Book of Hours, Use of Toul
ca. 1450–75 CE, with addition of ca. 1500 CE, Free Imperial City of Toul, Holy Roman Empire (present-day France)
Parchment, 124 leaves with color illustrations, gold, and 19th-century leather binding
A Book of Hours (Latin: Horae) is a personal prayer book used to recite the Christian canonical hours, or fixed prayers at regular intervals during the day, and includes a twelve-month calendar. After the Bible, this text was the most popular book type in late-medieval Europe, often commissioned by an increasingly affluent middle class.
Each Book of Hours is unique. The most lavish contained illuminations, like this one, that helped users find the correct page. These books were especially associated with female patronage and use, and helped readers keep track of time, both throughout the day and across the year.
Joseph R. Kopta