Original owner
Owners
The manuscript was made for the young man shown kneeling in prayer in front of a shrine (fol. 246r). The wording of the Confession prayer, which begins on the same page, suggests that he was being trained for a career in the Church. It is likely that he was associated with John de Warenne, 7th Earl of Surrey and Sussex (1286-1347), and his nephew and heir, Richard Fitzalan (c. 1313-1376), 3rd Earl of Arundel, both of whom were distinguished art patrons in East Anglia and influential figures at the court of Edward III. The only extant coat of arms in the volume (fol. 37v) has yet to be identified with certainty, but the gold, red and white colours of the herald’s banner on fol. 39r match the heraldic and livery colours of the earls of Arundel. A Dominican friar, depicted in the lower margin beneath Psalm 107 (fol. 158r), was most probably the young man’s confessor.
The manuscript’s owner (Confession Prayer)
The opening initial C of the Confession prayer, Confiteor tibi domine, (‘I will confess to you, Lord’) was cut out of the manuscript. Only traces of it remain. It is possible that it contained emblems or heraldry associated with the original owner of the manuscript and was excised in order to conceal this information. The initial extends into a three-sided bar border with foliate motifs. The man for whom the manuscript was made kneels in front of a shrine in the bas-de-page.