r/MedievalHistory

Hello trying to get idea of what this actually is and if possible its value.

It says it is an original page/leaf from a medieval Book of Hours, written and decorated by hand over 500 years ago.

I’m not a manuscript expert, so I’m trying to figure out:

1. Does this look authentic based on the photos and description?

2. Is there anything in the text/decoration that helps identify the exact section of the Book of Hours?

3. What would be a realistic market value for a single framed leaf like this?

4. Would this be considered a common Book of Hours text leaf, or something more collectible?

I understand nobody can fully authenticate it from photos alone, but any guidance would be appreciated.

This is an underrated chapter of medieval history that I’m pursuing knowledge in. I would appreciate any deeper analysis or sources you may have.

As someone whose expertise is more so within the Early Modern Period, I’m well versed with the Kingdom of Naples, the later Two Sicilies, etc, and their frequent exchanges between the Bourbons, Habsburgs, and Napoleon.

I’m familiar with the Sicilian Vespers itself, with Charles I of Anjou’s desires to create a Franco-Italian Mediterranean sister state / empire, with his adventurism in the collapsed Latin Empire, Africa, and mainland Italy, in alliance with the Pope.

What I wasn’t familiar with was the Aragonese Crusade and the larger naval war that lasted twenty years between France and Aragon. I knew they ended up with the island but I didn’t know Aragon had to deal with all of that.

Also, it’s amazing that a cadet branch of the Capetians, the Capetian House of Anjou, is able to actually rule Naples, Achaea, and even Hungary for like 100 years after this.

This explains the Italian Wars (1494-1559) and the general fear of the Italians towards France during the Renaissance.

Really, if you think about it, it’s not much more centralized than the HRE until we get to Philip II Augustus.

I recently was able to trade a few other coins for this gold florin I found at a local ancient artifacts shop. With hours of research, here is what I’ve been able to confirm to the best of my ability: Mintmaster - Niccolo Serristori, confirmed via the family’s crest next to St. John the Baptist on the reverse. Fun fact: this was the Serristori family crest prior to the 1515 family crest change authorized by Pope Leo X (Giovanni di Lorenzo de’ Medici) to add three papal lilies. Date struck: first semester of 1462.

The Serristori family were very important and very wealthy in renaissance Florence, working as merchant bankers, wool and silk traders, and creating global commercial networks all while supporting and growing beside the most powerful family of all, the Medici’s (hence why a future Medici, Pope Leo X, allowed the papal lilies to be added to the Serristori family crest). Their rise to power and fortune was incredibly quick for the time; the original patriarch moved to Florence from a nearby town in 1384, and in 78 years his great grandson Niccolo Serristori was already appointed as Florence’s mintmaster. The mintmaster (Signori della Zecca) in Florence was viewed as an incredibly important position of office; the entire reputation of the gold florin, the international standard form of commerce, was placed on the mintmaster’s shoulders. The Serristori family still to this day has multiple roads and a palace named after them in Florence! They even eventually married into the Machiavelli family and inherited the famous Niccolò Machiavelli’s estate!

The gold Florin was the international standard of commerce (kind of like the US dollar today) from 1252 until about 1500, which means that it’s very likely that nearly every major international monetary deal (loans to kings, international sales and purchases, etc) made during that time was with these coins!

Only 3 spire Medieval Gothic Cathedral in England

It would be a show that documents the rise and fall of the Mongal Empire. Start with rise of Temujin becoming Genghis Khan and then end it during the fracture of the empire. I have told this to some people and some of them have said that it would be too violent. And while it definitely would be violent i think people are forgetting we had shows like Vikings were are main characters are literally slaughtering innocent civilians and monks and a lot of people love that show. I think if you do it right and actually try to show the culture and history of the Mongolian people in an accurate yet entertaining way it could definitely be an amazing series.

Exemplary of the Florentine evolution from the late High Middle Ages into and throughout the Renaissance and considered the most important Romano-Gothic church in Tuscany, the church is magnificently decorated and every work of art serves to ornately beautify the church space. Saints line the ribbed vaulting, Biblical scenes cover the apse, side chapels bolster in the crossing, paintings line the walls of the nave, and a massive cloister wraps around the left side of the church. The earliest work is arguably also the most important: Giotto's Crucifix dated between 1288-95, and the latest are several late works done at the tail-end of the Italian Renaissance, for example; Sister Plautilla Nelli's "Last Supper"(1560s), Giorgio Vasari's "Madonna of the Rosary"(1568), Santi di Tito's "Lazarus Raised from the Dead"(1571), and Girolamo Macchietti's "Martyrdom of Saint Laurence"(1573). A nearly 300 year legacy of the evolution of Fine Arts and Religious Iconography.

Also notable, is the burial of the Orthodox Patriarch of Constantinople within the crossing of the Church, Patriarch Joseph II(tomb pictured on slide 17). He was Patriarch of Constantinople from 1416 to his death in 1439. He was the possibly illegitimate son of Bulgarian Tsar Ivan Shishman and a Greek mother, born in 1360, and also cousin of Bulgarian Tsar Konstantin II. He was a monk on Mount Athos before being elected Metropolitan of Ephesus in 1393, and was then elected and raised to the Patriarchal Throne on May 21st, 1416(interestingly enough, my birthday). During his tenure, in 1431 Patriarch Joseph, along with Emperor John VIII Palaiologos, accompanied by 23 Metropolitans and 700 theologians and scholars, attended the Roman Council of Florence in 1431. Not only is he portrayed here in a very unique blend of Orthodox iconography and Gothic art, but he's also featured in the Magi Chapel of the Palazzo Medici, which illustrates the entrance of Byzantine dignitaries into the city of Florence. He died during the proceedings of the Council in 1439, to much sadness by all present, as despite his Orthodox Faith, he sincerely wished for reunion with the Church of Rome. Having died in Florence, permission was given to have him interred there, rather than bring him back to Constantinople. An even more fascinating aspect of this already incredibly storied church.

And some good sources about the subject will be much appreciated, thanks.

Sallet is a variation of the 14th century bescinet. Only 2 in England.

It was found in 2003, and the sainted statue is considered of really significant European importance