Murthly Hours (Bute Missal)

Acquisition by private treaty sale of the Murthly Hours (sometimes known as the Bute Missal),, a sumptuous medieval manuscript, illuminated for the most part of the Parisian artists of the late 13th century. Its background is a curious combination of English and French: made most probably for a wealth laywoman in Worcestershire (the Calendar hints at this), the artistic style of the greater part of the illumination indicates that the manuscript was compiled in France. The Scottish link is very early: by the early 15th century the manuscript was already in Scotland. The Gaelic charms are considered by the Celtic Scholar, Ronald Black, to be among the oldest examples of Gaelic written in Scotland.