The ''De Grey Hours'' (NLW MS 15537C) is a

book of hours A book is a structured presentation of recorded information, primarily verbal and graphical, through a medium. Originally physical, electronic books and audiobooks are now existent. Physical books are objects that contain printed material, ...

that was produced in

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...

, where the artist tailored the manuscript for the English market by including a miniature of

St Thomas Becket Thomas Becket (), also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Thomas of London and later Thomas à Becket (21 December 1119 or 1120 – 29 December 1170), served as Lord Chancellor from 1155 to 1162, and then as Archbishop of Canterbury fr ...

and naming appropriate festivals in the Calendar. There are sixty-seven illustrations in the ''De Grey Hours'', including illuminated miniatures and historiated initials. The manuscript dates from around 1400. Several pieces of evidence are contained within the manuscript that connect it with the Grey family of Blisworth, Northamptonshire: the death of Elizabeth Grey, wife of Sir John, is referred to in an inscription, made during the early sixteenth century, in the Calendar for March; and the family arms inserted in the margins.

Henry Yates Thompson Henry Yates Thompson (15 December 1838 – 8 July 1928) was a British newspaper proprietor and collector of illuminated manuscripts. Life and career Yates Thompson was the eldest of five sons born to Samuel Henry Thompson, a banker from a lea ...

owned the manuscript from 1895 until it was auctioned by

Sotheby's Sotheby's ( ) is a British-founded multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine art, fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...

in 1920. The ''De Grey Hours'' was purchased by

Gwendoline Davies Gwendoline Elizabeth Davies, CH (11 February 1882 – 3 July 1951) was a Welsh philanthropist and patron of the arts who, with her sister Margaret, is recognised as the most influential collector of Impressionist and 20th-century art in Wales. ...

, and donated to the

National Library of Wales The National Library of Wales (, ) in Aberystwyth is the national legal deposit library of Wales and is one of the Welsh Government sponsored bodies. It is the biggest library in Wales, holding over 6.5 million books and periodicals, and the l ...

by her sister

Margaret Davies Margaret Sidney Davies (14 December 1884 – 13 March 1963), was a Welsh art collector and patron of the arts. With her sister Gwendoline Davies, Gwendoline, she bequeathed a total of 260 works, particularly strong in Impressionist and 20th-centu ...

in 1951. The manuscript is NLW MS 15537C in the National Library's General Manuscript Collection.

Gallery

File:De Grey Hours cover.png, Manuscript Binding File:De Grey Hours f.21.r.png, f.21.r File:De Grey Hours f.57.r St. Nicholas.png, f.57.r St. Nicholas File:De Grey Hours f.71.r Adoration of the Magi.png, f.71.r Adoration of the Magi File:De Grey Hours f.53.r The Holy Spirit.png, f.53.r The Holy Spirit

References

15th-century illuminated manuscripts Illuminated books of hours Manuscripts in the National Library of Wales {{Manuscript-stub