The Prayer Life of a Fifteenth-Century English Priest: Winchester College MS 48

Abstract

Winchester College MS 48 contains a Book of Hours produced in England in the early fifteenth century. This Book of Hours is notable for the presence of musical notation for the Office of the Dead, the exuberant cadels in the Office of the Dead, the variety and uniqueness of its litanies, the presence of gradations of feasts in its calendar, its extensive collection of prayers, and its large number of verse texts. The present article has three principal aims. First, we argue that, unlike most Books of Hours, WC 48 belonged to a cleric, and we discuss the evidence indicating clerical ownership. Secondly, we analyze the contents of WC48 with a focus on its seemingly unique components. And, thirdly, we reflect on what WC48 might reveal about the devotional life (i.e., the devotional practices and beliefs) of a late medieval English priest. In several appendices, we also present the “unique” texts found in this remarkable manuscript.