Hours of the Cross
Texts and Images
The Hours of the Cross marked the specific times of the day associated with the stages in Christ’s Passion. This manuscript contains the short version, with seven rather than all eight of the canonical hours of prayer. But it must have been of special importance to the manuscript’s owner, since it boasts the second of only three extant painted double spreads. A full-page Crucifixion on the left (fol. 24v) faces the text which opens with an initial enclosing the Harrowing of Hell on the right (fol. 25r). Both pages are framed within full architectural borders with scenes of Christ’s Passion and the events following his Resurrection.
Crucifixion (Hours of the Cross)
This page was illuminated by the Painter of Additional 15677. The Crucifixion miniature includes the Virgin, St John, two holy women and Roman soldiers. The architectural border shows scenes from Christ’s Passion within roundels: the Agony in the Garden, Betrayal, Christ before Pilate, Flagellation, Crowning with Thorns, Carrying of the Cross and the Entombment.