Hours, Book of
‘Agenda for the Month of May’, an excerpt from the Playfair Book of Hours (French, late 15th century).
In medieval Europe, a collection of liturgical prayers for the use of the faithful. Some Books of Hours were also used as calendars.
| Books of Hours contained short prayers and illustrations, with each prayer suitable for a different hour of the day, in honour of the Virgin Mary. The enormous demand for Books of Hours was a stimulus for the development of Gothic illumination. A celebrated example is the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry, illustrated in the early 15th century by the Limbourg brothers. |
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