Winchester College Publication Treausry: Collections Bulletin 2019-2020 | Page 4

Objects in Focus
Winchester College MS 48:
New Research
In 1608, John Lant, MA, a physician and organist at Winchester Cathedral
from c. 1600 until his death in 1614, donated a book of hours (hereafter
referred to as ‘WC 48’) to the Winchester College Fellows’ Library. The volume,
dating from the early 15 th century, offers no internal evidence of the original
owner of the manuscript although the connection with Lant may possibly
suggest an Oxford origin. 1 The manuscript is a medium-sized volume
measuring 212x143 mm with a written area of 145x81 mm. The 150 folios are
in 16 quires ruled 24 lines per page. The pages have clearly been significantly
cropped at some point. 2 Unlike many more famous books of hours, this
volume includes no illuminated miniatures to delight the eye. However, this
simple volume provides a surprising amount of visual interest in addition to its
rich textual material.
Figure 1: WC 48, fol. 7r
Contents and Decoration
The book of hours evolved in the 13 th
century from the psalter and became the
principal devotional book in the later
Middle Ages. By the 15 th century these
manuscripts were made in great numbers
and were usually customized to the specific
requirements of the original owner. The
contents of WC 48 include the expected
basics of a book of hours: a calendar, the
Hours of the Virgin, penitential psalms, a
litany, and the Office of the Dead. In
addition, the manuscript includes an
abecedarian litany to the Virgin Mary, an
extensive prayer collection (especially quires
14–16), and 11 poems/hymns including
four that we have not located elsewhere.
And most unusually, the volume contains
musical notation for the Office of the Dead,
something that is found in only a few
horae. 3
The decorative scheme of the manuscript
offers the reader very clear guideposts for
the various sections. The opening calendar
has a decorated initial (‘KL’ for kalends) at
the top of each page with gold letters on a
red and blue background with a floral spray
running horizontally from the top of the
letter (fol. 1r). The opening folio of the
Hours of the Virgin contains a full border of
interlinked floral/abstract design with ample
use of gold along with red, blue, and green
(fol. 7r, fig. 1). Similar borders distinguish the
beginning of the Office of the Dead (fol.
68r) and the commendatory psalms (fol.
96r). With these major sections marked off,
the manuscript indicates the relative
importance of other sections via different
design elements. For example, each of the
Hours of the Virgin begins with a letter
decorated like the ones in the calendar but
six lines in height with a floral design
marking the left-hand border (fol. 16r).
Similar initials mark the start of each hour
of the Hours of the Virgin as well as other
sections, such as the devotional of the 15
Oes (fol. 64r), and the beginning of quire 14
(fol. 116r). In the hierarchy of initial letters,
the next size letters are found at the
beginnings of psalms and prayer texts. They
are blue on a red background with a design
in red ink spreading up and down the
margin from the letter (for example, fol.
13r). All of these elements lead the reader
through the manuscript with a clear visual
map.
4 Winchester College Collections 2019 – 20