The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 2, 2023

Bifolio from a Book of Hours: Initial V with Floral Border (recto); Text (verso)

c. 1460–1500

Part of a set. See all set records

Austria (? ) or Bohemia (?), 15th century

Ink, tempera and gold on vellum

Each leaf: 13.9 x 10.6 cm (5 1/2 x 4 3/16 in.)

The Jeanne Miles Blackburn Collection 2006.12

Location

115 Manuscripts & Textiles

Fun Fact

The Office of the Dead, usually at the end of books of hours, contains the same set of prayers the ordained used during funeral rites.

Description

The word dirge, today meaning a mournful hymn for funerals, comes from the opening Latin in the Office of the Dead, seen just after the decorative letter A at upper left. During the Middle Ages, dirge became the shortened way to refer to the Office of the Dead. Although primarily recited at funerals, the office was also prayed at home as a reminder of mortality and a protection against sudden death. Surrounding the text, which contains Psalm 5, is a border decoration of acanthus leaves, believed to grow in paradise, as well as a parrot, a squirrel, a beetle, and flowers.

Inscriptions

Inscription

Dirige, D[omi]ne [Deus meus, in conspectu tuo viam meam]…Psalm 5: Verba mea auribus percipe Domine intellege clamorem meum, Intende voci orationis meae rex meus et Deus meus, Quoniam ad te orabo Domine mane exaudies vocem meam, Mane adstabo tibi et videbo quoniam non deus volens iniquitatem tu es, Neque habitabit iuxta te malignus neque permanebunt iniusti ante oculos tuos, Odisti omnes qui operantur iniquitatem

Inscription Translation

Response: Direct, O Lord my God, my steps in your sight... Psalm 5: Give ear, O Lord, to my words, understand my cry. Hearken to the voice of my prayer, O my King and my God., For to thee will I pray: O Lord, in the morning thou shalt hear my voice., In the morning I will stand before thee, and will see: because thou art not a God that willest iniquity, Neither shall the wicked dwell near thee: nor shall the unjust abide before thy eyes, Thou hatest all the workers of iniquity..

Inscription Remark

Recto: Psalm 5

Inscription

... Decidant a cogitationibus suis, secundum

Inscription Remark

Verso

Provenance
[Librairie van Loock, Brussels, Belgium]
-2006
Ms. Jeanne Miles Blackburn, Maitland, Fl, gifted to the Cleveland Museum of Art
2006-
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Citations
Fliegel, Stephen N. The Jeanne Miles Blackburn Collection of Manuscript Illuminations. Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1999. Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 62, cat. no. 60 archive.org
Exhibition history

The Jeanne Miles Blackburn Collection of Manuscript Illuminations. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 19, 1999-February 27, 2000).

The Medieval Top Seller: The Book of Hours (Gallery 115 rotation). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 26, 2022-July 30, 2023).

Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2006.12