Book of Hours

Original owner

Owners

The Cardinal depicted on fol. 123r may have been the manuscript’s original owner. The architectural frame on fol. iv verso encloses a partially erased and overpainted coat of arms surmounted by a Cardinal’s hat.

This page was illuminated by the Painter of Additional 15677. The image of the Three Living and the Three Dead was a favourite illustration for the Office of the Dead in Books of Hours. The skulls in the niches of the architectural border and the corpse in the foreground harmonise with the main theme. One of the three living, the rider in scarlet robes, may represent the Cardinal for whom this manuscript was made.