The Book of Hours’ Place in Medieval European Culture Prior to the fifteenth century, manuscripts (books written, illuminated, and bound by hand) were commissioned by wealthy aristocratic patrons who had the privilege of literacy and education. In The Art of Illumination: The Limbourg Brothers and the Belles Heures of Jean de France, Duc de Berry, Timothy Husband describes the general content and arrangement of French a book of hours: As a result, no two books of hours are the same.ĭespite the individualistic nature of this devotional text, there is a general similarity to the contents of a book of hours and its order. In the French Book of Hours, Reinburg explains that a book of hours was born of a close collaboration between patron, spiritual advisor, scribe, and artist. Another key factor adding to the popularity of the book of hours was that the contents could be personalized to reflect the practice of the individual and their city or region rather than purchasing a generic manuscript constructed by a single commercial or liturgical entity. Commissioning a book of hours was ideal for the wealthy devout to combine their fervor for religious piety and their desire to display their wealth and status. The popularity of this type of manuscript reflected the development of a wealthier middle class and an increase in literacy amongst men and women from wealthy and wellborn families. The book of hours became so popular and ubiquitous that scholars have referred to them as a ‘medieval best seller’, of which several beautiful examples may be virtually browsed through the Metropolitan Museum of Art's digital collection. The devotionals and prayers were read and recited daily at eight designated hours of the day following the Christian year: Matins at 12:00 am (and the longest of the hours), Lauds at 3:00am, Prime (the beginning of the cycle) at 6:00am, Terce at 9:00am, Sext at 12:00pm, None at 3:00pm, Vespers at 6:00pm, and Compline at 9:00pm. This layman’s devotional book centered around The Virgin Mary in the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin, driven by the cult of the Virgin popular at the time. A book of hours was composed of excerpts taken from the breviary, a text used by the clergy to follow the Divine Office. The devotional text guided the spiritual life of the layperson, offering them the opportunity to emulate the clerical lifestyle but at a less rigorous standard. Golden, the Harold Hyam Wingate Foundation, Roger and Julie Baskes, Chicago, USA, and an anonymous donor.A book of hours is a prayer book designed for the laity, in use from the fourteenth century to mid-sixteenth century. Supported by grants from the Arts & Humanities Research Council, the Getty Foundation "Il Circolo" Italian Cultural Association, the American Trust for the British Library in memory of William T. For more current bibliography and other information please search our main manuscripts catalogue at Search Our Catalogues, Archives and Manuscripts.įull digital coverage of selected manuscripts is also available on Digitised Manuscripts.įor details of how to use the system, see our search tips. New records are added at each update and some records have been modified and updated.Įntries may include select bibliography only. Please note that only selected manuscripts in the Additional collection and no manuscripts in the Cotton collection are included in the Catalogue. Please see guidance notes on Access and Reuse. download digital images for further reuse such as in educational contexts, placing on your blog or sharing with others. check the illustrated glossaries of terms. explore the virtual exhibitions of various aspects of the British Library's western illuminated manuscript holdings and perform an advanced search using different types or combinations of information look for information about a particular manuscript if you know its collection name and manuscript number perform a simple search using keywords and dates perform a quick search (this searches for a word or number in all sections of each catalogue entry, including images)
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