Book of Hours of Ferdinand V and Isabella of Spain from c 1492-1504 with miniatures attributed to Alexander Bening (father of Simon) and Gerard Horenbout, two of the best painters of the Ghent/Bruges School, with the coat of arms of Ferdinand and Isabella on f 1. One of 49 full-page miniatures has Lactation scene with a nimbed Bernard in a white cowl, holding an open book in both hands and crozier leaning against his left shoulder, kneeling on the left before a seated Virgin and naked Child on the right. The Virgin bares her breast which she sqeezes with her left hand. The scene is in a church with an altar surmounted by a stone statue in the background. The image introduces the Seven Verses of Bernard on the facing folio. The text of the verses is surrounded by a gold border with gold text on a blue ground on three sides. The top has the usual Lactation inscription: 'Monstra te esse matrem'. The text at the bottom reads, upside down: 'Ave Maris Stella Dei Mater Alma atque', the beginning of the Marian hymn 'Hail, star of the sea' of which the usual Lactation text is the beginning of the fourth verse. It is written partly in code with letters substituted as follows: O=P, V = X, X = V, A = B, F = E, and K = I. Bernard has 'tuft'.
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