A wonderful vellum leaf from a Dutch Book of Hours.

The border on the RECTO is in the sophisticated fountains-style with the acanthus leaves often found in books illuminated by the Masters of the Haarlem Bible. These masters take their name from a three-volume Bible made for the Knights of St. John in Haarlem, Holland.
This Bible is described in The Golden Age of Dutch Manuscript Painting by H. Defoer, et al. 1989.
The initial H is done in wonderful pen work and gold leaf! The rubrics are in red.
The borders on the verso have a decoration that gave the makers the nick name : the masters of the takkenbossen [= bundle of branches, a faggot.]: branches with green and gold leaves. (For the "takkenbossen" see : Kriezels, aubergines en takkenbossen, by Anne S. Korteweg, et al., Walburg Pers, Zutphen, 1992.)
VERSO: The large initial "I" is very elaborately decorated with pen work and gold leaf.
The text is from the Book of Hours translated into Dutch, probably by Geert Grote, most Books were in Latin at that time, but Grote thought that even lay men should be able to read religious books!!

In the 14th century in the Netherlands a reforming movement was started by the Broeders des Gemenen Levens, the Brothers of the Common Life: important members were Geert Groote and Thomas a Kempis: "they taught a return to the basic teaching of the Bible and initiated a spiritual renewal whose characteristics included lay participation in worship and in practical study of the basic books." [ Christopher de Hamel ]
From then on the vernacular played an important role in the Dutch Books of Hours and most of them were in Dutch, although that language was not yet standardised.