PERSONAL MEDIEVAL-STYLE PRAYER BOOK

This page describes a hand-made personal prayerbook in the style of a Medieval Book of Hours from Flanders around 1465 which I created as a commissioned work.

Books of Hours were THE medieval best-seller -- laymens' private devotional books, intended to be read several times during the day at the appropriate Canonical Hours. They typically contained a Calendar of Holy Days and Saints' days, the Little Office of the Virgin Mary, several Psalms, a couple of special prayers to the Virgin, a Litany of Saints, assorted Suffrages of the Saints, and the Burial Service. Many Books of Hours were designed for royalty or the high nobility, and were illustrated by the foremost artists of the day. With rich bindings, intricate decoration, vivid colours, and lavish use of gold leaf, these were books of great intrinsic value and outstanding beauty. We are fortunate that many whole books and single pages have survived to the present day to delight us with their artistry and charm.

If you would like to purchase a leaf of a genuine Book of Hours ($90-$15,000 US), have a look at C E Puckett, dealers in manuscripts, ancient maps, and incunabula. I recently bought a leaf from them and was entirely happy with their service.

 The Book Pages

The book, which measures 7cm x 9cm (2 3/4" x 3 1/2") comprises an Ave Maria, a Lord's Prayer, an Apostles' Creed, and several short prayers from a 1958 version of the Catholic Pocket Manual.

It was commissioned by a lady who had seen my Psalter (web page on the way), and wanted a present for her devout daughter-in-law, who had just presented her with a grandson to follow a very cute granddaughter.

Click on any of the images below for a more detailed view.

	The first pages show the front inner cover and binding, and a full-page miniature of the Virgin and Child, based on the Hastings Hours. Mary is crowned, as befits the Queen of Heaven. The flowers in the border are red roses, detailed with fine gold, and blue asters.
	Here we have a nativity, again based on the Hastings Hours, and the beginning of the Ave Maria. The flowers in the borders are white lilies, for the Virgin, and violets, for innocence. Mary and Joseph worship the Babe, while shepherds peer over the stable walls and the ox and the donkey lie comrfortably in the background.
	The end of the Ave Maria, with a typical medieval Crucifixion on the page following. The flowers are red roses, for Christ's blood, and forget-me-nots. Mary and St John stand at the foot of the cross, while in the foreground the soldiers dice for Christ's cloak.
	The Lord's Prayer begins here, with a miniature based on the Hastings Resurrection showing the souls of the blessed being carried to heaven on the backs of angels. Medieval angels had wings of glorious colours, quite unlike the all-white Victorian angles we are familiar with. The earthly sphere is seen in the lower left, with the stars and part of the sun visible. God, dressed in a cardinal's red robes, welcomes the blessed to heaven. The flowers in the border are strawberries, for innocence, with yellow butterflies scattered among them.
	The end of the Lord's Prayer, and a small flower panel with carnations, borage, and a daisy.
	The Creed begins on these pages, with the Holy Trinity as the miniature, based on the Hours of Marguerite d'Orleans. The Father and Son sit enthroned side-by-side, surrounded by angels, while between them the dove of the Holy Spirit touches its wingtips to their mouths. The border flowers are daffodils, daisies, and forget-me-nots.
	These text pages continue the Creed.
	The ending of the Creed, followed by several short prayers.
	The final prayer and inside back cover.

Basic Materials

The pages of this book are goat parchment (vellum) -- rawhide tanned with lime, stretched taut on a frame to dry, and carefully scaped to paper-thinness and a smooth finish. Parchment was used for most medieval manuscripts, and when properly cared for lasts over 1500 years. (Well, actually, we don't know how long it lasts. That's how old the oldest manuscripts on parchment are, and they seem likely to last forever.) It provides an excellent surface for both writing and painting, besides having a luxurious velvety texture to the touch.

The text is written with carbon-black ink which I made myself, quite similar to medieval ink. The style of the hand is Gothic Textura Quadrata, a script common from the 1100s through to 1500 or so. It has been slightly adapted to make it more readable to modern eyes (the long "s" which looks like an "f" has been replaced by the normal short "s" throughout, rather than only at the ends of words as in real medieval manuscripts).

The miniature paintings and flower borders are mostly based on the Hastings Hours, which was made for Lord William Hastings in Flanders around 1465. The miniature of the Trinity is based on the Hours of Marguerite of Orleans, which is a little earlier (c. 1430); the Hastings Hours does not have a Trinity. The paints used are Winsor & Newton's Designer's Gouache, the nearest modern equivalent to medieval pigments, and the gilding is 23ct gold leaf or 24ct shell gold (gold dust in glue, suitable for very fine work but not for burnishing to a mirror shine).

The cover is heavy card with a red brocade covering. The end-papers are parchmentine, a modern parchment-like paper, and the book was bound in two signatures, sewn with linen thread. The cover is decorated with bosses in a typical medieval style, and a clasp is attached to keep the book closed and help prevent the pages buckling.

Commission a Unique Medieval-Style Book

A book like this makes a unique gift that will be treasured for many years, and will grow in intrinsic value. Costs for a short book like this one start at $250 US, and go up from there, depending on the number of pages and the amount of decoration. Text pages with a few initials or line-fillers, like the last few of this book, cost less than borders or miniature paintings. Miniatures take time to paint! There are many styles of medieval borders and decoration available, some much faster to do than others.

Such a book need not have a religious theme -- for example, I also made a booklet of a song I wrote for the wedding of two of my friends, which may be seen here.

If you are interested in commissioning a book, send me e-mail, and we can discuss contents, decoration, and pricing. Generally I do sketches, scan and e-mail them, the client responds with changes, and we refine it down until the final design is approved. At this point I ask for half the fee up-front, and begin painting. The rest of the fee is due on delivery of the book. Postage from Australia to the US takes about 10-14 days and for a little book like this, is about $15US; courier takes three days but costs at least $45US.

Care Of The Book

Basically, keep the book in a cool, dry place and protect it from damp. These books are not waterproof. Take care not to spill anything on the pages! If liquid does get on it, if it is just a few drops take a clean tissue, screw up the corners into points, and carefully wick up the water from the drops. Do not blot the pages directly--this will almost certainly smudge them. If there is a lot of liquid on a page, give it a quick, hard flick to get most of it off, then wick carefully as before. Leave the book open in a warm (not hot) place to dry. If the pages buckle, once they are quite dry place the book (with the clasp undone) under a couple of heavy books for a few days, with sheets of tissue paper between the pages so they cannot stick together.

Humidity is not the book's friend. If the humidity is too high, the pages will start to buckle up. Keep the clasp closed to help prevent this. Don't put it in a plastic bag, where it may sweat; it will be happiest wrapped in paper, a cloth, or in a wooden box.

Properly cared for, the book should last for several hundred years, and become a family heirloom.

 The Canonical Hours

The Canonical Hours were the eight major sections of the medieval religious day, when priests, monks, and nuns performed set songs, readings, and prayers. The Hours began with Matins (morning) at midnight, then Lauds (praises) at about 3am, though this was often celebrated with Prime (the first hour) at about 6 in the morning. Tierce, the third hour after sunrise, would be around 9am; Sext (the sixth hour) at noon, Nones (ninth hour) about 3pm, Vespers (evening) around 6pm, and finally Compline (closing) at about 9pm, which was bedtime for the monks and nuns who would rise at midnight for Matins.