Previous articleNext article FreeReviewsLucy Freeman Sandler, Illuminators and Patrons in Fourteenth-Century England: The Psalter and Hours of Humphrey de Bohun and the Manuscripts of the Bohun Family. London and Toronto: British Library and University of Toronto Press, 2014. Pp. xxi, 383; 242 color and black-and-white figures and 1 CD-ROM. $70. ISBN: 978-1-4426-4847-0.Lynda DennisonLynda DennisonUniversity of Oxford Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUSFull Text Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditEmailQR Code SectionsMoreProfessor Sandler’s handsome monograph celebrates the culmination of thirty years of dedicated research on the group of manuscripts produced in the fourteenth century for members of the Bohun family. London, British Library, MS Egerton 3277, the Psalter and Hours of Humphrey de Bohun—the principal focus of her study—entered the public domain too late to be included in the Roxburgh Club edition of 1936, M. R. James learning of its existence on his deathbed. A comprehensive study, especially of its iconography, was thus long overdue. Sandler’s book is divided into two parts, the first of which centers on the Psalter and Hours, dealing with its commission and history, the artists, the form and content of the illustrative program, and a detailed analytical description, as well as an overview of the Bohuns and their manuscripts, with attention to the scribes, artists, and the Bohun style. The analytical description is valuable for drawing significant parallels between Egerton 3277 and the iconography and texts in other extant Bohun manuscripts, with useful footnotes directing the reader to further discussion in part 2. This is arranged under four headings: “Historiography and Bibliography”; “Artist, Patron and Society”; “Modes of Psalm Illustration”; and “Devotional Imagery in the Bohun Manuscripts,” comprising Sandler’s cumulative articles on the Bohun material, thus forming an essential compendium of information. It is clear that careful planning underpins the volume, not least in the selection and distribution of the images, 205 in color and of high quality which, with the accompanying CD, are a valuable asset for research.It is not possible to give a full assessment of the essays that comprise part 2: underlying the majority, as in part 1, is Sandler’s ongoing pursuit of explanations for the relationship of the main pictorial information of the mostly historiated initials to the wide variety of border motifs and the texts on which these are based, drawing out the particular significance for the Bohuns. The artists and scribes of the Egerton manuscript not only designed the layout of the work but played an important role in making decisions about the subjects of the illustrations with “marginal” images that “glossed the historiation.” As such, they were at the center of the religious and spiritual education of the Bohuns. Sandler has demonstrated that the artists were no slavish copyists but intellectually astute, displaying a breadth of biblical and hagiographical learning, producing “erudite” images, and seemingly on relaxed terms with their patrons, with whom they could indulge in a visual joke. Highlighted is the unusual choice of subject matter for illustration, unique to the Bohun artists who, as friars, would not have required instruction. The text of the Bible presented direct inspiration for the artists’ literal images, providing “unexpected evidence that … on occasion artists in fourteenth-century England did … ‘invent their own compositions and read the text for this purpose,’” developing singular pictorial traditions, a discovery that reinforces the conclusions of M. R. James and E. G. Millar in 1936.This important volume does much to advance our knowledge concerning the relationship between text and image in this group of liturgical books. Sandler sees the multiplicity of images as “family memorials,” intended to record the Bohun name, their piety, and their position in society for future generations. The fortunate survival of this unique group of manuscripts, coupled with the prolific display of coats of arms emphasizing dynastic pride—which Sandler further elucidates—has certainly assured that this is so. As a testament to Lucy Sandler’s scholarship this work further provides a detailed assessment of the available documentary evidence for, as well as that of the possible ownership of, this group of liturgical books.This is a groundbreaking study, although it has to be acknowledged that in certain key areas the material is open to other interpretations. From the perspective of style it cannot be overlooked that parallels with Flemish material (relevant for Sandler’s “Egerton Master”) extend beyond mere influences to an intimate relationship with specific Flemish manuscripts suggestive of the participation of a native Fleming. By the date of execution of Egerton 3277, this artist’s indigenous repertoire of motifs had become fully integrated with the anglicized ornament as channeled by John de Teye, the documented Bohun illuminator whose hand can be identified in ten Bohun manuscripts or fragments. It should further be recognized that by the codicological method—which has served to isolate the various campaigns in the Bohun manuscripts—chronologies for the artists involved can be postulated. This can be underpinned by documentary evidence, as in the Vienna Psalter, where one of the early artists illuminated a charter in 1343, although Sandler has stated (177 n. 45) that the chronology of this artist had been arrived at without reference to “datable … internal or external documentation.” Regarding the larger-scale historiated initials in Egerton 3277, Sandler suggests that they were painted by two later artists, one finer than the other, neither of whom she identifies as Teye, although he appears to have been responsible for the intellectual planning of these initials. Equally she rejects the view that either of these “later” artists might have been Henry Hood, who is documented as having been taught to illuminate by John de Teye in 1384/85 at Pleshey, their presence here telling against their removal to Joan de Bohun’s estate, Rochford Hall. Hood appears to have remained in the Bohuns’ employ until 1389, the period corresponding precisely with the likely execution of this later campaign. It is worth considering that Teye possibly executed the first two, finer, initials, and Henry Hood the remainder, in a manner consistent with what might be perceived as the work of a close follower or skilled trainee.The question of the later ownership of Egerton 3277 remains unresolved. The nature of the political imagery would have had greater resonance for the ambitious and powerful Appellant, Thomas of Woodstock, who as husband of Eleanor de Bohun, the elder daughter of Humphrey, seventh earl of Hereford, had inherited the castle at Pleshey, and who through the 1380s remained more powerful than Henry of Bolingbroke, who had married Humphrey’s younger daughter, Mary de Bohun, in 1381. There is clear evidence that both Eleanor and Thomas were acquiring illuminated manuscripts in the 1390s, so why should they not take advantage of the Bohun illuminators in the preceding decade; they were certainly of an age to do so? It is unfortunate that five major folios of illumination in Egerton 3277, including the Beatus page, are missing, as they may have cast further light on its eventual owner. The unusual emphasis on iconography associated with Saint Thomas may support Woodstock’s later ownership. In 1386 he and Eleanor were elevated to the title of duke and duchess of Gloucester, and Thomas to the Order of the Garter. Egerton 3277 could thus have been resumed in the mid-1380s at the behest of Joan de Bohun, the dowager countess, for presentation to her elder daughter and son-in-law in celebration of these events.Debate over these issues is likely to continue. Whatever the outcome, this will not detract from what Lucy Sandler has achieved by this publication, which greatly advances our knowledge of the working practices of a unique group of fourteenth-century illuminators. For those who wish to be enlightened on the relationship between text and image this is a pioneering work. Previous articleNext article DetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Speculum Volume 92, Number 1January 2017 The journal of the Medieval Academy of America Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/689897 Copyright 2017 by the Medieval Academy of America. All rights reserved. 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