CONTEXT

This book was produced sometime between the year 1400 and 1499, which is a rather broad time span. It has been said that this particular Book of Hours was executed in the style of Maître François. François was an illuminator in fifteenth century Paris, who was active 1463-1481 (Wigley). This possibly narrows down the time period in which the book was produced, but there is still no verification of the exact time in which the book in particular was produced.


The fifteenth century was a time when the Book of Hours was a very popular item to own. These books were produced not only for aristocrats, but for ordinary family as well. The Book of Hours is basically a condensed, shorter version of a Breviary, having many of the same rounds of prayers. Basically, the Book of Hours is a compiled book of different devotional texts, i.e. psalms, prayers, etc. (De Hamel) As Michelle P. Brown stated “Book of Hours were medieval best-sellers….” Most books were illuminated and incorporated miniature set just as the Horae Beatae Mariae Virginis includes. However, the illumination of the book always coincided with the customer’s budget (Brown). Due to this fact, as well as the vast array of scribes that produced Books of Hours, there is great variation from book to book. Although the Horae Beatae Mariae Virginis is a beautiful manuscript, the illumination is mild compared to some of the Books of Hours present in other collections.

Book of Hours: Brandeis University Library Special Collection

Book of Hours: Friend for the University if Sydney Library

Although Books of Hours were present from the tenth century on, the standard form of the book was finally established in the thirteenth century. The book's the standard layout included the Calendar, a Litany of the Saints, Suffrages, Office of the Dead, the Penitential Psalms, the Gradual Psalms, and miscellaneous prayers. Other common sections included Hours of the Holy Spirit, Hours of the Trinity, Hours of the Passion, and the Short Office of the Cross (Brown). Within the Horae Beatae Mariae Virginis, sections of the book include the Calendar, gospel lessons, prayers to the Virgin, Hours of the Virgin, Penitential Psalms, Litany of Saints, Hour of Holy Cross, Hour of the Holy Spirit, and miscellaneous prayers (Wigley).

The exact time period of when this book was developed is unknown, but the location for which it was developed for is not as mysterious. The Book of Hours has a Calendar at the beginning like all Books of Hours. The Calendar can often be used to help establish where the Book of Hours was made to be used (Wieck). The Horae Beatae Mariae Virginis’ Calendar is in French, implying that it was made for French use. There is another way to decipher where the book was intended to be used. The way this is done, is by noting the antiphon and capitulum of the Prime and None in the Hour of the Virgin (a section of the Book of Hours). For example, if the antiphon for the Prime stated “Assumpta est…” and the capitulum stated “Quae est…”, while the antiphon for the None stated “Pulchra es…” and the capitulum stated “In plateis…” that would indicate that the book was meant for the use of Rome (De Hamel).