Llanbeblig Book of Hours
Illustration — The 16th century gold tooled covers of the Llanbeblig Hours. The Llanbeblig Book of Hours is an illuminated manuscript in the National Library of Wales (NLW MS 17520A) that dates from the close of the fourteenth century. The book of hours has pages for daily medieval Christian devotion and a Calendar of key religious dates that link the Llanbeblig Hours to Wales.
Also recorded as NLW MS 17520A · Horae
Llanbeblig Book of Hours

This digital image can be seen in its original context here This image is available from the National Library of Wales You can view this image in its original context on the NLW Catalogue · CC0
- Creator
- anonymous
- Date
- 1390
- Language
- Latin
- Material
- skin
- Held by
- National Library of Wales · NLW General Manuscripts
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
VALÉORINE documentary reading
Documentary summary
Illustration — The 16th century gold tooled covers of the Llanbeblig Hours. The Llanbeblig Book of Hours is an illuminated manuscript in the National Library of Wales (NLW MS 17520A) that dates from the close of the fourteenth century. The book of hours has pages for daily medieval Christian devotion and a Calendar of key religious dates that link the Llanbeblig Hours to Wales.
Admitted source layer · organised and presented by VALÉORINE
Reference Check
Propose documentary evidence for Llanbeblig Book of Hours. A contribution is never written directly as fact: identity, source, rights and evidence gates still decide.
Sign in to contribute
Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q21541722 · wikipedia · Llanbeblig Book of Hours
In this article
Binding
Binding
More specifically the dedication of the church of Saint Peblig, which is marked on 6 June in the calendar, connects it with Caernarfon in North Wales. The calendar is written in a different hand to the rest of the book and uses black and red ink. It follows the Sarum Use of medieval religious calendars which allowed the feasts of local saints to be included alongside more widely recognised saints feast days. The calendar features Welsh saints' feast days, including St. David (1 March), St. Peblig (3 July) and St. Deiniol of Bangor (11 September. The creation of the manuscript is thought to date from the last decade of the fourteenth century and it was initially owned by a woman called Isabella Godynogh. She died in 1413 and her obituary was added into the book of hours Calendar at 23 April. A rare Lily Crucifixion motif is one of the seven illuminated miniatures in this Book of Hours and is considered unique in its use in manuscript form. The Lily Crucifixion miniature is discussed in the context of other examples of the motif in devotional iconography in an NLW journal article by Eddie Duggan. Although neither the miniatures nor the decorated borders and initial letters are not considered to be of great artistic merit, this manuscript is of interest as it is one of the few examples of a surviving illuminated manuscript that is linked to Wales.
It is recorded as the work of anonymous. The recorded date of publication is 1501. Materials recorded for it are skin. Recorded constituent parts are Breuddwyd Macsen Wledig. The record gives 1390 as its date of establishment or first appearance. It is recorded in the collection of National Library of Wales and NLW General Manuscripts.
The early sixteenth century gold-tooled calf covers of the Llanbeblig Hours, which both bear the arms of King Henry VIII and Queen Catherine of Aragon in shields separated by two roses, are inlaid in the nineteenth century binding. The binding was thus executed before the 1532 annulment of King Henry's marriage to Katherine of Aragon.
Full-page miniatures
Full-page miniatures
• Illustration — Folio 1r. The Annunciation. • Illustration — Folio 2r. The Lily Crucifixion. • Illustration — Folio 2v. St. Peter, holding a key and a book. • Illustration — Folio 3r. A king, possibly Magnus Maximus, holding a sceptre. • Illustration — Folio 3v. A bishop, possibly St.Peblig, blessing and wearing a mitre, and holding a crosier. • Illustration — Folio 4r. Madonna and Child. • Illustration — Folio 4v. God, The Holy Spirit, and Christ Crucified.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.National Library of Wales. Llanbeblig Book of Hours.
- 2.The Llanbeblig Book of Hours - National Library of Wales. www.library.wales.
- 3.National Library of Wales. E. J. M. Duggan, 'Notes concerning the 'Lily Crucifixion' in the Llanbeblig Hours', National Library of Wales Journal, Vol xxvii, 1991-1992.
- 4.Bookbindings in the National Library of Wales. welshjournals.llgc.org.uk. 1985.
- 5.Eiland, Murray. Maximus, Arthur and the Temporal Mists of Distortion. Antiqvvs. 2022.
- 6.Llanbeblig Hours (f. 4v.) God, The Holy Spirit, and Christ Crucified. Peoples Collection Wales.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Manuscripts
376 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Lindisfarne GospelsManuscript
- Litlyngton MissalManuscript
- Liuthar GospelsManuscript
- Livre des merveillesManuscript
- Luttrell PsalterManuscript
- Luzerner SchillingManuscript
- Maastricht HoursManuscript
- Mac Durnan GospelsManuscript
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own a copy of Llanbeblig Book of Hours?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.