Fifteenth-Century Italian Breviary for Roman Use

[Breviary. Roman Use].
[Northern Italy, ca. 1400].
Illuminated manuscript on vellum. (BRMS 19)

Containing the essential texts for the celebration of the Divine Office, the breviary comprises psalms, antiphons, lectionary, martyrology, and other features that varied according to the location and the specific uses of the religious orders, texts required for daily recitation by all monks and the clergy of most orders. This portable breviary, used by a Franciscan friar in Italy during the fifteenth century, includes a calendar for the use of Rome with later handwritten additions indicating the feasts of several Franciscan saints including St. Francis of Assisi, St. Anthony of Padua, St. Clare of Assisi, and St. Bernardino of Siena. Illuminated with northern Italian gold initials on red, blue, and green grounds with foliate decoration, gold bezants, and pen work extensions, the volume is written in gothic script and includes both text and music.

The Ruth and Lyle Sellers Medical Collection