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Anna Lynch

Dr. Kamerick

September 27, 2012

 Preces piae 

This little book is comprised of several “pious prayers”. It is quite small, not longer than

a hand (10 cm) and just barely wider than one. The best estimation for the date of its production

is the 15th

 Century. Its portability and use of the vernacular point to its audience being of a lower

status. It seems far too plain to have been made for a member of the aristocracy, though it does

contain some gold-illuminated letters at the beginning of certain prayers.

It is written in German mainly, while certain key phrases, such as “Salve Regina,” or

“Pater Noster” are left in Latin. The vellum parchment shows definite signs of use, particularly

in the bottom corners of the margin where a reader likely turned the page. The margins run much

smaller on the top and inside edge, providing ample room for the readers’ fingers to hold the

 bottom corners of the book. The small size of each page lends itself to only one column per page.

The parchment is neither thick nor thin, but a medium width which allows for the small pages to

 be easily turns and the book to stay open on its own. From the feel of the vellum to the size of

the page, this book seems to have been produced at a relatively low cost as far as materials are

concerned.

The pages lack prickings and have only been ruled on the left and right sides to mark off

the margins. Each line of print is not ruled, and often trails down to the bottom right corner.

These observations point to a hastily made book. Other observations strengthen this conclusion.

There are an inconsistent number of lines on each page and an inconsistent number of words per

line. Some capital letters are marked with a red line. Some titles to prayers are written in red as

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well. Before some prayers there is a heading written in red which seems to describe the prayer to

follow. The style of script that is written in red seems to be neater than the other script, though it

is hard to tell if one scribe wrote the black and one the red. Of the 53 big capitals, only 6

illuminated with gold? (Check class notes to see how to say this)

This does not seem to have been made with much care. The script is hurried and

inconsistent, though to call it sloppy is too critical. This book seems best suited to, as DeHamel

might phrase it, an “everybody.” This owner of this text likely requested a small book of prayers

that could be taken with them throughout their day. Perhaps they even requested that their

favorite prayers be written in red or marked with an illuminated initial so they could more easily

find it. The very humble nature of the presentation of this book, however, is in large part what

makes it such a fascinating artifact to study.