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Arundel MS 71/1
- Record Id:
- 040-004368109
- Hierarchy Root Ancestor Record Id:
- 032-002039280
- MDARK:
- ark:/81055/vdc_100165374027.0x000001
- LARK:
- ark:/81055/vdc_100181688599.0x000001
- SLARK:
- Format:
- ISAD(G)
- Reference (shelfmark):
- Arundel MS 71/1
- Title:
- Detached leaf from a Gradual
- Scope & Content:
-
This manuscript comprises a single detached leaf from the opening of a large illuminated Gradual, made in Ghent between 1480 and 1483. The Gradual was probably commissioned by Margaret of York (b. 1446, d. 1503), duchess of Burgundy, whose arms (formulated after her marriage in 1468 to Charles the Bold, duke of Burgundy) appear in the leaf's decorated border. It constitutes 'the only known remains of a book for public liturgy commissioned by a member of the house of York' (see Royal Manuscripts (2011), no. 151).
The leaf preserves the Introit for the first Sunday in Advent, 'Ad te leuaui animam meam' (Psalm 24), the first text in the Gradual's opening section, the Proper of Time. The rubric foliation ('iii') in the centre of the upper border decoration confirms the leaf's original placement towards the front of its parent volume. The verso of the leaf features pen-trials in English and an added memorandum by a 17th-century hand emulating Gothic script, which states that Margaret gave the manuscript to the Grey Observant Friars of Greenwich. Margaret's brother, King Edward IV of England (r. 1461-1470, 1471-1483), secured papal approval for the house's foundation in 1481 (on Margaret's patronage of the house, see A. G. Little, 'Introduction of the Observant Friars into England' (1921-23), 459-60).
The leaf was formerly inserted as f. 9 in Arundel MS 71, a presentation copy of Charles Soillot's Le Debat de felicite (The Debate on Happiness), which begins with a prologue addressed to Margaret's husband Charles the Bold (b. 1433, d. 1477). The leaf was removed from the volume in 1947 and is now housed separately.
Decoration:
The manuscript's decoration is attributed to a loose artistic group known as the Ghent Associates, active in the late 1470s and early 1480s in the Southern Netherlands (see Royal Manuscripts (2011), no. 151).
1 historiated initial 'A'(d), depicting David kneeling in prayer, accompanied by a full trompe l'oeil border, in colours and gold, featuring the arms of Margaret of York (b. 1446, d. 1503), duchess of Burgundy (recto).
Small initials in blue with red pen-flourishing or in red with blue pen-flourishing. Small penwork initials in brown and red ink.
Musical notation on four-line staves, drawn in red.
- Collection Area:
- Western Manuscripts
- Project / Collection:
- Arundel Manuscripts
Medieval and Renaissance Women - Hierarchy Record Ids:
- 032-002039280
040-004368109 - Is part of:
- Arundel MS 1-550 : Arundel Manuscripts
Arundel MS 71/1 : Detached leaf from a Gradual - Hierarchy:
- 032-002039280[0553]/040-004368109
- Container:
- View / search within Archive / Collection: Arundel MS 1-550
- Record Type (Level):
- File
- Extent:
- 1 volume
- Digitised Content:
- http://access.bl.uk/item/viewer/ark:/81055/vdc_100181688599.0x000001 (digital images currently unavailable)
- Thumbnail:
-
- Languages:
- Latin
- Scripts:
- Latin
- Start Date:
- 1475
- End Date:
- 1485
- Date Range:
- c 1480
- Era:
- CE
- Access:
-
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- User Conditions:
- Physical Characteristics:
-
Material: Parchment.
Dimensions: 445 x 125 mm (text space: 355 x 230 mm).
Foliation: f. [1] (+ 3 unfoliated modern paper flyleaves at the beginning and 13 at the end).
Collation: The single leaf is mounted on a modern paper guard.
Script: Gothic.
Binding: British Museum in-house. Black leather.
- Custodial History:
-
Origin:
Ghent, Southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium).
Provenance:
Margaret of York (b. 1446, d. 1503), duchess of Burgundy: her arms within the decorated border (recto); apparently given by her to the Observant Friars of Greenwich, see the later inscription (verso, transcribed below).
The Grey Observant Friars of Greenwich, c. 1500: inscribed, 'Ther was A Booke called A graile given unto the graie observant friers of greenwich by Margaret duchesse of Bourgoine sister unto k. Edward :4: the book was made beyond the seas…' (verso).
Added inscriptions in 16th-century hands, including the names, 'John Brickeston' and 'Thomas Hall' (verso).
? Thomas Howard (b. 1585, d. 1646), 2nd earl of Arundel, 4th earl of Surrey, and 1st earl of Norfolk, art collector and politician.
Henry Howard (b. 1628, d. 1684), 6th duke of Norfolk, presented to the Royal Society in 1667.
The Royal Society, London.
Purchased by the British Museum from the Royal Society of London together with 549 other Arundel manuscripts in 1831.
- Former Internal References:
- Arundel MS 71, f. 9
- Information About Copies:
-
Select digital coverage available for this manuscript; see the Catalogue of Illuminated Manuscripts, https://bl.uk/catalogues/illuminatedmanuscripts.
- Publications:
-
Catalogue of Manuscripts in The British Museum, New Series, 1 vol. in 2 parts (London: British Museum, 1834-1840), I, part 1: The Arundel Manuscripts, p. 21.
A. G. Little, 'Introduction of the Observant Friars into England', Proceedings of the British Academy, 10 (1921-23), 455-71 (p. 460 n. 2).
Medieval Libraries of Great Britain: A List of Surviving Books, ed. by N. R. Ker, 2nd edn, Royal Historical Society Guides and Handbooks, 3 (London: Royal Historical Society, 1964), p. 93.
Scot McKendrick, Flemish Illuminated Manuscripts 1400-1550 (London: British Library, 2003), p. 93 (no. 78).
Royal Manuscripts: The Genius of Illumination (London: British Library, 2011), no. 151 [exhibition catalogue].
- Material Type:
- Archives and Manuscripts
- Legal Status:
- Not Public Record(s)