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Bibframe Work

Title
[Book of hours]
Type
Text
Monograph
Multimedia
Language
Latin
Illustrative Content
Illustrations
Geographic Coverage
France
Washington (D.C.)
Classification
LCC: Rosenwald 14 .A2 1524
LCC: BX2080
Content
text
Note
Language: In Latin.
Summary
The Book of Hours was a prayer book for the laity that developed in late medieval Europe and that was used for private devotion. These works were often personalized for individual patrons and illuminated with miniature paintings depicting the life of Christ, the Virgin Mary, and individual saints. The text included a calendar of liturgical feast days and a series of prayers to be recited eight times a day, according to established practice. By the early Renaissance period the popularity of the Book of Hours demonstrated the growing interest of the laity in speaking directly with God and the saints, rather than exclusively through the church and the ordained clergy. This manuscript Book of Hours from early 16th century France was written on vellum skin and includes 16 large and 26 small miniature paintings highlighted in gold and painted with rich primary colors. It is embellished with headings and paragraph marks in blue and red ink, and is written in delicate Roman letters of the highest quality. Both the text and the illuminations are ascribed to the Parisian workshop of Geoffroy Tory. World Digital Library.
This superb French Book of Hours, written in a fine roman script on 113 leaves of pure white vellum, has been attributed to the French miniaturist, calligrapher, and printer, Geoffroy Tory. The manuscript contains sixteen full page miniatures, twenty-six small miniatures of the evangelists and saints, and sixteen illuminated borders. The date 1524 appears in a shield located in the gold border surrounding one of the large miniatures, and it has been assumed that the volume was executed in that year. The large miniatures are brilliantly colored and filled with a wealth of detail and the landscapes and interiors are delicately executed. Former owners of this distinguished manuscript include Girardot de Préfond, Duc de la Vallière, William Beckford, Robert Hoe, and Cortland F. Bishop.
Authorized Access Point
Catholic Church [Book of hours]