Fragment recto verso de l'office des morts

Recto-verso fragment of a manuscript book of hours on parchment with sumptuously illuminated full-page borders. This compartmentalized division of the ornaments is representative of the production of Rouen and Parisian workshops at the turn of the 16th century.

Two illuminated pages on a recto-verso leaf: border divided into bands and flowers decorated with floral motifs and leafy designs, gilt initials painted in alternating red and blue and rubrics.
The richness of the illumination characterizes these liturgical books intended for laypeople. Books of hours were at the time jewels of piety, both an instrument of religious practice and a social claim affirmed by the richness of the artists' work. A veritable small painting, this leaf is probably extracted from a luxurious volume where each page was carefully painted.
We find here a fragment of the Office of the Dead at the moment of lauds. On the recto of the leaf: antiphon "A porta" followed by the canticle "Ego dixi in dimidio dierum meorum...". The office of the dead is a collection of prayers dedicated to the salvation of the souls of the deceased. More than commiseration, this devotion reflects the constant fear of medieval men for death.
Script called cursiva libraria on long lines. Witness to the formalization of cursive writing at the dawn of the French Renaissance, this script is emblematic of the production of French copyists for laypeople during the period.