Flemish book of hours

A Flemish Book of Hours

Books of Hours were widespread prayer books for the private use of laymen. Derived from breviaries, they became real fashion in the fourteenth and fifteenth century. Their popularity was related to the importance of private devotion in religious practice and in particular to the cult of the Holy Virgin. By the mid-fifteenth century, Flemish artists assumed the leadership of the illumination of the Books of Hours. The schools of Ghent and Bruges became very famous and distinguished themselves for a realistic representation of the world of plants and animals. The frame of the text became an important ornamental element and was usually decorated by natural items such as flowers and insects. The above mentioned Manuscript was probably realized by several artists belonging to the Ghent-Bruges school, around 1500. The selected images show the ornamental function of borders. In most of the pages of the book the text is encircled by naturalistic motifs, often animals, which are unrelated to the content. The repertory includes flowers, strawberries, buds, multicolored birds, snails, cocks, ducks, monkeys, butterflies, mice, and so on.

Documentary notes

Manuscript: Budapest, National Széchény Library, Cod. lat. 205. Description: Parchment, pp. 218 (+10), 8.8x5.9 cm. Date: ca. 1500. Provenience: Ghent-Bruges. Illuminator: Unknown (maybe a member of the Bening family). Recipient: Probably made for sale, for urban middle class members.

References

Fac-simile edition: Wehli Tünde, ed. A Flemish Book of Hours (Facsimile edition of the Ghent-Bruges manuscript). Budapest: Helikon Kiadó, 1989. Selected images: 107v-108r, 12v-13r, 195v-196r, 35v-36r, 48v-49r, 52v-53r, 61v-62r, and 72v-73r.

contributor Bueno, Irene, m04bui01@student.ceu.hu, Central European University