ABSTRACT
Three illuminated manuscripts survive from Arbuthnott, a village in the Meatus (now in Aberdeenshire, but historically in Kincardineshire). Together they make a unique little clutch: a psalter, book of hours and rather grand missal, all writ ten at Arbuthnott between c. 1480 and 1492 by one scribe for the same patrons. Although now in the Paisley Museum, they were until 1897 in the hands of the family for which they were originally made. Their illumination, a mixture of border-work, historiated initials and full-page miniatures, was not done at Arbuthnott, but there are good reasons for thinking it Scottish. Unlike the script of the books it is fit several hands, suggesting that it was produced in a workshop. The uncertainty about it is symptomatic of a broader ambiguity concerning the illumination of medieval books made for Scottish use. Although this overarching problem cannot be tackled directly here, what is said of the Arbuthnott manuscripts is intended to contribute to how it is understood. As well as constituting a remarkable group, the three manuscripts contain many interesting features, not least in regard to St Ternan, the patron saint of Arbuthnott church. Several of these features are discussed in this essay.
