This small prayer and hymn book, which was likely made in Northern Germany, can be related to the veneration of Saint Joseph, which was popular in the 15th century. The manuscript was meant for personal use by a layperson, either during mass or at home. It includes the verses of Saint Bernard, a short text by Jean Gerson (1363-1429), hymns and prayers for the Elevation and the Eucharist, hymns and prayers relating to Easter, Pentecost and the Feast of Corpus Christi, prayers to the archangels, John the Baptist and Francis and Clare of Assisi, and suffrages addressed to various saints, including Saint Joseph, Saint Joachim, Saint Anne, Saint Stephen, Saint Onuphrius and Saint Maurice.
Personal prayer books like the present work were very popular in the late Middle Ages, as they allowed laypeople to develop a routine of personal devotion. These works were often adapted to the needs and wishes of the owner and can therefore offer a lot of insight into their beliefs. The present work is somewhat unusual, because it places more focus on Joseph than on Mary. A large portion at the end is made up of the suffrages, or short prayers to various saints. The suffrages were always in order of importance, starting with the Trinity and Mary and ending with female martyrs. However, in the present manuscript, Mary is not included in the suffrages, while Joseph is one of the first to be mentioned, even before the Apostles. In addition, Joseph is described as "nutritoris domini" (English: nurturer of the Lord), which is what he was called by those who worshipped him.
The present manuscript offers a unique insight into the spread of the Cult of St. Joseph and what his veneration might have looked like in daily life. A complete list of contents is available upon request.
With a manuscript owners inscription on the front paste-down, some pencil annotations on the front paste-down, and some loose paper scraps showing manuscript prayers after leaf [131]v. The vellum on the binding is (artificially) darkened and the closing tie on the back board is missing. Quires a-e8, the first three leaves of quire f, and possibly a leaf in quire k are lacking, otherwise the text is complete according to the catchwords between the present quires. With a small hole on leaf [3], with partial loss of one letter, portions of text (primarily rubrication) have been crossed out on leaves [8, 15r, 26, 28r, 33v, 35v and 36r], the ink on some of the leaves is rubbed. Otherwise in very good condition.