note (text)
This is a North Netherlandish Book of Hours of circa 1470, the text of which is based on the Dutch translation of Geert Groote. The book begins with an unillustrated calendar (fols. 1r-12v) before continuing with the Hours of the Virgin (fols. 13r-50r), which is introduced by a historiated initial featuring the Virgin and Child and a full border containing angels, the only figurative decoration in the book. The figurative decoration can be ascribed to the workshop of the Masters of the Zwolle Bible. Other major sections are introduced by large illuminated initials featuring expansive areas of gold and foliate bar borders typical of Dutch book illustration of the fifteenth century: the Hours of the Cross (fols. 51r-73v), Hours of the Holy Spirit (fols. 74r-98v), and Hours the Holy Wisdom (fols. 100r-121r), as well as the Penitential Psalms, Litany, and Prayers (fols. 122r-140v) and Office of the Dead (fols. 142r-178r). The textual subdivisions within each section are marked by illuminated initials and bar borders with flourishes.
