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BYU HistoryA new Book of Hours
October 29, 2012
Special Collections recently acquired a manuscript Book of Hours created in France (Use of Reims), ca. 1490. The book is in Latin and French with 14 large miniatures and one small one. The Book of Hours might provide some interesting research opportunities in a variety of disciplines.
The miniatures are attributed to the Master of Jean d’Albret, a painter who produced a large number of book decorations between c.1490-1510. He painted both secular and religious volumes in collaboration with Parisian printer Antoine Vérard, and is known to have illustrated several other Books of Hours now held by public institutions. The miniatures in BYU’s manuscript could be studied on their own our in conjunction with the artist’s other works.
The Book of Hours contains several texts in French – some of them quite unusual. They include a Prayer on the Passion of Christ and a Life of Saint Margaret, both recorded in V. Leroquais, Les livres d’heures manuscrits de la bibliothèque nationale. Another text, the “Fifteen Joys of Mary Magdalene,” appears to be unrecorded and might be another potential source of scholarship.
To access a fuller description of the Book of Hours, search the library’s catalog for the title “Book of Hours, Use of Reims.” For further information about the manuscript, contact Curator Maggie Kopp.