Late medieval prayer book. The first part contains an incomplete
Office of the Virgin (fol. 1r-45v) with variants for Advent and for
the time period between Christmas and Candlemas (fol. 46r-51v),
Absolutions, Benedictions, Orations and other short prayers (fol.
51v-68r). The Office of the Dead (fol. 69r-98v), including Vespers,
Vigil, and prayers for the anniversaries of the deaths of priests,
abbots and other deceased persons, is followed by prayers of
indulgence (fol. 99r-111v). The beginning of the Office of the
Virgin as well as possibly a calendar preceding it have been lost.
The fact that the patron saints of St. Gall, St. Gall and St.
Othmar (fol. 56r-56v; fol. 58r-58v), are the only saints mentioned
other than Mary and St. Benedict suggests a provenience from the
Monastery of St. Gall. The manuscript is written in Gothic script;
it is decorated with numerous initials executed in gold leaf and
with colorful vine scrolls in the margins of individual pages. The
beginning of the Office of the Dead (fol. 69r) is adorned with a
small miniature of a catafalque bordered by two Benedictine monks,
one of which is holding a prayer book in his hands. The cut leather
binding with the monogram S, created by a master whose name is
unknown, is particularly noteworthy. The covers show the two
Princes of the Apostles, Peter (front cover, with book and key) and
Paul (back cover, with book and sword), surrounded by rich vine
scroll ornamentation. The Abbey Library of St. Gall was able to
acquire this manuscript in June 2006 at a Christie’s auction in
New York from the collection of the American brewer Cornelius J.
Hauck (1893−1967) from Cincinnati (Ex Libris on the inside front
cover).
Place
Preferred form
Switzerland (?)
Original form
Switzerland/Southern Germany, perhaps written for a St. Gall monk
Preferred form
Germany, Southern (?)
Original form
Switzerland/Southern Germany, perhaps written for a St. Gall monk
Preferred form
Abbey of St. Gall (Switzerland) (?)
Original form
Switzerland/Southern Germany, perhaps written for a St. Gall monk
Rights
e-codices - Virtual Manuscript Library of Switzerland
