly gave it to me at his lamented death. R. Curzon." On what evidence Curzon calls the book the Hours of the Cardinal de Meudon is not clear. This was Antoine Sanguin de Meudon, 1493-1559, Bishop of Orleans 1535- 1550, Limoges 1546-1550, Toulouse 1553-1559, Cardinal 12 Dec. 1539, Grand Almoner of France 1543-1547. Bouvier, Arms of Cardinals (Add. MS. 37642, f. 78), reproduces a shield from the cover of a tazza of Limoges enamel in the Victoria and Albert Museum at South Kensington, which quarters the Sanguin arms with the coat found in the present MS. This is dated 1544 and has the insignia of a cardinal, but no such insignia occur in this MS. or in the Didot portion. The dismemberment of the book at an early date is proved by the following inscription in the Didot portion: "Ce liure contenant les quatre evangilles, heures et prières de nostre Dame, xxiiii (sic, read xxxiiii) fuellets, de douze figures, est estimé et prisé, l'escripture et vignettes comprinses, à xxxviii livres. Il appartient a moy Leermina (?), notaire, 1599." A note below adds that - Lermin has given the book to Jehanne, his daughter. Binding of red morocco, gilt-tooled (early 19th cent.). Curzon Cat., MSS. in Latin, no. 5.

Antoine Sanguin, Cardinal; called Cardinal de Meudon: Fragment of Horae called " Heures du Cardinal de Meudon": 16th cent.

Liturgies LATIN: Fragments of Horae: late 15th cent., 16th cent.

Heraldry: Arms, in illumination (French): 16th cent.

Bindings ENGLISH: Red morocco, gilt-tooled: 19th cent.

Art. Illuminations and Drawings FRENCH: Horae (fragment) : miniatures, borders and initials: early 16th cent.

includes:

• f. iii William Boone, of Thomas and William Boone, booksellers, of London: Letter to Hon. R. Curzon: 1853.
• f. 1 b Liturgies LATIN: Penitential psalms, with prayers: early 16th cent.