English book of hours
Date:
ca. 1300
Location or Findspot (Modern-Day Country):
United Kingdom
Medium:
Parchment
Dimensions:
26.7 × 18.7 cm per page
Description:
This English book of hours, a popular type of prayer book in the later Middle Ages, is written in Latin but also includes Old French section titles. It is notable for its playful depictions of animals in the margins. One of the pages reproduced here begins with an Old French rubric (text written in red for emphasis) announcing the start of the Hours of Jesus Crucified ("Si commence les hures de Iesu crucifie..."). At the bottom of the page, an elephant appears in the guise of a pilgrim. He holds a walking stick and has a pilgrim badge attached to his bag: the scallop shell associated with Santiago de Compostela. This section of the manuscript also has animal musicians, for example a horse playing a flute and drum, and a dog playing the bagpipes.
Relevant Textbook Chapter(s):
9
Repository and Online Resources:
• Flip through the manuscript, now in the Walters Art Museum.
