Compiled by Katie Funderburg
\nCreated: May 2019
\nUpdated: May 2021<\/p>\n
Keywords:
\n-Book of Hours
\n-Manuscript
\n-Devotional
\n-Medieval<\/p>\n
What are Books of Hours?<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n Developing out of the increase in Marian veneration that occurred throughout Western Europe in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, Books of Hours are devotional texts that allowed the average person to model their daily approach to worship after the ordained clergy. The genre receives its name from the organizational structure of the book, which contains liturgical readings for each of the canonical hours of the Divine Office: Matins, Lauds, Prime, Terce, Sext, None, Vespers, and Compline. In the following centuries, Books of Hours would become the most frequently copied set of texts, and was often the only book a family would own. Owing to this popularity, Books of Hours offer insight into the devotional practices of the medieval laity, particularly women, for whom they were primarily made.<\/p>\n Sections in a Book of Hours<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n Although the\u00a0sections often appear in Books of Hours in the following\u00a0order, the content and arrangement\u00a0of the texts varied\u00a0widely depending on when, where, and\u00a0for whom it was created. A Book\u00a0of Hours might only feature the Hours of the Virgin and not the Cross or Holy Spirit, or might contain all three as well as additional prayers and suffrages.<\/p>\n Calendar:<\/strong>\u00a0Virtually all Books of Hours begin with a calendar section that informed the reader of saint’s days and allowed them to calculate important movable liturgical events such as Easter. Families would often record the anniversaries of births, deaths, and marriages in the calendar. Because the calendar could be customized to emphasize local saints, it can sometimes be used to help determine where the Book of Hours was made. Occasionally,\u00a0the Hours of the Cross and Holy Spirit were integrated into the Hours of the Virgin, resulting in a “mixed” Book of Hours.<\/p>\n Hours of the Virgin<\/strong>: The heart of the Book of Hours, the Hours of the Virgin are a series of devotional texts organized by the hours of the divine office: Matins, Lauds, Prime, Terce, Sext, None, Vespers, Compline.<\/p>\n Hours of the Cross:<\/strong>\u00a0Follows the same canonical hours as the Hours of the Virgin, except that there is no Lauds. The Hours of the Cross is often much shorter than those of the Virgin because there are no Psalms. Each hour focuses on sequential moments in Christ’s Passion, reflected through the verses of the hymn.<\/p>\n Hours of the Holy Spirit<\/strong>: Also follows the same canonical hours as the Hours of the Virgin, except that there is no Lauds. The Hours of the Cross is often much shorter than those of the Virgin because there are no Psalms. Each hour focuses on\u00a0different attributes of the Holy Spirit, reflected through\u00a0the verses of the hymn and a final stanza invoking the Holy Spirit’s aid in achieving eternal salvation.<\/p>\n Penitential Psalms:\u00a0<\/strong>The Seven Penitential Psalms (6, 31, 37, 50, 101, 129, and 142) were thought to be written by King David as atonement for his sins. The psalms could be contemplated\u00a0to help the reader\u00a0avoid sin or ask\u00a0forgiveness as well as\u00a0a means of reducing the\u00a0time the soul of a departed family member or friend would spend\u00a0in purgatory.<\/p>\n Obsecro\u00a0Te and O Intemerata:\u00a0<\/strong>Two special prayers to the Virgin that appear in nearly all Books of Hours. They are known by their incipits (opening words): \u201cObsecro te\u201d (I beseech you) and \u201cO intemerata\u201d (O immaculate Virgin). Written in the first person singular, the prayers address the Virgin directly in especially plaintive tones.<\/p>\n Litany:<\/strong>\u00a0The litany is a listing of saints who are asked to pray for the reader.<\/p>\n Office of the Dead:<\/strong>\u00a0A series of prayers meant to help the souls of loved ones reach heaven, the Office of the Dead is spread over the hours of Vespers, Matins, and Lauds. Matins features nine lessons from the Book of Job, which embody the anguish felt by those suffering in Purgatory.<\/p>\n Suffrages:<\/strong>\u00a0The suffrage section memorializes the saints while presenting them in hierarchical order:\u00a0God or the three Persons of the Trinity always begin the Suffrages, followed by the Virgin, the archangel Michael, and John the Baptist (the last two prominently positioned because of their importance as judge and intercessor, respectively, at the Last Judgment). The apostles appear next, followed by male martyrs and confessors (non-martyr saints), female saints and virgin martyrs.<\/p>\n RBML Book of Hours Finding Aid<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n Manuscript<\/strong><\/p>\n [Book of Hours: use of Tournai]. [France, between 1450 and 1499]. Shelfmark: Pre-1650 MS 0138<\/p>\n [Book of hours]. [Netherlands?, 14–?]. Shelfmark: Pre-1650 MS 0142<\/p>\n [Lyte book of hours]. [England or Belgium?, approximately 1390]. Shelfmark: Pre-1650 MS 0076<\/p>\n [Book of hours: use of Sarum]. [England, approximately 1420]. Shelfmark: Pre-1650 MS 0077<\/p>\n [Book of hours: Sarum use]. [Flanders, approximately 1450-1500]. Shelfmark: Pre-1650 MS 0140<\/p>\n [Book of hours: use of Rouen]. [Rouen, France, approximately 1470]. Shelfmark: Pre-1650 MS 0262<\/p>\n Print<\/strong><\/p>\n Hier beghinnen die ghetiden van onser lieuer vrouwen.\u00a0<\/em>[Delft: Jakob van der Meer, 1484]. Shelfmark: Incunabula 264.02 C28hoD1484<\/p>\n Ces presentes heures a lusaige de Romme\u2026<\/em>\u00a0[Paris: Philippe Pigouchet for Simon Vostre, 1497]. Shelfmark: Incunabula 264.02 C28ho1497<\/p>\n [Horae ad usum Romanum (Rome)]. [Paris: Philippe Pigouchet, for Simon Vostre, 22 August 1498]. Shelfmark: Incunabula 264.02 C28ho1498<\/p>\n Heures de Nostre Dame a lusaige de Rome tout au long sans tien requerir. [<\/em>Paris: Antoine Chappiel for Germain Hardouyn, 5 October 1504 or 1505?]. Shelfmark: Incunabula 264.02 C28ho150-<\/p>\n [Ordo breuiarii secundum vsum ordinis Premonstratensis]. [Paris, 1507]. Shelfmark: IUA18199<\/p>\n Hore in laude<\/em>\u00a0gloriosissime virginis marie\u2026<\/em>\u00a0Paris: Germain Hardouyn, [1532]. Shelfmark: IUA02536<\/p>\n Hore beate Marie virginis secu[n]du[m] vsum Romanum\u2026<\/em>\u00a0[Paris: Germain Hardouyn, 1526]. Shelfmark: IUA02537<\/p>\n Hore beate Marie virginis secundum usum Romanum explici unt feliciter.<\/em>\u00a0Paris: Germain Hardouyn, [1515?]. Shelfmark: IUA02538<\/p>\n Hore beate marie virginis ad vsu[m] ecclesie Sar[um]\u2026<\/em>\u00a0[Antwerp: Ruremond, 1530]. Shelfmark: IUA02539<\/p>\n Hore Beatissime Virginis Marie ad legitimu[m] Sarisburiensis ecclesie ritum\u2026<\/em>Paris: Renault, 1526. Shelfmark: 264.02 C28HO1526<\/p>\n [Officium beate Marie virginis s[e]c[un]d[u]m verum vsum Romanum\u2026]. [Paris: Germain Hardouyn, 1514]. Shelfmark: IUA02546<\/p>\n Facsimiles<\/strong><\/p>\n Petites heures du duc de Berry.<\/em>\u00a0Luzern : Faksimile Verlag, c1988-1989. Call number: 242.6 C286p<\/p>\n Stephan Lochner Gebetbuch: Handschrift 70 der Hessischen Landes- und Hochschulbibliothek, Darmstadt. Lachen am Zurichsee: Stuttgart: Coron-Verlag ; Verlag Muller und Schindler, c1989. Shelfmark: 242.7 ST431989<\/p>\n Tres riches heures of Jean, Duke of Berry\u2026<\/em>\u00a0New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc.; Faksimile-Verlag, c1984. Shelfmark: XQ. 745.67 T7251984<\/p>\n Reference Resources<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n Time Sanctified by Roger S. Wieck; John Plummer; Virginia Reinburg; Larence Poos<\/a> Painted Prayers by Roger S. Wieck<\/a> Picturing Piety by Roger Wieck; Sandra Hindman; Ariane Bergeron-Foote<\/a> The Hours of Henry VIII by Roger S. Wieck<\/a> French Books of Hours by Virginia Reinburg<\/a> Books of Hours Reconsidered by Sandra Hindman (Editor); James Marrow (Editor)<\/a> Women’s Books of Hours in Medieval England by Charity Scott-Stokes<\/a> Relevant Chapters on Books of Hours<\/strong><\/p>\n A History of Illuminated Manuscripts by Christopher de Hamel<\/a> Women and the Book by Lesley Smith (Editor); Jane H. Taylor (Editor); Jane Taylor (Editor)<\/a> The Culture of Print by Alain Boureau; Roger Chartier<\/a> Relevant Articles on Books of Hours<\/strong><\/p>\n Bell, Susan Groag. \u201cMedieval Women Book Owners: Arbiters of Lay Piety and Ambassadors of Culture.\u201d<\/a> Signs<\/em>\u00a07, no. 4 (1982): 742-68.<\/p>\n Reinburg, Virginia. \u201cFor the Use of Women\u201d: Women and Books of Hours.\u201d<\/a>\u00a0Early Modern Women<\/em>\u00a04 (2009): 235-40.<\/p>\n Relevant Databases<\/strong><\/p>\n Iter: Gateway to the Middle Ages and Renaissance<\/a><\/p>\n Contains electronic resources for researchers in the study and teaching of the Middle Ages and Renaissance (400-1700). Enables users to access citations in journal, book, and reviews databases; provides online access to Paul Oskar Kristeller’s Iter Italicum (a finding list of Renaissance humanistic manuscripts); provides access to the International Directory of Scholars (a comprehensive directory of contact information, and information on the research and teaching careers of scholars around the world). Subscription includes a membership to the Renaissance Society of America.<\/p>\n International Medieval Bibliography<\/a><\/p>\n The International Medieval Bibliography (IMB) is a multidisciplinary bibliography of Europe, North Africa and the Near East (300-1500), founded in 1967 with the aim of providing a comprehensive, current bibliography of articles in journals and miscellany volumes (conference proceedings, essay collections or Festschriften) worldwide. The IMB comprises 365,000 articles, all of which are fully classified by date, subject and location, and provide full bibliographical records.<\/p>\n
\nCall Number: Q. 745.670902 W634t
\nISBN: 0807611891
\nPublication Date: 1988-08-01<\/p>\n
\nCall Number: Q. 242.0940902 W634P
\nISBN: 0807614181
\nPublication Date: 1997-07-01<\/p>\n
\nCall Number: Q. 745.67 W634p
\nISBN: 9781903470657
\nPublication Date: 2007-09-01<\/p>\n
\nCall Number: Q. 745.670944 P877w
\nISBN: 0807614777
\nPublication Date: 2000-12-01<\/p>\n
\nCall Number: 745.67 R274f
\nISBN: 9781107007215
\nPublication Date: 2012<\/p>\n
\nCall Number: Q. 745.67 B64439
\nISBN: 9781905375943
\nPublication Date: 2013<\/p>\n
\nISBN: 1846155134
\nPublication Date: 2006-03-23<\/p>\n
\nCall Number: Q. 745.6709 D365H 1994
\nISBN: 0714829498
\nPublication Date: 1994
\nChapter: \u201cBooks for Everybody\u201d<\/p>\n
\nCall Number: 809.89287 W8421
\nISBN: 0802042163
\nPublication Date: 1997-04-19
\nChapter: \u201cWomen and Books of Hours\u201d<\/p>\n
\nCall Number: 686.209 US1:E
\nISBN: 0745605753
\nPublication Date: 1989
\nChapter: \u201cBooks of Hours and the Reading Habits of the Later Middle Ages\u201d<\/p>\n