A prayer book used by laymen for private devotion, containing
prayers or meditations appropriate to certain hours of the day,
days of the week, months or seasons. They became so popular in
the 15th century that the Book of Hours outnumbers all other
categories of
illuminated manuscripts;
from the late 15th century there were also printed versions
illustrated by
woodcuts.
The most famous Book of Hours and one of the most beautiful
of all illuminated manuscripts is the
Très Riches Heures du duc de Berry
(Musée Condé, Chantilly), illuminated by the
Limburg Brothers
for Jean de Berry.
Book of Hours
