Doodles, Puzzles, Peek-A-Boo, and a Dutch Book of Hours

Many of us have a distinctive doodle. We can recognize our former school notebooks from the familiar designs that repeat in various combinations on the corners of pages. Some of these drawn figures may still inadvertently appear on a memo pad when we find ourselves on a lengthy telephone call. The connotation of the word “doodle” implies that the penwork lacks intentionality, and therefore fifteenth-century scribes in the Northern Netherlands cannot be said to have “doodled” in the borders of their manuscripts. Nevertheless, the effect of their labors on paper and parchment is remarkably similar to some of our finer memo pad masterpieces.

Intricate penwork characterizes Dutch manuscripts from the fifteenth century. Manuscript 207 in the Rare Book and Special Collections Division is an excellent example of playful pen flourishes in a Dutch Book of Hours (image below). While the majority of continental European Books of Hours were written in Latin with only the calendar or certain prayers appearing in the vernacular, due to the popularity of a translation by Geert Groote in 1385 CE, Dutch Books of Hours like Ms. 207 were the inverse: most were written in Middle Dutch with some calendrical elements appearing in Latin. Though it may seem obvious, the rubric on the opening page tells the reader as much: Hier beghint Onser liever Vrouwen ghetide in Duutschen.

Just below the rubric, a large decorated initial visually anchors the page. Manuscript historians refer to this kind of design as a “puzzle initial” because the interlocking colors – typically blue and red like this puzzle initial H—resemble the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. Puzzle initials appear in a variety of forms at different points in history and span a variety of locations, but the green wash within the initial from Ms. 207 does not. The green acts as a backdrop for the fine red penwork, and the combination of this penwork with the purple and red pen flourishes that extend into the border of the page suggests that this manuscript was created by a scribe working around or influenced by designs produced in the vicinity of the city of Utrecht in the Netherlands.

In particular, the spade shaped leaves within the puzzle letter marking the beginning of the Hours of the Holy Spirit (image above) stylistically tie this manuscript to elements of a motif identified by manuscript historian Gisela Gerritsen-Geywitz as the “Kroon en Draak” or “Crown and Dragon.” In certain manuscripts produced in Utrecht, leaves with this spade shape spring from a vine produced by a small, stylized dragon like the images shown below from the National Library of the Netherlands.

Sadly, the Library of Congress’ Ms. 207 has no dragons or other figural grotesques; however, the scribe did not create a manuscript that is completely devoid of playful figures. Peeking-out at irregular intervals from behind circular letters such as the “D” and G” below, the scribe has inserted tiny little faces. Can you spot them on the page?

Blending into the penwork, these little characters seem to appear suddenly as the reader scans down the page. The faces play a kind of peek-a-boo game with the viewer from an imagined dimensional space behind the letters of the text. As of yet, this peek-a-boo scribe and workshop remain unidentified. Please do let the Rare Book and Special Collections staff know if you find other examples.

FURTHER READING

Gerritsen-Geywitz, Gisela (2017). Het Utrechtse draakje en zijn entourage : vijftien penwerkstijlen in Utrechtse handschriften en gedrukte boeken uit de tweede helft van de vijftiende eeuw. Hilversum : Verloren. https://lccn.loc.gov/2018359404

Hindman, Sandra and James H. Marrow, Eds. (2013). Books of hours reconsidered. London : Harvey Miller Publishers. https://lccn.loc.gov/2018659499

Van Wijk, N. (1940). Het getijdenboek van Geert Grote, naar het Haagse handschrift 133 E 21 uitgegeven, Leiden. https://lccn.loc.gov/52053615