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. A book of hours is a prayer book designed for the laity, in use from the fourteenth century to mid-sixteenth century.
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