Book of Hours

Illuminated manuscripts were highly decorative compared to the books we have today. Out of all the medieval Illuminated manuscripts that have survived to the present day, the most common one is the Book of Hours. A Book of Hours was a Christian devotional book so they were widely made during the Middle Ages; hence there are a lot that have survived to present day. A Book of Hours normally contained prayers, Psalms, office for the dead, little office of the blessed Virgin Mary, a calendar of church feasts, and the hours of the cross. These books often became important family heirlooms due to their expensive nature. Naturally, the more highly decorated the specific Book of Hours was, the wealthier the patron was. The illustrations often were of scenes from the bible or that of saints and occasionally the book would also have an image of the patron of the book in it somewhere.  A Book of Hours was typically written in Latin but there are some were written in other languages. Like most illuminated manuscripts, a Book of Hours was typically made on parchment or vellum and at this point in time most used iron gall ink because this ink could be tinted to different colors when combined with various other minerals. In the latter Middle Ages it was possible for someone to go and buy a pre-produced and very generic Book of Hours which just goes to show the popularity of these books. With all the work that had to go into a book in this time period no one would make a book unless they were sure it could get sold. That’s why most were done on a commission basis.