The Hours of Charles of Angoulême (Part 1)

Here is another wonderful discovery from the endless treasure trove of the Bibliothèque nationale de France, a book of Hours made forone Charles, count of the French city of Angoulême (1459-96), and the father of King Francis I (r. 1515-47). (BnF Lat. 1173) The book contains a large number of full and half-page images of extremely high quality, most of which are attributed to an artist named Robinet Testard (fl. 1470 - 1519). It also includes several engravings reproduced from works by a German printmaker, Israhel van Meckenem, which were colored in by Testard; these include a series of 12 images of the Passion, which I will post separately.

By the later 15th century, Books of Hours almost always included a set of four Gospel readings, one from each evangelist: John 1, 1-14, from the day Mass of Christmas; Luke 1, 26-38, from the feast of the Annunciation; Matthew 2, 1-12 from Epiphany; and Mark 16, 14-20 from the Ascension. Very often, each is introduced by its own picture of the corresponding evangelist, but here, they are all represented in one image by their traditional symbols, which surround Our Lord. Between them are the original four doctors of the Latin Church, and in the corners, the major prophets.

At the beginning of the Office of Our Lady is this image of the Annunciation. Note the arms of the kings of France on the reading desk, and on the altar, an image of Moses with the tablets of the Law.

The first page of the Office, with Our Lady dressed in blue and holding a prayer book, within the decorative initial.

A decorative page at the end of Lauds.

Books of Hours also routinely include two very brief Offices after that of the Virgin, one of the Cross, and another of the Holy Spirit. The former is introduced by this image of Our Lord as a child holding the Cross...

and the latter by this image of the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, set within a church; only eight of the twelve Apostles are included, so as to not make the space too crowded. (One of them is clearly identifiable as St James the Elder from his pilgrim hat.)

Matins of the Holy Spirit, with this beautiful image of the dove, and banderoles chained together with strings of beads, with several liturgical texts from Pentecost written on them.

Before Prime of the Virgin, a picture of Her kneeling in adoration before the Christ Child.

Before Terce is this very unusual depiction of the annunciation to the shepherds, who are caught by the angel in the middle of enjoying a dance with their wives or girlfriends, and in the daytime.

A nice example of one of the relatively few pages with an elaborate decorative border.

Before Sext, the Adoration of the Magi; this image is attributed to a painter called Jean Bourdichon (1457-1521), who produced a very elaborate book of Hours for Francis I’s predecessor, Louis XII, and another for Anne of Brittany, his queen.

The first part of Sext, with another very beautiful border.

Before None, the Presentation of the Lord in the temple.

A decorative border made of highly detailed paintings of feathers.

Vespers is preceded by this purely decorative element, but no image from the life of Christ or the Virgin, a very unusual arrangement.

This page is titled in French “A prayer to Our Lady”, but is really just a list of titles or adjectives which may be said in praise of Her, with a similar list in Latin at the bottom.

At the beginning of Compline, God the Father (wearing a papal tiara) is shown sending the Son to the Virgin; on the blue banderole between them is written “All fair art thou, my beloved, and there is no stain in thee”, a verse from the Song of Songs very commonly used in reference to the Immaculate Conception.

Before the Penitential Psalms is this image of the Judgment of Solomon; the scene looks very much like it would have if it had happened in the French court. At the left, King David, the author of the psalms, holds his harp, and looks through the window at his son.

The Office of the Dead is preceded by this very peculiar image of two men battling a centaur and a wild-woman, and apparently winning, as Death prepared to strike the centaur with a fatal blow. In classical mythology, centaurs represent the idea of man dominated by the irascible passions, so perhaps this is intended to signify the mortification of such passions, which on a spiritual level, is particularly necessary for the powerful.

The decorative initial at the beginning of the first psalm of Vespers of the Dead shows a sarcophagus with a cross on top of it, and within the letter D itself, a cleric holding a candle, and another with an aspergil and holy water bucket.

Following the Office of the Dead is this image made of letters formed by people and animals, which spell out “Ave Maria, gracia ple(na).” (Plan ahead...) Decorative letters of this kind were often used in woodblock prints, and Testard seems to have taken his inspiration from them.

On the other side of the same page, a diagram for calculating Easter, following the nineteen-year period known as the Metonic cycle. The page has been darkened by metal from the background of the Ave Maria side seeping into the parchment.

St George slaying the dragon. This is the one of the prints by Israhel van Meckenem added to the book after they had been colored by Testard; twelve more of the Passion of Our Lord follow, which I will show in a separate post.