The Taymouth Hours (BL Yeats Thompson MS 13)

Woman with longbow and rabbit/hare, f. 68.

Colloquial name(s): The Taymouth Hours
Official name(s): British Library, Yates Thompson MS 13

Date: second quarter of the 14th C (source); 1325-1340 (source)
Origin: London (?), S.E. (?) England

Online facsimile available via: The British Library Catalogue of Illuminated Manuscripts

The Taymouth Hours consists of a calendar and book of hours, named after its 17th/18th C owner, an Earl of Breadalbane of Taymouth Castle, Perthshire whose armourial book-plate and title is found on the inside upper cover (source). Due to its multiple images of queens and kings, it is thought that the Taymouth Hours has a royal connection and may have been commissioned for Joan, daughter of Edward II (married David II of Scotland in 1328), Philippa of Hainault (married Edward III of England in 1328, d. 1369) or Isabelle of France (married Edward II of England in 1308, d. 1358) (source).

All pages have full foliate borders and many have bas-de-page scenes and grotesques. The illustrations consist of the zodiac and the labours of the months, biblical scenes and contemporary scenes. It is most famous among medievalists for its illustrations of women hunting.

Basic descriptions of the illustrations are provided by the British Library with the facsimile.