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Details
MISSAL, in Latin, illuminated manuscript on vellum [Brabant, perhaps Mechelen, third quarter 15th century]
An imposing 15th-century southern Netherlandish Missal in fine condition, with an intriguing link to the Cistercian community at Muysen Abbey, close to Mechelen.
246 x 178mm. iii + 205 leaves + iii, complete, original foliation I-CC (occasionally incorrect, not followed here), modern pencil gathering markings, 28 lines in two columns, ruled space: 170 x 110mm, seven 3- to 5-line flourished penwork initials, one 4-line illuminated initial with borders on two sides, one 9-line illuminated Cistercian cross, one full-page miniature on an inserted leaf (occasional natural flaws and tears, often displaying contemporary repairs, light marginal staining to certain calendar pages). Later vellum over pasteboard.
Provenance: St Rumbold of Mechelen and St Lambert appear in red in the calendar, suggesting the manuscript was made for use in Mechelen or perhaps elsewhere in Brabant – Nicolas de Woelmont (before 1420-1473): an obituary added under 19 February in the calendar in a 15th-century hand reads ‘obijt Nicolaus de W[oe]lmont a[nn]o lxxiij’. De Woelmont was a member of a prominent Brabant family, and served as the châtelain of Jean de Nassau (1419-1480) at Corroy-le-Château and Frasnes – John Landwehr (bookplate).
Content: Calendar ff.1-6; Temporale ff.7-104; Prefaces, the Gloria and the Creed ff.105-112; Canons of the Mass ff.113v-119; Sanctorale ff.120-175; Votive Masses ff.175v-189; blank f.190; Common of Saints ff.191-205.
The subject of the inserted Canon miniature is the Crucifixion, f.113v. The borders are close to those surrounding a miniature by the Master of Gerard Brilis or his circle inserted into a Collectary for the use of the Cistercian Abbey of Muysen, close to Mechelen, in the third quarter of the 15th century (Tournai, bibliothèque du Séminaire, ms. 12, f.21v, see Bousmanne and Delcourt, Miniatures flamandes 1404-1482, p.35). Both sets of borders, which combine scrolling acanthus with grape-bearing vines, feature a decorative device formed from a Cistercian cross below the miniatures, and the present manuscript also displays an illuminated cross on f.40. While the miniatures themselves differ in style, sharing only a diapered background, the stylistic similarity of the borders of the two manuscripts and the Cistercian iconography may suggest a shared link to Muysen Abbey.
An imposing 15th-century southern Netherlandish Missal in fine condition, with an intriguing link to the Cistercian community at Muysen Abbey, close to Mechelen.
246 x 178mm. iii + 205 leaves + iii, complete, original foliation I-CC (occasionally incorrect, not followed here), modern pencil gathering markings, 28 lines in two columns, ruled space: 170 x 110mm, seven 3- to 5-line flourished penwork initials, one 4-line illuminated initial with borders on two sides, one 9-line illuminated Cistercian cross, one full-page miniature on an inserted leaf (occasional natural flaws and tears, often displaying contemporary repairs, light marginal staining to certain calendar pages). Later vellum over pasteboard.
Provenance: St Rumbold of Mechelen and St Lambert appear in red in the calendar, suggesting the manuscript was made for use in Mechelen or perhaps elsewhere in Brabant – Nicolas de Woelmont (before 1420-1473): an obituary added under 19 February in the calendar in a 15th-century hand reads ‘obijt Nicolaus de W[oe]lmont a[nn]o lxxiij’. De Woelmont was a member of a prominent Brabant family, and served as the châtelain of Jean de Nassau (1419-1480) at Corroy-le-Château and Frasnes – John Landwehr (bookplate).
Content: Calendar ff.1-6; Temporale ff.7-104; Prefaces, the Gloria and the Creed ff.105-112; Canons of the Mass ff.113v-119; Sanctorale ff.120-175; Votive Masses ff.175v-189; blank f.190; Common of Saints ff.191-205.
The subject of the inserted Canon miniature is the Crucifixion, f.113v. The borders are close to those surrounding a miniature by the Master of Gerard Brilis or his circle inserted into a Collectary for the use of the Cistercian Abbey of Muysen, close to Mechelen, in the third quarter of the 15th century (Tournai, bibliothèque du Séminaire, ms. 12, f.21v, see Bousmanne and Delcourt, Miniatures flamandes 1404-1482, p.35). Both sets of borders, which combine scrolling acanthus with grape-bearing vines, feature a decorative device formed from a Cistercian cross below the miniatures, and the present manuscript also displays an illuminated cross on f.40. While the miniatures themselves differ in style, sharing only a diapered background, the stylistic similarity of the borders of the two manuscripts and the Cistercian iconography may suggest a shared link to Muysen Abbey.
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