Book of Kells Features of Medieval Gospel Books

In addition to the New Testament books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, Gospel books of the medieval period, like the Book of Kells, often included the following ach year, half a million tourists to Dublin, Ire- features: land, stop by the Old Library at Trinity College • Canon tables—a kind of con- for a peek at the legendary Book of Kells. If you cordance, showing passages joined them, what exactly would you see? that were common to two or You would see a book of dazzling beauty more of the Gospels. E • Breves causae—summaries of and imagination. Its 340 folios, which is 680 pages, are made the Gospel narratives of fine calfskin vellum and measure approximately 13 x10 • Argumenta—introductions inches, or about 33 x 25.4 centimeters. Originally one vol- to the Evangelists, or Gospel writers ume containing all four Gospels in Latin, the Book of Kells was divided into four volumes in 1953. Typically, the Old Library displays two of these volumes at a time. One is open to reveal two decorated pages of elegant insular majuscule text featuring the elaborate initial letters common in the Irish-Celtic tradition. The other shows one of the book’s vivid, brightly colored illu- minations. If you gaze at these pages long enough, you would perhaps understand why the Annals of Ulster, the definitive history of Ire- land from AD 431 to 1540, boasts that Book of Kells is “the chief treasure of the western world.”1 You would also be looking at a book with quite a history. The Book of Kells is believed to have been the work of monks Left: Folio, Book of Kells (ca. 800), artist unknown. on the Scottish island of Iona more than twelve Right: An example of Irish, or insular, illumination, Book of centuries ago. Based on Kells, artist unknown, ca. 800.

25 slight variations in the script and artwork, it seems four different scribes and three different artists were involved.

• After repeated Viking raids, including one in AD 806 that left sixty-eight monks dead, the book was transported to a monastery in Kells, a small town in Ireland. • It was stolen at some point in 1006. • A few months after it was taken, it was found—but missing its bejeweled cover. Left: Folio, Book of Kells (ca. 800), artist unknown. • It remained at Kells until the destruction of the monastery Middle: A rich miniature of the in 1641. four Evangelists, Book of Kells • Since 1661, it has been at Trinity College. (ca. 800), artist unknown. Right: Illustration of Jesus with What would you not see? Some thirty folios of the original angels, Book of Kells (ca. 800), manuscript, including the ending of John, have disappeared in artist unknown. the mists of history.

26 Hunterian Psalter

r. William Hunter (1718–1783) was both builder and benefactor. Professionally, he built a world- class reputation as a pioneer in the field of anatomy. He shared that knowledge with oth- Ders in papers and lectures. Personally, he built a one-of-a-kind collection of valuable books and antique coins. When he died, he bequeathed his magnificent library, some 10,000 printed books and more than 600 manuscripts, to his alma mater, the University of Glasgow. The jewel of Hunter’s remarkable collection is an English manu- script from the twelfth century full of vivid Romanesque illustrations, now known simply as the Hunterian Psalter (MS Hunter 229). Like most Psalters, this one begins with an illustrated cal- endar. Because the calendar omits the feast day of Thomas à Becket on December 29, it is believed the work must have been

Left: Folio, Hunterian Psalter (12th century), artist unknown. Right: Illuminated “O” with image of Saul and , Hunterian Psalter (12th century), artist unknown.

71 produced before 1173 (the year of à Becket’s canonization). It next features thirteen glorious full-page miniatures. Analysis of these and the volume’s other adornments indicates that sev- eral artists must have had a hand in the manuscript’s creation. Because each of the psalms begins with a decorated initial and every verse begins with a gold letter, the book’s more than two Left: Depiction of God, hundred leaves flash and dazzle. Hunterian Psalter (12th century), artist unknown. When Hunter’s agent bought the book at auction in in 1769, it was fittingly described as acodex pervetustus, or “very old codex.” Right: Scenes from the life of Jesus, Hunterian Psalter (12th century), artist unknown.

72 La Somme le Roi What Is a Facsimile?

In the world of old manuscripts, a forgery is a document intended to deceive. It is passed off as an original. A facsimile, however, is an exact replica or reproduction of an ancient document made for the erhaps he saw firsthand the spiritual dangers of purpose of display and study. Even royal power and privilege. But whatever the rea- when we are not able to look at or handle an actual, ancient treasure, son, King Philip the Bold of requested a facsimile can help us appreciate a substantive book of moral lessons. And so in the appearance and significance P1279, the Dominican friar Laurent d’Orléans of that document. prepared for Philip La Somme le Roi (The Sum of the King). A veritable textbook of religion, La Somme le Roi has five sec- tions. It includes teachings on the Ten Commandments, discusses the Twelve Articles of the Catholic faith, warns against the seven deadly sins, and urges the practice of the seven virtues, which stem from the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. For good measure, the book concludes with a lengthy commentary on the Lord’s Prayer.

Left: A miniature with four panels, intended to promote moral conduct, at top left, Mercy personified; top right, the temptation of Avarice; bottom left, the biblical Lot with angels; bottom right, a woman with pots of oil, from La Somme le Roi, artists unknown, 13th century. Right: A panel showing Gluttony seated at a table and overindulging, from La Somme le Roi, artists unknown, 13th century.

81 The fact that Laurent’s manuscript was copied, translated into multiple languages, and spread throughout Europe is proof of the work’s immense popularity among the faithful. The version owned by the (MS 28162), which contains over 400 pages, dates to the very end of the thirteenth century. Historians suspect it was made at the royal Cistercian abbey of Maubuisson for the abbess Blanche de Brienne et d’Eu (1276–1309). Written in French on parchment, its illuminations are believed to be the work of the Parisian artist Master Honoré. They feature assorted virtues and vices drawn allegorically as human characters in a style that is delicate, rich, and refined. This copy of La Somme le Roi was purchased by the in 1869.

Left: Apostles writing the Creed, La Somme le Roi, artists unknown, 13th century. Right: Folio, La Somme le Roi, artists unknown, 13th century.

82 Psalter of Robert de Lisle

Left: Crucifixion,Psalter of here’s a book at the British Library that often Robert de Lisle (14th century), stops unsuspecting museumgoers in their tracks. attributed to an artist known as Scholars refer to it as Arundel MS 83. We know the Master. it as the Psalter of Robert de Lisle. Scenes from the life of Jesus, This illuminated manuscript is actually Psalter of Robert de Lisle T (14th century), attributed a combination of two different Psalters. The first part consists to an artist known as the of the Howard Psalter (pages 1r–116v). It begins with a some- Madonna Master. what typical calendar of saints interspersed with an eye-catching, brightly colored series of charts and diagrams by John of Metz known as a Speculum theologiae. After the devotional’s psalms, canticles, and litanies, there’s an Office of the Dead and an Hours of the Passion. All these pages are beautifully adorned with historiated initials. At page 117r, we find perhaps an even more riveting portion of what once was the De Lisle Psalter. It includes a calendar, the diagrams of the Speculum theologiae drawn and adorned dif- ferently from the ones found at the beginning of the book, plus a number of miniatures from the life of Jesus ascribed to an artist known as the Madonna Master. There is no Psalter included in this portion. The manuscripts date from 1308 to 1340. One theory is that Lord William Howard, the fourth Duke of Norfolk, bound the two manuscripts together in the late sixteenth century because both contained drawings from the Speculum theologiae. In 1831, the British Library acquired the work.

97 The Hours of The Hours A is designed to Jeanne d’Evreux encourage individuals to engage in eight formal times of prayer each day, similar to the schedule followed by monks and nuns. Those times, with their Latin names, are as follows:

• Matins, also referred to as n 1325 King Charles IV of France married for the nocturns or vigils (the Night third time. He must have been smitten with his Office), around midnight new bride, his fifteen-year-old first cousin, Jeanne • Lauds (Morning Prayer), around 3:00 a.m. d’Evreux. Her coronation in 1326 was a lavish and • Prime (the First Hour), around costly affair—involving a lot of jewelry, fine furs, 6:00 a.m. I • Terce (Midmorning Prayer), and gourmet food. About this same time, Charles also hired the around 9:00 a.m. renowned French artist Jean Pucelle (ca. 1300–ca. 1355) to pro- • Sext (Midday Prayer), around duce an expensive, one-of-a-kind book of hours for his new queen. noon Known today as the Hours of Jeanne d’Evreux, this book is • None (Midafternoon Prayer), around 3:00 p.m. unique for two reasons: its compact size and its artistic style. • Vespers (Evening Prayer), Measuring less than around 6:00 p.m. 4 x 3 x 2 inches, or 9.9 x • Compline (Night Prayer), around 9:00 p.m 7.2 x 3.8 centimeters, this pocket-­sized book includes 209 pages on extremely thin vellum, which is a type of fine parchment made from the skin of a calf. It’s not known if the queen carried this prayer book around with her—but she easily could have. Artistically, the book looks nothing like typical Left: Miniature, Hours of Jeanne illuminated manuscripts d’Evreux (14th century), Jean Pucelle (ca. 1300–1355). of medieval times. Instead of being adorned with Right: Medieval drollery, Hours of Jeanne d’Evreux (14th century), brightly colored paintings, Jean Pucelle (ca. 1300–1355).

111 the Hours of Jeanne d’Evreux features grisaille artwork. Grisaille comes from the French word gris, which means “gray.” Pucelle’s drawings feature heavy use of gray in all its shades. Observant readers will notice fanciful representations of bishops, beggars, maidens, musicians, and mythical creatures. The book features twenty-five full-page miniatures and about 700 whimsical illus- trations that fill the book’s margins. At her death in 1371, Jeanne d’Evreux left her rare book of hours to her son Charles V. In the 1800s the book became the property of the French nobleman Louis-Jules de Châtelet. In 1900, Alphonse de Rothschild of Geneva willed it to his Pari- sian nephew Maurice. Though it was seized by the Nazis during World War II, it was later returned to Maurice de Rothschild. He sold it in 1954 to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Today the Hours of Jeanne d’Evreux is on display in The Cloisters collection of the museum.

Left: Miniature of the Holy Family with drolleries below, Hours of Jeanne d’Evreux (14th century), Jean Pucelle (ca. 1300–1355). Right: Miniature, Hours of Jeanne d’Evreux (14th century), Jean Pucelle (ca. 1300–1355).

112 Elizabeth de Bohun Psalter and Book of Hours

his beautiful book, which contains two vol- Left: Historiated initial with text, Elizabeth de Bohun Psalter and umes—a book of hours and a Psalter—was Book of Hours (14th century), created almost seven centuries ago, between artist unknown. 1340 and 1345. If books could speak, perhaps Below: Historiated initial, this luxurious vellum manuscript could divulge Elizabeth de Bohun Psalter and T Book of Hours (14th century), the name of the talented but unknown artist responsible for its artist unknown. existence. Maybe it could tell of its presentation to Elizabeth de Bohun, the daughter of the first Earl of Northampton and the eventual Countess of Arundel. Perhaps the book could regale us with stories of King Henry V, Eliza- beth’s great-­grandson. It might reveal some secrets of American financier John Jacob Astor III, who acquired the manuscript in the nineteenth cen- tury. It could talk about being loaned in 1883 to the State of New York by William Waldorf Astor to be part of an exhibition that raised funds to build a base for the Statue of Lib- erty. Maybe it would even

125 blush speaking about how, in 1988, it was sold in London at an Why Were Books of Hours So auction for $2.7 million. Popular in the Middle Ages? A book can’t talk, of course. But whenever there is a manu-

A breviary is a comprehensive script this old and rare, others will be sure to talk about it—and manual containing all the liturgi- for a long, long time. cal texts used in the Office, the regular public prayer times of the church. Included are psalms, Bible lessons, prayers, hymns, and writings of the church fathers. Books of hours became pop- ular as abbreviated forms of the breviary. They provided laypeople with a convenient guide for brief, private, inward expressions of spiritual devotion, an alternative to the outward ritual of public and corporate gatherings.

Left: Folio, Elizabeth de Bohun Psalter and Book of Hours (14th century), artist unknown. Right: Historiated initial with text, Elizabeth de Bohun Psalter and Book of Hours (14th century), artist unknown.

126 Bedford Hours

he Bedford Hours, or Bedford Book of Hours, is renowned not only because of its lavish artwork but also because the book has a long history of Left: Miniature of Anne, Duchess of Bedford, Bedford Hours being given away. (15th century), the Bedford T John, the Duke of Bedford and brother of King Master. Henry V, gave this late medieval manuscript to his new bride, Anne Below: Miniature of the of Burgundy, in May 1423. Exactly where the duke got the book construction of Noah’s Ark, or who created it is not known. Historians point to a workshop Bedford Hours (15th century), the Bedford Master. in Paris that was producing beautiful illuminated manuscripts at the time. Though the book includes miniatures by sev- eral individuals, the primary artist behind the Bedford Hours is referred to simply as the Bedford Master. On Christmas Eve in 1430, Anne of Burgundy gave the book to her nephew, nine-year-old King Henry VI. He had inherited the British crown in infancy and was then living with the Bedfords. By this time, the book featured new artwork and additional text. Years later, when Henry VI relinquished his rule over France, French king Henry II took possession of the Bedford Hours. He commissioned another artist to paint the French king’s coat of arms over the Bedford coat of arms. Then, in the eighteenth century, book col- lector Edward Harley acquired the manuscript. His will stipulated that upon his death, the book be given to his daughter. Following several private sales, the British Museum acquired the Bedford Hours in 1852. Although it’s doubtful this priceless and beautiful book will ever be given away again,continues to delight museumgoers and art historians.

137 Hours of Étienne Chevalier

Left: The Nativity, Hours of Étienne Chevalier, Jean Fouquet, he story of Hours of Étienne Chevalier is the story 15th century. of a fifteenth-century illustrated prayer book that Below: The , long ago lost its “prayer” and “book” parts. It Hours of Étienne Chevalier, Jean now exists solely as a collection of nearly fifty Fouquet, 15th century. Tworks of art. The illuminator for this work was Jean Fou- quet (ca. 1420–1481), the royal French court’s most accomplished artist. During a trip to in the 1440s, Fouquet was introduced to and immersed in the art of the Italian Renais- sance. Returning to France, he ingeniously fused many of those elements and techniques with the skills he had learned in the Parisian school. By the 1450s, his innovative minia- tures, portraits, and panel paintings were all the rage. Naturally, when Étienne Chevalier (ca. 1410–1474), the powerful and prosperous finance minister for King Charles VII of France, decided he wanted to commission a private book of hours, only one artist would do. Chevalier’s parchment book was completed in the 1450s in , France, and was presum- ably used by him and his family. However, by the late seventeenth or early eighteenth cen- tury, Hours of Étienne Chevalier was no longer a book. The Latin text was gone, either lost or discarded. The forty-seven miniatures had been removed and mounted on panels.

151 This collection was sold in whole or in part several times. In 1891, forty of Fouquet’s illustrations were purchased and returned to France. They are located today at the Musée Condé in Chantilly. The others can be found in private collections as well as in museums in Paris, London, and New York.

Left: , Hours of Étienne Chevalier, Jean Fouquet, 15th century. Right: Miniature of the Marriage of Mary and Joseph, Hours of Étienne Chevalier, Jean Fouquet, 15th century.

152 The Black Hours

Left: A stunning miniature from the Black Hours, artist unknown, s a diamond on black velvet sparkles, a book of ca. 1470. hours on black vellum also dazzles. Below: The crucifixion of An innovation of the late fifteenth century, Jesus, from the Black Hours, artist unknown, ca. 1470. black books of hours were prayer books writ- Aten in gold or silver leaf on leather that had been dyed black or soaked in black ink. The visual impact of these books is dramatic, as the lettering pops off the page. The vivid artwork seems almost three-dimensional. Because of their rarity and arresting appearance, these illuminated manuscripts were highly prized and exorbi- tantly priced. The Black Hours currently owned by the Morgan Library & Museum in New York. The illuminator is unknown, but the artwork in its fourteen full-page miniatures resembles that of the Flemish painter Wil- lem Vrelant, who was a prominent artist in Bruges, Belgium, in the mid-1400s. This elegant book is dated to about 1470–1480. Nicolas Yemeniz (1775–1871) poss­ essed the manuscript until he sold it to Ambroise Firmin-Didot (1790–1876). It was later acquired by Robert Hoe (1839–1909) and others before its sale to John Pierpont Morgan (1837–1913) in 1912. Only a handful of these black books of hours survived because the dying process had such a corrosive effect on the leather.

167 In fact, in 2017, museum curators were exploring how to stop decomposition of the black vellum of Black Hours.

Left: A calendar page from the Black Hours, artist unknown, ca. 1470. Right: Illuminations on black vellum, the Black Hours, artist unknown, ca. 1470.

168 The Great Hours of Anne of Brittany

nne of Brittany’s short life was filled with heart- ache. She was nine when her mother died. At eleven she lost her father. At thirteen she wed Left: Illustration of Louis XII, Maximilian I of Austria, the Holy Roman Emperor, Great Hours of Anne of Brittany Ain a marriage of political convenience. One year (16th century), Jean Bourdichon. later that marriage was annulled, and Anne was pressured into Right: A miniature of St. Cosmas marrying King Charles VIII of France. In seven years of marriage, and St. Damian, Patron Saints before his death in 1498, the couple buried four children. of Physicians and Apothecaries, Great Hours of Anne of Brittany Despite these tragedies, or perhaps because of them, Anne (16th century), Jean Bourdichon. became an avid supporter of the arts. In 1503 she commissioned Jean Bourdichon, an artist in the royal court, to produce an exquisite book of hours. This illustrated devotional prayer book, now known as the Great Hours of Anne of Brittany, took Bourdi- chon five years to complete. The book is considered “great” because of its startling beauty. It features, on parchment dyed black, forty-nine full-page viv- idly colored paintings of assorted biblical stories. In addition to these images, Bourdichon filled the book’s margins with detailed drawings of various plants, animals, and insects and the scien- tific names and common names of more than 330 plants. Many art historians view the Great Hours of Anne of Brittany as one of the most magnificent illuminated manuscripts of all time. The book is also considered “great” due to its size. At almost five hundred pages and with measurements of 13.5 x 17 centime- ters, the book is considerably larger than the average book of hours. Following Anne’s death in 1514, Louis XIV moved the man- uscript to Versailles. Napoleon III later exhibited the book in the . Today it is housed at the Bibliothèque nationale de France.

187