New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000. The Book of Hours: A Medieval Bestseller.
These elements may also be seen in related types of illuminated manuscripts, such as choir books and psalters.įor an overview, see Stein, W. Looking closely at the pages of Books of Hours, we can observe characteristic decorative elements, such as historiated initials, painted miniatures, foliate borders, and marginal illustrations. Many Books of Hours were profusely illustrated and were considered as decorative objects as well as objects of devotion. Both men and women were owners and readers of Books of Hours, and women's relationship to these texts, for instance, has been a subject of interest to historians. Originally intended as devotional texts for use in monasteries, Books of Hours were widely adopted by lay people by the twelfth century. It is often noted that Books of Hours were "medieval best-sellers," and a large amount of beautiful examples have survived to the present day.īased upon the devotional text called the Hours of the Virgin, Books of Hours were produced from the tenth century onward. Examples of these medieval prayer books for private use are conserved in the collections of museums such as Bibliothèque Nationale de France and the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, among others, and can be viewed in the online digital repositories of many institutions. The devotional texts known as Books of Hours offer a starting place for the exploration of medieval manuscripts.
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