MASTER of the Duke of Bedford
(active 1405-1435 in Paris)

Book of Hours

1430s
Manuscript (Ms. 2164), 170 x 120 mm
Biblioteca Trivulziana, Milan

This French codex begins with a calendar, with each month on a separate leaf. The decorative scheme consists of two tiny framed pictures in the outer margins; the upper ones show the occupations of the months, domestic or rural scenes, while the lower ones have a sign of the zodiac for the corresponding month; in the lower margins are pairs of figures representing an Old Testament patriarch and a New Testament saint. The following leaves contain a cycle of saints with 32 almost full-page miniatures set within arched frames.

The codex is the product of the workshop of Master of the Duke of Bedford, a famous Parisian illuminator.

The illustration on folio 192 depicts the stoning of St Stephen.