Assigment An investigation into a French fifteenth-century Book of Hours

CHAPTER 1. OVERVIEW OF BOOKS OF HOURS

Louisiana State University proudly owns an authentic medieval manuscript called

a Book of Hours. Celebrated as the university’s two millionth volume, this exquisitely

illuminated manuscript is thought to be the only Book of Hours in a public collection in

Louisiana. Yet at the time of its production in the fifteenth century, Books of Hours were

produced in prolific numbers. In fact they have been designated the medieval “bestseller,”

and indeed they remained the number one best-seller for two hundred and fifty years.

The manuscript is in the collection of Hill Memorial Library, and consists of 163

leaves of prime vellum. It is written in Latin and French, in a good Gothic book hand.

The text is contained within one column, fifteen lines to the folio. This Book of Hours

contains twelve illuminated miniatures with floral, fruit, and acanthus leaf borders.

Large initials below the miniatures are decorated with red and blue interlacing foliage.

All of the other leaves of text, including the calendar, have a floral border. This particular

Book of Hours contains the following, listed in order with miniatures, which are

highlighted in bold:

Calendar (1r)

Sequence of the Gospels: Saint John on the Isle of Patmos (13r)

“Obsecro te” (18v)

“O Intermerata” (22r)

Hours of the Virgin:

Matins: Annunciation (27r)

Lauds: Visitation 51r)

Prime: Nativity (62r)

Terce: Annunciation to the Shepherds (68r)

Sext: Adoration of the Magi (73r)

None: Presentation in the Temple (77v)

Vespers: Flight into Egypt (82r)

Compline: Coronation of the Virgin (89r)

Hours of the Holy Spirit: Pentecost (95r)

Seven Penitential Psalms and the Litany: King David Praying (98r)

Office of the Dead: Burial Service in a Cemetery (116r)

Upon starting my investigation of this particular codex, the known provenance

consisted of the following. The manuscript had been donated to Louisiana State

University (LSU) by the late John McIlhenny in 1991. He had purchased it from

Scribners Book Store in New York in 1953. Once in LSU’s possession, the manuscript

was rebound by Gary Frost in 1992, as the then-current binding was not the original and

was in poor condition. This previous nineteenth-century binding also resides at Hill

Memorial library, and the inside front cover bears a bookplate, “EX-LIBRIS L.

PASQUIER.” It had already been established that this Book of Hours had been produced

in France and that it dated from the mid-fifteenth century. Also it was established that this

“manuscript was apparently produced in the Autun Atelier, which was known to have

produced a group of liturgical manuscripts illuminated for Jean Rolin, Cardinal of

Autun.”

In this thesis, I intend to deal with some fundamental questions in chapter one:

What is a Book of Hours? How and by whom were they made? Why were they so

popular in the late Middle Ages and for whom were they made, and then how were they

read and used? While discussing these matters in general for French fifteenth-century

Books of Hours, I shall comment on the Book of Hours owned by LSU. In chapter two I

shall describe the contents of the LSU Hours. In doing so, I shall concentrate on the

miniatures and only briefly mention the text of each section. The third chapter will deal

with issues concerning provenance, localization, and dating. The purpose of this thesis is

then twofold. First, it is a detailed investigation into a particular manuscript, and second,

my hope is that this thesis may be used by others as a starting point for investigating

similar contemporary medieval Books of Hours.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

In order to understand the context in which the LSU Hours was produced, a

general overview of medieval Books of Hours will be given. The history of this genre is

first examined, followed by a section concerning production, which includes many

observations that pertain to the LSU’s codex. The following sections that pertain to who

would have owned a Book of Hours, and how they were used, are more generalized, since

there is no documentation as to the first owner of this particular codex.

1.1 What Is a Book of Hours?

A Book of Hours is essentially a prayer book made for secular use, rather than for

a priest, monk, or nun. The clergy were required to recite the prayers of the Divine Office

daily, at various times during the day. There are in fact eight services. Matins and Lauds

were said without a break, so that in effect, the prayers were recited seven times

throughout the day. The number seven was also considered symbolic of the continuity of

prayer. This continuity was further emphasized by the Biblical inscriptions to “Watch and

pray always” (Luke 21:36), and to “Pray without ceasing” (I Thess. 5:17). These

Canonical Hours were established by the Christian Church. Interestingly, a Biblical

passage from the Old Testament seems to anticipate the use of the Canonical Hours long

before Christ’s birth: “Seven times a day do I praise thee because of thy righteous

judgments” (Psalm 119:164).

By the Middle Ages the Breviary consisted of the Divine Office (Divinum

Officium or “godly work”) and prayers, hymns, and other texts sung by monks and nuns.

The Divine Office took about one or two hours to read through each day, though if sung it

would have taken much longer. In the tenth century the short service devoted to the

Virgin Mary first appeared. This “Little Office of Our Lady” (Officium parvum beate

Marie Virginis) became a popular attachment to Psalters, which were often owned by the

laity. In the thirteenth century it became a completely separate prayerbook. It forms the

core of any Book of Hours. Although the Little Office of Our Lady is essential, the

contents of Books of Hours can vary. Typically a Book of Hours consists of eight parts,

usually, though not necessarily, in this order: 1) the calendar; 2) the four Gospel lessons;

3) the Hours of the Virgin; 4) the Hours of the Cross and the Hours of the Holy Spirit; 5)

two prayers to the Virgin known as “Obsecro te” and “O intemerata”; 6) the Penitential

Psalms and the Litany; 7) the Office of the Dead; and 8) numerous Suffrages. The LSU

Hours (as I shall refer to it from now on) contains just the very essential, most commonly

found parts and excludes any suffrages to particular saints and the Hours of the Holy

Cross.

The term “Book of Hours” comes from the Latin Horae, which translates as

hours. Horae originally referred to only the Hours of the Virgin; later, however, the term

became associated with the entire book. A Book of Hours is therefore a prayer book that

contains a core group of the eight services that make up the Little Office of the Blessed

Virgin. It should be noted that the term “hour” in this use is not a precise measurement of

sixty minutes, as we might think of it today. Rather in the Middle Ages the “hours” were

said at various times of the day. Matins and Lauds were recited at daybreak, Prime at 6

a.m., Terce at 9 a.m., Sext at noon, None at 3 p.m., Vespers at sunset, and Compline in the

evening. The clergy read these prayers with strict observance. The laity, however, were

perhaps not so strict. Although it seems very time consuming to sit down and read a

passage eight times a day, a shorter Office could be hurried through in about three and a

half minutes.

The original purpose of reciting these prayers was to bring the reader closer to

God through devotion. However, by the late Middle Ages, they were viewed as a means

to salvation. The eight services of the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin were based upon

the longer services of those recited by the clergy, that of the Divine Office. The Office

hours of both share the same names: Matins, Lauds, Prime, Terce, Sext, None, Vespers,

and Compline. The shorter, simpler, and less variable Little Office found in Books of

Hours for the secular, is divided by miniatures from the life of the Virgin. Each miniature

introduces a different Office. Traditionally, specific scenes of the Virgin Mary in her role

as the Mother of God accompany each hour as follows:

Matins: The Annunciation

Lauds: The Visitation

Prime: The Nativity

Terce: The Annunciation to the Shepherds

Sext: The Adoration of the Magi

None: The Presentation in the Temple

Vespers: The Flight into Egypt or The Massacre of the Innocents

Compline: The Crowning of the Virgin or The Flight into Egypt or The Massacre of the

Innocents.

The LSU Hours also follows this traditional pattern. Vespers is introduced by the more

common depiction of the Flight into Egypt, and likewise Compline is prefaced by the

Coronation of the Virgin.

1.2 How and by Whom Were Books of Hours Made?

Traditionally, in the Early Middle Ages, these manuscripts were produced by

monks in monasteries. The word “manuscript” means “written by hand,” and these

timeconsuming codices were produced in Europe from the fifth to the fifteenth centuries,

that is, until the advent of printed books. However, the demand for manuscripts, be they

texts for students or Books of Hours for the laity, exceeded the supply and hence secular

ateliers set up business. From the early thirteenth century, professional stationers made

manuscripts for the laity and monks alike. Indeed by 1300 it was rare for manuscripts to

be made in the monastery. Instead most monks (the notable exception being the

Carthusians) bought books from the bookshops along with the laity. Bookstores sprang up

in university towns around the cathedral. During the fifteenth century in Flanders,

France, and especially in the city of Paris, the production of Books of Hours proliferated.

In 1415 the English invaded France and were victorious at the Battle of

Agincourt. Henry V and his English army entered Paris in 1420. The Parisian book

market slumped, because only the wealthy purchased books, and the war and occupation

left few with the money to purchase such a luxury item as a handmade Book of Hours.

For the most part scribes and illuminators departed for the provinces, such as Amiens,

Angers, Bourges, Rouen, Rheims, Nantes, Tours, Dijon, Besançon, and Troyes, and there

established themselves. Simultaneously, the production and purchasing of Books of

Hours spread throughout France in the mid-fifteenth century. Only one outstanding artist,

the Bedford Master, stayed on in Paris at this time. His name is derived from the Duke of

Bedford, the English regent of France at that time and brother of Henry V. The

eponymous artist illuminated a Breviary and a Book of Hours for the Duke. The

Bedford Master was influential upon other Parisian illuminators, such as the Master of

Jean Rolin II (also identified as the Master of Jean Rolin), and the significance of both of

these artists will be discussed later.

The LSU Hours, like most, was probably purchased from a bookshop or stationer.

We may speculate that the patron either bought it finished, almost finished, or perhaps he

or she commissioned it to his or her liking. In the case of the latter, the patron would have

been shown a second-hand copy first, but he or she would have to discuss with the

bookseller numerous details of the commission, such as the size, the format, the number

of illuminations, the price of the book, and the time it would take to complete it. The LSU

Hours is not unusually small in size, but it consists of only the core texts usually

compiled within a Book of Hours, and contains only twelve miniatures. The bookseller

would then subcontract the work out to professional scribes and illuminators. Therefore, a

number of craftsmen would have been responsible for LSU’s codex. After examining the

manuscript, it is evident that at least seven different “hands” contributed to the finished

product. In general, the scribes often lived and/or worked in the bookshop, while

illuminators usually lived in their own homes. Since commercial scribes and illuminators

were paid by the job and had perfected their skills, a Book of Hours probably took about

one week to write and two or three days to illuminate.

The scribe started with folios of parchment or vellum obtained from the

parchment-makers. Although the two terms “parchment” and “vellum” are often used

interchangeably, strictly speaking vellum refers to veau or veal and therefore is often used

to refer to better-quality skin. The parchment could vary greatly, and the poorer skins

tended to produce holes and marks where the animal had ticks or some kind of disease.

The scribe of the LSU Hours chose a prime vellum; the vellum that makes up the 163

folios (326 pages) has relatively few flaws even today.

There were parchment-makers in business in many towns in the Middle Ages.

The oblong parchment leaves, or folia, were gathered together into small groups and then

folded vertically in the middle before being stitched. Each small gathering consists of

bifolia (folded folia) and is called a quire or signature. These quires were then assembled

to form a codex. Usually the codex is made of quires of eight leaves, that is, four bifolia.

However, the calendar quire often consists of twelve leaves to accommodate the twelve

months. The LSU Hours conforms to this arrangement. The calendar quire consists of

twelve folia, and the following quires, for the most part, consist of eight folia. The

next step taken by the scribe was to establish the layout and rule lines on the codex.

Ruled guide lines were expected and preferred in medieval manuscripts. Even when

printing became established, lines were often added to the text. Without the lines, the text

must have looked odd and bare to the medieval reader. The scribe of the LSU

Hours ruled fifteen lines in a single column for the text, which is in keeping with a

fifteenth-century French Book of Hours. This particular scribe ruled the pages with red

ink and a plummet. Inks of red, brown, green, and purple were used from the thirteenth

century onward. Previously scribes had used drypoint or, in the twelfth century, a metallic

lead or silver.

A common method for efficiently ruling pages was employed by scribes. Lines

were drawn to the edge of the page of the first folio of a gathering. Then a pin was

pricked at the edge through the whole stack. In this way uniform lines could be ruled

throughout the codex. Upon close inspection no pinpricks may be seen in the outer edges

of the LSU Hours, revealing that the folia were trimmed sometime during the past 500

years, most likely at the time of the original binding. The folia were intended to be

trimmed, in part to remove the pinpricks, but also to remove any written marginalia. This

would often include instructions for the illuminator, such as colors to be used, sometimes

written in the vernacular or with abbreviations. Alternatively the instructions, such as “a”

for azure or “o” for or, may have been written by the illuminator as aides mémoire to

remind himself. Marginalia, such as these instructions, and erased markings can

sometimes be seen with the aid of ultraviolet light. A close inspection of the LSU Hours

under ultraviolet light revealed no markings or unusual erasing.

The scribe would then begin the process of writing. The ink used was probably a

metal-gall ink, which consisted of a solution of tannic acids with ferrous sulphate

(copperas) and thickened with a gum made from oak apple (fig. 1). The oak apple looks

like a ball-shaped tumor, and the very best were said to have grown in Aleppo in the

Levant.

Fig. 1. Oak Apple

Scribes usually worked on a sloped surface, as can be seen in fig. 2. The scribe

worked from an exemplar, which is a book to be copied. If the book was not copied, but

the original work of the scribe himself, then it would certainly be signed. This is not the

case with the LSU Hours. Although unsigned by the scribe, a charming detail in the LSU

Hours can be found on folio 89 verso (fig. 3). This small “doodle” of a face occurs

beneath a catchword and was probably executed by the scribe. This is not an isolated

case, and other such examples exist. Fig. 4 shows the “hand” of the “long-nose” scribe in

BNF Fr. 10132 folios 155 and 295.

Fig. 2. Scribe at Sloped Desk (Bibliothèque National, Paris MS lat 1107, fol. 400

Fig. 3. “Doodled”

Face, LSU Hours

(fol. 89v))

Fig. 4. “Doodled Face of the Long-Nose Scribe (BNF fr.

10132, fols. 155 and 295)

Medieval depictions of scribes sometimes show two inkhorns on the scribe’s desk.

One pot was for black ink, the other most likely for red. Black ink was used for the

majority of the text, while red was used for the rubrics. The term “rubric” is derived from

the Latin “rubrica” which means red earth color. Rubric came to mean a title, chapter

heading, or instruction, and red ink was used to distinguish these elements from the rest

of the text. Rubrics were used in the LSU Hours, occasionally beneath the miniature to

introduce the new Office. Fig. 2 shows the scribe at his sloping desk, copying from an

exemplar, and also illustrates that the job of writing required two hands. One hand held a

quill pen, while the other hand held a knife that could both sharpen the quill and scrape

away mistakes. As a side note, on folio 158 recto of the LSU Hours a small black smudge

of ink can be seen. Perhaps towards the end of the manuscript a fatigued scribe

overlooked this small error and forgot to scrape away the mistake.

The LSU Hours was written in a Gothic script. I shall not concentrate on the type

of script or the use of Latin in this paper except to make a few brief comments. Although

this type of Gothic script was popular at the time, it is somewhat difficult to read because

it was employed for its decorative properties rather than its legibility. It should also be

noted that writing styles are particularly difficult to attribute to a specific atelier because

styles were so corrupted by other influences. Indeed some ateliers would advertise a

variety of scripts from which the patron could choose.

Although the script may be difficult to attribute, the use of “catchwords” can often

help to identify an individual scribe. A catchword was used by scribes from the twelfth

century on to ensure that the quires were gathered together in the proper order. The scribe

repeated the first word of the new quire on the lower inner corner at the bottom of the

previous quire. In this way each quire could be easily matched up when it came time to

bind the codex. The catchwords of the LSU Hours are listed below. In each case, I have

underlined letters which have been omitted in the manuscript due to the use of medieval

abbreviations. I place the letters of the last word on the verso leaf in “( )” followed by

the catchword when it is a fragment. Thus the catchword, norum, which appears on 20

verso is in fact the last part of the word bonorum, bo being the last entry on 20 verso and

norum, the first on 21 recto. I have respected the orthography of the original.

Catchword First Word of Next Page Quire Pagination

(bo)norum (20v) norum (21r) 3 (21r)

4 (27r)

Cecos (34v) Cecos (35r) 5 (35r)

atria (42v) atria (43r) 6

(43r) 7

(51r)

Benedicta tu (58v) Benedicta tu (59r) 8 (59r)

(benedi)xit (66v) xit (67r) 9 (67r)

(deglu)tissent (74v) tissent (75r) 13 (75r) tribus

(82v) tribus (83r) 10 (83r)

Et in(90v) Et in(troito) (91r) 11 (91r)

(sem)piterne (97v) 12 (98r)

cauero (105v) cauero (106r) 14 (106r)

Sancta (113v) Sancta genovefa (114r) 15 (114r)

domini (121v) domini (122r) 16 (122r)

anime (129v) anime (130r) 17 (130r)

(tem)pore (137v) pore (138r) 18 (138r)

uiuum (145v) uiuum (146r) 19 (146r)

Deus deus (153v) Deus deus (154r) 20 (154r)

Aporta (161v) Apta (162r) 21 (162r)

Fig. 5 shows one of the catchwords of the LSU Hours. It should be noted that the

catchwords are, for the most part, at intervals of eight folia, which reinforces the fact that

the majority of the quires were formed of eight folia each. Of note are the missing

catchwords, which should be on folio 26 verso, and 50 verso. This is because the

following folios display the Annunciation and the Visitation scenes respectively. That is,

there is no text to continue at these points. There is another discrepancy pertaining to the

catchword “piterne” on folio 97 verso. The following folio contains the miniature of King

David, rather than a page of text. Upon close inspection one can see the remains of a

missing leaf between 97 verso and 98 recto. This means that at least one folio is missing,

possibly with a subsequent missing quire or quires.

Fig. 5 Catchword of the LSU Hours (fol. 58v)

The pagination runs continuously from 1 to 163 and is to be found in light pencil

markings on the bottom right-hand corner of the recto folios. This type of pagination was

usually added in the nineteenth century. Another method of checking the quires of the

LSU manuscript was possible because of additional numbers that can be seen on the

bottom left corner of some of the recto folia. These are referred to above, alongside the

correlating catchwords, and were probably the markings of one of the book binders. We

know definitely that the codex has been rebound twice, but since its production it has

probably been bound several times. The binder would have marked each quire, when he

or she dismantled the codex, to ensure that it was reassembled in the correct order and to

have a record of how it had been previously rebound. This binder did not mark the first

two quires. I am assuming that it would have been obvious that the first quire began with

the calendar and the second quire began with the Saint John on Patmos image. We can

also tell from these numbers that even though there is no catchword on folio 50 verso, the

new quire does in fact begin on 51 recto. Perhaps more interestingly, these quire numbers

do not run sequentially. The quire with number 13 is currently between quires 9 and 10.

This means that at some time the manuscript was rebound incorrectly, and a later binder

rectified the mistake. The LSU Hours is therefore currently in the order of its original

binding.

Before binding, the illuminator decorated the codex. Scholars have established

that the text was first written by the scribe before the illuminator decorated the

manuscript. The scribe would have planned out the size of the miniature and borders and

even sketched the foliated large initial. The illuminator therefore had very little scope for

innovation, as the size, subject matter, and the number of illuminations were already

decided upon before he or she even began the codex. Before painting, the illuminator

would prepare the surface of the parchment by rubbing it with pumice or a mixture of

powdered glass apparently mixed with bread. The parchment would then have been

dusted off with chalk to ensure a grease-free folio, ready to receive the composition

sketched in metal point.

Medieval illuminators usually copied from other sources. Source books rarely

survive, but a few, such as the Göttingen Model Book of c.1455, give us a marvelous

exemplar that demonstrates step by step procedures for decoration with both written

instructions and painted examples (fig.6). A folio of sketches of figures in various

positions could be used as a source from which to copy (fig.7). The Italian artist Cennino

Cennini (c.1370-c.1440) wrote in his Il Libro d’Arte, “Take pains and pleasure in

constantly copying the best things you can find done by the hand of great masters.” This

reflects the medieval attitude that copying was not merely expected, it was also admired.

Fig. 6. Göttingen Model Book

Fig. 7. Sketches of Figures (The National Gallery of Art, Washington,

D. C.

The illuminator would apply the gold before painting any color. Gold tends to

adhere to pigment; therefore color was added later so that the design would not be ruined.

Technically, the term “illumination,” in the sense of manuscript decoration, means using

gold or silver which reflects light. Prior to 1200 gold was rarely used, but, by the fifteenth

century, part of the allure of Books of Hours was the way in which the page sparkled.

There were several different techniques used for applying gold, though three basic

methods of application were commonly used. The scribe of the LSU Hours used all three.

One method was to brush a wet glue onto a particular area and then add gold leaf. When

the area was dry, the gold leaf was then burnished. I believe that this type of gold

application was used for the halos, as seen in the miniature of Annunciation (see fig. 17).

The second method involves applying a sticky gesso to the folio, so that when gold leaf is

burnished on top, the gold actually protrudes from the page. The gold reflects the light

from many angles, and this method was used for the Golden Numbers in the calendar (see

fig.11). The third method employed was the use of powdered gold (or “shell” gold),

which is mixed with gum arabic to form as ink. This is then painted on, in fact over, the

pigment. This shell gold was applied to decorate clothing, such as the hemline of the

Virgin Mary’s cloak in the Visitation miniature (see fig. 18).

Finally, color was added to the manuscript. Apparently there was a large range of

colors available for medieval illuminators. Pigments were mixed in various ways to

create paint. Two of the most common techniques were egg tempera (the combination of

egg yolk with pigment) and egg glair (the combination of egg white with pigment). The

miniatures of the LSU Hours contain predominantly the use of red, blue, green, and pink.

Once the color had been painted, the shell gold was added for finishing touches.

The number of artists employed in the creation of one codex could vary. As the

manuscript was initially unbound, various illuminators and decorators could work on the

same manuscript at the same time. At least seven different “hands” can be identified in

the LSU Hours, including at least one scribe, two miniature illuminators, and four border

illuminators. It is possible that one illuminator could have painted both miniatures and

borders, but by the fifteenth century borders were usually painted by assistants. Of all the

miniatures in the LSU Hours, it is noticeable that the miniature of the Annunciation (see

fig. 17) was created by a different “hand.” (I shall discuss this matter further in the

detailed description of the Annunciation miniature in chapter two.) I refer to the artist of

the Annunciation scene as Artist B, and the artist of the other miniatures as Artist A. Four

different styles of borders can be identified. Artist C painted the borders of the calendar,

texts, and full leaf borders of the two prayers Obsecro te and O intermerata. He decorated

these leaves with flowers, strawberries, and a predominant use of swirling black and gold

ivy rinceaux. This artist used a method called “backlighting” as an efficient, time-saving

device. He traced the design from each previously drawn recto side onto the verso side. In

order to do this, he may have held the leaf up to a light source to see the original design,

and hence the term backlighting is used to describe this ingenious artistic invention. Fig.

8 shows the recto and verso of the folia for the August calendar page, and it is quite

obvious that the pattern has been copied.

Fig. 8. Recto and Verso of the August Folios, LSU Hours (fols. 8r and 8v)

A different illuminator, Artist D, painted borders with tufts of grass on dirt, from

which flowers grow (see figs. 12, 18, 20, 23, and 25). This artist was responsible for the

borders of the following miniatures: Saint John on Patmos, the Visitation, the

Annunciation to the Shepherds, the Adoration of the Magi, and the Presentation in the

Temple. Artist E painted a variation of the tufts of sod. Here they look like abstract disc

shapes (see figs.17, 29, and 31). This artist was responsible for the borders of the

Annunciation, King David Praying, and the Burial Service in a Cemetery. Another border

decorator, Artist F, painted the borders without any allusion to patches of earth (see

figs.19, 26, 27, and 28). He illuminated the Nativity, the Flight into Egypt, the

Coronation of the Virgin, and Pentecost. By comparing all twelve images (from

photographs) simultaneously, a couple of observations become apparent. First, the bar

baguettes usually terminate in curving points (see figs. 12, 18, 19, 20, 23, 25, 26, 27, and

28), that is, except for the baguettes that decorate the scenes of the Annunciation, King

David Praying, and the Burial Service (see figs. 17, 29, and 31). These are the same

leaves that were decorated by Artist E. Therefore we can deduce that the baguettes were

also painted by the same artist as that of the borders. Second, when comparing all twelve

images there are three styles of arched gold (outlined in black) frames illuminated. Most

of the scenes have a lopsided, spiky design that leans to the right (see figs. 12, 18, 19, 20,

23, 25, 26, 27, and 28). Two scenes, King David Praying and the Burial Scene, have plain

smooth frames (see figs. 29 and 31). Only one scene, the Annunciation, has a different

type of serrated edge (see fig.17). It looks rather like the edge of a postage stamp. This

means that the artist of the miniature was also responsible for painting the arch-shaped

frame around the image. This makes sense as in some of the miniature the clothing of the

figures slightly overlaps this frame.

The finished manuscript was a product of the combination of the patron’s wishes

or general marketability (as in the case of a Book of Hours made for stock) and the

artist’s ability. A few contracts still exist which highlight the patron’s concerns, such as

the materials to be used (i.e. the amount of gold and lapis lazuli), the time involved to

execute the manuscript, the number of miniatures, and the quantity of various initials and

line-endings. Initials were priced according to the size and type. For example, a

historiated initial cost more than a foliated initial, and dentelle initials, such as those used

for the Litany of the Saints in the LSU Hours, were priced by the hundred. Fig. 9 shows

an example of a foliated initial, a dentelle initial, and a line-ending from the LSU Hours.

Fig. 9. Example of a Foliated Initial,

Dentelle Initial, and Line-ending,

LSU Hours (fol. 82r)

It is interesting to note that although small decorative details were of importance,

not one extant contract specifies how each miniature was to be rendered. Of course, with

a Book of Hours specific scenes traditionally accompanied the specific texts, and as

already mentioned the illuminator was encouraged to copy rather than be innovative.

Nevertheless it is surprising that the patron was not particularly concerned about the

miniatures, considering the value placed upon these images in the Middle Ages. The

images were not merely didactic aids but also devotional aids used in prayer and

meditation.

The final stage in the process of manufacturing a codex was binding. Most

commonly, the quires were sewn together and attached to two wooden boards. The boards

and spine would then be covered with a piece of leather or fabric. The latter was often

used for commissioned devotional texts, such as Books of Hours. However, leather

binding was commonly used for mass-produced Horae in the second half of the fifteen

century. More luxurious Horae were bound in silk or velvet, and often gilt and jeweled

clasps were attached. For safe keeping, the finished codex would have been protected by

either a box or a chemisette (or chemise). The latter could be made of either silk or fine

kid-leather, and could be used like a bag to carry the codex. Nothing remains of the LSU

Hours’ original binding. Like most medieval manuscripts, the LSU Hours has been

rebound a number of times. However, we may speculate that it was originally bound in

leather.

1.3 Why Were Books of Hours So Popular in the Late Middle Ages and for Whom Were

They Made?

There were various reasons for the popularity of these particular religious codices

for the laity’s use. One reason was that the laity in general wished to be able to imitate the

clergy, who seemed to have a stronghold on the means to salvation. Ordinary men and

women wanted their own books so that they too, via text and image, could have an

intimate connection with the Virgin Mary.

Books themselves were an integral part of Christianity. The book was not merely

an object to be read, it was a means to salvation. The written word carried a mystical

significance in the Middle Ages. The word “Bible” originally came from “biblion,” which

in fact referred to a book made of papyrus roll. In the Middle Ages, however, the word

“Bible” became synonymous with only one book, that of Holy Scripture. It has been

suggested that the book was as potent a symbol as the cross. If the text contained the

means to salvation, the artistic embellishments aided the reader’s understanding of the

importance of the scriptures.

Another reason for the popularity of these Horae was the rise of devotion to the

Virgin Mary at this time. She was one of the most important figures in the life of a

medieval person and was considered the principle intercessor who spoke to God on

behalf of the individual. This devotion became called the Cult of the Virgin and is

reflected in the large number of Gothic cathedrals devoted to Notre Dame (Our Lady) in

the late Middle Ages.

Along with the rise of the middle class in the medieval period, there also rose a

demand for literature for the laity. Books of Hours became the most popular manuscript

of the Middle Ages, more popular than the Bible in fact. The literate (or almost literate in

some cases) laity who could afford an illuminated manuscript purchased a Book of

Hours. Many learned to read, aided by the illuminations, from these particular books, and

in fact the word “primer” is derived from the Office of Prime.

Finally, these Books of Hours were bought not just for their pious use, but also for

their beautiful decoration. They may have stimulated the mind and soul, but they also

delighted the eye. The French poet Eustache Deschamps (1346-1406) described the

vogue for ownership of ornate Books of Hours by middle-class wives:

Heures me fault de Nostre Dame…

Qui soient de soutil ouvraige,

D’or et d’azur, riches et cointes,

Bien ordonnées at bien pointes,

De fin drap d’or bien couvertes, Et

quant elles seront ouvertes, Deux

fermaulx d’or qui fermeront.

A Book of Hours, too, must be mine,

Where subtle workmanship will shine,

Of gold and azure, rich and smart,

Arranged and painted with great art,

Covered with fine brocade of gold;

And there must be, so as to hold

The pages closed, two golden clasps.

The poet emphasized the decorative nature of these religious books, and how popular

they were as a kind of fashion accessory.

The majority of Books of Hours were commissioned for women. They were

commonly given as gifts, especially by a groom to his bride. The role of women as

patrons of Books of Hours should not be underestimated: without their patronage the

genre would not have become so popular. Towards the end of the Middle Ages numerous

such prayer books were made for stock because of the high demand and therefore were

not specifically made for a man or a woman. These codices could be bought new or used

or even be inherited, as numerous wills attest. By the end of the fifteenth century, with the

advent of the printing press, almost any person, no matter how meager their income,

could afford their very own Book of Hours.

1.4 How Were Books of Hours Read and Used?

Since these prayer books were owned by the laity and used for private devotion, it

is difficult to gauge how and how often the contents were read. The ideal was to read the

Hours of the Little Office of Our Lady daily at the various stipulated times, although

evidence suggests that they were only read in the morning or at Mass. For example, the

medieval accounts of the lives of Cicely, Duchess of York, and Lady Margaret Beuford

state that these pious women read the Matins section of their Book of Hours every

morning. This implies that they only read this small section of their Horae. Some

manuscripts are in such pristine condition that one can surmise that they were hardly read

at all, although it must be remembered that more than one Horae could be owned by a

household and that only one would show wear and tear from everyday use, while the

others remained in perfect condition.

The great number of Books of Hours produced in the fifteenth century may in part

have been due to new reading habits. In the Middle Ages there were two types of reading:

oral and silent. By the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries silent reading habits had been

passed on to some of the laity from scribes and scholars. Paul Saenger even claims that it

was these new silent reading habits of the laity which caused the proliferation of Horae

manufacture in the late Middle Ages. The separation of words in the early Middle Ages

made silent reading possible. Combined with the portability of Books of Hours, this

allowed for silent reading in private. Silent prayer was thought to be a higher form than

oral prayer. Jean Gerson (writing c. 1410) asserted this notion. According to him, silent or

mental prayer took place in the soul, whereas oral prayer occurred in the body. Denis the

Carthusian (writing in the mid-fifteenth-century) also emphasized silent prayer. To

accompany this more prestigious form of praying, he suggested a static posture in which

the hands should be kept clasped in order to enhance devotion.

Saenger points out that in the latter half of the fourteenth century and in the

fifteenth century the Annunciation scene had two different icongraphic traditions that

pertain to the gestures of the Virgin Mary. In one the Virgin has one or both of her arms

extended as she “listens” to the Angel Gabriel’s announcement. In the other tradition she

has her hands either clasped together in prayer or her arms placed diagonally across her

chest. The latter was apparently another gesture of silent prayer. (In the LSU Hours the

Virgin Mary is depicted with her hands pressed together in the now-conventional gesture

of prayer.) Saenger claims that the use of both of these scenarios reflects the transition

from oral to silent reading.

Whether Books of Hours were read often or sporadically, orally or silently, the

above descriptions are based on the assumption that the owner was literate. Although

literacy was increasing in the Middle Ages, and some laity could read the Latin texts with

full comprehension, the vast majority could not. Those that were literate could be

described as falling into three broad categories: the professional reader, such as a scholar

who could read and write with full comprehension, the cultivated reader, who read for

recreational use, and the pragmatic reader, who could read and write only the

fundamentals for business transactions. The latter were probably members of the

merchant class who understood at least the rudiments of Latin.

Many of the new bourgeois class who could afford a Book of Hours probably

mumbled through the contents of their prayer book without fully understanding what they

were saying. However, it appears that in order to receive the benefits of salvation for

oneself and/or for the deceased, one only had to say the prayers with the correct intention.

Recognizing the lack of literacy, Jean Gerson endorsed the contemplation of miniatures in

manuscripts as a substitute for reading the Latin prayers. In this way, one could still

participate in private devotional practice. This argument for the use of images in Christian

devotion had been used since the sixth century, when Pope Gregory the Great asserted,

“What scripture is to the educated, images are to the ignorant.” In Books of Hours, the

miniatures introduce and separate the various texts. However, illuminations in Horae

were deemed necessary to help female owners in their devotional meditations, that is, by

their male clerical advisers at least. The images could assist the owner to become

absorbed and meditate with empathy. Although monks also meditated, they were

encouraged to visualize mental images rather than painted ones to aid their monastic

contemplations. Jean Gerson acknowledged the use of painted images to aid devotional

meditation. He wrote, “And we ought thus to learn to transcend with our minds from

these visible things to the invisible, from the corporeal to the spiritual for this is the

purpose of the image.” The images provided the stimulus for the observer to move to the

imaginary devotional realm where he or she could focus on the emotions of the Virgin

Mary and empathize with her. Therefore, the miniatures in Books of Hours provided

themes for contemplation and meditation, and as such they were “painted prayers.”

CHAPTER 2. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE LSU HOURS

Having discussed Books of Hours in general, I will now examine the LSU Hours

in detail. Each section of the codex is discussed in the order in which it is found. The

illuminations are the focus, rather than the Latin text. Since the text in Books of Hours

tended not to vary, it will be mentioned only briefly. The text of the calendar and the two

prayers, Obsecro te and O Intermerata, will be addressed in greater detail, since pertinent

information can be extrapolated from these sections. The Biblical scenes that accompany

the text in Books of Hours also tended to be fairly consistent, but elements such as

composition, style, and detail could differ enormously. A discussion of the miniatures in

the LSU Hours will, therefore, include both common and unusual elements.

2.1 The Calendar

The calendar is found at the beginning of a Book of Hours, before the liturgical

and devotional texts. Each month occupies two folia: the recto and the verso of the same

leaf. Calendars in medieval manuscripts were based on the Julian calendar, which was

introduced by Julius Caesar in 45 B.C.E. and was used until 1583 C.E. It was replaced in

the sixteenth century by the Gregorian calendar that is used to this day.

Like calendars today, it was consulted by the owner to find out which day it was.

Days were denoted by Catholic feast days, which were usually the day of a saint’s

martyrdom, that is, their “birthday” into heaven. In addition to saints’ martyrdoms, other

important dates associated with the saint could be used, such as the dates of translation

(or transference of their relics). Rather than using a numerical system, such as January 3,

the day would have been referred to as Saint Geneviève’s day. Even today we do the same

for a few days of the year, for example Saint Patrick’s Day is understood to be March 17.

As well as days commemorating the saints, other important events commemorating the

life of Christ and the Virgin Mary would be noted, such as the

Annunciation on March 25 and Christmas day on December 25.

Each month was divided by the Kalends, Nones, and Ides. Kalends always fell on

the first day of the month, and this is actually where our current word “calendar” is

derived from. Nones fell on the fifth or the seventh day, and Ides on the thirteenth or

fifteenth day. The date was reckoned by counting backwards from these three points.

Therefore, according to this system, February 14 was “xvi Kalends Martii, or the

sixteenth day before the Kalends of March.”

Many Books of Hours have an additional column alongside the feast days with

abbreviations of N, Id, and Kl to clarify the date. However, the LSU Hours does not

incorporate this column of abbreviations. This omission is typical of later illuminated

Books of Hours. The only vestige of this system are the two illuminated dentelle initials

“KL” at the top left corner of each new month of the calendar (fig.10).

Fig. 10. “KL” at the Top of a Calendar Page, LSU Hours (fol. 3r)

The first vertical column in the LSU Hours contains Roman numerals, and the

second column contains letters of the alphabet from a to g. These are the Golden

Numbers and the Dominical Letters respectively. The purpose of the Dominical Letters

was to enable the viewer to establish on which days Sundays would fall in any given year.

To find the Dominical Letter one would have to make the following rather complicated

calculation: “take the number of the year and add to it a quarter of itself (ignoring the

remainder); divide the sum by seven; subtract the remainder from three or, if that

produces zero or a negative number, from ten; the resulting number corresponds to the

Dominical Letter (1= a, 2=b, etc.).”

The following is an example for calculating the Dominical Letter for the year

1460:

1460 + (1460 ÷ 4) = 1460 + 365 = 1825

1825 ÷ 7 = 260, remainder 5

10 – 5 = 5

5 = Dominical Letter e.

By using this method, in the year 1460 all Sundays were designated by the letter e. Each

year the letter moved back one. Therefore in 1461 Sundays would have been designated

by the letter d. In leap years the calculations ensured that one letter was skipped (or

“leaped” over) and the Dominical letter was now two days apart. Thus, if Sundays in the

year 1460 fell on the letter e, in 1461 they fell on d, in 1462 on c, in 1463 on b, but in

1464 the Dominical Letter works out to be g. Therefore 1464 was a leap year.

The column of Golden Numbers runs vertically down each calendar page and

includes seemingly sporadic and inconsistent roman numerals from i to xix. The purpose

of these numbers was to calculate (in conjunction with the Dominical Letters) the date of

Easter, the most important feast day in the church’s calendar. Easter is a variable holiday,

observed on the Sunday that follows the first full moon after the vernal equinox. Should a

full moon fall exactly on the Sunday that has been calculated, Easter gets pushed to the

following Sunday. The Golden Numbers are used to establish new moons throughout the

year. Using this information, full moons can be calculated by counting fourteen days

ahead.

To calculate the Golden Number for any year one should “take the year and add

one; divide by nineteen; the remainder is the Golden number (if the remainder is zero, the

Golden Number is nineteen).”

Therefore to find the Golden Number for the year 1460 the following calculation

is used:

1460 + 1 = 1461

1461 ÷ 19 = 76, remainder 17 (or xvii)

The Golden Number for the year 1460 is xvii.

After the Golden Number and the Dominical Letter have been calculated, the date

of Easter can be established. This is achieved by looking for the Golden Number between

March 1 and April 22. This number may appear twice during this time frame, but only

one number will result in a date between March 22 and April 25. The first xvii in the LSU

Hours is March 27 (fig. 11). Counting fourteen days forward is the date of a full moon

(April 10). The next Dominical Letter (Sunday in the year 1460) “e” is on April 13.

Therefore in 1460 Easter Sunday fell on April 13.

Fig. 11. March Calendar Page (including

March 27), LSU Hours (fol. 3r)

Some books of Hours (not the LSU Hours though) included charts to help their

owners make these complex calculations. Some manuscripts even had tables listing the

Golden Numbers, Dominical Letters, and the dates for Easter for several years. The

calculations ensured that the calendar was functional not just for one particular year (as

we have today), but could be used perpetually and indefinitely, that is, at least until the

introduction of the Gregorian calendar in 1583.

The text of the calendar is written in French, as opposed to the rest of the

manuscript which utilizes Latin. The name of each month is inscribed at the top of each

recto folio, alongside the dentelle initials of “KL,” which take up two lines. The first two

vertical columns are for the Golden Numbers and Dominical Letters, as previously

discussed. The third column is used for the abbreviations of either the title “Saint” or for

an article. The title of Saint has been abbreviated “S” or “Ste,” according to whether the

saint was male or female, and “Le” or “La” is used to denote articles such as Le Jour de

Noel (Christmas day), and La Notre Dame (March 25, the Annunciation). The last column

contains either the various saints’ names or events from the lives of the Virgin Mary and

Christ. All are written in French in a Gothic script. Each folio has an illuminated floral

border. The border is on the right-hand side of the text on the recto pages and on the left-

hand side of the verso pages. The illuminator included a rinceaux of stylized gold and

black ivy leaf within red and blue flowers with green foliage. In more expensive

commissions, the illuminator introduced small scenes into the borders.

Particularly popular were the Labors of the Month and the Signs of the Zodiac.

The Saints included in calendars of Books of Hours varied greatly, and it is this

variance which can help to determine where and/or for whom the manuscript was

intended. Customarily, the feast days of major saints were written in red; hence the phrase

“red-letter day” actually comes from these medieval calendars. In many calendars only

major feasts and important local saints were included, and therefore many lines were left

empty. Since different towns and regions venerated different saints, a calendar is often

useful for determining where the calendar was intended to be used. This in fact is what

the term “Use” refers to. Sometimes, patron saints of the commissioner of the manuscript

may also have been added and therefore give a clue as to the name of the original owner.

However, in the LSU Hours, gold was used to highlight the important feast days.

Red and blue inks were used alternately for the other days. This type of calendar is called a

composite calendar, and as such is less valuable for determining localization. Composite

calendars were executed more for aesthetic reasons than liturgical function. They were simply

more pleasing to the eye.

Although the LSU Hours has a composite calendar, the saints included point to

the Use of Paris. The Use of the calendar will be dealt with in greater detail in chapter

three, but the two most notable saints included are the patron saints of Paris, Saint

Geneviève, January 3, and Saint Denis, October 9.

Saint Geneviève was born in the outskirts of Paris. As a child she tended sheep

and later she became a nun. Geneviève was best remembered for saving Paris from Attila

the Hun by her prayers. After her death in the year 512 C.E., she became venerated as the

patron saint of Paris and her relics are purported to be housed in the church of

SaintEtienne du Mont, Paris. Saint Denis became the patron saint of France, and is

always highlighted in a Parisian calendar. As bishop of Paris, he was martyred in the third

century by being beheaded on a Parisian hill, which was renamed Montmartre after this

grisly incident. According to legend, he picked up his severed head and walked northward

for two miles until he finally died, and this exact location is where the church of Saint-

Denis was built to house his relics. The hill in Paris still bears the name Montmartre and

the abbey church of Saint-Denis, though remodeled over the years, can be visited even

today.

One last aspect pertaining to the place of production of the Calendars should be

considered. The LSU calendar forms its own quire, which consists of twelve folia or six

bifolia, which is the norm. Calendars could be made separately from the main body of a

Book of Hours. John Harthan speculates that large ateliers may have owned a stock of

calendars of various Uses, which could have supplemented commissions of Books of

Hours.

2.2 The Saint John on Patmos Miniature and The Gospel Sequence

The Gospel sequence begins the text proper of many Books of Hours. It usually

contains extracts from the writings of the four evangelists: John (1:1-140), Luke (1:2638),

Matthew (2:1-12), and Mark (16:14-20). Some Books of Hours have an individual

miniature to introduce each of the four texts. Usually, however, only one miniature of

Saint John the Evangelist introduces all four, and this is the case with the LSU Hours.

The texts are shortened versions of the missal used by the priest during mass, and

as such they serve a number of functions. Since the average medieval household did not

own a Bible, these passages from the New Testament would have been the only Biblical

texts owned by lay folk. As such they were considered the true word of God that is

sacred, and formed the legitimizing basis for the texts that followed, which start below

the miniature.

The reading of John begins, “In principio erat verbum…” This is of course the

beginning of John 1: 1, “In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and

the word was God.” This passage emphasizes the awesome and sacred nature of the word

and is therefore appropriately placed at the beginning of a sacred written prayer book.

The passage chosen from the Gospel of John highlights God’s divine plan. The passage

from the Gospel of Luke addresses the Annunciation. The passage chosen from the

Gospel of Matthew incorporates Christ’s nativity, while the last passage, from the Gospel

of Mark, refers to Christ’s message to the apostles to “spread the good news,” and ends

with the Ascension. The Gospel passages were therefore not arranged according to the

church’s liturgical order, but rather in the chronological order of Christ’s life.

The portrait of Saint John introduces the four gospel texts in the LSU Hours (fig.

12). As is typical, Saint John is represented as being on the island of Patmos. During the

rule of the Roman Emperor Domitian (ruled 81-96 C.E.), John was exiled to Patmos, an

Aegean island, and here he received his vision of the Apocalypse and wrote the Book of

Revelation. John on Patmos was traditionally identified as being the same person as John

the Evangelist, who wrote one of the Gospels. In Books of Hours, he is almost always

depicted writing on the island of Patmos, even though the text that he introduces is from

the Gospel, not from Revelations. John’s signifying attribute is a book or a scroll (here

the latter has been chosen), and his symbol is the eagle. Above, a bearded God is

represented holding a gold orb with his left hand and giving a gesture of blessing with his

right hand. Gold rays descend to John, probably representing God’s divine inspiration.

John on Patmos is shown immersed in writing. He has already written on the scroll “In

prin..,” the first words of John’s Gospel (“In the Beginning…”). Saint John was known as

a writer, and every writer needs ink and an implement to write with. John holds a thin

quill in his right hand, between his thumb and fingers, in the fashion of a medieval scribe.

The quill is held vertically, and in this way medieval scribes could write with more

fluidity. The quill would have been dipped into ink. A common motif, as can be seen here,

is the eagle bringing John a portable inkpot attached by a cord to an oblong pen case.

Fig. 12. Saint John on Patmos Miniature,

LSU Hours (fol. 13r)

Behind Saint John, a mischievous devil can be seen. According to legend, a devil

tried to prevent Saint John from writing by attempting to steal his ink and pens. Here the

black devil has two horns on his head, a tail, and a hook of sorts in his left hand. The

devil was a common motif, and some miniatures depict him accomplishing his theft, as in

fig. 13. In some Books of Hours the devil has been deliberately defaced, perhaps by a

later, more superstitious owner.

Fig. 13. Devil Stealing an Ink Pot

(Sotheby’s)

John is painted as a young beardless man, and his holy nature is emphasized by

the black-outlined gold halo. The artist has delighted in the red drapery of the seated

evangelist, and the soft folds are highlighted in gold. In order to achieve location, water is

depicted in the foreground and middle ground, thus showing Saint John to be on an

island. Typical of this period in northern manuscript painting is the high horizon line. On

the horizon small vertical blue streaks can be seen, perhaps to indicate a distant town.

Also typical of this period is the use of aerial perspective, that is, the sky ranges in shades

of blue rather than being painted with one solid, flat color. The Boucicaut Master (active

c.1390-1430) was apparently the first artist to use such a device to demonstrate the effects

of light. However, the artist of the LSU Hours has added an aesthetic twist, and rather

than paint only horizontal striations of color, he has painted circular brushstrokes around

God in his circle of pink light. The effect is decorative, though unnatural. The artist of

this miniature, whom I shall refer to as Artist A, chose an often-repeated composition.

2.3 Obsecro Te and O Intermerata

Obsecro Te and O Intermerata are both prayers that address the Virgin Mary.

“Obsecro Te” (I beseech you) are the initial words of the first prayer, and likewise “O

Intermerata” (O Immaculate Virgin) are the first words of the second prayer. In the

LSU Hours the initial leaf of each prayer has a fully decorated floral border (figs. 14 and

15). In other manuscripts a portrait of the patron may sometimes be found at the

beginning of Obsecro Te. Both prayers are written in Latin in the first person singular. For

the medieval reader this meant that the prayers were a personal plea to the Virgin as

intercessor. For the modern-day investigator this means that one can tell if the codex was

commissioned specifically for a woman. Latin makes use of feminine and masculine

endings, which means that certain verbs written in the first person show gender. In fig. 16

the words that translate as “I about to speak” have been underlined. The verb “to speak”

has been conjugated as locuturus. The us denotes a masculine ending. If the verb had

ended in a, then it would have been written for a female reader. Therefore the LSU Hours

was not specifically commissioned for a woman. This does not mean that it was

specifically commissioned for a man either, since the use of masculine endings could be

for a male or a female. Manuscripts that were made for stock employed the masculine

form.

Fig. 14. Obsecro Te, LSU Hours (fol.

18v)

Fig. 15. O Intermerata, LSU

Hours (fol. 22r)

Fig. 16. Part of Obsecro Te, Showing

Masculine Ending, LSU Hours (fol. 20v)

2.4 The Little Office of Our Lady

The main core of any Book of Hours is the Little Office of Our Lady. This

consists of eight Hours, which comprise Psalms as well as some prayers, hymns, and

readings. The cycle of the Hours of the Virgin begins with Matins, which is introduced by

a miniature of the Annunciation. It should be noted that every Hour, including Matins,

would have been preceded by saying a Hail Mary: “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is

with thee: blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.” This

prayer was not written in the text, but it was assumed that the owner would have known the

prayer by heart.

2.4.1 The Annunciation Miniature and the Hour of Matin

The latter part of the Hail Mary is a request to the Virgin Mary to act as

intercessor. The first part incorporates the Angel Gabriel’s words to the Virgin as found in

Luke 1:28. The scene of the Annunciation is an interpretation of Luke 1:28-36, and

therefore usually incorporated into this scene are the words of every Hail Mary: “Hail

Mary, full of grace.”

The Annunciation refers to the announcement made by the Angel Gabriel to the

Virgin Mary that she will give birth to the son of God. Gabriel explains that she will

conceive by the Holy Spirit. Mary replies, “I am the Lord’s servant, may it be to me as

you have said.” (Luke 1:38). The essential elements in an Annunciation scene are

therefore: the Virgin Mary, the Angel Gabriel, and the Holy Spirit (usually depicted as a

dove). In the LSU Hours all three elements can be seen (fig. 17). The Angel Gabriel is

kneeling on one knee, and he gestures upward towards God with the index finger of his

right hand. This is a commonly illustrated gesture in French iconography. From the same

hand a banderole unfurls bearing the words “Ave gratia plen.” The final a of the word

plena cannot be seen, probably because the artist was unable to squeeze it conveniently

into the remaining space on the curling banderole. “Ave gratia plena,” or “Hail, one full

of Grace,” is part of the famous greeting spoken by Gabriel addressing the Virgin Mary.

Fig. 17. Annunciation Miniature, LSU Hours (fol. 27r)

In the LSU Hours, Mary has been portrayed as kneeling with her hands clasped

together in prayer. Beside her is a lectern (or prie-dieu) with an open book. This book has

been painted with two tiny red straps with small gold clasps attached. The book is Mary’s

most common attribute and is often to be found in Annunciation scenes. There are two

different explanations for the inclusion of a book. According to Saint Bernard, she was

reading the prophecy of Isaiah (7: 14): “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign:

The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.”

This would be an appropriate (if not extremely coincidental) reading for the Virgin Mary.

The other explanation refers to the book being a Book of Hours. Mary is kneeling in

prayer in a private room, presumably a chapel. She is naturally the “model of piety,” and

as such is portrayed as following contemporary devotional practices, such as reading

form a personal Horae. The Virgin with hands pressed together in prayer in this particular

scene is not, however, the usual posture depicted. This gesture emphasizes her piety and

perhaps her silent reading habits, as already discussed.

The Holy Spirit, in the form of a dove, descends towards the Virgin’s head on

divine golden rays. These gold lines pass through the window and ultimately emanate

from God’s haloed head. The incorporation of God in this scene would have been some

what archaic. His presence in the Annunciation was most popular in the late fourteenth

century and the first third of the fifteenth century. The golden rays represent God’s divine

light, and their penetration through a window was a metaphor for the Incarnation. This

notion had been asserted by theologians since the ninth century, but it only begins to

occur in visual arts in the late fourteenth century. The mystic Bridget of Sweden (c. 1304-

1373) popularized the metaphor with the following analogy: “As the sun penetrating a

glass window does not damage it, the virginity of the virgin is not spoiled by Christ’s

assumption of human form.” In addition, a medieval hymn also refers to this particular

metaphor:

As the sunbeam through the glass

Passeth but not staineth

Thus the Virgin, as she was,

Virgin still remaineth.

This suggests that the notion was somewhat common in the Middle Ages and understood

by laity as well as theologians.

In the LSU Hours the Annunciation takes place in an interior, which perhaps was

inspired by apocryphal texts and travelers who told of the events occurring in a church

setting. The interior setting also implied the earthly world into which Jesus was

conceived. The artist of the LSU Hours attempts to convey perspective in the steeply

receding green tiled floor, and the use of light and shadow on the window frame. This

skewed perspective is typical of French illumination of the fifteenth century. The use of

red and blue fabric decorated with gold stars and circles respectively can also be seen.

First used by the Boucicaut Master in the early 1400s, the incorporation of fabrics served

several purposes: it implied an interior space (tapestries and wall hangings would have

adorned many of the wealthier medieval household’s interior walls), it helped to define

space, and it also served to bypass any perspective problems faced by the illuminator. The

Annunciation miniature of the LSU Hours employs common design elements for a French

fifteenth-century Book of Hours, perhaps with the exception of the praying Virgin.

However, there is another unusual aspect about the image: the Angel Gabriel is on the

right side of the composition. In Annunciation scenes Gabriel usually (perhaps nine times

out of ten) appears on Mary’s right-hand side, that is, on the left side of the composition.

According to Don Denny, since no theological doctrine dealt with the question of which

side Gabriel appeared, there is no simple explanation for the conventional formula. In any

case, the Annunciation from the right was rare until the fifteenth century, when it

occurred in certain geographic areas only. It was probably introduced to France from

Germany via the Netherlands. Its first appearance in France was in the later illustrations

of the Boucicaut Master. Denny links the introduction of the more uncommon

composition with other contemporary iconography reflecting the growing importance of

Gabriel, and simultaneously, the growing subservient position of the Virgin Mary.

However, he also notes that the Annunciation from the right may merely be the result of

the reverse image from tracing. In the Middle Ages copying was employed by the

majority of illuminators, and therefore it can be assumed that the artist of the LSU Hours

merely copied the composition from another Book of Hours or an exemplar of figures.

This particular peculiarity of the LSU Hours, which may prove to be helpful for

identifying the date and locale of production of the manuscript, will be discussed later.

The miniature of the Annunciation was probably the most important in any Book

of Hours because it began the cycle of the Little Office of Our Lady, the core text. For the

owner it was the most important devotional scene, for he or she wanted to share in the

Virgin Mary’s experience. Consequently, it is within this miniature that donor portraits

were most commonly added. (Obviously this is not the case in the LSU Hours.) Because

this miniature was the most important from a devotional standpoint, it was often executed

by the master of the atelier, while the rest were often illuminated by apprentices. In the

case of manuscripts made for stock (which I suspect the LSU Hours may have been), the

Annunciation scene may also have been painted by the master, since this is one of the

first illuminations that the prospective buyer would have seen.

The Annunciation in the LSU Hours does indeed appear to have been executed by

a different hand than the other scenes. Artist B, as I shall refer to this illuminator, used a

slightly different palette than that of artist A. Most notable is the use of dark red for

Gabriel’s clothing. Artist A used a lighter, more orange-tinged shade of red, and this can

be seen by comparing the image of Saint John on Patmos to that of the Annunciation (see

figs. 12 and 17 respectively). Artist B highlighted the red fabric with a few lines of gold,

whereas Artist A used a great deal of gold highlights to emphasize the drapery. Artist B

also used a very dark blue to create the shadows in the folds of the Virgin Mary’s drapery,

a technique not used in any of the other miniatures. The draperies in this scene are

rendered with deep angular folds, while in other miniatures, such as the Saint John on

Patmos image, the artist reveled in the soft, luxurious, and aesthetically pleasing folds.

Another difference can be seen in the facial types and hands. The Angel Gabriel has a

small head with a pointed chin, and skinny arms and hands. The Virgin Mary is also

portrayed with a small head and hands, and this is notably different from other

representations of her in the miniatures that follow. Another minute detail which

differentiates the hand of Artist B is the manner in which the pseudo-script in the Virgin’s

open book has been painted. He used tiny dots to represent script, whereas in other

miniatures, such as the Pentecost and the Burial Scene (figs. 28 and 31), the pseudo-script

was rendered in short squiggly lines. Finally, Artist B painted a simple head to portray

God above. This head is noticeably different from the other two representations of God

which in the Saint John on Patmos and the King David miniatures. In these two images

Artist A includes a small gold orb, and God’s left hand gives a gesture of blessing (see

figs. 17, 12, and 29 to compare all three).

2.4.2 The Visitation Miniature and the Hour of Lauds

The scene of the Visitation is traditionally chosen as an introduction to the Hour

of Lauds. Taken from Luke 1:39-45, these verses describe how Mary hurried to visit her

cousin Elizabeth in the hill country of Judea. When Mary greeted her older cousin, who

was also pregnant, the baby inside of Elizabeth’s womb leapt in recognition of Christ’s

presence in Mary’s womb. Elizabeth’s baby was to become John the Baptist.

Images of the Visitation usually depict two women meeting in an outdoor setting.

Here the artist has depicted the scene appropriately within a hillside landscape (fig. 18).

On the other hand, this may not have been a deliberate choice by the artist, since all the

miniatures with outdoor scenes look extremely similar, especially with the placement of

the two brown hills. Small wisps of blue can be seen on the horizon, perhaps representing

to the pinnacles of buildings in a distant town.

Fig. 18. Visitation Miniature, LSU Hours (fol. 51r)

The two haloed women are the focus of this image. Elizabeth kneels before Mary

and extends her left hand towards Mary’s womb. Elizabeth wears a wimple and a red

cloak over a blue-gray dress. Elizabeth’s cloak has been painted in red, with gold

highlights on the soft drapery folds, and again the hand of Artist A can be identified.

Black flecks can be seen on the white lining of Elizabeth’s red cloak. These flecks denote

ermine fur, which was usually reserved for kings. For example, King David was often

portrayed with an ermine-lined cloak (as will be seen later). Therefore, it seems that the

artist either copied this detail without questioning what it was supposed to represent (after

all Elizabeth was not associated with royalty), or he merely assumed that all red cloaks

should have a white lining with black flecks. Although Elizabeth was much older than

Mary, the artist has made no attempt to convey this in the facial features or otherwise.

Mary stands and looks down at her cousin. Her blond hair flows freely over her right

shoulder. The blue cloak she wears sports a gold hemline which accentuates the sinewy

folds.

This particular composition is very common for French fifteenth-century

manuscripts. Other contemporary images sometimes include one or two extra figures, but

in the LSU Hours the scene of the Visitation contains only the two major figures, and the

depiction does not include anything particularly unusual.

2.4.3 The Nativity and the Hour of Prime

Prime is accompanied by a depiction of the Nativity as described in Luke 2:1-7.

Within these verses the Nativity is mentioned briefly: “the time came for the baby to be

born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him

in a manger, because there was no room at the inn.” (Luke 2:6-7). The birth of Christ is

one of the greatest events in history for Christians, but because the description of the holy

birth is so brief, it became a favorite subject for artists and writers to embellish, especially

in the Middle Ages.

The scene of Mary adoring the Christ Child is probably the most familiar to us

today. Reproduced on Christmas cards, the Nativity often includes familiar motifs such as

Joseph, the ox, the ass, the manger, and the stable. However, except for the manger, the

Bible makes no mention of these additional elements, including Joseph. It is feasible to

assume that Joseph was there. Yet the ox and the ass that are so frequently included were

first mentioned in connection with the Nativity in the Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew (c.

eighth century). Another reference to the ox and ass is in the Old Testament: “The Ox

knows his master, the donkey his owner’s manger, but Israel does not know, my people

do not understand” (Isaiah 1:3). This was later thought to prophesize the Jews’ rejection

of Christ as the true Messiah. However, from the thirteenth century onwards, the two

beasts were understood to represent the unity of the church formed from heathens and

Jews, and the “union with the Lord of the church”―in other words, the union of the Old

and New Testament.

The composition of the LSU Nativity scene is based on the vision of Saint Bridget

of Sweden. As already discussed, descriptions of her visions became extremely influential

on fifteenth-century art. Bridget of Sweden made a pilgrimage to Bethlehem in the

fourteenth century. While in the Holy Land she had visions, which she wrote down upon

returning to Sweden. Soon after her canonization in 1391, images of the Nativity were

rendered that depicted every detail that she had described. Although certain aspects of the

descriptions had already circulated, it was her visions that popularized the imagery.

Pertaining to the Nativity her vision is described as follows:

When I was present by the manger of the Lord in Bethlehem…I beheld a

virgin of extreme beauty…well wrapped in a white mantle and a delicate

tunic, through which I clearly perceived her virgin body… With her was

an old man of great honesty, and they brought with them an ox and an ass.

These entered the cave, and the man, after having tied them to the manger,

went outside and brought to the virgin a burning candle; having attached

this to the wall he went outside, so that he might not be present at the

birth. Then the virgin pulled off the shoes from her feet, drew off the white

mantle that enveloped her, removed the veil from her head, laying it by her

side, thus remaining in her tunic alone with her beautiful golden hair

falling loosely down her shoulders. Then she produced two small linen

clothes and two woollen ones, of exquisite purity and fineness, that she

had brought, in which to wrap up the child who was to be born…And

when all was thus prepared, the virgin knelt down with great veneration in

an attitude of prayer, and her back was turned to the manger, but her face

was lifted up to heaven, towards the east. Thus with her hands extended

and her eyes fixed in the sky she was standing as in ecstasy, lost in

contemplation, in a rapture of divine sweetness. And while she was

standing thus in prayer, I saw the child in her womb move and suddenly in

a moment she gave birth to her son, from whom radiated such an ineffable

light and splendour, that the sun was not comparable to it, nor did the

candle, that St Joseph had put there, give any light at all, the divine light

totally annihilating the material light of the candle, and so sudden and

instantaneous was this way of bringing forth, that I could neither discover

nor discern how, or by means of which member, she gave birth. Verily

though, all of a sudden, I saw the glorious infant lying on the ground

naked and shining. His body was pure from any kind of soil and impurity.

Then I heard also the singing of the angels, which was of miraculous

sweetness and great beauty…When therefore the virgin felt that she had

already born her child, she immediately worshipped him, her head bent

down and her hands clasped, with great honour and reverence and said

unto him, Be welcome my God, my Lord and my Son.

Certain aspects of Bridget’s vision did not become universally incorporated into Nativity

scenes. For example, the event was rarely portrayed as taking place in a cave. In fact, this

aspect was only depicted in Italian art, where it had already been employed. Nevertheless,

aspects of Saint Bridget’s vision are utilized in the Nativity scene of the LSU Hours (fig.

19). The Virgin Mary’s “golden hair [is] falling loosely down her shoulders,” although it

should be noted that her hair is portrayed in a similar fashion in a number of the

miniatures. The baby Jesus lies naked on the ground with a supernatural light (indicated

by the wavy gold lines) emanating from his body. The Virgin Mary has her head bent

down and her hands are clasped together in prayer. Typical of the genre, Joseph is

portrayed actually holding the candle, which has been snuffed out by the powerful divine

light radiating from the infant Jesus. It is interesting to note that the artist of the LSU

Hours did not add a wick to the candle; consequently, it looks more like a simple brown

stick. The motif of the candle was as important one: it signified that the “earthly light was

outshone by the divine.” This leads me to question whether the LSU Hours was

completed in a hurry or whether the illuminator misunderstood the motif.

Fig. 19. Nativity Miniature, LSU Hours (fol. 62r)

The stable consists of a simple structure of wooden rafters, and the interior is

draped by red cloth with a simple repetitive pattern of stylized flowers. The manger, in

the center middle ground, consists of a simple pink box. Both Mary and Joseph kneel

before the Christ child in adoration with expressions of devotion. Joseph is lower in

height than Mary, perhaps to designate his lesser significance. He wears a blue garment

underneath a red cloak lined in white. Again, the white lining has flecks of black

representing ermine fur. Joseph’s face is rather squarish in shape. He has a short beard

with a balding head and only a tuft of hair on his forehead.

The Virgin Mary prays before her firstborn. By comparing this image of Mary to

the image portrayed in the Annunciation, the different “hand” of each artist can be seen

with clarity (see figs. 19 and 17). In both scenes the Virgin is kneeling with her hands

together in prayer. Artist A of the Nativity scene depicts the Virgin Mary with an

eggshaped head, and softer, rounder facial features. In addition, her hands are much

larger than the tiny hands portrayed in the Annunciation scene. The drapery has been

rendered very differently as well. The Virgin in the Annunciation scene wears a blue dress

that is gathered immediately below her very high bust. Her cloak is lined in brown and, as

noted above, the drapery falls in deep angular folds. In the Nativity scene the artist used a

softer shade of royal blue. The drapery is not gathered at the bust or waist; instead, a fine

gold cord hangs around her waist, and the drapery forms soft, voluminous folds on the

ground.

2.4.4 The Annunciation to the Shepherds Miniature and the Hour of Terce

This image, otherwise known as The Herald Angel, was most commonly used to

introduce the Hour of Terce. The miniature of the Annunciation to the Shepherds is the

only image of the Little Office of our Lady which does not include a representation of the

Virgin Mary. The scene is a rendering of Luke 2:9: “An angel of the Lord shone around

them, and they were terrified.” According to Luke, the shepherds had been tending to

their flocks on a nearby hillside at night when the angel made his startling appearance.

Although the shepherds were scared, the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring

you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a

savior has been born to you, he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: you will

find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger” (Luke 2:10-12). Before the angel

leaves the shepherds, he is joined by the heavenly host who praise God by saying, “Glory

to God in the Highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests” (Luke 2:14).

The scene depicted in the LSU Hours (fig. 20) includes two surprised shepherds, a

woman, and four unfazed sheep that continue to graze unaware of the celestial angel

above them. The event takes place in a bucolic setting that is very similar to every other

outdoor setting in the LSU Hours. A tiny detail is the way the artist has curved the land in

the foreground, noticeable in the bottom left corner. The small patch of brown that curves

around the grass serves to set the scene as if it were a stage. This device had previously

been used by the Boucicaut Master and was first introduced in the early fifteenth century.

Fig. 20. Annunciation to the Shepherds

Miniature, LSU Hours (fol. 68r)

In the distance, small blue streaks signifying spires can be seen, perhaps referring

to the town of Bethlehem. Also on the horizon are two white towers. The most prominent

tower resembles a dovecote. Alternatively, this tower may be a reference that dates back

to Carolingian or Ottonian art. The tower found in Carolingian art referred to

David’s castle in Bethlehem and therefore to Jesus’ descent from the House of David. In

Ottonian manuscript illuminations the shepherds have a watchtower. The artist of the

LSU Hours may not have been aware of the various significances of the tower, but he

may have seen towers incorporated into other versions of the scene and therefore just

copied them.

In general, the shepherds appear to wear contemporary medieval peasant dress.

Here the shepherds each wear a tunic, cinched at the waist, and a tippet that wraps around

the neck and shoulders. While the shepherd on the left wears a red tunic with a blue

tippet, the other shepherd wears a blue tunic with a red tippet. This alternation of color

serves to balance the composition. They both wear knee-high white hose and black shoes.

The shepherd on the left has a white pouch tied around his waist, a common accessory in

fifteenth-century miniatures. This shepherd has dropped his staff and points upwards with

both hands to the angel above. The shepherd on the right has fallen over in his surprised

state and shades his eyes with his left hand. This gesture was apparently “an allusion to

the ‘glory of the Lord’ which ‘shone round about them.’” It was also a common motif

in the late Middle Ages. The positions of the legs of this shepherd are awkward and

unconvincing. I point this out because the unusual position of this shepherd may prove to

be a useful clue for localizing the manuscript.

The shepherds have just dropped their staffs, which are at a forty-five degree

angle to each other, and as such they point upwards towards the Herald Angel. The angel

appears to be swooping down, so only his head, upper chest, arms, and wings are seen.

He holds a scroll on which is written “Gloria in excelsis” (“Glory to [God] in the

Highest,” Luke 2: 14). The outer edges of the angel’s wings are painted red. In the sky

surrounding the angel are small gold stars, which perhaps signify the heavenly presence,

or the fact that the event took place at night. On the other hand, the stars may just be an

additional decorative element, as they appear in the sky of other images, such as the

Flight into Egypt, King David, and the Burial Scene.

Perhaps the most problematic element of the image is the inclusion of a woman in

pink in the bottom right-hand corner of the scene. She wears a long-sleeved pink dress, of

which the drapery overlaps the bottom of the frame. She is in a seated position, though on

what cannot be seen. The high placement of her large breasts and emphasized stomach

reflect the fashion for women in the later Middle Ages. Her long blond hair falls over her

shoulders, and her face is pale in complexion.

The Bible makes no mention of a woman in the Gospel accounts of the

Annunciation to the Shepherds. Who then is this woman supposed to represent? I found

two possible explanations for this strange inclusion. First, in illuminations of the late

fifteenth century, sometimes the angel’s tidings interrupt the shepherds while they are

playing bagpipes and dancing with their wives or consorts (see figs. 21 and 22). In many

of these images, though not in the LSU Hours, bagpipes are included. In the medieval

iconography bagpipes were suggestive of sexuality, apparently being often associated

with testicles. Therefore the scenario conveyed by such images was that the angel

disturbed the fun-loving, frolicking shepherds, whose cavorting behavior typifies their

common, coarse station in life. This aspect of their nature was exaggerated in order to

make a distinct contrast to the three Kings that would have been depicted in the next

miniature which introduces the Hours of Sext. Because of the number of miniatures that

include women in this scene, this explanation seems to be the most plausible.

Fig. 21. Woman with Shepherds in the

Annunciation to the Shepherds

(Walters Art Gallery W. 1093, fol. 57r)

Fig. 22. Woman with Shepherds in the

Annunciation to the Shepherds (Walters

Art Gallery W. 240, fol. 198v)

In the LSU Hours, however, the woman is not really involved in the actions of the

shepherds. Rather, she is sitting in the foreground, and because her dress overlaps the

frame, her placement is ambiguous: is she in our, the viewers,’ space or in the narrative of

the image? This suggests the possibility that she was added as a portrait of the patron,

upon which she could meditate. Certainly many Books of Hours were commissioned to

include patron portraits. However, although such portraits were quite simple and generic

in the thirteenth century, by the fourteenth century they were often rendered in sufficient

detail as to suggest an individual likeness. Here the woman is obviously of a generic type.

In fact, her facial features are portrayed in much the same way as many of the

Virgin Mary’s features in the other miniatures, that is, in the other miniatures painted by

Artist A. Moreover, patron portraits were usually incorporated in the Annunciation

miniature or near the beginning of the Obsecro te prayer. In these places the portrait

would be close to the owner’s intercessor, the Virgin Mary. Although patron portraits are

occasionally found in other places in a Horae, it is unlikely that one would be

incorporated into the miniature of the Annunciation to the Shepherds, the only miniature

in the Little Office which does not include an image of the Virgin. Finally, from the

prayers Obsecro te and O intermerata, as already discussed, it is clear that this particular

Book of Hours was not commissioned specifically for a woman, although it could have

been possible to add her portrait later, since the manuscript was illuminated after the

scribe had written the text.

2.4.5 The Adoration of the Magi and the Hour of Sext

The scene of the Adoration of the Magi serves as a visual reference to Matthew

2:1-12. These verses refer to the Magi who came to Bethlehem from the east. Deducing

the star in the east as a sign that the King of the Jews had been born, they traveled to

Bethlehem in order to worship the new ruler. “On coming to the house, they saw the child

and his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped him. Then they opened their

treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, and of incense, and of myrrh” (Matthew

2:11).

This scene is so commonly reproduced in Christian art that most viewers take for

granted that the Virgin Mary and infant Jesus were visited by three Kings. Although the

Magi or Wise Men were often associated with Kings, it was not until the tenth century

that they were visually depicted as such. The representation of the Magi as Kings is

thought to have come from Psalm 72:10, 11: “The Kings of Tarshish and of distant shores

will bring tribute to him… All Kings will bow down to him and all nations will serve

him.” Another common misconception is that the Bible specifies three Magi. In fact, the

Bible does not specify a number at all. Because three gifts were given, it was assumed

that an equal number of Magi brought them. Hence the visual representation of the trio

of Kings, with their three gifts, was not universal, but it was commonly accepted by the

Middle Ages. According to Bede (c. 673-735), the gifts of gold symbolized the

recognition of Christ’s kingship, frankincense his divinity, and myrrh foreshadowed his

death, since myrrh was used to embalm.

The Adoration scene illuminated in the LSU Hours is, in many ways, typical of a

fifteenth-century composition (fig. 23). Mary is seated on a chair (not visible), which is

draped in red cloth. She is sheltered by the simple stable, which now includes a piece of

blue drapery with a small gold flower design. She holds the naked infant Jesus, who

reaches towards the golden gift held by the kneeling King. This naturalistic, if somewhat

irreverent, gesture of the infant Messiah is quite commonly depicted in contemporary

Books of Hours (for example, fig. 24).

Fig. 23. Adoration of the Magi, LSU

Hours, (fol. 73r)

Fig. 24. The Adoration of the Magi by the

Master of the Munich Golden Legend

(Walters Art Gallery MS 288, fol. 64)

The three Kings were typically portrayed as being of three different age groups.

Indeed, the artist of the LSU Hours has purposefully portrayed the kneeling King as an

elderly man with a beard, while the King to the right is beardless with a head of blond

hair, suggesting his youth. The Kings bring their gifts in various gold containers, which

are outlined in black. They are dressed in lavish attire, certainly more lavish than the

shepherd’s attire in the previous image. The King in the middle ground wears a blue-gray

robe with a gold pattern under a pink cloak with a white tippet. The kneeling elderly King

in the foreground wears a long red robe with a white tippet. His robe is cinched at the

waist and a gold bag hangs from his black belt. This is a common motif, to be found in

many contemporary images. The youngest King is dressed in a royal blue tunic with

fashionably long sleeves. Beneath this, a pink garment is visible on his arms. His belt and

collar are black, and he appears to be wearing black leggings or hose. Two of the Kings

wear crowns. In many fifteenth-century depictions of the Adoration, the kneeling King

has removed his crown as a sign of respect. Usually the crown is visible on the ground in

front of the King. Here this item is absent. Perhaps it was a conscious choice on the part

of the artist or an omission due to forgetfulness or time constraints.

Perhaps the most curious aspect of this scene in the LSU Hours is that two of the

Kings look to the right, that is, in the opposite direction of the Holy infant to whom they

are supposed to be paying homage. Other contemporary images show one King facing the

opposite direction, but never, to my knowledge, two. Thus, this small detail could

eventually help to localize the manuscript if another example of identifiable locale were

discovered. Alternatively, it may simply be the result of the artist’s misunderstanding of

the iconography.

2.4.6 The Presentation in the Temple Miniature and the Hours of None.

The Hour of None is traditionally accompanied by a scene of either the

Presentation in the Temple (as is the case in the LSU Hours) or the Circumcision. The

Presentation in the Temple is described in Luke 2:22-38. Conforming to Jewish law,

every first-born belonged to Yahweh and therefore must be presented in the temple. This

was to be accompanied by a sacrifice of either a pair of doves or two young pigeons.

Luke combines this ritual with another, the Purification of the Mother, which traditionally

occurred forty days after the birth of a child.

According to the Bible, Mary and Joseph took Jesus to Jerusalem and there they

met a holy man named Simeon. “It had been revealed to Simeon by the Holy Spirit that

he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ” (Luke 2:26). Recognizing Jesus as

the savior, Simeon took the infant in his arms and praised God. Simeon blessed both

Mary and Joseph, and his final words to Mary were, “And a sword will pierce your own

soul too” (Luke 2: 35). These words have been interpreted as foreshadowing the pain that

Mary was to experience with the death of her son.

The miniature in the LSU Hours (fig. 25) is a typical rendering of the scene: Mary

arrives from the left, while Simeon is on the right. In keeping with Jewish tradition, the

men and women are kept separate, and here they are divided by the altar. Simeon

wears a pointed hat, signifying his position as a Jewish high priest. However, he also

wears a blue and gold cope, which is a Christian ecclesiastical vestment. His holy status

is denoted by his gold halo. The white wisps descending through the doorway were

probably meant to represent the Holy Spirit that descended upon him. Above Simeon is a

pink and blue canopy, which designates the importance of the altar below. Behind him

stands a tonsured, and therefore Christian, monk.

Fig. 25. Presentation in the Temple

Miniature, LSU Hours (fol. 77r)

The Virgin presents her naked baby to the priest. The infant Jesus looks towards

the priest, yet his body faces his mother and his arms reach out to her. By depicting the

baby Jesus’ fear, the artist has again included a naturalistic humanizing detail: the infant is

afraid to leave his mother’s arms.

Behind the Virgin is the handmaiden holding a basket. Traditionally the basket

holds two doves or pigeons. This motif was extremely common and is to be found in most

fifteenth-century images of the Presentation. What is unusual here is that the basket is

empty! There are no doves to sacrifice, in accordance with Jewish law. Did the

illuminator neglect to add them due to time constraints, did he merely forget them, or was

he ignorant of the importance of the two birds to the entire Biblical passage?

The handmaiden is dressed in a pink dress and, typical of late medieval fashion of

the fifteenth century, again has high-positioned breasts and an emphasized stomach.

While her right hand holds the basket, her left hand is raised as if perhaps to hold

something. This is mentioned because often in this particular scene the attendant figure

holds a candle in reference to Candlemas (the feast of Mary’s Purification). But perhaps

the gesture of the handmaiden serves no such purpose, since no candle is depicted here.

The scene is depicted as taking place in an ecclesiastical setting of sorts. The

wooden barrel vaulting is reminiscent of earlier Christian churches before the use of stone

in the Romanesque period. Barrel vaulting such as this, with the knots of wood

highlighted in gold, is associated with various ateliers. For example, the Master of Jean

Rolin II and his Parisian atelier chose the wooden barrel vault as one of their preferred

motifs. The inclusion of leaded glass casement windows is another motif typical of

northern French and Flemish artists. The artist of the LSU Hours has incorporated an

architectural framing device known the diaphragm arch. Here the simple pink arch

repeats the shape of the miniature’s arched border, while providing a framing device

through which the viewer “enters” the picture space. The arch gives an illusion of depth,

since two different planes of the arch have been represented by the use of shadow.

Therefore we, the viewers, are not looking directly at the scene. We view it from the right

of the arch. The setting depicted behind the arch is also at an oblique angle, adding to the

illusion of receding (albeit awkward) perspective. The diaphragm arch was introduced

into illumination by the Boucicaut Master and was thereafter a common artistic device

used by later illuminators.

2.4.7 The Flight into Egypt Miniature and the Hour of Vespers

The Flight into Egypt is the most commonly represented scene associated with the

Hour of Vespers, although the latter is sometimes alternatively accompanied by the

Massacre of the Innocents. The Flight into Egypt is described in Matthew 2:13-23. An

angel advises Joseph to take Jesus and his mother to Egypt so that they may escape the

wrath of Herod, who intended to kill the infant Christ. The Holy Family’s escape to Egypt

fulfilled the prophecy “Out of Egypt I called my son.” The gospel writer Matthew refers

to Hosea 11:1. The core elements of the scene are Mary and Jesus riding on an ass, while

Joseph walks alongside them. Here in the LSU Hours, the scenery is the (by now all too

familiar) setting with two rocky outcrops; the one in the background is on the left, while

the outcrop on the right is in the middle ground (fig. 26). In the distance blue streaks of

towers can be seen. The Virgin sits facing the viewer, and here her hair is covered by her

blue cloak. The baby Jesus is wrapped in swaddling clothes. Joseph leads the ass, and the

party moves from the left to the right of the picture plane. Joseph looks back at Mary and

the child, and in accordance with traditional representation, he carries a staff over his

shoulder. Sometimes Joseph is depicted as carrying their belongings in a bundle on this

staff, but here it appears to carry only a piece of blue drapery. Joseph’s right hand points

upward and onward, perhaps as a gesture to their destination.

Interestingly, Joseph has a full head of hair in contrast to his representation in the Nativity

scene where he was depicted as balding with only a tuft of hair on his forehead (compare

figs. 26 and 19). He also wears a gray-blue tippet over a red robe, whereas in the Nativity

scene he wore red over a blue robe.

Fig. 26. Flight into Egypt, LSU Hours (fol. 82r)

Representations of the ass are often indicators of particular artist’s style. Although

the ass is often shown in profile with a raised foreleg, elements such as the position of the

head and the shape and girth of the neck can help to isolate the influence of a specific

artist, if not the hand of the artist himself. Overall, the composition of the Flight into

Egypt is typical of others of the time.

2.4.8 The Coronation of the Virgin Miniature and the Hour of Compline

The last Hour of the Hours of the Virgin, Compline, may be introduced by any of

three different scenes: the Coronation of the Virgin (as depicted here), the Flight into

Egypt, or the Massacre of the Innocents. The Coronation of the Virgin has no basis in

biblical scripture. Instead the Coronation and the Assumption of the Virgin were based

upon apocryphal texts which were popularized in the sixth century by St. Gregory of

Tours. In general, the narrative of this scene involved the Virgin Mary on Christ’s right-

hand side. Conventionally, Christ crowns his mother in a heavenly setting.

However, in the fifteenth century it became common for God the Father, rather than

Jesus, to be crowning the Virgin.

In the LSU Hours, God is wearing a pope’s white and gold triple tiara (fig. 27).

This is a common element of contemporary images. The halo behind his head signifies

his divine nature. He has a cleft beard and overall a squarish physiognomy. He sits in a

throne with a canopy above, and both of these elements help to emphasize his

importance. In his left hand he holds an orb signifying his power, while his right hand is

held upwards in a gesture of blessing. Meanwhile Mary kneels before him, head bowed

and hands in prayer. A small frontal angel places a golden crown on the Virgin’s head.

Only the angel’s head, torso, and arms can be seen. This foreshortened depiction seems to indicate

that the angel is flying or hovering over the Virgin. Another angel stands in the center of the

composition behind the representation of God.

Fig. 27. Coronation of the Virgin Miniature, LSU Hours (fol. 89r)

All the figures are placed in a similar ecclesiastical setting as the Presentation in

the Temple. A wooden barrel vault arches over a central open doorway. Lilac pink walls

encompass casement leaded windows, one of which has been painted as if slightly open.

The window frames and diaphragm arch show a simple perspective and depth by the use

of light and shadow. A red tapestry with a gold swirl pattern hangs on the wall. Again the

sharply inclined floor of green tiles has been portrayed. A tiny detail that could easily be

overlooked is the cushion upon which God presumably rests his feet, though we cannot

actually see them. This pink pillow is ornamented with a corner of pearls and a tassel, an

esoteric detail also found in another French fifteenth-century Book of Hours, which will

be referred to in chapter three.

2.5 The Pentecost Miniature and the Hours of the Holy Spirit

The Hours of the Holy Spirit are traditionally introduced by an image of

Pentecost. This scene is derived from Acts 2:1-4. After witnessing the Ascension of

Christ, the Apostles were gathered together when, “Suddenly a sound like the blowing of

a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.

They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of

them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as

the Spirit enabled them” (Luke 2:2-4). The importance of these verses is that they signify

the beginning of the Christian church. The scene of Pentecost was a popular image in the

Middle Ages. Mary was usually rendered in the center of the apostles, although the Bible

does not actually mention her presence at the time of the Pentecost. It is merely assumed

that she, as well as other women, were there because of a previous verse, Acts 1:14,

which proclaims that these women were “constantly in prayer together” with the apostles.

Her central placement in this scene is more symbolic, though, for she is the

personification of the church. Within the image, a dove representing the Holy Spirit is an

essential feature, and the “tongues of fire” are sometimes painted as beams of light, at

other times as actual tongues.

Here in the LSU Hours (fig. 28), the Virgin is centrally placed between the twelve

apostles. Only eight faces of the apostles can be seen, but additional halos can be

identified. All of the apostles have their hands clasped in prayer. Traditionally, St.

Peter is placed on the left side of the image and St. John the Evangelist on the right, as

they are here. All of the apostles (except John the Evangelist) are bearded and have dark

salmon-toned complexions, as well as square-shaped, though modeled, faces. St. John the

Evangelist, however, is beardless and has a pale complexion. He also has blond, rather

than brown hair as all the other apostles have. This seemingly effeminate depiction of St.

John is not unusual, but one cannot help but wonder if the artist really understood this

figure to be the youthful St. John the Evangelist, or if he merely mistook the image from

his exemplar for being a woman and thus embellished its feminine aspects. It should be

noted, however, that depicting St. John in a pink robe would not have been a feminizing

aspect, since pink was used for the clothing of many male figures’ clothing in

contemporary manuscripts illumination.

Fig. 28. Pentecost Miniature, LSU

Hours (fol. 95r)

The central Virgin Mary is sitting with an open book in her lap. The book has

gilded edges and is outlined in black, with pseudo-script formed by small black lines.

Beneath her is a pink cushion with pearls and a gold tassel on the corner. It is similar to

the cushion in the previous miniature of the Coronation of the Virgin.

The dove enters the open window above the Virgin’s head. Red wavy lines spread

out from beneath the bird, representing the “tongues of fire.” The interior setting again

has a green tiled floor, along with a red and gold wall hanging in the background. The

familiar wooden barrel-vaulted ceiling is present, as are the casement windows framed

this time by pink walls, while a diaphragm arch frames the entire image.

2.6 The King David Miniature and the Penitential Psalms

The Penitential Psalms of the fifteenth century are most often introduced by an

image of King David in fervent prayer, as they are here in the LSU Hours (fig. 29).

Thirteenth- and fourteenth-century French manuscripts often include an image of Christ

as Judge. Occasionally, in contemporary medieval codices, the Penitential Psalms are

prefaced by scenes of David and Bathsheba, Christ Enthroned, or the Last Judgment.

King David of the Old Testament was traditionally believed to be the composer of the

Psalms. Today it is believed that he wrote at least half of them. The Seven Penitential

Psalms (6, 31, 37, 50, 101, 129, and 142) were written by King David as penance for his

sins. David was remembered as a great King, and yet also as a great sinner. He certainly

committed his fair share of sins, which included adultery with Bathsheba and murder: he

ordered her husband Uriah to fight in the front line and thereby ensured his death. David

thereafter repented.

Fig. 29. King David Praying

Miniature, LSU Hours (fol. 98r)

In the Middle Ages, Pope Innocent III (1198-1216) ordered these particular seven

psalms to be recited during Lent. The Seven Psalms became associated with the Seven

Deadly Sins, and therefore they were later incorporated into Books of Hours. The owner

of a Book of Hours would read the Psalms for two reasons. First, their recitation helped

the reader to avoid sin, and thereby reduce his or her time in Purgatory. Second, they were

recited to reduce the time spent in Purgatory of the already deceased. Indeed, the image of

prayer and the Penitential Psalms that follow embody the overall meaning of owning a

Book of Hours, that is, to pray for one’s own salvation, as King David did, and to pray for

the deceased in purgatory.

The Latin text found beneath the image of King David in the LSU Hours is the

beginning of Psalm 6: “Domine, ne in furore tuo arguas me…” (“O Lord, rebuke me

not…”). The image above portrays an elderly King David in prayer in a rural setting.

King David’s attributes are the crown and a stringed instrument, usually a harp, in

keeping with I Chronicles 13:8: “David and all the Israelites were celebrating with all

their might before God, with songs and with harps, lyres, tambourines, cymbals, and

trumpets.” The harp is also associated with the Book of Psalms, which were accompanied

by music.

In the LSU Hours, the kneeling King David wears a golden crown and next to him

is his harp. He looks up to God, who appears in a pinkish red circle in the sky. God is also

crowned and holds an orb in one hand, while he gives a gesture of blessing with the other.

King David has a long cleft beard, and he wears a blue robe with an ermine-lined red

cloak. The long red drapery shows the voluminous folds, which have been highlighted in

gold. This is obviously the work of Artist A. King David is shown alone in the

countryside. The artist of this illumination emphasized King David’s solitude by

including the representation of a city in the background. Here are white crenellated

towers with narrow blue steeples, and three tiny blue flags can be seen blowing in the

wind. The overall composition is typical of many contemporary King David scenes and

hence the chances of localizing the LSU Hours from this image alone are small.

The litany always follows the Penitential Psalms. This is a long list of saints that

are invoked to “pray for us.” The list begins with Christ, God the Father, and the Holy

Spirit, and is followed by the Virgin, archangels, angels, John the Baptist, apostles, male

martyrs, confessors, female virgin martyrs, and widows. After each name “Ora pro nobis”

(Pray for us) is usually written. In the LSU Hours this has been abbreviated to “Ora” (it

actually looks more like “Oy” in Gothic script; fig. 30).

Fig. 30. Litany of the Saints, LSU Hours (fol. 112r)

Rather like the calendar, sometimes this list may include saints of a particular

region and/or personal patron saints. The inclusion of Saint Geneviève in the LSU Hours’

litany is the only indication of a particular place, and that would be Paris.

2.7 The Burial Service in a Cemetery Miniature and the Office of the Dead

In most Horae the text of the Office of the Dead is exactly the same as that found

in a Breviary. This is in contrast to the previous texts in Books of Hours, which were

shortened and simplified versions. Therefore, the laity had access to the same prayers that

were said by ordained clergy at a funeral.

The Office of the Dead consists of three Hours: Vespers, Matins, and Lauds.

Vespers was recited in church over the coffin, usually the evening before the burial.

Matins and Lauds were then recited by monks at the burial site the following day. Matins

consists of nine readings from the Book of Job, and these describe the trials of Job.

Written in the first person, they became a direct plea to God on behalf of the reader.

Matins begins, “Dirige, Domine, Deus meus, in conpectu tuo viam meam” (Direct, O

Lord, my God, my steps in your sight).

These texts were to be said at funerals. However, they were also supposed to be

recited daily by the laity, which accounts for their inclusion into all Books of Hours. In

doing so, the reader hoped to reduce the time spent in Purgatory of those already

deceased, since the dead were unable to pray for themselves.

The Office of the Dead is usually introduced by one miniature. However, the

miniatures of this Office are the most varied iconographically and may be represented by

a variety of scenes, such as Last Rites, Praying the Office of the Dead, Burial Service,

Last Judgment, Job on the Dungheap, the Raising of Lazarus, Lazarus and Dives, Death

Personified, or the Three Living and the Three Dead. The most frequently depicted image

is Praying the Office of the Dead. Such images usually depict the coffin within a church

setting, while monks and priests are presumably chanting Vespers. In the LSU Hours the

image depicted is a Burial Scene (fig. 31). Here, this event takes place in a graveyard,

which is denoted by the red marker (shaped like a cross with a gabled roof on top). The

graveyard is surrounded by a crenellated brick wall and an arched entranceway. A man

(dressed in red) stands in the grave and places the shrouded corpse in its final resting

place. The corpse is rather small; perhaps the artist intended this scene to represent the

funeral of a child. The shroud bears a simple cross on the torso. Typically in the Middle

Ages the deceased were not buried in coffins. Instead they would have been sewn into a

shroud, and a coffin was used only to carry the body to the burial site. The priest

(signified by his blue and gold cope) reads the last blessing over the corpse. In addition to

the cope, the priest wears a long-sleeved white robe over a pink garment, of which only

the bottom can be seen. He reads from a black-outlined book with gilded edges and a

pseudo-script consisting of squiggly lines. Behind the priest is a tonsured monk in a white

robe. Behind both of the clerics are several figures dressed in black hooded robes, which

cover their faces. Two more of these mysterious figures are depicted on the left side of

the image, behind the man in red. These faceless figures, dressed in black, represent the

professional mourners who would have attended the funeral ritual and are commonly

included in funeral scenes.

Fig. 31. Burial Scene Miniature, LSU

Hours (fol. 116r)

CHAPTER 3. METHODS AND TESTS FOR PROVENENCE, LOCALIZING, AND

DATING

The examination of the illuminations alone has often been the sole method used

by art historians studying manuscripts. However, many other aspects concerning a

codex’s history may be investigated. The provenance may be traced by working

backwards from current ownership through documented records. Alternatively, the

manuscript itself may contain clues as to the first owner. Localization and dating may be

narrowed down by recognizing certain artistic devices, styles, and designs. By comparing

miniatures of the LSU Hours to those of other contemporary scenes, speculations can be

made as to where the codex was actually produced and approximately when.

3.1 Provenance

Provenance refers to the history of ownership. Some Books of Hours can be

traced to their original owners and therefore can be dated and localized with some

accuracy. In general, the provenance of Books of Hours can be traced by checking

documentation such as auction records, inventories, and even wills and obituaries.

Auction records tend to have fairly detailed catalogue descriptions, with condition reports

and known provenance. Therefore, if one knew that the manuscript had been sold, for

example, in New York in 1970, then one could start checking the records of auction

houses for that time.

If the name of one of the owners is known, then one could check the wills of the

owner’s ancestors. Books of Hours were obviously cherished items because they were

frequently mentioned in wills. Of course, in such documents the descriptions tend to be

brief. Inventories also often list manuscripts. In the case of a wealthy household that

may have had several Books of Hours, there may be a short description to differentiate

between them.

In the case of the LSU Hours, unfortunately, only a few details of its provenance

can be ascertained. As previously mentioned, this Horae was donated to LSU in 1991 by

John McIlhenny, heir to the Tabasco fortune (died 1997). He had apparently purchased

the manuscript in 1953 from the Scribner book store, New York. Shane Bernard, the

archivist of the McIlhenny Collection, checked the archives of the collection, but found

no records pertaining to this codex.

However, another lead to the provenance of this Book of Hours is the

nineteenthcentury bookbinding (fig.32), to which is attached a bookplate that bears the

inscription “EX-LIBRIS L. PASQUIER” (fig. 33). The bookplate could have been

attached at a much later date than the nineteenth century binding, but the Horae

obviously belonged to an L. Pasquier at some time between the nineteenth century and

1953.

Fig. 32. Nineteenth-Century

Binding, LSU Hours

Fig. 33. Bookplate

“EXLIBRIS L.

PASQUIER,”

LSU Hours

By checking auction records on the database “Artfact,” I found that other books

and manuscripts sold through Sotheby’s and Christie’s bear the plate of L. Pasquier. Also,

the Pierpont Morgan Library has four books in its collection that were at one time owned

by an L. Pasquier. Therefore it seems that L. Pasquier owned a collection of books that

included various religious manuscripts. I was able to contact Roger S. Wieck (Curator of

Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts at the Pierpont Morgan Library). He verified that

the bookplate of at least one book in the collection bears the same “ex libris.” He also

informed me that in 1874 or 1875 (the records give two dates) the library of L. Pasquier

was sold. The catalogues of the sales are now owned by the New York Public Library

(volume one) and the Grolier Club, New York (volume two). Volume one does not

contain a description of a Book of Hours. However, I contacted J. Fernando Peña, Curator

of the Grolier Club, and volume two contains the description of the LSU manuscript. The

catalogue is titled:

Catalogue des livres reliés en maroquin composant la bibliothèque de feu

M. L. Pasquier, Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur, Président à la cour

d’appel de Paris: second partie: dont la vente aura lieu le jeudi 11 février

1875, et les deux jours suivants … Hôtel des Commissaires-Priseurs, rue

Drouot … par le Me. Delbergue-Cormont, commissaire-priseur … et de Me.

Peynaud, commissaire-priseur … (Paris: Adolphe Labitte, Libraire de la

Bibliothèque Nationale, 1875).

This describes how the leather-bound books of the library of the late M. L. Pasquier were

sold on February 11, 1875 and on the following two days. Pasquier was apparently a

member of the Legion of Honor and President of the Court of Appeals in Paris. The

auction took place in the Drouot auction house, Paris, and the names of the auctioneers

are given. The actual lot is described on page 5 as follows:

26. HEURES DE LA VIERGE. Pet. in-4, mar. v. fil. à froid, tr. dor.

(Niedrée.) Manuscrit du quinzième siècle sur vélin, contenant 163 ff. Il est

orné de 12 grandes miniatures et de bordures en or en couleurs. Il se

termine par ces mots: S’enuyvent les XV joies, partie qui a été retranchée du

manuscript.

The description translates, more or less, as “Hours of the Virgin. Small, in a quarto

format. (Niedrée.) The makings in the binding are made in gold in a “fil. à froid” process.

It is a fifteenth-century manuscript on vellum, and contains 163 folia. It is ornamented

with twelve miniatures with borders in gold and in color. It finishes with the words: here

follow the fifteen joys, which are missing from the manuscript.” Unfortunately, no

annotations accompany the lot, so there is no information as to whom it was sold, or the

price that it brought.

Rather than checking the last owner and working backwards, another way to

tackle the issue of provenance would be to check the manuscript for clues as to the first

owner. This method often overlaps with localization and dating. The LSU Hours does

not contain any of the following details; however, in general a Book of Hours should be

scrutinized for these clues, which may pinpoint a particular owner.

The illuminators may have been commissioned to add personal details. The

inclusion of the patron’s portrait would be an obvious indicator of whom the Horae was

first intended for, and, as previously mentioned, by the fourteenth century portraits had

become recognizable. A very common identification motif would be the inclusion of the

coat of arms of the patron. These were often painted within the border, immediately

below the text of a miniature, though they may occur within the miniature or in other

areas of the codex. Likewise, personal monograms, initials, or mottos may have been

added. Fig. 34 shows a personal portrait of the Duke of Bedford from the Bedford Hours.

Below the depiction of the Duke, the illuminator has included his coat of arms, and his

motto is repeated. Sometimes even personal emblems show a mark of ownership. For

example, in the Très Riches Heures the swan and bear appear numerous times in the

decoration of this manuscript, as these two animals were the personal emblems of its

patron the Duc de Berry.

Fig. 34. Patron Portrait of the Duke of Bedford, including his Coat of Arms and Motto,

Bedford Hours (British Library, London MS 18850 fol. 256b)

The scribe sometimes left a clue in his colophon. Colophons usually occur at the

end of the manuscript and can include information about where, for whom, and

occasionally when a manuscript was created. The flyleaves at the beginning and end of a

codex function primarily to protect the leaves in between, but sometimes they too have

inscriptions (along with pen trials) that prove helpful in tracing the provenance.

Books of Hours sometimes contain one or a combination of these elements.

Unfortunately the LSU Hours does not have any of them. It must be remembered that

while the LSU Hours was (and is) a fine production, it was produced during a time when

such manuscripts were made very quickly to meet the demand of the burgeoning urban

middle class. If the LSU Hours was made for stock, then no such inclusions would be

expected.

3.2 Localization and Dating

One way in which the LSU Hours can be tested for locale is to check the Use.

The “Use” refers to variances that occur within the text according to local custom of an

area which can range in size from a country to a small diocese. There are many local

Uses depending on the verses and responses chosen, and the order in which they occur.

The Use of a Book of Hours can be checked in three parts. First, the calendar can be

described as having a Use. Second, the Hours of the Virgin can be checked for their Use,

and lastly the Office of the Dead can likewise be checked.

The Use of the calendar may be determined be checking the important feast days,

as previously discussed. Notable are the following saints’ names that have been

illuminated in gold in the LSU Hours: Saints Geneviève (January 3), Denis (October 9),

Eloi (June 25), Loys [King Louis of France] (August 25), Leu & Gilles (September 1),

Martin (November 11), Clement (November 23), and La Notre Dame [Conception of the

Virgin] (December 8). I checked the gold highlighted days of the LSU calendar with the

example of a Parisian calendar in Perdrizet’s book, Le Calendrier parisien à la fin du

moyen âge: d’après le Bréviaire et les Livres d’Heures, 1933, which also has a saint for

every day of the year. The highlighted days match, with few exceptions, strongly

suggesting that the LSU Hours calendar, although composite, is Parisian. The notable

exception in the LSU Hours is the inclusion of the feast of “Legypaenne” (L’egiptienne or

Saint Mary the Egyptian), which appears in red on April 2, blue on April 3, and in gold on

April 4 (fig. 35). The feast of the Egyptian was usually celebrated on April 2, and it was

not highlighted in gold in a Parisian calendar. This unusual detail could eventually lead to

isolation of the atelier in which the manuscript was made, since it was likely copied from

another exemplar.

Fig. 35. April Calendar Page, LSU Hours (fol. 4r)

For these reasons, the calendar points to the Use of Paris. As a side note, it most

certainly does not point to the Use of Autun. Two saints that were particularly important

to this Burgundian town were Saint Lazarus, whose relics lie within the church bearing

his name in Autun, and Saint Symphorium, who was martyred in Autun and always

appears in Calendars for Autun Use.

The list of saints in the Litany may also include the name of a personal patron

saints, or personal family dates. However, the LSU Hours appears to include no

particularly obscure entries, unfamiliar saints, or anything else of an idiosyncratic nature.

The Use of a calendar indicates not necessarily where the codex was made, but

rather the location for which it was intended. For example, the calendar of a Book of

Hours may have been made in Paris but commissioned by an aristocrat from Lyon and

therefore the feast days would point to Lyon. However, as Roger Wieck points out, “Paris

calendars almost always mean ‘made in Paris,’ since with its productive workshops the

French capital had no need to import manuscripts manufactured elsewhere.” The

composite nature of the calendar in the LSU Hours makes the Parisian Use more

ambivalent; it could have been copied in any atelier other than one in Paris, although the

calendar certainly does not point to Autun or any other non-Parisian workshop. On the

other hand, the composite calendar, with the most important feast days written in gold

and the others alternating in red and blue, was a typical construction of Paris, and later,

Rouen as well.

To check the Use of the Hours of the Virgin, one need only look to the antiphons

and capitulums in the Office of Prime and None. De Hamel gives full instructions and

examples for checking the Use of Rome, Paris, Rouen, Sarum, Besançon, Poitiers, and

Utrecht. In addition, F. Madan gives examples for checking over eighty different

Uses, including those for monastic liturgy. Using these tests, we can conclude that the

LSU Hours is certainly Use of Paris. Included in Madan’s article are the capitulums for

Prime and None for the Use of Autun, which prove to be very different from those of

Paris. It should be noted that the Use of Paris and that of Rome were two of the most

commonly used Uses for the Hours of the Virgin. Thus it is possible that the codex was

copied in a location other than Paris, although Paris does remain its likeliest point of

origin.

The last method of checking Use pertains to the Office of the Dead. The Office of

the Dead is found in Breviaries and Psalters as well as Books of Hours. It consists of

Vespers, Matins, and Lauds. The responsories (responses) and versicles within the text of

Matins change according to the Use of local churches and monasteries. It appears that

these locational Uses, once established, did not change and therefore provide excellent

means for localizing manuscripts. To check the Office of the Dead, Knud Ottosen’s book,

The Responsories and Versicles of the Latin Office of the Dead, 1993, can be used.

Ottosen has collected 1,809 examples (951 from France) of the Office of the

Dead from the seventh to the seventeenth centuries. From these examples he has isolated

140 different Uses. By checking the first response after the introduction of the nine

readings from Job (within Matins), a pattern emerges. Ottosen lists the various responses

(over one hundred of them) and gives each response a number. A pattern of nine numbers

can then be established. All 1,809 manuscripts are listed with their origins and pattern of

nine numbers. According to this system, the Use of Paris consists of the following

responses: Qui Lazarum; Credo, quod; Heu mihi; Ne recorderis; Domine, quando veneris;

Peccante me; Domine, secundum actum; Memento mei, dues, quia ventus; Libera me,

domine, de morte. The numbers attributed to each response form the following pattern: 72

14 32 57 24 68 28 46 38. Ottosen notes that the vast majority of manuscripts listed that

follow this pattern are from Paris. Even more surprising is the fact that the Parisian Use

of the Office of the Dead did not especially spread. The responses within the LSU Hours

match completely, and therefore the Use of the Office of the Dead is Parisian.

As a side note, Ottosen gives a number of examples for the Use of Autun in the

Office of the Dead. The Use of Autun is completely different from the Use of Paris, as

are most of the other Uses in fact.

In addition to investigating the Use and the images of a Book of Hours,

codicology is an important factor in attempting to localize or date a manuscript. First, the

number of parchment leaves in a quire can be significant. The LSU Hours has twelve

folia for the calendar quire and eight folia for most of the following quires. This

sequence was typical for a Book of Hours produced in the fifteenth century. Original

binding can also help to pinpoint particular workshops. Unfortunately, the LSU Hours

shows no remains of its original binding. Details such as how the lines were ruled and

page layout may show the same characteristics of a particular atelier when compared to

similar manuscripts. The text of the LSU Hours is contained within one column of fifteen

lines, each measuring 6.3 mm apart, within a box of 95×61 mm. The calendar consists of

seventeen horizontal lines that are 5.9 mm apart, and six vertical lines that are 13, 9, 8, 1,

and 30 mm apart. Separating the third column from the final column are two vertical

plummet lines that are only narrowly separated. Obviously one line would have been

sufficient. But details such as these may help to identify the locale of production when

compared to other contemporaneous manuscripts. The scholar Delaissé also points out

that if one is using this method of comparing details to help identify a codex, one must

make sure that the manuscript is of about the same date and quality. In other words, it

would be useless to compare the LSU Hours to, say, the Hours of Jeanne d’Evreux, which

dates to c. 1325-1328.

The scribe’s writing may give further clues. The scribe used Latin for the text and

French for the calendar in the LSU Hours, which was commonplace in contemporary

manuscripts. However, until the fourteenth century, Books of Hours were entirely in

Latin. The script used can also often help to date a manuscript. The LSU Hours has a

traditional Gothic bookhand, categorized as gothica textualis, which was used throughout

the Middle Ages. But because any one atelier may offer a number of scripts, or a scribe

may just try to copy a script from an exemplar, it is difficult to localize a manuscript on

this basis.

Catchwords can prove to be an excellent indicator of possibly even the individual

scribe. Since Books of Hours were produced in huge numbers, it is likely that the same

scribe used approximately the same amount of space per page and therefore the same

catchwords. The scribe of the LSU Hours also left his “signature” in the form of a

doodled face, perhaps a sort of caricature of himself.

The work of the various illuminators of the LSU Hours can also help in its

identification. The color of the gesso (mixed with bole) used beneath the gold leaf can

help to determine origin. For example, in Italy a pink concoction was used, in Flanders

and Germany it was brown, while in Paris no color was used. The gesso can sometimes

be seen in areas where the gold leaf has worn off. Unfortunately (or fortunately), the

LSU Hours is in such good condition that the color of the gesso cannot be seen beneath

the pigment. The palette used is another means of identifying a particular atelier. The

miniatures in the LSU Hours employ a pleasing palette of reds, pink, greens, blues, and

brown, with lilac and gray colors used less frequently. It is difficult, however, to compare

the palette of different manuscripts without seeing them in person. The color in

reproduced images may not be correct, and, more to the point, the images that are

reproduced in color tend to be the more famous, ornate illuminations.

Every aspect of decoration should be considered in comparing manuscripts.

These include the various initials, line-endings, and types of baguettes. In the LSU

Hours, all of the baguettes surround three sides of the miniatures, and each one is

decorated individually. I have already discussed the three different styles of the three

border illuminators. The forms of borders, baguettes, initials, and line-endings, as found

in the LSU Hours, tend to be prevalent in many Books of Hours. This style seems to

have been popular in fifteenth-century Paris and in many other areas. The acanthus spray,

for example, was reintroduced into French border illumination in the early fifteenth

century. Likewise, the ivy leaf borders that form swirling rinceaux patterns were another

characteristic of Books of Hours at this time. The depictions of patches of

earth and/or grass in the borders, however, are more unusual. Although I have seen other

manuscripts that have elliptical pieces of sod from which flowers grow, I have not seen

anything quite like the abstract discs in the LSU Hours that are obviously meant to

represent pieces of earth. So, while the decoration of the borders in general is somewhat

commonplace, these disc shapes could potentially help identify the hand of one of the

artists.

Certain other elements can help to date a Book of Hours in a general way. The

arch shapes that frame the miniature were not introduced until about 1420. We know that

miniatures of King David were popular in the fifteenth century, and that the

Annunciation from the right was first introduced into French images around 1415. Also

there are also some common artistic conventions that can help establish a general date.

The Boucicaut Master introduced such devices as the diaphragm arch and the curved strip

of land in the foreground. Artists tended to portray a steeply inclined receding floor

(incidentally, often with green tiles) to show an illusion of depth. Aerial perspective was

also introduced, and the depiction of high horizon lines remained common until the late

1400s. In the fifteenth century, illuminators often increasingly integrated aspects of their

own contemporary world into Biblical scenes, such as interiors, fabrics, fashions,

furniture, architecture, and so on.

All of these aspects place the LSU Hours firmly in the French fifteenth-century

tradition. But a closer inspection of the individual miniatures may help to narrow down

the date and place of production of the Horae. There are basically two ways to do this:

through comparing designs, and comparing styles of other manuscripts.

The LSU miniatures have been painted in a simple style, and usually just the

essential elements have been rendered. Women tend to have simple oval faces. Men

have either round faces, as can be seen in the shepherds, monks, and the man standing in

the open grave, or they are portrayed with beards and squarish physiognomies. The latter

tend to have more skin tones and modeling involved. It has been suggested that the style

of these figures and simple compositions are similar to those found in manuscripts

produced in the towns of the Loire Valley in the second half of the fifteenth century. An

example now in the Pierpoint Morgan Library (fig. 36) does indeed have much in

common with the LSU Hours. Art historians have traditionally tended to localize

manuscripts on the basis of such stylistic similarities. Now, however, this procedure is

accepted as only a part of the analysis. After all, it is not likely that a given manuscript

was ruled, written, illuminated, and bound in different places, especially not a “run-ofthe-

mill” manuscript such as the LSU codex.

Fig. 36. Example of Loire Valley Style (Pierpont Morgan Library, New York, M. 381, fol. 60)

Another way to localize a manuscript is by comparing design elements of specific, individual

images. Since illuminators usually copied from an exemplar, or pattern source, similar

designs can be indicators of the same original source and, hence, were probably made in close

proximity to each other. Hindman and Farquhar give examples of three different versions of

the Annunciation, whose compositions clearly stem from the same source, not withstanding

stylistic variations that betray three different hands (figs. 37, 38, and 39, illustrating two

miniatures and a woodcut).

Fig. 37. Annunciation (Walters Art Gallery,

Baltimore, W. 220, fol. 42v)

Fig. 38. Annunciation (Museo

Civico, Turin, Hours of Milan,

fol. IV)

Fig. 39. Annunciation (The National

Gallery of Art, Rosenwald Collection,

Washington D. C., woodcut)

Again, these original sources, if not the actual Books of Hours, could easily travel

and been copied in other areas of manuscript production. Presumably, too, the original

exemplar generated other exemplars, so that compositions, patterns, formulas, and

stylistic conventions circulated widely. In fact, certain compositions are so widespread in

fifteenth-century manuscript painting, such as King David in Prayer, the Visitation, and

the Nativity, that there is no need to cite specific examples. Other, less common,

examples may however be noted. Fig. 40 shows the Annunciation miniature from W. 251

of the Walters Art Gallery, which has been attributed to the Master of Jean Rolin II, and

may be compared to the same scene in the LSU Hours (fig. 17). Especially similar are

the positions of the bodies and wings of the angels, their pointed chins, and the shapes of

the banderoles, while the prie-dieus are essentially variants of the same object, shown in

the same perspective. Another comparable representation of the Angel Gabriel appears in

another Annunciation miniature by the Maître François (fig. 41).

Fig. 40. Annunciation by the Master of Jean Rolin II

(Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore, W. 251, fol. 26r)

Fig. 41. Annunciation by Maître François (Walters

Art Gallery, Baltimore, W. 247, fol. 17)

The Coronation of the Virgin from W. 251 of the Walters Art Gallery (fig. 42) is

comparable to the Coronation of the Virgin in the LSU Hours (fig. 27). Here similarities

can be seen in the figures of the Virgin Mary, the crowning angel, and God, and they even

extend to such details as the pillow with its corner decorated with pearls and a tassel.

Fig. 42. Coronation of the Virgin (Walters Art

Gallery, Baltimore, W. 251, fol. 87v)

A striking feature of the Annunciation to the Shepherds in the LSU Hours is the

awkward position of the falling shepherd (fig 20). This finds close parallel in the

Annunciation to the Shepherds miniature within the Bedford Hours (fig. 43), which was

illuminated by the Bedford Master.

Fig. 43. Annunciation to the Shepherds, the

Bedford Hours (British Library, London, MS

18850 fol. 70v)

Three miniatures of the Presentation in the Temple show similar compositions to

the LSU Hours scene. Fig. 44 is catalogued as The Presentation, Paris, second quarter of

the fifteenth century, British Library. Fig. 45 has been attributed to a Besançon

illuminator, Besançon, while fig. 46 has been attributed to the Master of the Munich

Golden Legend. All three show similarities in the position of the figures and the altar.

Obviously the overall composition of the Presentation scene was somewhat popular.

Fig. 44. Presentation in the Temple,

Anonymous, Parisian Horae (British Library,

London, Add. MS 31834, fol. 66)

Fig. 45. Presentation in the Temple,

Besançon Horae, (Besançon, Bibliothèque

Municipal MS 125, fol. 40)

Fig. 46. Presentation in the Temple, Horae

by the Master of the Munich Golden Legend

(Walters Art Gallery W. 288, fol. 68v)

From personal investigation, the composition of Saint John, with his scroll, and

the position of the eagle in the LSU Hours are very similar to the same scene in two

manuscripts in the British Library, MS Add. 25695 and MS Add. 35216, which have both

been attributed to the Master of Jean Rolin II (images unavailable). In the Nativity

miniature of MS Add. 35216 Joseph has also been portrayed with a balding head with

only a tuft of hair on his forehead.

These images shown in this thesis were found in the numerous books that I have

consulted. (See Appendix A for books consulted for images only.) Of course it must be

noted that the images that have been published tend to be the more famous ones and/or

those already attributed to well-known artists, identifiable or not. Even so, with few

exceptions, there seems to be a trend in the similar compositional designs that I have

included in this thesis. The Master of the Munich Golden Legend was active mainly in

Paris between 1420 and 1460. The Bedford Master was working as an illuminator in

Paris from 1415 to 1465, and he was influential on the Master of Jean Rolin II (active

1440-1465), who in turn later influenced the Maître François (active 1460-1480). I am

not inferring that the LSU Hours was illuminated by any of these artists. Rather I am

speculating that it was illuminated by a group of artists within the orbit of these Parisian

ateliers.

CHAPTER 4. CONCLUSIONS

A number of conclusions may be drawn from the earlier chapters. In this final

chapter, place and time of production will be discussed. The attribution to the so-called

“Autun atelier” is examined, and recently discovered information relevant to this issue is

included. Speculations concerning the “hand” of the artist are raised, along with

speculations as to the class status of the first owner. Finally, the value of the LSU Hours

as an exemplary model of French fifteenth-century Horae is addressed.

Like most Books of Hours, the LSU Hours cannot be firmly attributed to a place

of production. There are numerous scenarios that could have been involved. The text

could have been written in Paris and then the illuminations could have been executed in

the Loire Valley. The illuminator could have originally come from the Loire Valley and

worked in Paris. The entire manuscript may have been a copy of a Parisian one, but made

elsewhere. The possibilities are endless. However, I believe that the manuscript was most

likely produced in Paris.

The calendar and the litany point, in a very general sense, to Paris. Although the

calendar (which forms its own quire) could have been added to any manuscript at a later

date, this does not seem likely in the case of the LSU Hours, because the borders of the

calendar and the text were painted by the same illuminator. In addition to the calendar, the

Little Office of Our Lady and the Office of the Dead both employ the Use of Paris. If

Knud Ottosen’s examples reflect manuscript production on the whole, it seems very

likely that the LSU Hours was produced in Paris.

The appraiser’s attribution to the Autun atelier remains a mystery. The calendar,

litany, Office of Our Lady, and Office of the Dead definitely do not employ the Use of

Autun. Among illuminations attributed to Burgundy that I have seen, not one contains

stylistic or design elements that show similarities to the LSU Hours. This leaves me to

speculate that the appraiser had perhaps been familiar with images such as those of MS

251 in the Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore, attributed to the artist called the Master of Jean

Rolin II. This anonymous artist has been so named because he illuminated two missals

for the Cardinal Jean Rolin II of Autun. Although the Rolin manuscripts were written

with the Use of Autun, the eponymous master did not live in Autun, but was based in

Paris.

After the completion of my research for this thesis, further information came to

my attention that sheds light on the assumption that the LSU Hours was produced in

Autun. Misplaced archival material pertaining to the manuscript was rediscovered, and

includes the following: (1) correspondence between Kit Currie (appraiser at H. P. Kraus

in New York) and Robert S. Martin (Assistant Dean of Libraries for Special Collections,

LSU), dated 1992, for the appraisal of the LSU Hours; (2) a memo, dated 1992, from

Gary Frost (book-binder) to Elaine Smyth (Rare Book Collection, LSU), that contains a

summary of the condition of the binding and a proposal for the new binding; (3) a

detailed appraisal made by Scribner Book Store in the early 1960s; and (4) a letter from

Allie Bayne Webb (assistant librarian) to T. N. McMullen (director of the LSU Library),

dated 1969, in reference to the aforementioned Scribners’ appraisal. Copies of these

documents are included in Appendix B, with an explanatory preface.

The reference to Autun is made within the Scribner report. This appraisal

describes the style of the LSU miniatures and quotes from Eleanor Spencer’s unpublished

doctoral dissertation, “The Maître François and his Atelier” (Harvard College, 1931): “It

is precisely in the elements which are original with the Bedford Master that we find the

seeds of the style of Maître François.” According to the appraisal, “Three or four different

artists appear to have produced the manuscripts in this group….In the Emerson Hours (a

manuscript from the Autun Atelier) the Virgin has bright eyes and a pointed chin, similar

to our Miniature No. 2.” Although I was unable to consult Spencer’s dissertation, these

statements (and the conclusions drawn from them in the report) are extremely useful.

According to current scholarship, the Maître François and the Bedford Master both

worked in Paris. Earlier scholarship had assumed that Maître François was the son of

Jean Fouquet and therefore had connections to Tours in the Loire Valley. Now, however,

we can assume that the artists of “this group” not only included the Bedford Master and

Maître François, but also the Master of Jean Rolin II, whose “hand” was only identified

in 1963 by Eleanor Spencer. Unfortunately, I have been unable to locate the

Emerson Hours, and therefore I cannot comment on the similarities described in the

Scriber appraisal.

The archival material does not add any significant information relevant to the

dating of the LSU Hours. The H. P. Kraus appraisal merely states that it dates to c. 1450.

From my own investigations, I conclude that the LSU Hours was produced in the middle

third of the fifteenth century, most likely after 1450. It could not have been produced

much earlier than this time span because it follows artistic conventions that were only

introduced in the first quarter of the century, such as the arch-shaped frames of the

miniatures. Many of the miniatures that show design similarities to those of the LSU

Hours were executed by illuminators working in Paris from the 1450s to the 1470s. It is

also tempting to surmise that the LSU Hours, a fine but typical example of mass

production, stems from the same period, which has aptly been termed the heyday of the

Book of Hours.

By the same token, the LSU Hours is unlikely to have been produced after the

mid-1470s because, by 1475, after the introduction of the printing press, Paris had about

twenty printers. This meant that printed Books of Hours became a much more reasonable

purchase. Illuminators still worked in Paris after the printing press was introduced, but

the number of those involved in manuscript production dwindled rapidly.

Stylistically and qualitatively, the LSU Hours is not comparable to the highest

levels of Parisian craftsmanship. The illuminators of the LSU Hours were certainly not

great artists. The miniatures consist of simple compositions that lack detail, and

occasionally they betray a misunderstanding of biblical iconography. Yet it must be

remembered that manuscripts, such as the LSU Hours were produced in workshops where

many artists were involved. As well as the master, there were probably “actual

apprentices, past apprentices, journeymen, children and relatives,” all contributing to the

output of the shop. Perhaps then, the LSU Hours was illuminated by some of the lesser

members of a Parisian atelier. Moreover, the Paris book trade valued speed and quantity

of production rather than quality. It certainly appears that the miniatures of the LSU

Hours were executed quickly, as suggested by the omission of minor but significant

details, such as the two turtle doves in the Presentation in the Temple miniature. In any

event, even without any of the evidence cited above, chances are that the LSU Hours was

produced in Paris, since this is where most French manuscripts were made.

I also believe that the LSU Hours was a “ready-made” manuscript, produced on

speculation rather than on commission. It lacks any personal details that a commissioned

manuscript might contain, such as personal patron saints, coats of arms, and so forth. The

prayers Obsecro te and O intermerata are written in the masculine form, and this was also

the norm for Horae made on speculation. In addition, at the time of the LSU Hours’

production, ready-mades were produced in large numbers.

Although no evidence points to the identity of the first owner, a few

generalizations can be made. The LSU Hours is certainly not a top-of-the-line production:

it was not decorated by a major illuminators and does not include vignettes in the borders,

nor is it a lengthy manuscript. However, it would still have been considered a deluxe

model. There are illuminated borders on every leaf of the codex, with numerous dentelle

initials and line-endings. The vellum is of a good quality and gold is used throughout.

Gold and Vellum were the two most expensive materials used in manuscript production.

By the fifteenth century, paper was also used to produce manuscripts for those who

wished to pay less for a Book of Hours. For these reasons, I believe that the LSU Hours

was purchased by someone of middle-class status, perhaps a member of the merchant

class.

Finally, the LSU Hours is in many ways typical of the genre of French

fifteenthcentury Books of Hours. It contains the most commonly depicted scenes of the

Virgin Mary’s role as the mother of God, and they are rendered in a charming yet simple

fashion. However, reproductions in current books on manuscript painting, on medieval art

in general, or even on fifteenth-century painting do not show many examples of similar

codices. Instead, the authors tend to concentrate on particularly ornate works, and those

attributed to known artists. Of course, art history in general tends to focus on the

innovative individuals, the “ruptures and new breakthroughs,” but in the medieval era,

consistency and repetition were valued. The LSU Hours shows no particular innovations,

and I have assumed that the scenes were based on figural and compositional exemplars. It

also probably stemmed from the “milieu of the professional illuminators,” rather than

from that of the court illuminators. In other words, the LSU Hours was probably

produced among many other Books of Hours of a very similar nature. As such, it provides

a wonderful example of a typical French Book of Hours of the mid-fifteenth century.

Books of Hours were admired for their illuminations. These small portable

codices were meant to be held in the hand and admired by laity, rather than used by

monks or students for their texts. Even a simply decorated example, such as the LSU

Hours, has a tremendous appeal because of its decoration, especially the way in which the

gold glimmers in the light.

Explicit

Expliceat

Bibere scriptor eat

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