Fragments recto verso des psaumes pénitentiels

Recto verso fragments of a manuscript book of hours on parchment with sumptuously illuminated full-page borders. This division into compartments 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 fleur-de-lis decorated with floral motifs and scrollwork, gilt initials painted in alternating red and blue and rubrications.
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 penitential psalms, the end of the fourth psalm "Miserere mei, Deus, secundum magnam misericordiam tuam..." and the beginning of the following one "Domine, exaudi orationem meam,et clamor...". This part of books of hours ordinarily serves to ask forgiveness for one's sins and to express repentance.
Writing 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.