Book of Hours (‘Siebenhirter’s Breviary’)

Austria, Vienna, circa 1469

parchment

202, ii' leaves

235 × 145 mm

Latin

1 (ff. 1r–13r) Calendar

Note:

Besides the customary Golden Numbers and dominical letters in the columns on the left the calendar also has a table for sunrise and sunset with the times listed by the hour and minute.

Notable feasts:

f. 3r: Walpurga (25 Feb.);

f. 4r: St Rupert (27 Mar.)

f. 6v: St Deocarus (7 June); St Eligius (25 June, translatio);

f. 8v: St Radegund (11 Aug.);

f. 10r: St Rupert (24 Sep., translatio); St Virgilius (26 Sep.);

f. 10v: St Maximilian (12 Oct.); St Coloman (13 Oct.).

2 (f. 13v) Bloodletting table

3 (ff. 14r–15v) Treatise on bloodletting

Incipit: Ad habendum autem bonum tempus seu malum pro fleubothomia

Explicit: Et ideo tales nec signum nec horas expectare oportet

4 (ff. 16r–22v) Seven penitential psalms

Incipit: ymnus UEni creator spiritus

Explicit: neque vindictam summas (!) de peccatis meis

5 (ff. 22v–27v) Litany

Rubric: letania

Incipit: Kyrieleyson Cristeleyson

Explicit: et pacem tuam nostris concede temporibus pereundem cristum dominum nostrum amen

6 (ff. 28r–29v) Prayers

Incipit: PAter noster qui es in celis

Explicit: nos defendant et ad uitam eternam perducant amen

7 (ff. 30r–54v) Office for the dead

Rubric: Vigilia sequitur

Incipit: ORemus pro omnibus fidelibus defunctis

Explicit: per dei magnam misericordiam requiescant in sancta pace amen

Note: f. 55r: blank.

8 (ff. 56r–96v) Hours of the Virgin

Rubric: Cursus beate marie uirginis [...] Psalmus UEnite exultemus domino

Incipit: DOMine labia mea aperies

Explicit: et mortis tue gladius doloris pertransiuit Qui es benedictus in secula seculorum amen

Note: ff. 70r, 78r, 82r, 86r, 97r: blank.

9 (ff. 97v–122v) Sufffrages?

Incipit: BEnedicat me imperialis maiestas

Explicit: et redemcionis sue gloriose consequi mereamur atque uitam eternam possidere amen

Note:

97v: Benedicat me imperialis maiestas

98r: blank

98v-99r: prayer to the Holy Shroud

100r-102v: Obsecro te, prayers for communion.

103v: blank.

104r: Veni sancte spiritus

104v: blank

105r: O precordialissime angele dei

106r: blank.

106v: St George

107v: St Christopher

109r: St Leonhard

110v: St Sigismund

112r: Stabat mater

114r: Mary Magdalen

115v: St Barbara

117v: St Peter

118v: St Bartholomew

119v: Matthew

120v: St Florian

121v. St Sebastian

122v: O Sancta regina

10 (ff. 123r–153r) Hours of the Passion

Rubric: incipit cursus de passione domini

Incipit: DOmine labia mea aperies [...] psalmus UEnite exultemus domino

Explicit: dominus custodiat me famulum suum Amen Pater noster Aue maria Credeo in deum patrem et cetera

11 (ff. 154r–194r) Hours/Office of Corpus Christi

Rubric: Incipit Cursus de corpore christi ad uesperas

Incipit: DEus in adiutorium

Explicit: Dulce nomen domini et nomen gloriosussune vrginis (!) marie et omnium sanctorum sint benedicta in secula seculorum Amen

Note:

From vesper to vesper.

f. 194v: blank.

12 (ff. 195r–200v) Instuctions for Confession

Rubric: Modus et forma confitendi

Incipit: COnfiteor et cetera Vsque mea culpa In primis de multis bonis que facere potui

Explicit: et intercessionem omnium sanctorum assequi merear

Note: ff. 201r–201v: blank.

Physical Description

Support

Binding/Endleaves

Locus: LCI, RCI

Support: Parchment

Locus: ff. SR1–SR2

Support: Paper

Leaf dimensions: 235 × 145 mm

Textblock

Locus: ff. 1–202

Support: Parchment

Leaf dimensions: 235 × 145 mm

Foliation

Modern foliation in pencil in lower outer corner, f. 1-202. Pagination of uncertain dating in red crayon, dark ink and possibly pencil in upper outer corner, p. I-XXV, p. 1-374.

Collation

Note: The manuscript is too fragile to collate, but based on the quire signatures the manuscript seem to consist mainly of quinternions.

Signatures: Quire signatures in Roman numerals at the end of each quire.

Condition

Textblock

Parchment wrinkled and stained at the top of most leaves, probably due to water damage, more damage on ff. 1–2. On some leaves, e.g. 102r, the ink appears faded and somewhat difficult to read. Fire damage visible on Head.

Layout

Columns: 1

Ruled lines: 21

Written area: 145 × 100 mm

Note: Guidelines and ruling in brown ink.

Script

Textblock

Hand 1

Gothic semitextualis.

Additions

Binding/Endleaves

(LCI) Upper part of page in ink by a modern hand: ‘Inköpt till Kongl. Bibliotheket den 1^a December 1825 från guldsmeden N. Hedenskoug för 166 Rd 32 sk bco. omnämns i Kometen Nov. 1825’; added after the year in pencil: ‘25/11’; below in pencil: ‘A 225’.

(f. SR1r) Entire page covered in notes in ink and pencil in Swedish. The notes concern the portrait on (f. 202r).

(RCI) Upper part of page in ink by an early modern hand: ‘35 Gemeide sein in diesem Buch ohne das letzte Kunststuck dar die 5 Angesicht auf gewesen sein’.

Textblock

(f. 200v) Additions by a medieval hand in the outer margin.

(f. 201v) Additions in pencil by a modern hand identifying the portraits on (f. 202r).

Decorations

Textblock

Description:

Main text in black ink, rubrics in red.

Initials:

Images:

Edges:

Gilt edges.

Binding

Description:

Medieval biding. Red velvet over wooden boards. 4 double raised bands and endbands.

Binding dimensions: 240 × 170 mm

Condition: Velvet extremely worn, completely worn off in many places exposing the boards. Fire damge visible on upper part of LCO, RCO and Head. Top double raised band missing. Indentations for plates and buckles on LCO and RCO.

History

Origin

Austria, Vienna, circa 1469.The orgin and dating is based mainly on the two coat of arms on f. 136r, f. 142v, f. 173v; f. 139r, f. 149v, f. 190r. One of the coat of arms belongs to Johann Siebenhirter, first grandmaster of the Order of St George, to which the second coat of arms belongs. For a further discussion see Wieselgren (1918). Pfändtner (2011) argues a date before 1469 based on heraldic changes to the Siebenhirter coat of arms, but the manuscript cannot have been composed long before, because the Order of St George was established in 1469.

Provenance

During the 16th century the manuscript is believed to have been the property of the Khevenhüller family in Carinthia. During the 17th century Paul Khevenhüller emigrated to Sweden where he formed close ties to the royal family. Wieselgren suggests that the manuscritp was given to Queen Christina as a gift. It is believed that the manuscript was at the Royal Palace when it burned in 1697. It's fate after the fire is unknown, but at some point at the end of the 18th/beginning of the 19th century the manuscript was owned by the goldsmith Nils Hedenskoug (1776-1839).