Manuscript Leaf, from a Book of Hours

Unknown

15th century · Tempera and gold leaf on parchment · Medieval Art

Books of hours could be customized and made in relatively simple formats as well as luxury editions. This single leaf is a typical example of a page from a somewhat modest book of hours. Although it has a brightly colored border and touches of gilding, it is not lavishly painted. Instead of a stately formal script, the hand here is a semi-cursive minuscule variant of a more informal, "bastardized" (or bâtarde) script. The frequent use of abbreviations seems to imply that the reader was quite familiar with the prayers. This page comes from the Hours of the Holy Spirit.

Artist

Unknown

Date

15th century

Medium

Tempera and gold leaf on parchment

Culture

French

Department

Medieval Art

Credit line

Gift of Heather Butler, 2003