24th of December

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Before telling you about today's manuscript, we would like to thank you for helping us pass the time until Christmas. We hope that you have enjoyed the advent calendar as much as we have enjoyed finding interesting manuscripts and coming up with pithy titles for them. We wish you and yours a merry Christmas, happy holidays and the very best for 2018! 

Now, back to the matter at hand...

AM 71 8vo is an illustrated Dutch prayer book from the end of the 15th century.

The opening on 16v-17r contains the beginning of the first prayer in the Hours of the Virgin. The miniature on the lefthand side shows the visitation of the Angel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary as he proclaims that she is pregnant with the Son of God. The image is encompassed by a border decorated with realistic flowers and berries. Note the shadows painted on the coloured background, which cause the flowers to look as though they have been scattered over the parchment.

The historiated initial H on the righthand side shows an image of Jesus’ birth in the stable. In the historiated border surrounding one can see the Lord’s angel appearing before the shepherds, who were keeping watch over the flock at night, just as one can read in the Christmas story (Gospel of Luke chapter 2, verses 1-20).

Another characteristic feature is the thick shadows surround the people’s eyes. This stylistic feature has given its name to the group of Dutch illuminators known as the Masters of the Dark Eyes.

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