Wife swap discovered in medieval manuscript
A page from the Book of Hours (Katie Young/Fitzwilliam Museum/PA)
Scientists using infrared technology have discovered a wife swap in a medieval manuscript, with a French duke’s first wife painted over with his second when he remarried.
The 15th century manuscript is a book of hours, an illustrated prayer book commissioned by the wealthy, and is called The Hours Of Isabella Stuart.
It is based on the monastic day for use in daily life.
A page from the 15th century illustrated prayer book (Katie Young/Fitzwilliam Museum/PA)
Staff at Cambridge’s Fitzwilliam Museum “noticed there was something slightly odd” about the book so it was examined in a lab, said co-curator Dr Suzanne Reynolds.
Medieval wife swap discovered after infrared reveals nobleman painted over first spouse
Academics uncovered the medieval airbrushing in an illustrated prayer book belonging to a Scottish princess
17 May 2021 • 6:00am
Staff at Cambridge s Fitzwilliam Museum examined the manuscript in the lab after noticing a darker area on one of the pages
Credit: Katie Young/Fitzwilliam Museum/PA
A 15th-century wife swap has been discovered by historians after infrared scans revealed a nobleman “painted over” the image of his first spouse with his second.
Academics uncovered the medieval airbrushing in an illustrated prayer book called the Hours of Isabella Stuart, which belonged to a Scottish princess.
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Duke Francis I of Brittany had an illustration of his first wife painted over in a 15th century manuscript with a picture of his new bride, a new study shows.
The duke made the alteration in Hours of Isabella Stuart, a book of hours, a Christian devotional book popular in the Middle Ages that was completed by 1431.
Researchers at the University of Cambridge used non-invasive analytical techniques to identify pigments and reveal sketches beneath the paintings.
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THE HOURS OF ISABELLA STUART
The 15th century manuscript is a book of hours, an illustrated prayer book commissioned by the wealthy, and is called The Hours Of Isabella Stuart.
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