Manuscript book of hours for the use of Rouen, written and illuminated in Rouen, France sometime during the 15th century. Includes the typical common elements of a book of hours: church year calendar in French; readings from the Gospels; Hours of the Virgin, a set of eight devotional texts in Latin, one to be recited at each of the eight canonical hours of the day; penitential psalms, litany of saints, prayers for the dead, and prayers to the Virgin. Script: Latin text in gothic hand in black, with instructions in red ink, 15 lines per page; months of the calendar illuminated in gold, with saints' days written in red or blue ink. Illustrations: includes 11 large miniatures within arched frames, of scenes from the life of Christ (Annunciation, Nativity, Crucifixion, Pietà), as well as portraits of the four Evangelists, King David with his harp, and St. Michael overcoming the devil; donor portrait on verso of leaf 53; all miniatures vividly colored and illuminated in red, blue, green, rose, black, and white; enclosed by richly painted and illuminated borders of arabesques, leafy branches, flowers and strawberry vines; illuminated floral borders along text margins; large and small illuminated rose and blue capitals. Binding: bound in blind-stamped calf over boards by Cambridge stationer and bookbinder Nicholas Spierinck, with date of 1520 supplied by Ferrari; upper and lower boards decorated with small blind-tooled square stamps containing figures of beasts and birds, and the device of binder with his initials "N" and "S," arranged in intersecting horizontal and vertical rows; vellum endpapers; all edges gilt. In modern beige cloth and brown leather clamshell box having gold-stamped spine title "Book of Hours." Provenance: From the library of Viscount Lee of Fareham, White Lodge, Richmond Park. A gift to Dr. Elmer Belt from Evelyn Cushman, 1954. Dr. Belt's illustrated bookplate on recto of front endleaf, with caption "From the House of Belt."In Latin and French.
The artist who created the design is Gerard Hoet, a Dutch painter and draftsman, and the artist who created the engraving is Jan van Vianen, a Dutch draftsman and copper engraver. The print contains titles of the subject in 6 languages: Hebrew, English, German, Latin French and Dutch. The biblical verse is identified on the print as Genesis III: 9.
![BELT MS 37 [Book of hours : Use of Rouen].](https://iiif.library.ucla.edu/iiif/2/ark%3A%2F21198%2Fzz000j3rm7/full/!200,200/0/default.jpg)
