The Folios - f.91v
The Hours of the Virgin (None) - historiated initial
The beginning of the office for the hour of None is marked by a historiated initial. The scene in the initial is the Adoration of the Magi (here shown as Kings because of longstanding assocation with the kings of Tharsis and the islands and of the Arabians and of Saba in Psalm 71(72).9-11) and derives from the scriptural account in Matthew 2.1-12. The artist belongs to the 'Cholet Group' of Parisian illuminators. The very fine scrolls painted in gold paint on the burnished gold background are a feature found in only a small number of luxurious manuscripts of the late 13th century such as the Alphonso Psalter in the British Library and the Breviary of Philippe le Bel in the Bibliothèque Nationale de France.
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