Footnotes

Contents: 2 flyleaves with slightly later inscriptions; f. 1 blank; ff. 2-7 Calendar; 8-11 Hours of the Cross; 12-15v Hours of the Holy Spirit; 15v-20v Gospel readings; 21 blank; 22-86 Hours of the Blessed Virgin Mary (22-42v Matins; 43-54v Lauds; 55-59v Prime; 60-64 Terce; 64v-68v Sext; 69-73 Nones; 73v-81 Vespers; 81v-86 Compline); 86v blank; 87-100 Seven Penitential Psalms; 100v-109 Litany; 110-165v Office of the Dead; 166 Miserere Mei; 167 The Seven Joys of the Virgin; 169 Prayer in a later hand; flyleaf with later inscriptions.

Collation: 2 original flyleaves, A7 (of 8, A8 lacking ?cancelled, no loss of text), B8, C6, D-E8, F5 (of 6, F1 cancelled), G8, H4, I-N8, O6, P-R8, S6 (of 8, S4 and S6 cancelled), T-V8, W6 (of 8, W3 and W5 cancelled).

Miniatures: f. 8 The Crucifixion; 12 Pentecost; 22 The Annunciation; 43 The Visitation; 55 The Nativity; 60 The Shepherds; 64v The Adoration of the Magi; 69 The Presentation in the Temple; 73v The Massacre of the Innocents; 81v The Flight into Egypt; 110 A Funeral; 157 Souls carried to Heaven by Angels. The miniatures are in typical Brugean style of the mid fifteenth century, several evidently by an artist of the circle known as the 'Masters of the Gold Scrolls' after their characteristic use of gold scrolls in the backgrounds of their subjects. Others incorporate striking chequered backgrounds of liquid gold and colours.

Provenance: An early Brugean provenance is denoted by the signed blindtooled binding by Ludovicus Bloc (d. 1519). The book belonged to Jehan de Cerf, echevin of the Liberty of Bruges (d. 24 September 1554, aged 69). He gave it to his eldest daughter (by his first wife Judove van Schoore) Mary, on January 11th 1525. She married John Spronehoff and left the book to her son Philip. The flyleaves contain several notes about the family of De Cerf, which had settled in French Flanders as early as the fourteenth century, and about that of Spronehoff. See also illustrations on preceding page and at page 4.