Book of hours

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For the prayers said at certain times of the day in various Christian denominations, see Canonical hours. For the book by Rainer Maria Rilke, see The Book of Hours. For the closely related devotional and educational text, see Primer (prayer book).
Little Office, illustrated by the Annunciation to Joachim, as the start of a long cycle of the Life of the Virgin.[1]
Image of a Book of Hours
An early 15th-century French book of hours (MS13, Society of Antiquaries of London) open to an illustration of the 'Adoration of the Magi'. Bequeathed to the Society in 1769 by the Revd Charles Lyttleton, Bishop of Carlisle and President of the Society (1765-8).

Books of hours (

psalms, often with appropriate decorations, for Christian devotion. Illumination or decoration is minimal in many examples, often restricted to decorated capital letters at the start of psalms and other prayers, but books made for wealthy patrons may be extremely lavish, with full-page miniatures. These illustrations would combine picturesque scenes of country life with sacred images.[3]
: 46 

Books of hours were usually written in Latin (they were largely known by the name horae until "book of hours" was relatively recently applied to them), although there are many entirely or partially written in vernacular European languages, especially Dutch. The closely related primer is occasionally considered synonymous with books of hours–a medieval horae was referred to as a primer in Middle English[4]–but their contents and purposes could deviate significantly from the simple recitation of the canonical hours. Tens of thousands of books of hours have survived to the present day, in libraries and private collections throughout the world.

The typical book of hours is an abbreviated form of the

psalms
and other prayers.

A typical book of hours contains the

The Brotherhood Prayer Book of Lutheranism.[6]

History

Example of a more affordable and thus more common book of hours: Excerpt from a "simple" Middle Dutch book of hours. Made in the 2nd half of the fifteenth century in Brabant.[7]
Even this level of decoration is richer than those of most books, though less than the lavish amounts of illumination in luxury books, which are the ones most often seen reproduced.

The book of hours has its ultimate origin in the Psalter, which monks and nuns were required to recite. By the 12th century this had developed into the breviary, with weekly cycles of psalms, prayers, hymns, antiphons, and readings which changed with the liturgical season.[8] Eventually a selection of texts was produced in much shorter volumes and came to be called a book of hours.[9] During the latter part of the thirteenth century the Book of Hours became popular as a personal prayer book for men and women who led secular lives. It consisted of a selection of prayers, psalms, hymns and lessons based on the liturgy of the clergy. Each book was unique in its content though all included the Hours of the Virgin Mary, devotions to be made during the eight canonical hours of the day, the reasoning behind the name 'Book of Hours'.[10]

van Reynegom Book of Hours, c. 15th century, collection Royal Library of Belgium & King Baudouin Foundation

Many books of hours were made for women. There is some evidence that they were sometimes given as a wedding present from a husband to his bride.[9] Frequently they were passed down through the family, as recorded in wills.[9] Until about the 15th century paper was rare and most books of hours consisted of parchment sheets made from animal skins.

Although the most heavily illuminated books of hours were enormously expensive, a small book with little or no illumination was affordable much more widely,[7] and increasingly so during the 15th century. The earliest surviving English example was apparently written for a laywoman living in or near Oxford in about 1240. It is smaller than a modern paperback but heavily illuminated with major initials, but no full-page miniatures. By the 15th century, there are also examples of servants owning their own Books of Hours. In a court case from 1500, a pauper woman is accused of stealing a domestic servant's prayerbook.[citation needed]

Very rarely the books included prayers specifically composed for their owners, but more often the texts are adapted to their tastes or gender, including the inclusion of their names in prayers. Some include images depicting their owners, and some their

coats of arms. These, together with the choice of saints commemorated in the calendar and suffrages, are the main clues for the identity of the first owner. Eamon Duffy explains how these books reflected the person who commissioned them. He claims that the "personal character of these books was often signaled by the inclusion of prayers specially composed or adapted for their owners." Furthermore, he states that "as many as half the surviving manuscript Books of Hours have annotations, marginalia or additions of some sort. Such additions might amount to no more than the insertion of some regional or personal patron saint in the standardized calendar, but they often include devotional material added by the owner. Owners could write in specific dates important to them, notes on the months where things happened that they wished to remember, and even the images found within these books would be personalized to the owners—such as localized saints and local festivities.[8]

By at least the 15th century, the Netherlands and Paris workshops were producing books of hours for stock or distribution, rather than waiting for individual commissions. These were sometimes with spaces left for the addition of personalized elements such as local feasts or heraldry.

Black Hours, Morgan MS 493, Pentecost, Folios 18v/19r, c. 1475–80. Morgan Library & Museum, New York

The style and layout for traditional books of hours became increasingly standardized around the middle of the thirteenth century. The new style can be seen in the books produced by the Oxford illuminator William de Brailes who ran a commercial workshop (he was in minor orders). His books included various aspects of the Church's breviary and other liturgical aspects for use by the laity. "He incorporated a perpetual calendar, Gospels, prayers to the Virgin Mary, the Stations of the Cross, prayers to the Holy Spirit, Penitential psalms, litanies, prayers for the dead, and suffrages to the Saints. The book's goal was to help his devout patroness to structure her daily spiritual life in accordance with the eight canonical hours, Matins to Compline, observed by all devout members of the Church. The text, augmented by rubrication, gilding, miniatures, and beautiful illuminations, sought to inspire meditation on the mysteries of faith, the sacrifice made by Christ for man, and the horrors of hell, and to especially highlight devotion to the Virgin Mary whose popularity was at a zenith during the 13th century."[11] This arrangement was maintained over the years as many aristocrats commissioned the production of their own books.

By the end of the 15th century, the advent of

moveable type, is a book of hours intended for Arabic-speaking Christians and presumably commissioned by Pope Julius II.[12]

Decoration

A full-page miniature of May, from a calendar cycle by Simon Bening, early 16th century.

As many books of hours are richly illuminated, they form an important record of life in the 15th and 16th centuries as well as the

Passion of Christ in eight scenes decorating the eight Hours of the Virgin, and the Labours of the Months and signs of the zodiac decorating the calendar. Secular scenes of calendar cycles include many of the best known images from books of hours, and played an important role in the early history of landscape painting
.

From the 14th century decorated borders round the edges of at least important pages were common in heavily illuminated books, including books of hours. At the beginning of the 15th century these were still usually based on foliage designs, and painted on a plain background, but by the second half of the century coloured or patterned backgrounds with images of all sorts of objects, were used in luxury books.

Second-hand books of hours were often modified for new owners, even among royalty. After defeating

Trotton hired an illustrator to add details to what is now known as the Lewkenor Hours. Flyleaves of some surviving books include notes of household accounting or records of births and deaths, in the manner of later family bibles. Some owners had also collected autographs of notable visitors to their house. Books of hours were often the only book in a house, and were commonly used to teach children to read, sometimes having a page with the alphabet
to assist this.

Towards the end of the 15th century, printers produced books of hours with woodcut illustrations, and the book of hours was one of the main works decorated in the related metalcut technique.

The luxury book of hours

Aglais urticae, the top left butterfly is Pieris rapae. The Latin text is a devotion to Saint Christopher
).

In the 14th century the book of hours overtook the psalter as the most common vehicle for lavish illumination. This partly reflected the increasing dominance of illumination both commissioned and executed by laymen rather than monastic clergy. From the late 14th century a number of

Wenceslaus. A generation later, Duke Philip the Good of Burgundy was the most important collector of manuscripts, with several of his circle also collecting.[13]: 8–9  It was during this period that the Flemish cities
overtook Paris as the leading force in illumination, a position they retained until the terminal decline of the illuminated manuscript in the early 16th century.

The most famous collector of all, the French prince

Turin-Milan Hours
, which also passed through Berry's ownership.

By the mid-15th century, a much wider group of nobility and rich businesspeople were able to commission highly decorated, often small, books of hours. With the arrival of printing, the market contracted sharply, and by 1500 the finest quality books were once again being produced only for royal or very grand collectors. One of the last major illuminated book of hours was the Farnese Hours completed for the Roman Cardinal Alessandro Farnese in 1546 by Giulio Clovio, who was also the last major manuscript illuminator.

Gallery

Selected examples

didactical purposes. Excerpt from the Book of Hours of Alexandre Petau. Made in the 16th century, Rouen.[14]

See Category:Illuminated books of hours for a fuller list

In Europe

In the United States

In Australia

See also

References

  1. ^ Plummer, John (1966). The Hours of Catherine of Cleves. New York: George Braziller. pp. plates 1–2.
  2. ISBN 978-1-317-88952-6
    . The book of hours was the favourite prayer-book of lay-people, and enabled them to follow, in private, the church's programme of daily devotion at the seven canonical hours.
  3. ISBN 978-1-60606-083-4
    .
  4. ^ Scott-Stokes, Charity (2006). Women's Books of Hours in Medieval England: Selected Texts Translated from Latin, Anglo-Norman French and Middle English with Introduction and Interpretative Essay. Library of Medieval Women. Woodbridge: Boydell & Brewer. p. 1.
  5. ^ Hore de Cruce, Danish Royal Library Archived December 24, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ "Lutheran Liturgical Prayer Brotherhood". Evangelisch-Lutherische Gebetsbruderschaft. Retrieved 16 April 2022. In short, the Brotherhood Prayer Book is a fully catholic book of hours refracted through the lens of the Lutheran confessions.
  7. ^ a b "Middelnederlands getijdenboek" [Middle Netherlands Book of hours (lit. 'Tides book')]. lib.ugent.be. Retrieved 2020-08-27.
  8. ^ a b Duffy, Eamon (Nov 2006). "A Very Personal Possession: Eamon Duffy Tells How a Careful Study of Surviving Books of Hours Can Tell Us Much About the Spiritual and Temporal Life of Their Owners and Much More Besides". History Today. Vol. 56, no. 11. pp. 12(7).
  9. ^ a b c Harthan, John (1977). The Book of Hours: With a Historical Survey and Commentary by John Harthan. New York: Crowell.
  10. ^ Hirst, Warwick (2003). "The Fine Art of Illumination". Heritage Collection, Nelson Meers Foundation, 2003 (PDF). Sydney: State Library of New South Wales. pp. 8–9. Retrieved 17 Feb 2022.
  11. S2CID 108454672
    .
  12. S2CID 162374182
    .
  13. ISBN 0701124725
    .
  14. ^ "Getijdenboek van Alexandre Petau" [Book of hours of Alexandre Petau]. lib.ugent.be. Retrieved 2020-08-27.

Further reading

For individual works

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Books of Hours.

General information

Full "turn the pages" online individual manuscripts

The texts

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