MS 2: Book of Hours (Le Louchier Hours; The Syracuse Hours)

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Virgin and Child

Description

MS 2, which has also been referred to by scholars as the Syracuse Hours or Le Louchier Hours, is a Book of Hours with a date of post-1450. This manuscript of 223 leaves bears a coat of arms that has been identified as belonging to the Le Louchier-De Buillemont family, more specifically to Robert Le Louchier and Anne Croquevilain who were married in 1435.

This Book of Hours of the Roman rite use consists of a calendar, the Hours, the 7 Penitential Psalms, Litany, suffrages, and miscellaneous prayers. The main text is in Latin with rubrics in French. It is written in Gothic bookhand and appears in a layout of one column of 15 rows of text with rubrics in red and the rest of the text in brown/black ink. Family entries follow the main text which record the births and deaths of the Du Questnoy family, later owners of the MS. The manuscript was eventually donated to Syracuse University Library, Department of Special Collections by John M. Crawford.

The four full-page, richly illuminated miniatures, complete with elaborate borders, have a facing page of text with borders and decorative initials which complement the major composition depicted. Decorative borders and decorative initials on these pages and other pages which consist only of the decorative borders and initials, are characterized by a variety of foliage--acanthus, vines, flowers, strawberries, and the occasional animal--and rich, bold colors--blue, green, pink, orange, yellow, and gold leaf. The illuminations have been identified as characteristics of the Tournai workshop and possibly are the work of the Master of Ghent privileges.

Index of Selected Images from MS 2

ff.15v-16r, Crucifixion & accompanying text

ff.15v, Crucifixion

f.20r, Border & Initial: Hours of the Holy Spirit

ff.24v-25r, Virgin & Child; Coat of Arms; accompanying text

ff.24v, Virgin & Child; Coat of Arms;

f.45r, Border & Initial: Hours of the Blessed Virgin Mary

f.57r, Border & Initial: Prime

f.61r, Border & Initial: Terce

f.65r, Border & Initial: Sext

f.68r, Border & Initial: None

f.71r, Border & Initial: Vespers

f.77r, Border & Initial: Compline

f.85v, Border & Initial: Office from Advent to the Nativity

f.92v, Border & Initial: Office from Nativity to the Purification

f.101r, Border & Initial: Hours of the Spirit

ff.107v-108r, Decorative Initial: Lauds

ff.110v-111r, Decorative Initial: Terce

ff.112v-113r, Decorative Initial: Sext

ff.113v-114r, Decorative Initial: None

ff.114v-115r, Decorative Initial: Vespers

ff.121v-122r, Christ in Judgment & accompanying text

ff.121v, Christ in Judgment

ff.135v-136r, Litany

f.144r, Border & Initial: Office of the Dead

ff.205v-206r, St. Francis receiving the Stigmata & accompanying text

ff.205v, St. Francis receiving the Stigmata

ff.213v-214r, Heavenly Joys of the Very Blessed Mother of God

ff.214v-215r, Prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary

Detailed Multilevel Description

Index of Medieval Manuscripts
Image Links and descriptions
Shelfmark MS 2, Syracuse University Library, Department of Special Collections.
Nickname Le Louchier Hours; the Syracuse Hours.
Composite MS? No.
Total Folios 223 leaves (includes any flyleaves).
Outer Dimensions 20 x 15 cm.
Physical Issues/Binding Nineteenth century dark green leather binding with gold edges. On the spine appears a gold star. Imprinted on the spine are "Heures Antiques 1410" and "Latin et Francois" (all in capital letters).
Provenance Le Louchier Family (?): Robert Le Louchier (born c. 1407), Anne Croquevilain (1416-1503), and Marie Le Louchier; Du Questnoy Family (c.1521-1595); Edward Hailctone (?); John M. Crawford (1913-1988).
Bibliography Clark, Gregory. Made in Flanders: The Master of the Ghent Privileges and Manuscript Painting in the Southern Netherlands in the Time of Philip the Good. Ars Nova. Turnhout, Belgium: Brepols, forthcoming. -- Everson Museum of Art of Syracuse and Onondaga County, Medieval Art in Upstate New York, Syracuse, NY: Everson Museum of Art of Syracuse and Onondaga County, 1974.[pp. 107-108]. -- Gil, Marc. "Du manuscrit enlumine au livre imprime: le Maitre de la Vita Christi de Cambrai, successeur du Maitre des Privileges de Gand." Bulletin de bibliophile (1969/1997): 23, 25, 30, fig. 7. -- Maggs Bros. "Illuminated Manuscript on Vellum." Books, Manuscripts, and Bindings Remarkable for their Rarity, Beauty, and Interest. [Maggs Bros.] Catalogue, no. 456 (1924). London, England: Maggs Bros., 1924: [Catalogue entry 206] 156, pl. XLIX. -- Van Buren, A. H. Cod. 2583: Privileges and Statutes of Ghent and Flanders. Review of Die illuminierten Handschriften und Inkunabelnd der Osterreichischen Nationalbibiothek Flemische Schule, by Otto Pacht, Ulrike Jenni, and Dagmar Thoss. The Art Bulletin 67, no. 2 (June 1985): 328.
Notes (Manuscript Level) In the lower margin of f.25 is an escutcheon that has been identified as belonging to the Le Louchier-De Buillemont family, although it is not certain if the book was made for Robert Le Louchier (born c.1407), his wife, Anne Croquevilain of Tournai (born c.1416; married c.1435 to Robert, died 1503) or their daughter, Marie Le Louchier. Handwritten entries at the end of the manuscript are the births and deaths of the Du Questnoy Family, from 1521-1595. A coat of arms appearing on a bookplate pasted in the inside of the front cover displays the name of Edward Hailctone. The Maggs Brothers of London had the MS for sale in 1924. Two catalog descriptions are attached to the inside of the front cover of this MS, but neither correspond exactly to the Maggs Bros. description in their 1924 catalog. A bookplate from the Syracuse University Library Rare Book Department (now known as the Department of Special Collections) indicates that the MS was a gift of John M. Crawford. Crawford (1913-1988) donated the book to the library in 1964.
Source(s) Everson Museum of Art of Syracuse and Onondaga County, Medieval Art in Upstate New York, Syracuse, NY: Everson Museum of Art of Syracuse and Onondaga County, 1974.[pp. 107-108].-- Gil, Marc. "Du manuscrit enlumine au livre imprime: le Maitre de la Vita Christi de Cambrai, successeur du Maitre des Privileges de Gand." Bulletin de bibliophile (1969/1997): 23, 25, 30, fig. 7 Books, Manuscripts, and Bindings Remarkable for their Rarity, Beauty, and Interest. [Maggs Bros.] Catalogue, no. 456 (1924). London, England: Maggs Bros., 1924: [Catalogue entry 206] 156, pl. XLIX. -- Van Buren, A. H. Cod. 2583: Privileges and Statutes of Ghent and Flanders. Review of Die illuminierten Handschriften und Inkunabelnd der Osterreichischen Nationalbibiothek Flemische Schule, by Otto Pecht, Ulrike Jenni, and Dagmar Thoss. The Art Bulletin 67, no. 2 (June 1985): 328. --Weimer, Mark, and Clark, Gregory. Email communications, 8 September 1997. -- Clark, Gregory. Email communication to Mark Weimer, 11, September 1997. -- Clark, Gregory. Letter to Mark Weimer, 20, April 1999. -- In house files. -- Additional information from Gregory Clark, Marc Gil, and Dominique Vanwijnsberghe. --Other notes, observations, and descriptions of Jennifer Casten.
Inputter/Reviser Jennifer Casten.
Part Number Pt. I, front flyleaf, calendar, main text for the hours; Pt. II, part of the book of hours possibly completed 25 years later; Pt. III, family entries.
Support Parchment.
Span of Folios for Part Pt. I, ff.1r-208v; Pt. II, ff.209r-216v; Pt. III, 217r-222r (222v & 223 are blank folios).
Country France.
City/Region Tournai.
Document? No.
Dated? Yes.
Date The handwritten statement, "Ce livre ma est donne lan milles quatre cent et dix," (f. 217r) suggested an early date of 1410, which now appears on the spine of the nineteenth century binding, but the hand which has written this has been identified as belonging to that of the early seventeenth century. (Toward the bottom of the same leaf is the statement, "Ce livre ma este vendu lan 1706." ). Because the arms have been identified as belonging to the Le Louchier-De Buillemont family, and include the insignia for the Croquevilain family, the manuscript was probably made after the marriage of Robert Le Louchier (born c.1407) and Anne Croquevilain of Tournai (b. ca.1416; d. 1503) in 1435. Furthermore, the inclusion of a feast day on the calendar for May 20 in honor of St. Bernardine of Siena, who died in 1444, and the suffrage, "De Saint Bernardin", appearing on folios 202r-202v, suggests a date of post-1450, the date of his canonization. The marginal decoration appears to confirm this date as it indicates that this manuscript was a product of the workshop based in Tournai which was probably the home to the Master of the Ghent Privleges, who has been attributed with the illuminations of two manuscripts made for Philip the Good in the early 1450s.
Layout Eighteen prick-holes, aligned one on top of the other to the extreme right of the verso page have been used to line up the 17 rows of text on the pages in the calendar. The calendar is also ruled in ink with 18 horizontal, 2 full-length vertical lines, and 6 vertical lines extending to the same length as the height of the text. The folios for the main text show 16 prick holes stacked vertically on the verso, centered in the right margin although some folios show evidence of prick holes lined horizontally along the top (e.g. f. 24). The main text is ruled in ink with 16 horizontal lines and 2 vertical lines, allowing for 1 column and 15 rows of text. Rubrics range in color from pale to deep red and the ink for the text ranges from medium brown to black.
Script Gothic bookhand.
Representational Decoration The four full-page illuminations appear on the versos of their respective folio following a blank recto of the same folio. For the first three miniatures, the recto on the folio facing the full page illumination is text highlighted by a large decorated initial and framed by an elaborately ornamented border which complements the miniature. Borders often uses burnished gold, blue, green, pink, orange, and yellow for colors. The first miniature (15v) portraying the Crucifixion depicts Christ on the cross between two criminals similarly sentenced. A soldier pierces his side with a lance. A crowd of people on foot and horseback and dressed in medieval garb surround the foot of the cross and the nearby area. St. John the Apostle comforts Mary, Mother of Christ, and another woman, presumably Mary Magdalene, stands by them and gazes up at Christ. A very ornamental border of vines consists of acanthus and flowers is complemented by the border on the facing recto (16r). The miniature of the Madonna and Child (24v) shows the Virgin seated while holding the Christ-child. The ground appears to be grass covered with blooming flowers and matches the throne upon which the Virgin is seated. The background is a tile-like design, which combines a diaper or checkerboard pattern and a diamond shape pattern design. The border includes the usual vine foliage and acanthus leaves along with pink flowers. The facing folio (25r) includes strawberries in its border ornamentation and also bears the escutcheon indicating for whom the manuscript was made or commissioned. The scene of the Resurrection of the Dead and Christ in Judgment (121v) depicts Christ bearing a cruciform halo, appearing in a mandorla with his feet on the globe of the world, making a two fingered gesture with his right hand, and with the wounds of his passion displayed. On the flowered-covered earth, two angels blow horns and the dead rise from the ground. The border is covered with intricate and detailed designs and includes pink flowers, strawberries, and other fruits/flowers. The border of the facing page (122r) includes flowers, strawberries, and a peacock. The final illuminated miniature portrays St. Francis of Assisi receiving the Stigmata from the seraphim which bears the image of Christ crucified and is adorned with four red wings (205v).
Other Decoration Different parts of the office are not only indicated by full page miniatures, but also by decorative borders largely consisting of vines intermixed with acanthus leaves, flowers, and strawberries (and the rare occasion of an animal such as the long-tailed bird on f. 144r) which frame the text to indicate a different part of the office, as well as large initials with a gold burnished background and margin decoration which extend into the margins from an initial, resembling a vertical margin guide. Various decorative capitals of different sizes use colors of gold, blue, red, and white in their design and may be ornamented with flourishes and floral decoration, some which may extend upward and downward in the margins with floral work invading the marginal space. Other decoration includes end of line space fillers, located within a row of text, in blue and gold design. Folios 213r-216r have additional decorative letters, flourishes, and marginal decoration extending from capitals that are quite distinct from those found elsewhere in the manuscript.
Artist The illuminations have been identified as characteristic of the Tournai workshop, and may be the work of the Master of the Ghent Privileges.
Notes (Part Level) Provenance information is a contribution of Gregory Clark, Marc Gil, and Dominique Vanwijnsberghe. Artist identification, workship, and location is derived from the review article by A. H. Van Buren. Dating information is contributed by or derived from information in the works of the above and/or Kenneth Pennington.
Span of Folios for Text Calendar: ff. 2r-14r. Main text for the Hours: ff. 15v-216v. Family entries: ff. 217r-222r.
Supplied Title Book of Hours; Hours of the Virgin; or Horae Beatae Mariae Virginis.
Status of Text The two sets of folios, 105r-120v and 181r-191v, share similar border decoration. That in addition to the fact that the text is incomplete for section at 181r, may be indicative that ff. 105r-120v and 181r-191v should have appeared together but were later misbound.
Incipit [Immediately after calendar:] "Domine labia mea aperies…"
Language(s) Latin, with rubrics in French.
Notes (Text Level) According to Pennington’s article in Medieval Art in Upstate New York, p. 107, MS 2 is an incomplete book of hours which follows the Roman rite. Yet the supplied title for the MS in this article appears as Hours of the Virgin. Use of Tournai(?).This text of this book of hours consists of the Calendar , the Hours , the 7 Penitential Psalms, the Litany, and various prayers including intercessions (e.g., on behalf of the souls in purgatory, priests, relatives, home, etc.), psalms, the verses of St. Bernard ("Illumina oculos meos"), the Stabat mater dolorosa, and O Gloriosa mater dolorosa, prayer to the choirs of angels, and suffrages to the saints (St. Augustine, St. Eleutherius, St. Bernadine, St. Nicholas, St. Barbara, St. Francis of Assisi), the Joys of Our Lady, Heavenly Joys of the very Blessed Mary Mother of God, and Commemoration of St. Anne.The first three full-page miniatures of the Crucifixion(15v), Madonna and Child (24v), and Christ in Judgment (121v) each precede the Hours of the Cross (16r + ff), the Hours of the Virgin (25r + ff), and the Penitential Psalms (122r + ff), respectively. The miniature of St. Francis Receiving the Stigmata (205v + ff) corresponds to a suffrage to the saint.

Citations

Clark, Gregory. Made in Flanders: The Master of the Ghent Privileges and Manuscript Painting in the Southern Netherlands in the Time of Philip the Good. Ars Nova. Turnhout, Belgium: Brepols, forthcoming.

Everson Museum of Art of Syracuse and Onondaga County, Medieval Art in Upstate New York, Syracuse, NY: Everson Museum of Art of Syracuse and Onondaga County, 1974. [pp. 107-108]

Gil, Marc. “Du manuscrit enlumine au livre imprime: le Maitre de la Vita Christi de Cambrai, successeur du Maitre des Privileges de Gand.” Bulletin de bibliophile (1969/1997): 23, 25, 30, fig. 7.

Maggs Bros. “Illuminated Manuscript on Vellum.” Books, Manuscripts, and Bindings Remarkable for their Rarity, Beauty, and Interest. [Maggs Bros.] Catalogue, no. 456 (1924). London, England: Maggs Bros., 1924: [Catalogue entry 206] 156, pl. XLIX.

Van Buren, A. H. Cod. 2583: Privileges and Statutes of Ghent and Flanders. Review of Die illuminierten Handschriften und Inkunabelnd der Osterreichischen Nationalbibiothek Flemische Schule, by Otto Pecht, Ulrike Jenni, and Dagmar Thoss. The Art Bulletin 67, no. 2 (June 1985): 328.