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Bifolio from a Book of Hours: Initial V with Floral Border (recto); Text (verso)
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
The word dirge, today meaning a mournful hymn for funerals, comes from the opening Latin in the Office of the Dead, seen just after the decorative letter A at upper left. During the Middle Ages, dirge became the shortened way to refer to the Office of the Dead. Although primarily recited at funerals, the office was also prayed at home as a reminder of mortality and a protection against sudden death. Surrounding the text, which contains Psalm 5, is a border decoration of acanthus leaves, believed to grow in paradise, as well as a parrot, a squirrel, a beetle, and flowers.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineBifolio from a Book of Hours: Initial V with Floral Border (recto); Text (verso), c. 1460–1500. Austria (? ) or Bohemia (?), 15th century. Ink, tempera and gold on vellum; each leaf: 13.9 x 10.6 cm (5 1/2 x 4 3/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, The Jeanne Miles Blackburn Collection, 2006.12
