In the Adelaide Hours there are 19 thumb-nail sized historiated initials [initial capitals that contain an illustration that is relevant to the particular passage] and which are six lines high and introduce the main sections of the book. These initials are very elaborate with foliate and knotted motifs, highlighted in white. The predominant colours are blue, yellow, orange, green and pink with a lavish use of burnished gold. These initials each contain a story, usually a moment in the life of Christ or of his mother the Virgin Mary. The letters are painted blue and pink, forming the frame for the image; there is often a further line in gold inside the main frame. It is this internal line of gold that is frequently used to bring the 'action' of the image closer to the reader, by positioning the picture over or beyond the internal frame.

Folio 117v Letter D Memento Mori - skeleton: first vespers for Vigils (or Office) of the Dead. The image of the skeleton serves as a reminder of our mortality and the need to atone for our sins. The representation of the skeleton standing in its tomb with crossed hands is reminiscent of the man of sorrows or Christ. It also serves to remind the reader of their own mortality, and to be prepared for death at all times. The Office of the Dead was intended for use at funeral services, and the associated ritual of mourning and vigils. It could also be used as part of regular prayers for the souls of the departed, and if used assiduously might reduce their time in Purgatory.

The borders are of lavish acanthus foliage, but this page is fittingly more sombre than elsewhere in the volume, lacking the vibrant red of many of the other historiated initials. There are signs of heavy usage with some of the border rubbed away. The Gothic border was a development of the late 12th and early 13th centuries, and occupying the margins of the pages, allowed a greater interaction between the text and the illustration. In the Adelaide Hours the use of burnished gold is not restricted to the historiated initial but is used throughout the border decoration.

The art of the book: its place in medieval worship edited by Margaret M. Manion and Bernard J. Muir Exeter: University of Exeter Press, 1998 Chapter 4 The illustrated Office of the Passion in Italian Books of Hours

The medieval imagination: illuminated manuscripts from Cambridge, Australia and New Zealand edited by Bronwyn Stocks and Nigel Morgan South Yarra, Vic.: Macmillan Art Pub., 2008 pp. 184-85

Fine books and book collecting: books and manuscripts acquired from Alan G. Thomas and described by his customers on the occasion of his seventieth birthday edited by Christopher de Hamel and Richard A. Linenthal Leamington Spa, Warwickshire: J. Hall, 1981 pp. 13-14 An Italian Book of Hours circ 1375 by Margaret Manion

The Cambridge illuminations: ten centuries of book production in the medieval West edited by Paul Binski & Stella Panayotova London: Harvey Miller, 2005

Wieck, Roger S Time sanctified: the Book of hours in medieval art and life New York: G. Braziller in association with the Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore, 1988

De Hamel, Christopher A history of illuminated manuscripts Oxford: Phaidon, 1986

Harthan, John Books of hours and their owners London: Thames & Hudson, c1977

The Medieval Imagination: Illuminated manuscripts from Cambridge, Australia and New Zealand. Interactive extras

Leaves of Gold: An introduction to Books of Hours

Treasures from the National Library: The Clifford Collection Book of Hours

State Library of South Australia: Treasures of the State Library: Italian Book of Hours