David Laing, eminent historian, antiquary and bibliographer, was the second son of the Edinburgh bookseller William Laing (1764-1832) and his wife Helen Kirk, and was born on 20 April 1793. He was educated at the Canongate Grammar School and later on attended Greek classes at the University of Edinburgh. At the age of fourteen, he became apprenticed to his father who, at the time, was the only bookseller in Edinburgh dealing in foreign literature. Laing was able, occasionally, to travel abroad in search of rare or curious books. In 1821, he became a partner in his father's business and throughout his life he was an avid collector of manuscripts and rescued many from destruction. The first published work of his own was Auctarium Bibliothecae Edinburgenae sive Catalogus Librorum quos Gulielmus Drummondus ab Hawthornden D.D.Q. Anno 1627 (1815). Among other works, Laing also reprinted Thomas Craig's Epithalamium on the marriage of Darnley and Mary Stuart (1821). When Sir Walter Scott founded the Bannatyne Club in 1823 for the printing of material and tracts relating to Scottish history and literature, Laing - a friend of Scott's - became Secretary of the Club and chief organiser until its dissolution in the 1860s. Laing was also associated with the Abbotsford Club, the Spalding Club, and the Wodrow Society, each of which had been set up for the publication of manuscripts and for the revival of old texts. When the keepership of the Advocates' Library fell vacant in 1818, Laing was a candidate but was not elected. He became Keeper of the Library to the Society of Writers to Her Majesty's Signet, a post which he occupied from 1837 until his death. On his appointment to the post, he gave up his business as a bookseller and disposed of the stock in a public sale. Laing died at Portobello, in Edinburgh, on 18 October 1878.
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The manuscript is a Book of Hours and Prayer Book from the 15th century. It originated in Germany, possibly in Schleswig. All the prayers are for a masculine owner.The Kalendar starts on f.1r. Some entries in the Kalendar that may reflect the manuscript’s provenance are as follows. 30 January: Aldegonde, Virgin; 17 March: Gertrude, Virgin; 3 June: Erasmus, Martyr; 4 July, Odalrici (Ulrich), Martyr; 8 July: Kilian, Martyr; 11 July: Ketillus, Confessor (of...
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Book of Hours in Latin from the 16th century, of Italian provenance. The Use is that of Rome. It was probably copied in Bologna and the Kalendar also seems to support this origin (see local saints reported).The scribe has written the Greek word telos ('end') at the end of the Hours of the Virgin (f. 119v), Penitential Psalms (f. 122v) and Office of the...
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Book of Hours in Latin from the 15th century following the Use of Sarum. It was probably written for use in the diocese of Lincoln, but the illumination is French, and possibly the hand also (see local saints in the Kalendar for the connection with Lincoln).Kalendar: starts on f. 1r. Contains commemorations of Saints and Martyr, and other festivities (the most important are written in red). Miniatures illustrate activities linked to the season.The...
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Book of Hours in Latin from the 15th century following the Use of Sarum.Kalendar with Astronomical Tables: the months of the Kalendar start on f. 1r and always appear on the recto, the tables start on f. 1v and always appear on the verso.Additions to the Kalendar are all by one 15th century hand and show a connection with Yorkshire in this period. They are: 8 April Matrimonium factum fuit inter Johannem filium Briani...
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Book of Hours, use of Toul. It is of French origin (Toul) and is from the 15th-16th century, but based on external evidence is probably from after 1499. Inserted into the first border there is a coat of arms of Anne of Brittany, Queen of France. She married Charles VIII of France in 1491 and later his successor, Louis XII in 1499. External evidence suggests that the book must have been written for her after her marriage with Louis XII. It is curious, however, that none of the prayers have...
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Book of Hours in German from the 15th century.Kalendar: starts on f. 2r. Contains commemorations of Saints and Martyr, and other festivities (the most important are written in red). Its content points to the area of Cologne.30 January: Aldegunt iunffer (Aldegunda Virgin, hermitess and Benedectine abbess, from Hainaut); 1 March: Swicbertus, Bp. (Swithbert Bishop, founded a...
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Book containing twenty-one original designs for bookplates, dating from 1665 to the beginning of the 20th century, of which sixteen came from the collection of David Laing. Also contains the bookplates of the two owners of the book in the late 19th and early 20th century, Euphemia Davidson and William H. Booth.
Bookplate of Euphemia Davidson, who owned the book before it was sold in 1899: 'Ex-Libris...
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The manuscript is a Breviary dating from c 1500. Breviaries contain the official set of prayers that mark days in the Catholic calendar. This particular manuscript is Flemish in style and illumination and the Kalendar and Litany are also Flemish and Augustinian. It seems to be connected to an Augustinian foundation in the Netherlands, almost certainly to a church of Saint Paul, at Zonia or Zon.The Kalendar starts on f.2r.In the Kalendar, names...
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MS 185 is an extended version of the Brut Chronicle. The original was an Anglo-Norman chronicle that ended its account in 1272. This Anglo-Norman version was translated into Latin and Middle English during the middle ages, and many manuscripts continued the account beyond 1272. MS 185 is one such extended version, to 1419.The text begins on f. 1r with Here begynneth a bok which is called Brute, the cronyculis of...
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The manuscript is a 14th century Collectarium. The collectarium is a book that contains Collects, which are short general prayers of a particular structure used in Christian liturgy. This version originated in Italy; a Perugian provenance is clearly indicated, with Sienese connections. It is also specifically Cistercian.The Kalendar starts on f.1r.In the Kalendar, the distinctively Cistercian marks are: 10 January: Viliemi [i.e.Guillelmi] (Bishop)...
