The Hours of Boussu (Part 1)

Here is yet another magnificent book of Hours from the endless treasure trove that is the Bibliothèque nationale de France, known as the Hours of Isabelle de Lalaing, the noble lady for whom it was made sometime after 1490. It is also called the Hours of Boussu, the town in the county of Hainaut (in modern Belgium) of which her family were the lords; the anonymous artist is known as the master of Antoine Rolin. As with everything on the BnF website, the manuscript can be downloaded as a pdf for free. Here is a selection of images which includes all the large pictures, and some examples of the many different kinds of decoration. This first part goes up to the end of the Little Office of the Virgin, the heart of any books of Hours. A second post will include the other features that come after it, such as the Offices of the Passion and of the Dead.

This book is one of the most richly decorated examples of its genre; literally every page that does not have a sacred picture or more elaborate border has a rectangular section like the ones seen here on the two pages for the calendar in April, filled with birds, sometimes other animals, insects (mostly butterflies), and an extraordinary variety of flowers. A great deal of blank space is left on the pages, which is also a sign of the wealth of the person commissioning the book.

The Virgin Mary kneeling before the Three Persons of the Trinity, with an angel holding a banderole saying, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.”

The Lord’s Prayer

The Stabat Mater, which here, unually, has a decorative border with angels, rather than an image of the Virgin standing by the Cross.

In addition to the floral and animal motifs in the borders, there are a fair number of pictures related to the prayers at their beginnings, such as this one to the Virgin Mary.

Many books of Hours included a group of four Gospels, one from each of the Evangelists: John 1, 1-14, the Gospel of Christmas day; Luke 1, 26-38, the Annunciation; Matthew 2, 1-12, the Epiphany; and Mark 16, 14-20, the Ascension. Here we see St John on the island of Patmos, where he wrote the Apocalypse...

and the beginning of his Gospel, surrounded by peacock feathers.

The Gospel from Luke, who is sitting in his studio and writing, with a picture of the Virgin and Child on the wall behind him, a reference, of course, to the tradition that he actually painted such an image.

The Gospel of the Annunciation

St Matthew at his writing desk, with the angel which is his symbol.

The beginning of the Gospel of the Epiphany, surrounded by an unusual decorative border, the contents of a wealthy house’s glass cupboard.

St Mark with his lion

And the Gospel of the Ascension, surrounded by a border which gives a very literal interpretation to the words of verse 15, “Preach the Gospel to every creature.”

Most books of Hours also include two very long prayers to the Virgin, known from their incipits as Obsecro te and Intemerata.

Before another prayer to the Virgin, in French, an image of her nursing the Christ Child as she sits on a royal throne under a canopy, attended by angels...

The beginning of the prayer, with an image of Isabella de Lalaing kneeling at a prie-dieu.
 

Each Hour of the Office of Our Lady, (which follows the Use of the cathedral of Cambrai) is introduced by an image of an event of Her life; the choice of these is not absolutely uniform from one book of Hours to another, but the pattern is pretty standard. Matins begins with the Annunciation...

and Lauds with the Visitation.

At Prime, the adoration of the Christ Child in the stable.

At Terce, the appearance of the angel to the shepherds.

At Sext, the Adoration of the Magi.

At None, the Presentation of the Child in the temple.

At Vespers, the Flight into Egypt.

At Compline, the Coronation of the Virgin as the Queen of Heaven.