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] which are six lines high and introduce the main sections of the book. These 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 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 often used to bring the 'action' of the image closer to the reader, by positioning the picture over or beyond the internal frame.

Folio 93v Letter D Flight into Egypt: Joseph and the donkey both obscure part of the internal frame. This is the only instance where Christ is shown wrapped in gold cloth. The Child here, as elsewhere in this Book of Hours, for instance Adoration of the Magi folio 89v, appears disproportionately large, as do Mary's hands. Mother and Child are the central focus of the image. Again, as in the Nativity folio 81r, the gaze of Mary and her Son are fixed upon each other, emphasizing the bond between them. Joseph's gaze however is firmly upon Mary. The Flight into Egypt is told in the Gospel of Matthew chapter 2 verses 13-23. It is the only biblical reference to the flight and is considered the final event in the Nativity cycle.

The borders are of lavish acanthus foliage, with two sparring roosters in the lower border and a bird in the left hand border. 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.

Stocks, Bronwyn 'The Illustrated Office of the Passion in Italian Books of Hours' in 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 pp. 111-152

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

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

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

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

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

Biblical art on the web: Flight into Egypt