Manuscript leaf from a Book of Hours, in Latin, produced in Northern France (Rouen)

Text: From a Book of Hours, in Latin

Script: Textualis Formata (Textus Quadratus)

The text is from Luke Chapter 1, Verses 26 to 35. There are sixteen lines of text.

The recto has a three-quarter panel border composed of gold oak leaves and bezants, and coloured flowers, all on hairline stems. Also a gold and coloured bar extends down the length of the text on the recto terminating in a knot-work pattern with a blue flower. There is a four-line versal ‘I’ with a leaf pattern. Lesser initials are indicated by strokes of yellow wash. Rubrics are written in purple ink. Line ruling is in red.

The leaf is from the same manuscript as MS 5650/106, and immediately preceded it in the Book of Hours.

Recto side:

1 grata ita ut parcat m(ichi) in alia vita

2 concedens michi misericorditer cu(m)

3 electis suis vitam et requie(m) sempi-

4 ternam . Amen . Secundum luca(m) .

5 I N illo tempore : [line filler]

6 M issus est angelus

7 gabriel a deo in civi-

8 tatem galilee cui no-

9 men nazareth [1:27] ad virgine(m) despo(n)sata(m)

10 viro cui nomen erat ioseph de do-

11 mo david et nomen virginis ma-

12 ria [1:28] Et ingressus angelus ad ea(m) .

13 dixit . Ave gracia plena domin(us)

14 tecum : benedicta tu in mulierib(us)

15 [1:29] Que cu(m) audisset turbata est i(n) ser-

16 mone eius et cogitabat qualis es-

Verso side:

1 set ista salutacio : [1:30] et ait angelus ei .

2 Ne timeas maria i(n)venisti enim

3 gracia(m) apud deu(m) . [1:31] Ecce concipies

4 in utero et paries filiu(m) et vocabis

5 nomen eius ihesum . [1:32] Hic erit ma-

6 gnus et filius altissimi vocabit(ur)

7 Et dabit illi dominus deus sede(m)

8 david patris eius [1:33] et regnabit in

9 domo iacob in eternu(m) et regni ei(us)

10 non erit finis . [1:34] Dixit aute(m) maria

11 ad angelum . Quomodo fiet ist(u)d

12 quoniam viru(m) no(n) cognosco . [1:35] Et

13 responde(n)s angelus dixit ei . Spirit(us)

14 s(an)c(tu)s sup(er)veniet in te et virtus altis-

15 simi obu(m)brabit t(ibi) Ideoq(ue) et q(uo)d nas-

16 cetur ex te sanctu(m) vocab(itu)r filius dei

Notes:

A Letters: a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i,l,m,n,o,p,q,r,s,t,u/v,x,z. Capitals: A,D,E,H,I,N,Q,S.

B Versals: I,M.

C Alternative forms of letters ‘a’(2), ‘i’(2), ‘r’(2) and ‘s’(2).

D Fusion between letters ‘ba’, ‘be’, ‘da’, ‘do’, ‘de’, ‘he’, ‘ob’, ‘oc’, ‘og’, ‘oq’, ‘pa’,

‘po’ and ‘vo’.

E Elision between letters ‘cu’, ‘fi’, ‘gi’, ‘gn’, ‘gr’, ‘ri’ and ‘ti’.

F Bifurcation of the ascenders of letters ‘b’, ‘h’ and ‘l’, and the descenders of ‘p’

and ‘q’.

G Hairlines on letters ‘h’, ‘x’ and ‘z’.

H Ligature of ‘ct’, e.g. in ‘benedicta’ (recto, line 14).

I Ligature of ‘st’, e.g. in ‘ista’ (verso, line 1).

J Formation of letters ‘se’ in ‘sermone’ (recto, lines 15-16).

K Abbreviation of ‘michi’ (recto, line 1).

L Abbreviation of ‘eius’ (verso, line 9).

M Abbreviation of ‘sanctus’ (verso, line 14).

N Abbreviation of ‘tibi’ (verso, line 15).

O Abbreviation of ‘quod’ (verso, line 15).

P Abbreviation of ‘vocabitur’ (verso, line 16).

MS 5650/106