Beinecke MS 663
Bruges, s. XVI 1/4
Book of Hours, use of Tournai, with Latin and Dutch headings

ff. 1r-3v ruled but blank 

1. ff. 4v-16r	Calendar, two pages for each month (verso and recto), in black and pale red. The 
computistical data are: the length of the solar and the lunar month, the Golden Number, the Day 
Letter. Many days have no feasts. The following feasts are to be noted: Vincent (in red, 22 Jan.), 
Birgit (31 Jan.), Amandus (in red, 6 Febr.), Sorores Virginis (25 May), Translation of Eligius (in 
red, 25 June), Bertinus (16 July), Maria ad Nives (5 August), Giles (Aegidius, in red, 1 Sept.), 
Bertinus (5 Sept.), Bavo and Remigius (in red, 1 Oct.), Dionysius, "Mesda[g]" (this word in red, 
9 Oct.), Martha (16 Oct.), Eustace (4 Nov.), Livinus (12 Nov.), Clemens (in red, 23 Nov.), 
Eligius (in red, 1 Dec.), Gentianus (11 Dec.), Nicasius (in red, 14 Dec.), "O Sapientia" (16 Dec.). 
Probably due to an error the second half of the month of January is copied twice: apart from its 
normal place (f. 5v) it occurs also, in a slightly different form, on f. 4r.	Note the scribal 
errors: "Exultatio Crucis", "Desember".	ff. 16v-17r blank

2. ff. 17v-19r		S[a]lutatio ad faciem  Christi. Oratio. Salve sancta facies ... (RH 18189)	
	ff. 19v-20r blank

3. ff. 20v-25v		Hours of the Cross (Incipiunt hore de Sancto Spiritu [sic]). Prime is 
missing.	f. 26r blank

4. ff. 26v-31v		Hours of the Holy Spirit.		f. 32r blank

5. ff. 32v-37v		Mass of the Virgin.		f. 38r-v blank

6. ff. 39r-47r		Gospel Lessons.	ff. 47v-48r blank

7. ff. 48v-100r		Hours of the Virgin: Incipiunt hore beate Marie Virginis secundum usum 
Tornacensem.	f. 64r Lauds; f. 72v Prime; f. 77v Terce; f. 81v Sext; f. 86r None; f. 90r Vespers; f. 
95v Compline. 

8. ff.100v-113v	Contemplatio de beata Virgine. Stabat mater ... (RH 19416); f. 103v 
Obsecro; f. 109 r O intemerata; f. 111v Ons lieve Vrauwe heeft haer vertoecht eenen geestelike 
persoen ende heeft hem gheseit: soe wie dese naervolghende oracie leest eens daechs, sal hem 
bystaen in alle sijn werken ende sal hem bistaen in de huerre sijns doots. Amen. O Maria, florenes 
[sic] rosa, quam bene erat tibi ... (RH 13185); f. 112v Dese naerv[olghende] [heading not 
completed; text:] O bone Ihesu, per tuam misericordiam esto michi Ihesus; et quid est Ihesus nisi 
plasmator, nisi redemptor? ...	(Leroquais, LH, I, p. 154; II, p. 109)	f. 114r blank

9. ff. 114v-131r	Seven Penitential Psalms. In the Litany are noteworthy: Quintinus among 
the Martyrs; Louis and Giles among the Confessors.	ff. 131v-132r blank

10. ff. 132v-170v	Office of the Dead		f. 171r-v blank

11. ff. 172r-192v	Suffrages. St. John the Baptist; f. 172v St. John the Evangelist; f. 173r Sts. 
Peter and Paul; f. 173v St. James the Great; f. 175 v St. Jerome; f. 176r St. Adrian; f. 178r St. 
Christopher; f. 179v St. Sebastian; f. 181v St. Anthony; f. 184v St. Mary Magdalen; f. 185v St. 
Anne; f. 186r St. Catherine; f. 188r St. Barbara; f. 190r St. Margaret; f. 190v St. Apollonia.

12. ff. 192v-195v Prayers. Die paues Bonifacius heeft ghegheven allen den ghuene die dese 
naervolghende oracie leest tusschen t'upeffen van onsen Heere ende t'Angus Dei twe dusent jaer 
aflaets. Domine Ihesu Christe, qui hanc sacratissimam carnem et preciosum sanguinem ... 
(Leroquais, LH, I, pp. 36, 40, 122, etc.); f. 193r Als men dat helich sacrament opheeft. Anima 
Christi, sanctifica me ... (RH 1090); f. 193v Als men den kilct opeft. Ave vere sanguis Domini 
nostri Ihesu Christi ... (RH 2171); f. 194r Salve sancta caro Dei, per quam salvi fiunt rei ... (RH 
18175); f. 194v Als men ten helighe sacramente gaet. Domine, non sum dignus...; f. 195r Als 
men dat helighe sacrament ontfaen heeft. Vera preceptio [l. perceptio] corporis et sanguinis tui, 
Deus omnipotens ... (Leroquais, LH, I, p. 274; II, pp. 25, 34, etc.).		ff. 196-201 ruled but 
blank


Parchment, ff. II + 201 + II, 185 x 120 mm.

Collation impossible due to the tight binding. The full-page pictures are executed on the verso of 
inserted singletons, the recto of which is blank. Many blank parchment leaves inserted in modern 
times (they are included in the foliation).

Ruling in red (sometimes black) ink for one column of 18 lines below top line, 107/108 x 68/70 
mm. Ruling type 13. The Calendar has the same ruling with the same dimensions and of the same 
type (with two additional vertical lines within the ruled area), but for 17 lines below top line. It 
seems to be executed partly with rake-rling technique.

Copied by one Northern scribe writing Southern Textualis Formata (Rotunda) with some 
Humanistic features (Capital A, straight d alternating with Gothic d).

Headings in red. Lavish decoration in Ghent-Bruges style. Rectangular line-fillers in red, blue, 
green and gold. Trompe-l'oeil initials (1 line, 2 lines, 3 lines (rarely), 5 lines) consist of twisted 
branches in mat gold projecting shadow on a square background in red, blue or green. Full-page 
miniatures are painted on the verso of inserted singletons and are framed by four-margin borders 
which have their counterpart on the facing text page. Text miniatures (height: 7-8 lines) are 
painted in regular quires and are accompanied by four-margins, mostly floral borders.  f. 17v 
(full-page) Salvator mundi; architectural border with angel holding chandelier and Veronica 
holding sudarium;  f. 18r architectural border with angel holding chandelier and two peacocks 
(art. 2);  f. 20v (full-page) Crucifixion; landscape border containing various scenes: Gethsemane; 
the Betrayal of Christ; Christ before Pilate; the Flagellation ; f. 21r  landscape border containing 
various scenes: the Crowning with Thorns; the Bearing of the Cross; the Descent from the Cross; 
the Entombment (art. 3);  f. 26v (full-page) Pentecost; floral border; f. 27r floral border (art. 4); f. 
32v Virgin and Child in landscape with peacock; floral border; f. 33r floral border (art. 5); f. 39r 
(text miniature) St. John the Evangelist; f. 40v (text miniature) St. Luke; f. 44r (text miniature) 
St. Matthew; f. 45v (text miniature) St Mark (art. 6); f. 48v (full-page) Annunciation; in the 
border various scenes: the Fall, the Expulsion from Paradise, Adam and Eve after the Expulsion; 
f. 49r border with Tree of Jesse (art. 7, Matins); f. 64r (text miniature) Visitation (art. 7, Lauds); 
f. 72v (text miniature) Nativity (art. 7, Prime); f. 77v (text miniature) Annunciation to the 
Shepherds (art. 7, Terce); f. 81v (text miniature) Adoration of the Magi, with gem border (art. 7, 
Sext); f. 86r (text miniature) Presentation in the Temple (art. 7, None); f. 90r (text miniature) 
Massacre of the Innocents (art. 7, Vespers); f. 95v (text miniature) Flight into Egypt (art. 7, 
Compline); f. 100v (text miniature) Descent from the Cross (art. 8); f. 103v
(text miniature) Pieta 
(art. 8); f; 109r (text miniature) Mary and St. John at the foot of the Cross (art. 8); f. 114v (full-
page) Bathsheba, in architectural border; f. 115r landscape border with two scenes from the 
history of David and Goliath (art. 9); f. 132v (full-page) Raising of the son of the widow of 
Nain; architectural border with niches containing three subjects: the Archangel Michael fighting 
with the Devil over a soul; a basin; a man and two women waking over the dead youth; f. 133r  
architectural border with niches containing two skeletons and three skulls (art. 10); f. 172r (text 
miniature) St. John the Baptist; f. 172v (text miniature) St. John the Evangelist; f. 173r (text 
miniature) Sts. Peter and Paul; f. 173v (text miniature) Christ and St.  James the Great; f. 175v 
(text miniature) St. Jerome; f. 176r (text miniature) St. Adrian; f. 178r (text miniature) St. 
Christopher; f. 179v (text miniature with three-margins outer border) St. Sebastian; f. 181v (text 
miniature) St. Anthony;  f. 184v (full-page) Donor kneeling before St. Mary Magdalen; f. 185r: 
acanthus border with long banderole lacking inscription;  f. 185v (text miniature) St. Anne, the 
Virgin and the Child Jesus; f. 186r (text miniature) St. Catherine; f. 188r (text miniature) St. 
Barbara; f. 190r (text miniature) St. Margaret; f. 190v (text miniature) St. Apollonia.
According to D. Royce-Roll the full-page pictures (or at least the figures in them) were made by 
four artists: A (f. 17v) and B (ff. 32v, 114v and 184v) are first-rank illuminators; the work of C 
(ff. 20v and 26v) and D (ff. 48v and 132v) on the contrary is coarse and clumsy; all the text 
miniatures are of the same style and inferior quality and seem to be executed by C, D or artists 
closely related to them. They were produced in what has been called the Mercatellis workshop in 
Bruges, given their close resemblance with the illustrations in the later manuscripts acquired by 
the abbot of the Abbey of St. Bavo in Ghent (d. 1508); see A. Derolez, The Library of Raphael 
de Marcatellis, Abbot of St. Bavon's, Ghent, 1437-1508 (Ghent, 1979); one of these illuminators 
has been identified with the Bruges Carmelite nun Cornelia van Wulfschkercke: see A. Arnould, 
De la production de miniatures de Cornelia van Wulfschkercke. Elementa Historiae Ordinis 
Praedicatorum, 5 (Brussels, 1998).

Partly original binding in blind-tooled brown calf by the Bruges binder Ludovicus Bloc (1484-
1529). The original binding is inset in brown morocco by F. Bedford??  On each cover a panel 
with eight animals in tendrils, surrounded by the inscription in Roman Capitals "Ob laudem 
Christi librum hunc recte ligavi Ludovicus Bloc", is stamped four times; between the upper and 
the lower panel imprints is a five-compartment frieze containing animals. On the modern blind-
tooled spine gold-tooled modern inscriptions "HORAE / B.V.M. / TORNACENSIS" and "MS./ 
BRUGES / C. 1520". Gilt and gauffered edges. White parchment endleaves.

The Calendar points to the diocese of Tournai and probably to Bruges, although important saints 
venerated in that city are missing (Basilius, Donatian), while Bavo (Ghent) is prominent. Text 
and headings contain numerous errors and the illumination is of strikingly uneven quality. Made 
for a lady called Magdalen (see f. 184v). On f. 1r (front fly-leaf r) a short s. XIX description of 
this manuscript in English ("Missale cum calendario"). It is possible that the manuscript was 
owned in 1866 by a Welsh collector: see W.H. Black, Proc. Soc. Antiq. Lond., III (1864-1867), p. 
224. Collection H. Huth (catalogue, 1880, v. 2, p. 730). A.H. Huth sale (Sotheby, London, 
1913), v. 3, 3815. Sold to Leighton. Last owned by Baer. Collection of Frank Altschul, New 
York. Gift of Margaret A. Lang in memory of Frank Altschul, 1986.

Bibliography:
D. Royce-Roll, "Middle-Class Patronage as revealed in an Early Sixteenth-Century Flemish 
Book of Hours" , Yale University Library Gazette, 1991, pp. 121-131, pls.
De Ricci, Census, p. 1651, no. 1.
E. Ph. Goldschmidt, Gothic and Renaissance Bookbindings (London, 1928), v. 1, p. 211.

Albert Derolez

R 16.02.09