Evidence for the patron’s northern connections
Owners
The manuscript contains textual and visual features not found in contemporary French manuscripts. These features include the addition of readings for feasts of the Virgin with elaborate historiated initials; the insertion of the suffrages and images of saints at Lauds, the second office in the Hours of the Virgin; and the illustration of the Hours of the Virgin with scenes from Christ’s Passion instead of the Nativity cycle common in France. These features, typical of Books of Hours made in Brabant, Hainaut and the diocese of Liège, suggest that the patron had connections with regions north of Paris.
Martyrdom of St Peter (suffrage to St Peter)
St Peter was crucified head down at his own request, lest his martyrdom resemble Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross. The vigorous pose of the figure painted in orange on the right demonstrates Hand C’s skill in depicting dynamic movement and adding drama to the pictorial narrative. The historiated initial was painted by Hand C.