Two-sided page, first is numbered ‘lxvii’.
Latin section titles in Latin:
Fantastic complex woodblock design: first page left border has architectural motif, right has architectural with dragons(?) at top, bottom has two male angels. Second page has right border architectural with animals (?) at top, bottom has angels at a fountain.
Some coloured letters added at beginning of paragraphs and interspersed gold letters.
Printed on laid paper.
Some light browning on borders.
10.5 x 16 cm.
The book of hours is a Christian devotional book popular in the Middle Ages. It is the most common type of surviving medieval illuminated manuscript. Like every manuscript, each manuscript book of hours is unique in one way or another, but most contain a similar collection of texts, prayers and psalms, often with appropriate decorations, for Christian devotion. Illumination or decoration is minimal in many examples, often restricted to decorated capital letters at the start of psalms and other prayers, but books made for wealthy patrons may be extremely lavish, with full-page miniatures.
Books of hours were usually written in Latin (the Latin name for them is horae), although there are many entirely or partially written in vernacular European languages.
The typical book of hours is an abbreviated form of the breviary which contained the Divine Office recited in monasteries. It was developed for lay people who wished to incorporate elements of monasticism into their devotional life. Reciting the hours typically centered upon the reading of a number of psalms and other prayers.