Bestsellers of the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance, Books of Hours were among the most popular manuscripts, retaining their popularity as printed works into the early 16th century and remaining desirable rare book collections even today. A book of hours was a personal prayer book that promoted religious orders; no two were exactly alike, though they shared common features.
The manuscript probably dates from the period 1390-1400, which was produced both by hand and by press, more than any other type of book. It was in the middle of the 15th century that the European printing press with movable type was invented. After that, the manuscript became more for enthusiasts and less for everyday use.
What Is the Book of Hours and Why Is It Historically Important?
A Book of Hours has many names; it is called the Hours of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and it may be a prayerbook. It contains a set of prayers to be recited at different times of the day - in order of matins, lauds, prime, terce, sext, none, compline, and vespers.
- A precious Book of Hours is unlike a regular prayer book; it is the most popular kind of manuscript, widely produced and admired during the Late Middle Ages. It is a collection of Christian devotional texts designed to help devout laypeople connect with the monastic life, beginning with a calendar to help the owner keep track of saints’ days.
- The books contain the rituals of daily worship, codices, and many were produced as miniature versions, often small and carried by the person as they travelled from one place to another, often attached to a decorative chain or in a custom-made pouch. Some books were plain, while others were beautifully calligraphed, embedded with brilliantly painted initial letters, miniature pictures, and elaborate designs.
- In some books, gold and silver were added to the texts, and these books became rare works of art. Today, only a restricted number of high-value, rare, well-protected medieval illuminated manuscript leaves and the Book of Hours are available for sale.
- History of Book of Hours in Europe - Nearly all Books of Hours are in Latin; however, in the northern Netherlands, Books of Hours were written completely in Dutch. During the golden age of French illumination, the book of hours gained popularity as a manuscript and many French, especially Parisian, workshops produced some extraordinary manuscripts during the Gothic period.
- The great masters of the era were Jacquemart de Hesdin, Jean le Noir, and the Bedford Master, whose Parisian workshop created the Bedford Hours (1405 to 1465), considered the finest and most beautifully illuminated manuscript of medieval book art.
Many variants of books of hours were produced in France and Italy during the second half of the 15th century, when Flanders and Bruges emerged as the leaders of manuscript production. It was a time when Italian Renaissance and northern Gothic styles were blended into books. One of the last and most refined was created by Simon Bening, the Flowers Book of Hours, made between 1520 and 1525.
What Materials were Used in Book of Hours Leaves That Made Them Last 600 Years?
Certain materials were specifically used in the production of the Book of Hours Leaves to ensure they survived exposure to environmental damage and corrosion. At the same time, some highly valued leaves had metal coats that corroded, causing damage. Most such medieval illuminated manuscripts carry the smell of animal skin and a brittle texture because they were either written on animal skin or pigmented with metals.
Some hold centuries of history, while many are precious. The books used an iron-copper oxide solution to dye the vellum black, enhancing the colour scheme, and this was complemented by the contrast of dark text or imagery against a light background.
Illuminators often used a colour scheme to create reverse contrast; for instance, they used bright pastel colours against a dark background. The texts of these medieval illuminated manuscripts were equally outstanding, written entirely in gold and silver ink. The manuscripts created in Bruges, ca. 1450-1475, during the reigns of Philip the Good and Charles the Bold, featured sophisticated members of the ducal court of Burgundy, who employed magnificent styles. The use of dyes on the pages caused corrosion, and only seven specimens of these precious works of art survive today.
How Medieval Craftsmanship Helped Book of Hours Leaves Survive for Centuries
The basic craftsmanship of Medieval illuminated manuscripts was created for laypersons and produced in artists’ workshops rather than in monastic scriptoria. The workers sometimes modified the wording, resulting in variations among the manuscripts.
Some books were purposefully created as small books, as they allowed one to carry them from one place to another, like the Hours of Jeanne d'Evreux. Some were decorated with fashionable accessories, and some were created as personalised skills book of hours that usually featured a dedication page with their escutcheon or even portrayed as one or more miniatures in the text.
Some were created by famous artists like the Limbourg Brothers, Simon Bening, and Gerard Horenbout, while many of the greatest masters remained anonymous. Some of the personalised books of hours offer a window into the lives and perceptions of the Middle Ages' royals and aristocracy.
How Environmental Conditions Preserved Book of Hours Leaves
In the Middle Ages, books were treasured; it took months, sometimes years, to create a copy, and it was often produced in simple manuscripts without personalisation. Such books were probably available from booksellers' shelves in larger towns. The figures were rendered in delicate grisaille (shades of grey), giving them an amazingly sculptural quality.
Some illuminations featured gold and silver lettering and rare ultramarine pigment, which at the time was worth more than gold. Still, the most lavish personalised renditions with texts and pictures chosen by a particular owner were commissioned (often at great expense) from the most acclaimed artist of the day.
Environmental pollutants often accelerate degradation, leading to discolouration, brittleness, and chemical reactions, which cause long-term damage to many books. Many books faced conservation issues, such as in the Winchester Bible, where one can see a loss of cohesion in the paint layer and flaking due to dehydration of the binding vehicle used in the original paint mixing.
How Wars, Libraries, and Collectors Protected Book of Hours Leaves
To protect Book of Hours Leaves, libraries literally chained books to shelves. Chaining books with iron links ensured that their prints and conditions remained intact for centuries. Readers were allowed to view them inside the library, but borrowing wasn’t allowed. Preservation techniques such as cleaning, repairing tears, re-binding, and creating protective enclosures are applied to ensure protection of the original works.
Buyers were given options to choose from the available variants. Buyers had to get support (paper or parchment), ensure the color of ink, number of pictures (the pcitures at junctures, in the calendar or not), the use of colors - blue and gold leaf, borders (found on every page or just at the start of sections), and type of binding to decide if they wanted to buy.
In general, the value of a Book of Hours leaf without pictures can range from $8,000 to $ 10,000, and some well-designed versions have fetched over $100,000. The superior the quality and the artist, the more valuable each miniature. The price of the book depended on the condition; retouching or repainting could be a restraint, hence the libraries ensured careful handling of such books.
Why Many Books of Hours Survive as Single Leaves Today
First of the many Book of Hours Leaves surviving as single leaves today emerged in the mid-13th century, and they were produced in such large quantities that they are called the Medieval “best sellers.” They ranged from opulent personalised books ordered by the aristocracy to ready-made books for the middle class.
- They were produced until around the 16th century, but not just Books of Hours; illuminated manuscripts were damaged for various reasons in the past as well. There are many cases of illustrations being cut out, and the rest discarded. Many versions of the renowned Books of Hours have been damaged in the past precisely because people were attracted to their pictures.
- While most of the priceless illuminated manuscripts existed as whole books in collections at museums and libraries, nowadays we can find many single leaves. Some leaves are from books that were broken to sell to those who could not afford exclusive medieval illuminated manuscripts.
- While acknowledging that owning and purchasing such objects is ethically problematic, some single leaves are part of personalised handwritten books that are either from surviving personalised versions or were written in different phases. In one of the research, it was found that pages were compiled from at least two different sources, as evidenced by changes in artists, decorative styles, and vellum grades.
- Many such medieval illuminated manuscripts are incomplete, with blank spaces where large decorative capital letters are. The book’s binding, the details of its calendars, and the style of its full-page miniature paintings resembled the northern French style, perhaps indicating the home of the original makers and owner.
- The compilation from different sources also led to variations in production. Some held by affluent patrons remained important status symbols and were even produced in both printed and manuscript form.
Scientific Reasons Book of Hours Leaves Outlasted Many Printed Books
Books of Hours from before 1300 are most rare; hence, the technique employed in creating the Books of Hours and the methods used to protect the work ensured the leaves outlasted many printed books.
Throughout the Middle Ages and in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, lead white was the principal white pigment used in manuscript illustration because of its opacity and covering power; it was essential to the medieval manuscript palette, and large areas of paintings are composed of pure lead white or mixtures thereof.
The libraries guarded the books, and readers were not allowed mishandle them. The woodcuts in the Book of Hours were painted like miniatures, with embedded printed lines completely obscured by layers of opaque paint in various white and gold hues.
During the production, the contemporary prints were colored by hand, but the colours were usually applied as transparent washes with the white of the paper left showing in places. There were not many hand-coloured woodcuts as paintings with prints beneath. Some such printed Books of Hours were mass-produced originals.
At the same time, many were personalised objects created to the buyer's requirements, and they required the hand of a scribe or illuminator to be complete, which gave each one an individualised quality.
How Conservators Preserve Book of Hours Leaves Today
The modern conservation practices aim to preserve the important binding structures and aid in understanding them. Book conservators’ work involves blending traditional bookbinding skills with science and research. At the same time, authenticity cannot be restored, to highlight the impossibility of returning a binding to its original state.
The methods for binding texts change over time and vary by region and maker. Conservation involves a series of treatments which can preserve the work through minimal intervention. In fact, some damage to manuscripts can be valuable, as it can reveal previously hidden layers that show binding structures.
Books in binding collections are often elaborate, such as tooled, gilt-leather-bound volumes or medieval illuminated manuscripts, which are historically significant.
To start the conservation process, a model of the book is used that resembles the original Book of Hours in its structure and materials used, and then the treatment process involves primary support, endsheets, sewing, endbands, layering, board cover changing, board attachment sewing, carving, covering material and much more. In the later stages, documentation of the current state of the work and its impact, which involves minimal intervention, is recorded.
FAQ:
How Did Book of Hours Leaves Survive for Over 600 Years?
Book of Hours manuscript survival secrets rely on dyeing vellum parchment with iron gall ink, resulting in dark blue and black tones that are very unusual for prayer books. Many Book of Hours were old leather-bound books secured to the shelves with chains, so they remained protected and inaccessible to common readers.
What Material Are Book of Hours Pages Made From?
Books of Hours were written on vellum (fine calfskin), and the Latin text is accompanied by exquisite miniatures, illuminated with hand-applied gold leaf to halos, borders, and details in the decorative backgrounds. A pure lead white or a mixture of white pigments was used in such medieval illuminated manuscripts.
Why Are Book of Hours Still in Good Condition Today?
The use of durable materials, applying thin gold leaf on a base made of medium, gold paint (shell gold), and lead whites as part of the production of such books and protective handling, where public access was limited, ensured they survived and remained in good condition even today.
Why Are Many Books of Hours Now Only Single Pages?
There are some medieval illuminated manuscript leaves from an otherwise lost Book of Hours, which may never have been completed, as the leaves feature unfinished miniatures on both sides. Some leaves were part of the book. Some booksellers broke up manuscript books, arguing that this was done to enable a wider range of purchasers to access the skills of a book of hours.
Are Book of Hours Leaves More Durable Than Modern Books?
Yes, some of the most-preserved, well-protected Book of Hours Leaves are more durable than modern books.
Can Book of Hours Leaves Survive Another 600 Years?
Some well-preserved books were even produced in both printed and manuscript form, with the manuscript destined for a high-status person, such as the pope. Since access to such works was limited, they could survive for over 600 years.
