Cambridge, Fitzwilliam Museum, MS McClean 89
Book of Hours
Contents
- Marie (Mary), born 15 March 1515
- Jane, born 26 October 1516
- Lyon (also known as Leo and Lionel), born 3 December 1517
- Anna, born 30 March 1518
- John and Margaret, born 11 June 1519
- Brigida (Bridget), born 2 February 1521
- Katryn (Katheryn, Katherine), born 6 December 1523
- Elisabeth (Elizabeth), born 20 January 1524
- George, born 12 December 1526
- Dorothea, born 6 February 1527
- George, born 30 November 1529
- Henry, born 1 September 1532
- Katheryne (Katherine), born 10 July 1555
- Margaret, born 8 March 1561 (or 1562)
- Elizabeth, born 15 February 1562
- Ursula, born 30 May 1563
- William, born 12 September 1566
- George, born 4 November 1567
- John, born 9 March 1573
- Jane, born 3 November 1587
- Anne, born 23 January 1588
- Henry, born 21 March 1590
- George, born 12 February 1591
- Elizabeth, born 11 February 1592
- Thomas, born 6 August 1594
- William, born 25 February 1613
- Henry, born 16 December 1615
- Elizabeth, born 6 October 1617
- Thomas, born 30 March 1618
- Diana, born 27 May 1621
- Graye, born 23 January 1622
- Anne, born 23 February 1623
Language(s): Latin with Middle English
Full page miniature of the Trinity (God the Father holding the crucified Jesus, dove above) on f. 1v preceding the text. See Decoration for further information.
Full page miniature of the crucifixion on f. 3v preceding the text. See Decoration for further information.
Full page miniature of a pope on f. 9v. See Decoration for further information.
Folio 16v blank.
Folio 17v blank.
Folio 18v blank.
Folio 19v blank.
Folios 26rv blank.
Incorrectly labelled 'februarii' next to the KL monogram; all of the feasts on the leaf are in January.
Notable feasts:| 23 February - Milburge uirginis
Notable feasts:| 17 March - Gertrudis
Notable feasts:| 2 May - Elyzabeth
Notable feasts:| 20 June - Edmundi regis | 25 June - Eligii Episcopi (in red)
Notable feasts:| 2 July - Visitacio Marie (in red)| 7 July - Translatio Thome (in red, with octave)
Notable feasts:| 4 October - Francis | 6 October - Translatio Hugonis (in red)
Notable feasts:| 12 November - Livini Episcopi | 17 November - Hugonis Episcopi 20 November - Edmundi Episcopi (red)
Notable feasts:| 1 December - Eligii Episcopi (in red)
M.R. James noted that the commemmorations for Saints David, Chad, and Winifred are not recorded in this calendar.
Mnemonic poem for the so-called 'Egyptian Days' recorded in the upper portion of each leaf by the KL monogram, a line per month as follows:| Prima dies mensis et septima trinitat[sic] ut ensis| Quarta subit mortem . prosternit tercia sortem | Primus mandentem . discumpit quarta bibentem | Denus et undenus . Est mortis uulnere plenus | Tercius occidit et septima ora relidit | Denus pallescit Quindenus feder uescit | Tredecimus mactat Julii denus labefactat | Prima necat sortem . Perditque secunda cohortem | Tercia septembris . Et denus fert malatuembris | Tercius et denus . Est sicut mors alienus | Scorpius est quintus . Et tercius est nece cuntus | Septimus exanguis . Dirosus denus et anguis
Many 16th century births of members of the Skipwith family of South Ormsby, Lincolnshire are recorded as additions to this calendar. The birth records are transcribed in Additions and discussed in Provenance.
Folio 39r blank.
Folio 64v blank.
Full page miniature of the Annunciation on f. 33v, of the Visitation on f. 39v, of the Adoration of the Shepherds on 49v, of the Adoration of the Magi on f. 52v, of the Flight to Egypt on f. 54v, of the Resurrection of Jesus from the Tomb on f. 56v, of the Assumption of Mary on f. 58v, of the Coronation of Mary in Heaven on f. 60v. See Decoration for further information.
Full page miniature of Jesus seated in Judgement on f. 68v. See [Decoration] for further information.
Full page miniature of a requiem mass on f. 81v. See Decoration for further information.
Full page miniature of a soul being carried to heaven on f. 97v. See Decoration for further information.
Full page miniature of Jesus as the Man of Sorrows with arma christi on f. 107v. See Decoration for further information.
Long rubric to prefatory collect on f. 111v.
Full page miniature of Jerome and lion on f. 112v. See Decoration for further information.
Folio 113r: Uerba mea auribus
Folio 121v blank.
Folio 122r: Obsecro te
Folio 124r: O intemerata
Full page miniature of the veneration of an altar topped with Jesus as the Man of Sorrows with arma christi on f. 125v
Many 16th- and 17th-century century births of members of the Skipwith family of South Ormsby, Lincolnshire are recorded as additions on ff. 128r-129v. The birth records are transcribed in Additions and discussed in Provenance.
Full transcription:| [Folio 130v] Herafter followeth the makyng of a Soueraygne water that doctor Steven physycyion and greate connyng man of long experyence dyd vse and therwith dyd many cures . Take a gallone of good gayscon wynne then take gynger , galyngayle , cannell Synomum , Nutmugges , graynes , Cloves , mace , Annasseades , fenell seades , Carrayway seades , of euery of theym a dramme , then take sage myntes , readrses , tyme , pellytory [Folio 131r] of the walle , wylde magerom, roose marye , penyryall , peny mowntayne other wyse called wylde tyme , cammamell , lavender , Avenne , of euery one of theym a handfull then beate the spyces small , and brusse the hearbes and put all into the wyne , and let yt stande twelf hiyres styryng yt dyuerse tymes , then styll yt in a lymbeck and keape the ffyrst pynte of the water for yt ys beaste , then wyll comme an other water , whyche ys not so good as the ffyrste [Folio 131v] Thys water conforteth the spyryttes and Lesneth generally(?) the yowth of moni , and helpeth inwarde dyseases commyng of colde , and agaynst shakyng of ye palsey yt cureth the contraccyon of synewis and helpeth the concepcyon of women that be barreyn , yt kylleth wormes in the belly , yt helpeth the colde [Folio 132r] the backe, yt cyreth the canker , yt helpeth shortely a stynikyng breathe And who so vsethe thys water in a meane and not to ofte yt preseruethe hym in good lykyng and shull make one yonge very longe probatum est
Full transcription: | Master laurance Robertson of Beyssey debet to be payde on myghelmesse xiijs
Full transcription: | + Master william Thagkker hath payde of this + yere rent at lammesse xxxiijs iiij di
Physical Description
Modern foliation sequence
[a]-i + ii-iv + 1-133 + 134 + v-vi
Foliated in pencil in Hindu-Arabic numerals in the upper outer corner of each recto.Deprecated modern foliation sequence
Folios 1-136 for the present ff. iii-134.
Foliated in pencil in Hindu-Arabic numerals in the lower margin of each recto.Collation
The collation is difficult to establish with absolute certainty due to the extensive interference with the structure of the volume that presumably occured during the most recent rebinding. The tightness of the present binding restricts the maximum angle of opening, and the gutters are now extremely compressed, rendering the sewing almost completely inaccessible.
Possible loss (or accidental omission) of a full-page miniature between the present ff. 121v-122r. The opening at ff. 121v-122r presents the boundary between Quire 16 and Quire 17; both Quires 16 and 17 appear to have originally been 6-leaf (3 bifolium) quires, but both are now lacking leaves. Quire 16 appears to be missing its original 6th leaf, probably due to cancellation as a long section of excerpts from the psalms (ff. 111v-121v) concluded on the fifth leaf, f. 121v. The original first and second leaf are missing from Quire 17, and may have been cancelled or deliberately removed. What is now the opening leaf of Quire 17 (f. 122r, the original 3rd leaf) contains the start of a new group of prayers, in this case to the Virgin Mary, but this section of text lacks either an inhabited initial, or a full page miniature to introduce it. The opening initial on f. 122r is relatively modest for a new section of text in this Book of Hours; new sections of text in MS McClean 89 typically begin with a full page miniature on the verso of the opening, or with a historiated or inhabited initial, rather than a 'simple' decorative initial. In most other places in the manuscript with initials of this type (blue intial on a recto, 6-7 lines high, gold counterspace with foliate decoration, pink ground), the previous verso contains a full-page miniature (see e.g., ff. 112v-113r for just one of many examples), and so it is probably the case that there was a full-page miniature either intended or executed for the original first bifolium of Quire 17, and the miniature was either accidentally omitted, or was removed after painting, leaving a gap in the collation and a disruption in the hierarchy of decoration in the volume.
The collation appears to be as follows:
- Two paper endleaves contemporary with the binding, the recto of the first covered with washed silk (ff. [a] - i) +
- Three medieval parchment endleaves (ff. ii-iv) +
- Quire 110 (ff. 1-10)
- Quires 2-38 (ff. 11-26)
- Quire 46 (ff. 27-32)
- Quire 510 (ff. 33r-42v)
- Quires 6-88 (ff. 43-66)
- Quire 9two (ff. 67-68)
- Quires 10-158 (ff. 69-116)
- Quire 166-1 (ff. 117-121; 6th leaf cancelled)
- Quire 176-2 (ff. 122-125; 1st and 2nd leaves ?missing ?cancelled)
- Quire 186 (ff. 126-131)
- Quire 194-1 (ff. 132-134; 1st leaf cancelled)
- Two paper endleaves contemporary with the binding, the verso of the last covered with washed silk (ff. v-vi)
Two paper endleaves + three parchment endleaves + 110 2-38 46 510 6-88 9two 10-158 166-1 (6th cancelled) 176-2 (1st and 2nd ?missing ?cancelled) 186 194-1 (1st cancelled) + two paper endleaves
No leaf signatures.
No quire signatures.
No catchwords.Condition
Layout
135-140 × 95 mm. Folios 1-133 ruled in magenta ink, frame and lines. Ruled in single-column format, typically 22 lines to the page and written below top line. Folios 130v-132r use alternate lines of the ruling and are written approximately 12 lines to the page. Folio 134r is unruled and informally written.
Hand(s)
The main text of the Book of Hours (ff. 2r-128r is written in a northern textualis formata.
Medical recipe on ff. 130v-132r written in a muted lavender ink in an anglicana hand with secretary features.
Notes on f. 134r informally written in an Anglicana hand.
Decoration
Full-page miniatures all in rectangular frame swith rounded upper edges surrounded by foliate borders (please note that these descriptions are partially based on those by M.R. James):
- Folio 1v: Memoria de S. Trinitate. God the Father crowned, nimbed, and throned holds the crucified Jesus nimbed before him. The scene set in a paved room with two leaded lights.
- Folio 3v: Fifteen Oos. The crucifixion. Jesus nimbed on the cross, flanked by the two crucified thieves who hang with contorted limbs. Mary and John the Evangelist, both nimbed, stand below
- Folio 9v: Prayer of Bede. A nimbed Pope in blue cope and blue tiara, holding patriarchal cross, a piece of wall behind and a landscape.
- Folio 33v: Matins of the Virgin. Annunciation scene. Mary nimbed and consulting a book in right of scene, an angel enters from without on left of scene holding scroll with text 'Aue Maria plena dominus tecum'[sic]. God the Father in sky above, breath of God indicated by gold rays and supporting a white dove flying toward Mary.
- Folio 39vLauds of the Virgin. The Visitation. Mary nimbed on left of scene. Elizabeth nimbed on right of scene emerges from a house.
- Folio 49v: Prime of the Virgin. Mary and Joseph in adoration of Jesus. In a garden or animal enclosure, the infant Jesus nimbed and rayed in the centre of the scene flanked by Mary nimbed and Joseph. A ray of light falls from the sky and touches the head of the infant Jesus. Joseph holds a candle and shelters the flame with his cloak. Two shepherds approach in the distance.
- Folio 52v: Tierce of the Virgin. Adoration of the magi. In a garden or animal enclosure with building in right background and landscape scenery in left background. Mary nimbed and seated on right of scene holds the nimbed infant Jesus. The three magi or kings cluster around Jesus in centre and left of scene, two crowned and holding golden orbs, one uncrowned and kneeling before Jesus.
- Folio 54v: Sext of the Virgin. The Flight into Egypt. Set in a rocky landscape with lake in the background. Mary nimbed and seated on donkey holds Jesus nimbed in one arm and holds a bowl out to Josep at right of scene standing at the head of the donkey.
- Folio 56v: Nones of the Virgin. The Resurrection. Jesus nimbed emerges from a stone tomb, holding patriarchal cross in left hand and raising right hand in benediction. Two soldiers, one at each end of the tomb. Landscape scene in background.
- Folio 58v: Verspers of the Virgin. The Assumption of Mary. Mary nimbed with hands clasped in prayer is carried into the sky by four angels with pink, green and blue wings. Landscape scenery below.
- Folio 60v: Compline of the Virgin. The Coronation of Mary. Interior scene with tiled floor and chequered walls. Mary nimbed kneels in left of scene before Jesus nimbed and throned on right of scene holding an orb and raising his right hand in benediction. A canopy behind the throne bears a banner with the word 'MARIA' written in gold. An angel hovers above Mary holding a crown.
- Folio 68v: Seven psalms. Landscape scene. Jesus nimbed and seated on a rainbow depicted in black and gold with his feet resting on a golden orb. Jesus has arms raised displaying the wounds in his hands, his fingertips touch a sword pointing toward his left ear and a spray of lilies emerging from his right ear. On earth below Mary and John the Evangelist, both nimbed, kneel facing one another. Three heads emerge from graves in the earth.
- Folio 81v: Office of the Dead. Interior scene. A coffin in the centre of the illustration covered in a blue pall with gold embroidery and flanked by two tall lit candles. Members of the clergy stand to the right of the coffin. Hooded figures in black approach the coffin through a door to the left, landscape scenery visible in the distance.
- Folio 97v: Commendations. Landscape scene. Two angels carry a white sling bearing a naked figure (a representation of a soul) to heaven. The clouds are parted above and a half-length Jesus nimbed, holding orb, and raising a hand in benediction gazes down at the soul flanked by two more angels.
- Folio 107v: Psalms of the Passion. Man of Sorrows with the arma christi. Landscape scene. Jesus nimbed and depicted as the Man of Sorrows sits up in his tomb, his arms crossed in front of his chest. The arma christi are represented by the cross, crown of thorns, pillar, sponge on stick, three nails and hammer, pincers, lantern, awl, rods.
- Folio 112v: Psalter of Saint Jerome. Interior scene. Jerome nimbed and wearing the red of a cardinal stands facing left before a low desk with two sloping faces, his hand on a book. A lion rests on a the tiled floor behind Jerome.
- Folio 125v: Salue Ihesu. Interior scene. Pope Gregory the Great nimbed and in blue chasuble kneels at altar on right of image on which stands Jesus in front of a tomb as the Man of Sorrows flanked by the arma christi. The arma christi are represented by the cross, crown of thorns, sponge on stick, three nails and hammer, lance, awl, rods. Two cardinals, stand behind Gregory, one wearing a galero and holding a book and a patriarchal cross, the other tonsured and holding a papal tiara.
Floral and foliate borders typically around the upper, outer and lower margins of leaves with a full-page miniature or the opening of a new text. See for example ff. 9v-10r. In some cases (e.g., f. 13r), typically when accompanying a historiated initial rather than a full page miniature, the floral and foliate borders are restricted to half the width of the upper and lower margin.
Historiated initials, typically 7 lines high, the letter typically painted in gold, or in blue with white patterning. Please note that these descriptions are partially based on those by M. R. James:
- Folio 12r: Omnibus confessoris. Initial D. Interior scene in a church or chapel. A priest in blue chasuble, stands before an altar facing right and elevating the eucharistic bread. Chalice on altar. A woman in a divided hennin kneels on floor behind gazing at a book in front of her.
- Folio 13r: Memorial of John the Baptist. Initial G. Landscape scene. John the Baptist nimbed holds an open book and gestures to a white lamb beside him.
- Folio 14r Memorial of Saint George. Initial G. Landscape scene with city in distance. George with tabard and shield in argent with cross gules, seated on horse with green tack and bearing a lance pierces the mouth of the dragon lying in the foreground of the scene. Princess and lamb kneeling to right of scene. King and queen watch from city walls in the distance.
- Folio 15r: Memorial to Saint Christopher. Initial O. Landscape scene. Christopher nimbed and holding a rod wades through water with a nimbed infant Jesus seated on his shoulders.
- Folio 16r: Memorial to Saint Anthony. Initial O. Landscape scene. Anthony nimbed and wearing black mantle over red robe and high red hat stands in fire holding an open book and a walking stick. A small quadruped stands to Anthony's right.
- Folio 17r: Memorial to Saint Erasmus. Initial O. Landscape scene. Erasmus nimbed and nude and stretched on a board, his entrails being wound out by a windlass being turned by a soldier. A king holding a sceptre stands in the centre of the image with a female courtier behind. White mitre on the floor below the board.
- Folio 18r: Memorial to Saint Nicholas. Initial O. Interior scene. Nicholas on right of scene nimbed and holding crozier, hand raised in benediction toward two nude boys in wooden tub on left of scene.
- Folio 19r: Memorial to Saint Giles. Initial L. Landscape scene. Giles numbed in black robes and holding crozier stands reading before a wall. A deer paws at Giles' leg.
- Folio 20r: Memorial to Saint Catherine (Katherine). Initial G. Interior scene. Katherine nimbed and crowned stand over Maxentius holding book and with wheel to side.
- Folio 21r: Memorial to Saint Margaret. Initial G. Interior scene. Margaret nimbed and hands clasped in prayer rises from the back of a dragon. The dragon is shown with some of Margaret's robe in its mouth.
- Folio 22r: Memorial to Saint Barbara. Initial G. Landscape scene. Barbara nimbed ?and with palm stands in an enclosed garden gazing at a tower to right of image.
- Folio 23r: Memorial to Saint Mary Magdalene. Initial G. Landscape scene. Mary Magdalene nimbed stands holding a golden reliquary.
- Folio 24r: Memorial to Saint Ursula. Initial U. Landscape scene. Ursula nimbed stands in an enclosed garden before a blue banner, arms outstretched and holding an arrow in each hand. Ursula's face has been obliterated through either deliberate damage or possible accidental obscuration through devotional kissing.
- Folio 25r: Memorial to Saint Anna. Initial G. Interior scene. Anna nimbed and seated with Mary nimbed and reading at her knee.
- Folio 65r: Salue uirgo. Initial S. Interior scene. Mary nimbed stands before an altar to right with a small angel standing to her left.
- Folio 124r: O intermerata. Initial O. Interior scene. Mary nimbed and seated holds a nimbed and nude infant Jesus. An angel kneels to the left of the image.
Decorative initials, typically 6-7 lines high at the opening of some passages of text, see e.g., f. 2r. These decorative initials are typically set in a square frame, with the ground of the initial painted blue with white patterning and the counterspace of the initial painted with floral and foliate motifs on a gold ground. Space between the initial and frame filled with a pink ground and white patterning.
Decorative initials typically 2 lines high at some minor divisions of the text. Typically a gold initial set in a square frame with blue or pink ground and white highlights. See for example, the 'L' of 'Libera me domine' on f. 2v.
Flourished initials found frequently at the minor divisions of the text. Flourished initials are typically 1-2 lines high, with blue or gold initial set in a square matrix defined by red or black labrynthine patterning.
Offices, prayers, responses, and instructions introduced with rubricated text (red only) throughout the book. See for example f. 4r, 'Deuota oracio ad dominum ihesum christum' to introduce The Fifteen Oos.
Additions
Extensive additions to Fitzwilliam Museum MS McClean 89 by members of the Skipwith family of South Ormsby, Lincolnshire, England. The majority of the additions record dates of birth of members of the Skipwith family and can be found in two groups, an earlier group on ff. 27r-33v in the calendar, and a later group on ff. 128r-129v.
On f. iii recto, there are annotations in ink by Margarett Skipwithe . Margarett Skipwith wrote her name twice, and under the first appearance of her name wrote a Latin motto, 'Nec temere Nec timide' (Neither rashly Nor timidly). On the same leaf are the initials 'HS' in black ink, perhaps for the Henry Skipwith who owned the volume in the early seventeenth century and recorded the births of his children on ff. 129rv.
Skipwith family additions to the calendar on ff. 27r-33v: printed below as normalised and modernised text with transcription and comments following in parentheses:|
- Folio 27r: Elizabeth Skipwith daughter of Lyon Skipwith esq. born 15 February 1562. ('Elizabeth Skypwith daughter of Lyon Skypwith esquyer was borne the xvth day of februarye a m ccccc lxij'. Despite the entry mentioning February, this entry begins on the line for 13 January).
- Folio 27r: On this day [20 January] was born Elizabeth Skipwith daughter of William Skipwith esq. of Ormsby in the sixteenth year of the reign of King Henry VIII [1524]. ('Hac die nata fuit Elisabeth Skipwith filia Willelmi Skipwith armiger de Ornysby anno regni regis henrici octaui sextodecimo')
- Folio 27v: The 2nd of February 1521 Brigida [Bridget] Skipwith was born. ('The secund day of februarij the ȝer of our lorde gode m ccccc xxi nata fuit briggida skypwith').
- Folio 27v: Dorothea Skipwith daughter of William Skipwith esq. of South Ormsby was born on the sixth day of this month of February in the year 1527. ('Dorothea Skipwithe filia Willelmi Skipwithe de Sowthormrsby armigeri nata fuit Sexto die huiusce mensis februarij anno domini milesimo quingentesimo Vicesimo septimo')
- Folio 28r: Margaret Skipwith daughter of Lyon Skipwith was born the 8th day of March in 1561 (?1562). ('Margaret Skypwith daughter of Lyon Skypwith was borne the viijth day of marche in ye yere of our lord god a m cccccc lxjj(?)'. Writing begins on line for 6 March. Birth year has final 'j' written in a different ink.)
- Folio 28r: This [15 March] is the date of the birth of Marie Skipwith daughter of William Skipwith esq. of Ormsby in 1515, dominical letter G, 6th year of the reign of Henry VIII. ('iste est dies natalis marie Skypwith filie Willelmi Skypwith armiger de Ormysby anno domini mo ccccco xvo littera dominicalis G anno henrici Octam Sexto.' Writing begins on line for 15 March.)
- Folio 28r: The penultimate day of March [30th] in 1518 Anna daughter of William Skipwith esq. was born. ('penultima die marcij anno domini mlmo ccccc xiixo [sic] nata fuit Anna filia willelmi skypwith armigeri'. Another hand has written '1518' in the margin next to the idiosynctatic 'xiix'.)
- Folio 29r: Ursula Skipwith daughter of Lyon Skipwith esq. was born the 30th of May 1563. ('Ursula Skypwith daughter of Lyon Skypwith esquyre was borne the xxxh day of maye in the yere of oure Lord god a m ccccc lxiij').
- Folio 29v: On the 11th June 1519 John Skipwith and his sister Margaret were born. ('Undecimo die Junij anno domini mo ccccc xixo nati sunt Johannes Skypwith et Margareta soror eius').
- Folio 30r: Katheryn Skipwith daughter of Lyon Skipwith esquyer born 10 July 1555 the dominical letter F. ('Katheryne Skypwith daughter of Lyon skypwith esquyer was borne the xth day of July in the yere of our Lorde god a m ccccclv the Dominicall letter ff').
- Folio 31r: Henry Skipwith son of William Skipwith esq. born the first day of this month [September] in the twenty-fourthth year of the reign of King Henry VIII [1532]. ('Henricus Skipwithe filius Willelmi Skipwithe armigeri Natus fuit primo die huius Mensis anno Regni Regis Henrici octaui vicesimo quarto').
- Folio 31r: William Skipwith son of Lyon Skipwith esq. was born 12 September 1566. ('Willelmi Skypwith sone of Lyon Skypwith Esquyer was borne the xijth day of Septembre in ye yere of ower Lorde god a m ccccc lxvj').
- Folio 31v: Jane Skipwith daughter of William Skipwith esq. was born 26 October in the 8th year of the reign of King Henry VIII [1516]. ('Jane Skipwith dogther vnto Willelmi Skipwith Esquier borne the xxvjti day of October in the yere of the Reyne of Kyng Henry the Viijth the Viijth yere').
- Folio 32r: George Skipwith son of Lyon Skipwith esq. was born 4 November 1567. ('George Skypwyth sonne of Lyon Skypwith esquyer was borne the fourth day of November in the yeare of ower lorde god A mccccclxvij').
- Folio 32r: George Skipwith son of William Skipwith esq. was born the last day of November [30th] in 1529, the 21st year of the reign of King Henry VIII. ('Georgius Skipwithe filius Willelmi Skipwithe armigeri Natus fuit Ultimo die Nouembris Anno domini mo quingentesio Vicesimo noo ac anno regni regis henrici octaui uicesimo primo').
- Folio 32v: Leo [Lyon] Skipwith son of William Skipwith esq. born 3 December 1517, dominical letter d. ('Leo skypwith filius willelmi skypwith armiger natus erat tertio die mensis decembris Anno domini mlio ccccc decimo Septimo littera dominicalis d').
- Folio 32v: Katheryn Skipwith daughter to William Skipwith esq. was born 6 December of the 15th year of the reign of King Henry VIII [1523]. ('Katryn Skypwith dogther to William Skipwith esquyer was borne the vj day of December the xv yere of the Regne of King Henry the Viijth').
- Folio 32v: On this day was born George Skipwith son of William Skipwith esq. of Ormsby in the 18th year of the reign of King H[enry] VIII [1526]. ('Hac die nata fuit . Georgius Skipwith . filius Willelmi Skipwith armiger de Ormysby Anno Regni regis .H. Octaui Decimo octauo').
- Folio 32v: John Skipwith son of Lyon Skipwith esq. was born 9 March 1573 and the fifteenth [regnal] year of Elizabeth. ('Johannes Skipwith filius Leoni Skipwith armigeri natus fuit nono die marcij anno domini 1573 annoque Elizabeth decimo quinto'. Depsite the March date of birth, this entry appears on the calendar page for December.
Skipwith family additions at the end of the main text on ff. 128r-129v:
- Folio 128r: My daughter Jane was borne the thirde day of November being a fryday , betweene iij and iiij of the clocke in the after nonne , anno domini 1587
- Folio 128r: My daughter Ann was borne the xxiijth of January beinge thursday betwene iij and iiij a clocke in the afternoone Anno Domini 1588
- Folio 128v: My sonne Henry Skipwith was borne the xxj of March Anno Domini 1590
- Folio 128v: My sonne Gorge[sic] Skipwith was borne the xij of february Annon[sic] Domini 1591
- Folio 128v: My daughter Elizabeth Skipwith was borne the xjth of february Anno Domini 1592
- Folio 128v: My sonne Thomas Skipwith was borne the vith day of Auguste being a tuesdaye betweene fyue and syxe of the clocke in the after noone . Anno Domyno 1594
- The records of the births on ff. 128rv are signed in the lower margin of each page 'William Skipwith'
- Folio 129r: My sonne William was borne on Fryday the xxvth of February att a quarter past one of the Clocke in the after noone . Anno Domyne 1613 Henry Skipwith
- Folio 129r: My sonne Henry was borne on Saturday the xvith of December betweene eyght and nine in the morninge . Anno Domyne 1615 . Henry Skipwith
- Folio 129r: My daughter Elizabeth was borne on Munday the vjth of October betweene ten and elevene of the clocke in the night . Anno Domyne 1617 . Henry Skipwith
- Folio 129r: My sonne Thomas was borne on Tuesday ye 30th of march betweene 4 and 5 of the clocke in the morning in the yeare of our Lord 1618 . Henry Skipwith
- Folio 129r: My daughter Diana was borne on Sunday the 27th of may betweene ȝe houres of 3 and 4 of ye clocke in after noone in the yeare of our Lorde 1621 . Henry Skipwith
- Folio 129v: Graye Skipwith my sonne was borne the 23th of Januarij beinge Thursday betweene one and tooe of ye clocke in ye morninge . Anno: Dom: 1622 . Henry Skipwith
- Folio 129v: Anne Skipwith my daughter was borne on munday the 23th of Februarie a little before a eleuen of the clocke in the morninge Anno Dom: 1623 . Henry Skipwith
A note in ink on f. ii recto in ink in a medieval hand written upside down relative to the orientation of the volume, 'voor en'. There are further pen trials in the same hand below.
Quire signatures ('1-19') in the bottom right-hand corner of the recto side of the first leaf of each quire, written in pencil by a hand of the 19th/20th century.
Binding
19th-century binding. Fully bound in red leather over wood boards with bevelled edges, with similar decoration to front and rear covers. Covers are decorated with a gilded single-fillet frame inset from the perimeter of the boards by c. 15 mm. Decorative inlay work within the gilded fillet frame consisting of pieces of painted parchment arranged in a centre-and-corner style and inlaid into the leather of the cover. The inlaid parchment corners are painted with a simplified floral and foliate motif in pink, green, and blue, perhaps modelled after the floral and foliate borders found within the manuscript. The centrepiece of the front cover is a crucifix with four further points at the intercardinals painted gold, with a medalion in the centre with the nominum sacrum for Jesus, 'ihs' written in dark blue ink. The centrepiece of the rear cover is a lobed rectangle with a crucifix painted in red with a gold-painted ring piercing the arms of the cross around their central intersection. The perimeters of the centre-and-corner parchment inlays are outlined with a gilded single fillet.
Four raised bands on spine, each bisected with a gilded single fillet. Spine is decorated with gilded double-fillets across the width of the spine at the upper and lower perimeter of each compartment and a gilded fleuron in the centre of each compartment. Decorative head and tail bands wound in alternate segments of blue and yellow yarn. Burgundy ?silk bookribbon anchored in the head band.
Gilded decorative roll around the turn ins. The remains of a former blind-panel-stamp binding (c. 1490-1550) fixed to the inner faces of the front and rear boards with an adhesive.
Large decorative metal fastening set at the centre of the fore edge of the volume; the other half of the fastening missing from the rear cover.
Top, fore, and lower edges of the bookblock gilt and gauffered.
Folios [a] and vi are leaves contemporary with the current binding, their faces closest to the inner board (i.e., ff. [a] recto and vi verso) covered with blue watered silk to protect the remains of the earlier binding now pasted to the inner faces of the boards. The perimeters of the watered silk leaves are decorated with a gilded roll.
Paper endleaves contemporary with the present binding as follows (ff. [a] and i at the front of the volume and v and vi at the rear of the volume):
- Folio [a] recto: overlaid with blue watered silk fixed to the recto with an adhesive
- Folio [a] verso: the number '89' in pencil; a note '126 leaves of writing' in pencil; a Frank McClean engraved bookplate fixed to the leaf with an adhesive; the number '79' in pencil
- Folio i recto: blank
- Folio i verso: the word 'Sarum' in pencil
- Folio v recto: blank
- Folio v verso: blank
- Folio vi recto: collation note in pencil| '3+ 134 ff| Nov.9.08| H.A.C'
- Folio vi verso: overlaid with blue watered silk fixed to the verso with an adhesive
Remains of a former panel-stamp binding from the last decade of the fifteenth century or the first half of the sixteenth century now bound with the volume. The former decorative panels have been trimmed significantly and are fixed to the inner front and rear covers with an adhesive and both measure approximately (L x W) 170 x 100 mm. This type of panel-stamp binding design now preserved withn MS McClean 89 was popular in England and Flanders c. 1490-1550. The remains of the panel-stamp binding now fixed to the inside rear cover exhibit significant damage, and the damage has been repaired with similar, but undecorated leather.
The design of the panel stamp binding consisted of a small rectangular panel-stamp (L x W) c. 85 x 50mm, repeated in two rows and two columns, to form a larger design. The panel stamp has a text-frame rendered in a northern textualis formata (read clockwise from bottom right corner): 'Adoramus te xpe | et benedicamus tibi quia | per sanctam crucem | tuam redemisti mundum' (We adore you O Christ and we praise you because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world). Within the text-frame the stamp is divided vertically into two narrow panels, each with four roundels stacked vertically, and the space within the roundels filled with foliage. The roundels are filled top-to-bottom left-to-right with the following figures:
- bestial quadruped with long neck, facing right
- bird with webbed feet, body facing right, head facing left
- humanoid figure perching on a branch, body facing left, head facing right
- humanoid figure (perhaps a satyr) genuflecting on one knee, facing right and blowing a pipe
- large bird facing right
- bestial biped, body facing left, head facing right
- bestial biped with long neck facing left, head bent to ground
- humanoid figure facing left, crouching and kicking a leg forward, perhaps dancing
Not in J. B. Oldham, Blind Panels of English Binders (1958)
History
Date and place of production based on palaeographical and artistic features of the manuscript. Nicholas Rogers has suggested a date in the 'early 1490's' for the production of this manuscript, but did not provide further elaboration.
Provenance and Acquisition
Cambridge, Fitzwilliam Museum, MS McClean 89 (hereafter MS McClean 89) is a Book of
Hours made in
Flanders in the late 15th century for the English book market. The manuscript was
in England by 1515 at the latest,
since several generations of the Skipwith family of South Ormsby in Lincolnshire added
birth records to the calendar
(ff. 27r-32v) and to some of the endleaves (ff. 128r-129v). The Skipwith family were minor gentry, and several members of the family were involved
in
local and national politics and also married into socially powerful families.
The birth records in MS McClean 89 are worth close examination, not only as a primary
source of new
biographical information about several socially and politically important figures
in England in the 16th and 17th
centuries, but also because the records allow us to trace the transfer of the volume
from one generation to another
through four generations of the Skipwith family. In addition, the birth records are
especially important as a way to
highlight the family of Lyon (also known as Leo, Lionel) Skipwith, eldest son of the
marriage between Sir William
Skipwith and Alice Dymoke, whose children seem to have been erroneously attributed
to his younger brother Henry
Skipwith in many accounts of the family history (more information below).
The first member of the Skipwith family to use MS McClean 89 was
Sir William Skipwith (b. ?1488, d. 1547)
, High Sheriff of Lincolnshire 1526-1527, MP for Lincolnshire in 1529 and 1539 (see
History of
Parliament entry for further details), and son of Sir John Skipwith (d. ?1518), High Sheriff of Lincolnshire
1493 and Katherine Skipwith (née Fitzwilliam). Sir William was married twice, first
to Elizabeth Tyrwhitt, by whom he
had one son, also named William (born c. 1510) (for whom also see History of
Parliament entry) before Elizabeth's death in or before the year 1514. Sir William then married Alice
Dymoke, daughter of Sir Lionel Dymoke; the date is not recorded, but the marriage
probably took place in or before
mid-1514, since William recorded the births of his children with Alice Dymoke in MS
McClean 89, beginning with Marie
(Mary), who was born 15 March 1515. Records in a number of hands record the births
of a further twelve of his children
in the manuscript's calendar pages, summarised as follows in chronological order (for
full transcriptions and
interpretations, see Additions):
There are a number of unresolved complexities in this list of births. In three instances,
it appears that
births occur too close together for Alice Dymoke to be the mother of both children:
Lyon on 3 December 1517 and Anna
on 30 March 1518; Katryn on 6 December 1523 and Elisabeth on 20 January 1524; and
George on 12 December 1526 and
Dorothea on 6 February 1527. The manner in which the dates are recorded in the manuscript
varies: by regnal years,
calendar years, or some combination thereof. There were also at this time differing
practices in reckoning the start
of the year: the calendar/Christian year began on 1 January, but the legal year on
25 March. The impossibly short gap
between the births of Katryn and Elisabeth, and between George and Dorothea, might
be explained by confusion arising
from these different systems, if Katryn were born on 6 December 1522 not 1523, and
if George were born on 6 February
1528, not 1527. However, no such resolution is possible for Lyon and Anna, since their
birth dates are too closely
pre- and post-dated by their siblings Jane and twins John and Margaret. One possibility
is that some of these children
were born out of wedlock to another mother, though the naming of Lyon (presumably
in honour of his maternal
grandfather) and the descent of the manuscript to him suggests that he was legitimate
(further details below). A
further question hangs over the two children named George: perhaps the first died
in infancy. Further research is
needed to place all of these observations on firmer evidential ground.
It is notable that the birth of Sir William's first child (William, b. ?1510), by
his first wife
Elizabeth, is not recorded here. Furthermore, the book passed not to this William,
but to the oldest son, Lyon (b.
1517), of Sir William's second marriage to Alice. This suggests the possibility that
MS McClean 89 came into the
Skipwith family via Alice herself, and who wished it to remain in her side of the
family. Lyon was married twice,
first to Margaret Barnardiston, daughter of John Barnardiston, and second to Jane
Bracebridge, daughter of William
Bracebridge. The births of seven of his children were recorded in MS McClean 89, all
in the same hand, which might
indicate that Lyon added the entries himself. The children of Lyon Skipwith as recorded
in MS McClean 89 are as
follows:
Lyon Skipwith has not left a substantial trace in the historical record, and as a
result some sources
appear to conflate details of his life with those of his youngest brother, Henry (b.
1 September 1532). For instance,
in Burke's Peerage, Knightage and Baronetage ((2003), III.3641), Henry is said to have had
twelve children (William, Francis, Henry, George, Ursula, Catherine, Anne, Jane, Bridget,
Dorothy, Elizabeth,
Margaret), but the records added to MS McClean 89 indicate that some of these are
Lyon's children. Further suggestive
evidence is provided by the descent of the manuscript, which passed to William (b.
1566), since it is more likely that
he inherited it as Lyon's son, rather than as his nephew.
William Skipwith (b. 1566, d. 1610)
was Sheriff of Leicestershire c. 1598, and MP for Leicestershire in 1601 and for
Leicester in 1604 (see History
of Parliament entry). He was knighted in 1603 and was married twice, first to Margaret Cave and second
to
Jane Roberts, the daughter of John Roberts of Wollaston. Like his antecedents, he
recorded the births of six children
on ff. 128r-128v, as follows:
MS McClean 89 passed to William's eldest male child,
Henry Skipwith (b. 1590)
. Henry was knighted in 1609 and was married twice, first to Anne Kempe, daughter
of Sir Thomas Kempe and
second to Blandina Pennen, daughter of John Pennen of Badgeworth, Somerset. He too
recorded the births of seven
children on ff. 129r-129v, as follows:
There are no further Skipwith births recorded in MS McClean 89 after this last entry,
and the subsequent
ownership of the manuscript is unknown.
Bequeathed to the Fitzwilliam Museum by the British astronomer Frank McClean (1837-1904) in 1904. McClean bookplate present on f. [a] verso
Additional Information
Record Sources
Availability
Visitors to the Fitzwilliam Museum who wish to consult Collection material are required to apply to the Museum in advance of their visit. For information on eligibility and admission procedures see: Fitzwilliam Museum: Study Room.
Bibliography
-
A descriptive catalogue of the McClean collection of manuscripts in the Fitzwilliam
museum, James, M.R. (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1912)
Books of Hours produced in the Low Countries for the English market in the fifteenth
century, Rogers, Nicholas (Cambridge, 1984, M.Litt.)
Funding of Cataloguing
Wellcome
Digital Images
Abbreviations
View list of abbreviations and editorial conventions.
