Add MS 36684
c 1318-1325, This Book of Hours was produced in either Saint-Omer or Thérouanne between approximately 1318-1325, and is distinctive for its unusual marginal decoration. The date of 1318 is given in a colophon on f. 78r, and the manuscript was likely produced for a woman of Saint-Omer named Marguerite (Stones, Gothic Manuscripts (2013), no. III-130). The second part of this manuscript is New York, Pierpont Morgan Library, MS M 754 (contents: Book of Hours fragment (ff. 1r-114r); life of St. Margaret (ff. 114r-132v)). This part was published by Mme Théophile Belin in a partial facsimile edition of 1926, entitled Les Heures de Marguerite de Beaujeu, but this identification of the patron has subsequently been rejected.Contents:ff. 1v-13v: Calendar. ff. 14r-59v: Hours of the Virgin (imperfect), with 4 folios missing, probably with the miniatures for Matins (after f.13), Lauds (after f. 30) and None and Vespers (2 folios after f. 50).ff. 60r-75v: The seven Penitential Psalms and Litany. ff. 75v-82v: Hymns and prayers, some with rubrics in French, including a Prayer of Pope John XXIII, dated 1318 (one leaf missing at the end).ff. 83r-124v: Office of the Dead.ff. 125r-155v: Prayers and Psalms, beginning with a Commendation of the soul to the angels, incipit 'Sancti dei occurrite angeli domini'.Decoration: 24 bas-de page calendar miniatures in colours with gold (ff. 1v-13r). 10 historiated initials on blue and rose grounds in gold frames with borders (ff. 39r, 43v, 46v, 49r, 56r, 60r, 77v, 78v, 83r, 125r). One framed miniature in colours with gold (f. 155r). Full or partial bar borders on every page (except ff. 79-81), with hybrid creatures, animals and human figures. Numerous inhabited or zoomorphic initials in colours with gold. Initials in gold on blue and rose grounds with decoration. Line-fillers in gold, blue and rose with penwork decoration in white.The subjects of the historiated initials are: f. 39r: The Nativity;f. 43v: The Shepherds;f. 46v: The Adoration of the Magi;f. 49r: The Presentation in the Temple;f. 56r: The Flight to Egypt;f. 60r: The Harrowing of Hell;f. 77v: Figure with a halo;f. 78v: The Virgin and Child;f. 83r: Two robed figures before a coffin, one with a book;f. 125r: Three monks singing before a coffin.Perhaps from the workshop responsible for the Sellers Hours (Dallas, Southern Methodist University, Bridwell Library MS 13), produced in St Omer c. 1325 (see McQuillen, 'Thomas of Lancaster (2004), p. 5) or the workshop that produced Additional MSS 10292-10294, a copy of the French Prose Lancelot dated 1316 (Stones, Gothic Manuscripts (2013), no. III-130).
 
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