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The Taymouth Hours, Use of Sarum

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Virgin Mary and the devil from BL YT 13, f. 155v

Bas-de-page scene of the Virgin Mary pulling on the horns of a vanquished devil, while on the left, an angel holds a rescued soul, with a caption reading, ‘Cy n[ost]re dame tout le deable un alme.’ Image taken from f. 155v of Book of Hours, Use of Sarum ('The Taymouth Hours'). Written in Latin and French.

A 14th-century Book of Hours

http://www.bl.uk/manuscripts/Viewer.aspx?ref=yates_thompson_ms_13_fs001r

Description from The Taymouth Hours | British Library

Books of Hours were popular books of devotion during the late Middle Ages and Renaissance. Luxurious copies with rich decorations were highly appreciated by royal and aristocratic patrons.

Four apparent owner portraits of a crowned woman indicate that this Book of Hours was most likely made for a royal woman (ff. 7r, 18r, 139r, 188v; digitised images 1, 2, 12, 28). Suggestions for her identity have included: Isabella of France (1295–1358), wife of Edward II; one of Isabella and Edward’s daughters, Eleanor (1318–1355) or Joan (1321–1362); or Philippa of Hainault (c. 1310/15–1369), wife of Edward III.

The manuscript features an unusually rich scheme of decoration, including cycles of images in the lower margin of nearly every page, with 384 scenes in total. These depict episodes from chivalric romance, saints’ lives, Holy Scripture, morality tales and hunting scenes.

f.7r

f.112v

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