Medieval Book Ownership

The Coming of the Book offers several interesting facts about early printed books and book ownership. First, the scope of the book trade is examined. Currently, there exist 30,000 to 35,000 different editions that were printed between 1450 and 1500, representing anywhere from 10,000 to 15,000 different texts. We must accept that the numbers of texts must be larger because not everything has survived. The authors suggest that the average print run of a text did not exceed 500 editions. With these figures in mind, an astonishing figure is presented: around 20 million books were printed prior to 1500 (Febre and Martin, 248). Considering the fact that the countries where printing existed had a combined population of 100 million inhabitants, this figure is all the more impressive.

Later, in a French study of incunabula (books printed before 1500), two surveys are presented: language of print and textual content. First, the books were written in Latin 77% of the time, 7% in Italian, 4-6% in German, 4-5% in French and 1% in Flemish. Second, the nature of the books were divided as follows: 45% religious works; 30% classical, medieval and contemporary literature; approximately 10% law; approximately 10% scientific subjects (Febre and Martin, 249). This tells us that one quarter of the books printed at that time where in the vernacular languages of their owners, and that slightly more than half was of a secular nature. Books were in use beyond the church walls. Furthermore, we could deduce that with one half of the books being secular and not part of any religious ceremony, one must truly be literate to understand the text. The reader would not have heard the contents recited in church.

Finally, research on personal library ownership is detailed. Catalogues of libraries drawn up before solicitors, for inclusion in wills, give us insight as to who owned collections of books. There were 377 libraries in France between the late fifteenth and sixteenth centuries included in this study. While churchmen and lawyers accounted for 231 of these libraries, soldiers, merchants, tradesmen and artisans comprise an additional 96 libraries. These libraries were owned by haberdashers, weavers, drapers, tanners, grocers, cheese-mongers, hawkers, locksmiths, pastry cooks, skinners, dyers, shoemakers and coach-builders, in addition to professional soldiers (Febre and Martin, 263). A large cross section of secular, non-aristocratic medieval society is well represented. From this study, the populace is seen as involved in the acquisition of books.

So, how do these facts about printed books relate to fifteenth and sixteenth century manuscripts? First, books were in demand by the populace. Printing was one manner of meeting that demand. Second, there were a variety of materials being presented, from books of hours, to romances, to law and to science. People wanted to read. Lastly, the desire for book ownership was at all levels of society. While manuscripts met the demand for the wealthy, as time passed and printing became widespread, books moved into the hands of the middle classes. The commoners wanted to read, they were able to read, and they did read a variety of books.

Specifically referring to book of hours, their appeal transcended literacy and religious devotion making their ownership widespread. Tuchman states that “Devout or not, all owned and carried Book of Hours, the characteristic fashionable religious possession of the fourteenth century noble” (236). By the late fifteenth century, many people from wealthy merchants to nobility had one, if not many, of these texts.

Social History

There were several reasons why the book of hours became so widespread. Three factors led to its rise in popularity: literacy, consciousness of social status, and a desire to imitate the clergy.

Weick discusses the belief that the laity was envious of the clergy in many respects, most notably in their intimate and direct relationship to God. The clergy’s rituals were complex and time-consuming. As such, the book of hours was adopted and adapted to suit this need (Weick, Time Sanctified, 27). By reading the book of hours, the laity obtained some of the spiritual privileges of the clergy. (Virginia Reinburg, Prayer and the Books of Hours, in Weick, Time Sanctified, 41). Illuminated or not, the book of hours was a desired tool for one’s religious development.

As previously discussed, as literacy rose, so did the desire for books. While medieval society was largely illiterate, certain groups did develop some literacy in a relatively widespread manner. The nobility developed basic literacy in response to the demands of the legal and political world, as the merchant class was challenged by trade and business to do the same. (Lawrence R. Poos, in Weick, Time Sanctified, 33). Many women of the middle classes were literate as well, participating in religious movements. Consequently, they were often the patrons of these books, frequently represented therein. (Poos, 35) Once again, illumination was not the sole factor for the book’s appeal.

Lastly, we must look at the book of hours’ desirability as a social status symbol. These books were increasingly intricate and expensive. The bindings were ornate. If the patron were wealthy, illuminations would abound within the pages. The book of hours of a deceased person figured prominently in any will (Poos, 34). As such, they were highly desirable as social items and as commodities. Most Europeans between the thirteenth and sixteenth centuries knew about books of hours. It is likely that members of the merchant and noble classes would own or aspire to obtain a book of hours. These books were so prevalent in polite society that, even if the owners couldn’t read, they might carry their book of hours. The lure of the book was strong. Finally, illumination coupled with the two aforementioned reasons for ownership to create a status symbol. Through conspicuous ownership, people could convey wealth, literacy and spiritual enlightenment.

There are examples of how the book of hours was used. Shinners translates a passage from a book written in 1373. A knight by the name of Geoffrey de la Tours-Landry wrote a treatise for his three daughters on how to behave. This book, Behaving Piously: A Knight’s Advice to His Daughters, when eventually published was a huge success, being translated into twelve different languages. In fact, it was still being printed well after 1493. His advice is as follows: “Fair daughters, when you get out of your bed, enter into the service of the exalted Lord and begin your Hours. This should be your first deed, the first thing that you do. When you say them, say them with a good heart; and as far as you can do not let your mind wander . . .” (Shinners, 321). Other accounts are listed by Duffy including a fifteenth century English text prescribing the daily recitation of the Hours, as well as a fifteenth century Italian’s comment on English laity’s widespread adherence to reciting the hours from their books (212). The gentry as well as the nobility used their books.

Consequently, we can see books of hours as desirable items for religious, intellectual and social reasons. Furthermore, there existed two powerful classes of society which had the means, abilities and desires to have and use these books. But what gave birth to the books of hours?

Related Liturgical Manuscripts

As stated earlier, the book of hours was a religious book intended for the laity (non-ordained members of the church), to aid them in their devotions. It is important to recognize that the text did not spring into existence as a completed form. It borrowed from elsewhere and grew. There were a number of liturgical texts produced at the time that were used by the ordained members of the church and its congregations. A brief overview is valuable to the reader, as the book of hours drew from these sources, and evolved from various components thereof. According to Linda and Peter Murray, these texts are as follows: the Missal (Missale Romanum), the Breviary (Breviarium Romanum), the Roman Ritual (Rituale Romanum), the Roman Pontifical (Pontificale Romanum), the Roman Martyrology, the Antiphonal, the Gradual, the Evangeliary, the Lectionary (Lat. readings) and the Psalter (278).

The first text to examine is the Missal, which is of the most importance because it contains the text of the Mass. Within the missal, one will find the Ordinary (the unchanging text of the Kyrie, Gloria, Creed, offeratory prayers, Preface, Sanctus, the Lord’s Prayer, Angus Dei, Communion, the ablutions, and the final prayers and blessings). It also includes the changeable parts of the Mass, called the proper, which are specific to the season, special day, or a votive mass. Due to its functional, daily use, the Missal frequently contains only one illustration, the Crucifixion. Illustrations were for instruction, meditation and display, not for performing God’s work.

Following the Missal in importance is the Breviary, since it is used by every priest each day. The Breviary contains the Divine Office which is to be recited every day by priests, deacons and all members of religious orders. Also meant for practical use, the Breviary is rarely illustrated.

The Roman Ritual is a manual on the performance of various duties, such as the administration of some rituals, such as, baptisms, burials, and marriages. The Roman Pontifical holds the order of ceremonies usually reserved for bishops. These ceremonies include confirmation, ordination, and the consecration of a church or altar. The Roman Martyrology is the list of all the martyrs and saints commemorated on each day of the year.

The Antiphonal contains all of the chants of the Sung High Mass, as well as the psalms and hymns. The Gradual is the counterpart to the Antiphonal, named so because the psalms were originally sung on the lowest step of the ambo (raised platform within church for speaking to the congregation), before the Epistles and the Gospel. This text contains the sung portions of the Mass used throughout the year in the Western Church.

The Evangeliary contains either the text of all four Gospels or the extracts which are to be read from the Gospel during Mass on any particular day. The Lectionary contains all of the necessary texts from the Scripture to be read during services.

Psalters contain all of the psalms which, by custom, were to be read during the course of the week, or at least once a month. There are two types of Psalters: the Biblical psalter, which has the 150 Psalms in numerical order, and the Liturgical psalter which has the psalms listed in the order that they are read in the Breviary. From the eleventh century, into the fourteenth century, psalters were among the most popular and important illuminated manuscripts, but the book of hours surpassed them in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.

The main texts of the Anglican Rite are the Bible and the Book of Common Prayer, designed by Cranmer in 1548, revised in 1662, and still in use. They were intended to replace the numerous books used before the Reformation, and contains rubrics for the conduct of services, prayers, collects, and psalms to be said or sung. Herein there exists no tradition of illumination, although the Book of Common Prayer may have some illustrations, merely to make it look more attractive.

Books of Hours are not true liturgical books, but are versions of the Divine Office arranged for lay devotion. As such, the traditional book of hours evolved from The Divine Office (Divinium Officium or ‘godly work’). An office meant a duty accomplished for God. Prayers were to be recited at fixed hours of the day or night by priests and members of religious orders. Initially a Jewish tradition, it was adopted by the Catholics, and developed into a regimented custom of certain breviary prayers to be recited throughout the day and night. By the end of the sixth century, the essential components of the Divine Office were set. The volume of material within the Divine Office was substantial and would take an individual several hours to read. As such, a shorter version dedicated to the Virgin Mary was developed, called the Little Office, or more commonly called the Hours of the Virgin. The Hours of the Virgin formed the heart of, and gave the name for, the book of hours.

The Function of Religious Art

As the book of hours evolved, the illuminations became more prevalent. Religious art, whether illuminations, painting or tapestries, was not solely an aesthetic pursuit. It was a multipurpose teaching aid of the church. For the most part, religious art had three functions. Michael Baxandall cites two authors, both late fifteenth century Italians, who detail the function of religious art (41). First and foremost, religious art instructs the illiterate about religious matters. Secondly, period people felt that they learned quicker and remembered better what they saw, as opposed to what they read or heard. Third, images were felt to evoke stronger emotional and devotional responses in the mind of the viewer. As such, religious art brought the message of the church to a broader audience in a more inspirational form that was easier to learn and remember. In books of hours, the illuminations function well in this regard. Additionally, artwork provides markers for the beginnings of text and draw attention to special or important tracts. Used as religious tools, the content was highly regimented and the images were standardized in their associations to the text.

Emile Mâle points out in his work that the forms of religious art were fixed and could not be deviated from for individual artistic taste. (1) To have been a successful medieval artist, he or she must have understood what the subject of their work was and what it could be. Therefore, when depicting a particular scene, for instance the Annunciation, the same characters were represented in the same manner for hundreds of years. Until the Renaissance, artists were either unable or unwilling to experiment with the subject matter (4). As such, when looking at any medieval art, including the book of hours, the content can be accurately identified and its significance can be discussed.

Furthermore, these standardized images were commonly used as prefixes to various texts. For instance, the aforementioned Annunciation commonly signaled the beginning of matins in the Office of the Virgin. Standardized images served standard roles.

The Canonical Hours of the Days

There exist within the book of hours several offices, each with a series of recitations to be performed at certain times of the day and night. These recitations are structured to coincide with specific hours as was done in the Breviary. These times are called the Canonical Hours. People could look to Psalm 119:164 for their inspiration: “Seven times a day do I praise thee because of thy righteous judgements.” The Canonical Hours of the day and the times at which they took place are as follows:
 
 

Usually, the hours are regarded as seven services. The Night Hours of Matins and Lauds are usually read together between midnight and dawn. Thereafter, each service (Prime, Terce, Sext, None, Vespers and Compline) is read in approximately three hour intervals. At these prescribed hours, the reader would contemplate specific texts and/or images, depending upon which office was being observed.

Common Book of Hours’ Contents and Descriptions

Knowing the origins of the books of hours and that these hours are times for spiritual reflection, meditation or recitation, we can start to look at the contents of the book of hours. First off, you must recognize that no two books of hours are identical in content and form. Minor variations exist; but, there are overwhelming similarities. At the beginning of the twentieth century, Victor Leroquais, one of the foremost scholars on books of hours and their contents, developed a checklist of sorts, identifying the key components of the books. (Unfortunately, his work remains largely untranslated from its original French.) He also noted that while there were primary texts that were almost universally used, there were secondary texts that were widespread, but used less often.

There are the primary components of the book of hours, as well as common secondary modules within the book. The primary and secondary items follow: the Calendar; the Sequence of the Gospels; the prayers Obsecro te and/or O intemerata; the Hours of the Virgin; the Hours of the Cross; the Hours of the Holy Spirit; the Seven Penitential Psalms; the Litany; the Office of the Dead; and lastly, the Suffrages of the Saints (Harthan, 15). As in most Gothic religious endeavors, each component has standardized text and, for the most part, standardized illustrations. This allows the reader to quickly recognize each office and most hours from a glance.