Newberry Library MS 53: Unlocking the Secrets of a Late Medieval Book of Hours

Abstract

This thesis investigates a manuscript in the Newberry Library collection, Newberry Library MS 53, a Book of Hours for the Use of Rome made around 1470 in Bruges, Flanders, and thought to be connected to the circle of Willem Vrelant (d. 1481), one of the most prolific Flemish illuminators of his time. The manuscript itself has received little scholarly attention, and the present study reconstructs its history by identifying elements within the manuscripts that demonstrate a connection to Vrelant and his associates, describing the production process used for smaller, less expensive Books of Hours, identifying its likely audience, and comparing it to other similar manuscripts in the Walters Art Museum collection and in particular to Walters W 180, a Book of Hours that present a remarkable resemblance to Newberry Library MS 53.