St Bernard from the Coëtivy Hours

Dunois Master, attributed to

Folio with three-quarter page miniature from a book of hours attributed to the Dunois Master, written in Latin and French in a bastarda script, made in Paris and dated 1443–1445. It was commissioned by Prigent de Coëtivy (1399?–1450) on the occasion of his marriage to Marie de Rais (1429–1457). Removed from the bound volume between 1933 and 1960. The Seven Verses of St Bernard opens with the illuminated initial 'I' (Illumina oculos meos) painted with white, red, blue and gold ivy-leaf ornament. The miniature is painted in demi-grisaille with pigments and gold and depicts St Bernard of Clairvaux (1090–1153) dressed in the white habit of the Cistercians. Bernard is accompanied by the devil who holds his pen case and inkwell set and points to an open book. The saint allegedly tricked the devil into revealing the seven psalm verses that when recited daily would ensure salvation. Other books fill the room and bookcase (or book cupboard), suggesting the monastic library of Clairvaux abbey with a view of a river and town beyond. Bernard founded Clairvaux in 1115 and aided in the foundation of numerous Cistercian monasteries throughout Europe. He was canonised by Pope Alexander III in 1174. The saint is identified again in the margins, holding the devil in chains. A Cistercian monk reads from a book in the margin below. St Bernard is replaced on the verso with a falcon diving at its prey.