Hours of the Virgin and suffrages to saints

Texts and Images

The Hours of the Virgin, the core text in Books of Hours, received a large historiated initial for each of its eight offices, recited daily at the canonical times for prayer. Painted by two artists (Hands C and D), the initials show scenes from Christ’s Passion. Not found in contemporary Parisian manuscripts, this Passion cycle was common in Books of Hours from Brabant and Hainaut, and the diocese of Liège. Manuscripts from the same regions contain parallels for another unusual feature in this volume – the inclusion of the suffrages (short prayers) to saints within the Hours of the Virgin, after its second office, Lauds. Each suffrage received a historiated initial showing the relevant saint. Painted by a single artist (Hand C), the scenes are set against highly burnished gold grounds, occasionally combined with diapered patterns in blue or pink – a new type of background that would become more widely used in Parisian manuscript of the 1270s.