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The Centre Culturel Irlandais offers a range of resources which can be accessed through its new online catalogue and consulted at the Médiathèque.
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Among the treasures of the Old Library, the three illuminated manuscripts, forming the core of the collection, have been digitized. Each individual folio is featured, allowing the manuscripts to be viewed in their entirety online, with a zoom facility to look at every detail of these splendid works.
 Flemish Psalter
 A psalter is a collection of psalms (biblical hymns).
This psalter is written in Latin, on vellum and was produced in Bruges circa 1500. Its binding dates from the nineteenth century.
Richly decorated, it includes a fully illuminated page depicting the Tree of Jesse and a miniature of King David. A second miniature depicts the Office of the Dead, in addition to twelve illuminations representing the months of the year and the signs of the zodiac. A further nine pages feature richly decorated borders, ornamented with flowers, birds and butterflies. The coat-of-arms of the patron of the psalter consists of an azure-coloured lion set against a silver background; it figures nine times throughout the manuscript.
It is likely that the illustration of the psalter was carried out in the workshop of Raphael Marcatellis, a bibliophile from Bruges.
Click here to access the manuscript |
World chronicle with the descent of the kings of England
 Produced in London, circa 1500, this manuscript in English traces the genealogy of the kings of England, from Adam and Eve to Richard III. It was produced in the manner of William Claxton, the first printer in England.
The manuscript on vellum retains its original brown calfskin binding.
The manuscript contains illustrations in ink, representing The Last Judgement, The Fall of the Rebel Angels, The Creation of Adam and Eve and Noah’s Ark. Numerous genealogical trees of the kings of England are depicted, accompanied by 68 medallion portraits, including that of Richard III.
The secondary decoration consists of initial letters decorated with gold filigree, with others in blue and red ink.
Click here to access the manuscript |
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Book of Hours of Notre-Dame
 A Book of Hours is a collection of prayers used for private devotion. It was the most popular form of illuminated manuscript in the medieval epoch.
This Book of Hours written in Latin, on vellum, was created in Bruges, circa 1470. It features numerous initials, historiated initials and decorated borders.
It is likely to be the work of the artist William Wyelant and his workshop. The cover dates from the early eighteenth century and is of English origin.
Unfortunately, the book is incomplete, as some 26 pages have been removed over time.
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Thanks
This project was realized thanks to the financial support of the Government of Ireland and the Direction régionale des affaires culturelles d’Ile-de-France - Ministère de la culture et de la communication.
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