Beinecke MS 400               Paris, s. XV^^1/4
De Levis Hours

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1.  ff. 1r-12v Full calendar in French of the general type printed by
Perdrizet, alternating red and blue entries with major feasts in gold.

2.  ff. 13r-16v Sequences of the Gospels.

3.  ff. 17r-22v Obsecro te...[masculine forms; Leroquais LH 2.346]; O
intemerata...orbis terrarum.  De te enim...[masculine forms; Wilmart,
494-95].

4.  ff. 23r-76r Hours of the Virgin, use of Paris, 9 Psalms and lessons at
Matins for the 3 nocturns; two leaves missing after f. 58v (end of Terce,
beginning of Sext).  f. 76v blank

5.  ff. 77r-92v Penitential Psalms and Litany, including Dionysius (11),
Maurice (12), Eustachius (13), Nicasius (15), and Quentin (19) among the 19
martyrs; Remigius (4), Maturinus (6), Brictius (13), Ivo (14), Magloire (17),
Privatus (18), Medard (19), Sulpice (20), and Maurus (21) among the 21
confessors; Juliana (5) and Genevieve (9) among the 13 virgins.

6.  ff. 93r-121v Hours of the Passion, with two leaves missing after f. 110v
(end of Terce, beginning of Sext), two after f. 113v (end of Sext, beginning of
None), two after f. 116v (end of None, beginning of Vespers), two after f. 121v
(end of Compline, beginning of art. 7).  ff. 103v, 118v ruled, but blank

7.  ff. 122r-125v Short Hours of the Cross, beginning defectively.

8.  ff. 126r-129v Short Hours of the Holy Spirit.

9.  ff. 130r-164v Office of the Dead, use of Paris; one leaf missing after
f. 134v.

10.  ff. 165r-171v Fifteen Joys of the Virgin, in Fr., beginning defectively
(Leroquais, LH 2.310-11); Seven Requests, in Fr. (Leroquais, LH 2,309-310);
Sainte uraye croys aouree...[Sonet 1876].

11.  ff. 172r-179v Suffrages to the Trinity, Annunciation, Holy Cross (2),
Michael archangel, John the Baptist, John the Evangelist, All Apostles,
Dionysius, Cosmas and Damian, Lawrence, Antony abbot, Leonard, Louis King, All
Confessors, Mary Magdalen, Catharine of Alexandria, 11,000 Virgins, All Virgins,
All Saints.

12.  ff. 180r-189r Votive masses of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, the Virgin
Mary, the Dead.  f. 189v ruled, but blank

     Parchment, f. i (parchment) + 189 + i (parchment), 216 x 153 (104 x 68) mm.,
trimmed.  Written in 16 long lines, 17 in Calendar.  Single vertical and
horizontal bounding lines, full length.  Ruled in red ink.
     I^^12, II^^4, III^^6, IV-VII^^8, VIII^^8 (-5, 6), IX-XIV^^8, XV^^8 (-3, 4, 8),
XVI^^8 (-1, 5, 6), XVII^^4 (-4), XVIII^^8 (-1), XIX^^8 (-7), XX-XXII^^8, XXIII^^8
(-6), XXIV-XXV^^8, XXVI^^8 (-8).  Three of the missing leaves were offered at
auction but not sold at Sotheby's, 22 June 1982, lot 75:  VIII (5) folio 2 in
sale, end of Terce, Hours of the Virgin; XV (3) folio 3, end of Terce, Hours of
the Passion; XVII (4) folio 1, end of Compline, Hours of the Passion.  A fourth
leaf, XVI (5), end of None, Hours of the Passion, reproduced in M. Lansburgh,
"The Illuminated Manuscript Collection at Colorado College," Art Journal
28 (1968) p. 63, fig. 6, also remains in the Lansburgh collection.  The fate
of the other missing leaves, including perhaps six miniatures, in unknown.
     Written in gothic bookhand.
     Sixteen miniatures from the workshops of the Lucon Master and the Master of
the Duke of Bedford, in blue, pink, and gold arched frames, some with cusping;
see M. Meiss, The De Levis Hours and the Bedford Workshop (Lectures in
Manuscript Illumination, New Haven, 1972).  The collaboration represents the
latest known activity of the Lucon workshop (dated works from 1401-11) and
one of the earlier products of the Bedford Master (active ca. 1410?-1435?); see
Exhibition Catalogue, pp. 221-23, no. 46, pl. 26 of f. 23r.  For other
manuscripts produced in the two shops, see M. Meiss, French Painting in the
Time of Jean de Berry:  The Limbourgs and their Contemporaries (New York,
1974) v. 1, pp. 363-68, 393-97, and Plummer, The Last Flowering,
p. 2, no. 2.  In addition, the
"Bedford"-style Hours of the Cross sold, at Sotheby's (19 May 1958, lot 102,
with illustration in color) and now in an English private collection, closely
resembles Beinecke 400 in style, quality, script and borders (we thank C. de
Hamel for this observation).
     Miniatures are as follow (number following the letter M refers to plates
in Meiss, De Levis Hours):  f. 23r Annunciation (Hours of the Virgin,
Matins; Bedford workshop, M. frontispiece); f. 42r Visitation (Lauds; Bedford
workshop, M. 1); f. 51r Nativity (Prime; Lucon workshop, M. 2); f. 56r
Annunciation to the shepherds (Terce; Bedford workshop, M. 7); one miniature
missing after f. 58:  probably Adoration of Magi (Sext); f. 62r Presentation in
temple (None, Lucon workshop, M. 3); f. 66r Flight into Egypt (Vespers;
Bedford workshop, M. 8); f. 72r Coronation of the Virgin (Compline; Bedford
workshop, M. 9); f. 77r David in prayer (Penitential Psalms; Lucon workshop,
M. 4); f. 93r Betrayal of Christ (Hours of the Passion, Matins; Lucon
Master, M. 5); f. 98v Christ before Pilate (Lauds; Bedford workshop, M. 10);
f. 104r Flagellation (Prime; Bedford workshop, M. 11); f. 107r Way to Calvary
(Terce; Bedford workshop, M. 12); one miniature missing after f. 110,probably
Crucifixion (Sext); one miniature missing after f. 113, probably Deposition
(None); one miniature missing after f. 116, probably Lamentation (Vespers);
f. 119r Entombment (Compline; Bedford workshop, M. 13); one miniature
missing after f. 121, Subject uncertain (Short Hours of the Cross);
f. 126r Pentecost (Short Hours of the Holy Spirit; Bedford workshop, M. 15);
f. 130r Burial service in cemetery (Office of the Dead; Bedford workshop, M.
14); one miniature missing after f. 165, Subject uncertain (Fifteen
Joys of the Virgin); f. 169r Last Judgment (Seven Requests; Lucon workshop,
M. 6).
     Each miniature with a lavish acanthus border incorporating arms on ff. 77r
and 93r (see Provenance).  Text pages with a 3/4 bar border, pink, blue and
gold, with interlace knots at corners and terminals and delicate rinceaux, in
two sizes on different folios.  3-line initials at text opening, two
historiated:  f. 77r David in prayer and f. 93r Christ with three Apostles in
the Garden; f. 51r with a blue and gold diapered ground; the remainder, blue
with white highlights or in pink and blue acanthus filled with ivy, with blue
and orange leaves, on gold, against pink, blue and/or gold grounds with white
filigree; framed in gold, often with small ivy or acanthus serifs.  4- to
2-line initials in text and KL monograms, pink or blue with white
highlights, filled with ivy, as above.  1-line initials blue, pink and gold
with white filigree.  Line endings, blue, pink and gold, three (ff. 57r, 102r,
102v) signed by Petrus Gilberti, known to have signed line-endings in at
least four other manuscripts:  two copies of the Bible historiale,
Brussels, Bibl. Roy. MS 9001-2 and London, B. L. Royal 15 D III, and two
Books of Hours, Brussels, Bibl. Roy. MS 9484 and Ithaca, New York, Cornell
University Library, MS Bd. Rare BY C36 H835 (olim B 24); see Meiss, De
Levis Hours,
pp. 9-10, with fig. of f. 102r on p. 9; H. Vollmer, "Drei neue
Miniaturisten-Namen des XV. Jahrhunderts," Repertorium fuer
Kunstwissenschaft 33 (1910) p. 235; and G. Dogaer, "Petrus Gilberti, een
vroeg-vijftiende eeuws frans verluchter," Archief- en Bibliotheekwezen in
Belgie 38 (1967) pp. 117-19.  Rubrics throughout.
     Binding:  s. xviii-xix.  Gilt edges.  Red velvet with a silver fastening
(for inscription on clasp see Provenance) and a silver medallion, with
unidentified male figure preaching, in center of upper board.

Written and illuminated ca. 1410-20, in Paris, in the workshops of the Lucon
Master and the Master of the Duke of Bedford.  Arms on ff. 77r and 93r may have
been painted over original arms.  The present arms are (f. 77r) or, 3 chevrons
sable impaling or, 5 piles issuant from the dexter side sable, with motto "a
James" on a scroll above; and (f. 93r) or, 3 chevrons sable.  Those on f. 93r
have tentatively been identified as belonging to the French family of De
Levis, Dukes of Mirepoix and Ventadour, and those impaled with them on f. 77r
as perhaps the arms of the Westkercke family of the Netherlands, but there is
no known record of intermarriage between the families.  In an inscription, in
German, inside of clasp the birth of Anna Barbara Magdalena Honoldin is recorded
by her godfather, Elias Dietrich Holl, in 1762:  "A. 1762. d. 13 Dec. nachts
zw. 8 u. 9 uhr ist gebohren Anna Barbara Magdalena Honoldin deren Gevatter
Elias Dietrich Holl. W. G. L. u. S."  Unidentified notations inside front cover
include:  small white label with "Q. 4" printed in black; white label with blue
frame within which has been added in pencil "^^ 1".  Belonged to Robert Hoe
([C. Shipman], A Catalogue of Manuscripts forming a Portion of the Library
of Robert Hoe [New York, 1909] pp. 33-34; part 4 of his sale, Anderson's,
11 Nov. 1912, no. 2347, illus. facing p. 326 of f. 93r).  From the collection
of A. Chester Beatty (pencil notation inside front cover "W[estern] MS. 85.
III"; part 2 of his sale, Sotheby's, 9 May 1933, no. 53).  Purchased from H.
P. Kraus in 1968 by Edwin J. Beinecke for the Beinecke Library.

Bibliography: Exhibition Catalogue, pp. 221-23, no. 46, pl. 17.
     Catalogue of an Exhibition of Illuminated and Painted Manuscripts ...
(New York: The Grolier Club, 1892) p. 18, no. 41, pl. facing p. 10.
     R. Schilling, "The Master of Egerton 1070 (Hours of Rene Anjou),"
Scriptorium 8 (1954) p. 278, n. 20.

Barbara A. Shailor