![]() ![]() Access to manuscript ownership began to be extended to the wealthy urban social classes by the fifteenth century. Thus, manuscript ownership was closely linked to elite social status. 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. Indeed, for many areas and time periods, they are the only surviving examples of painting.A book of hours is a prayer book designed for the laity, in use from the fourteenth century to mid-sixteenth century. They are also the best surviving specimens of medieval painting, and the best preserved. They are among the most common items to survive from the Middle Ages many thousands survive. Illuminated manuscripts continued to be produced in the early 16th century but in much smaller numbers, mostly for the very wealthy. The introduction of printing rapidly led to the decline of illumination. Drawings in the margins (known as marginalia) would also allow scribes to add their own notes, diagrams, translations, and even comic flourishes. Very early printed books left spaces for red text, known as rubrics, miniature illustrations and illuminated initials, all of which would have been added later by hand. Paper manuscripts appeared during the Late Middle Ages. Books ranged in size from ones smaller than a modern paperback, such as the pocket gospel, to very large ones such as choirbooks for choirs to sing from, and "Atlantic" bibles, requiring more than one person to lift them. A very few illuminated fragments also survive on papyrus. These pages were then bound into books, called codices (singular: codex). Most medieval manuscripts, illuminated or not, were written on parchment or vellum. While Islamic manuscripts can also be called illuminated and use essentially the same techniques, comparable Far Eastern and Mesoamerican works are described as painted. The majority of extant manuscripts are from the Middle Ages, although many survive from the Renaissance, along with a very limited number from late antiquity. Examples include the Codex Argenteus and the Rossano Gospels, both of which are from the 6th century. The earliest extant illuminated manuscripte come from the Kingdom of the Ostrogoths and the Eastern Roman Empire and date from between 400 and 600 CE. Various examples of pages from illuminated manuscripts ![]()
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